nothing beats a 12 for home defense, but there are times when you need to take your home defense away from home. I LOVE my Glock. I have the 23, .40 and it is a great all around hand gun for the money. Everything said about the safeties, it is going to shoot when you pull the trigger, and it points better than any gun I've ever shot in it's price range. The other thing I really love about it, for a guy that is completely mechanically retarded (myself), I can break it down in two seconds without tools and keep it spotless. Very important for any weapon, especially home defense. glock is also a weapon I would buy used, as they are durable, which may let you get that 12 gauge everyone keeps talking about to boot!