Decisions, decisions, decisions… it seems like when it comes to defending your family there is a lot of them. Caliber, type, make, model, ammunition, stopping power,capacity, training, and the omnipresent legal repercussions—self-defense is a hailstorm of life or death choices and another one of these (and one that is often neglected) is over-penetration.

Shooting through walls

Situation and terrain determine tactics and nowhere is this more evident than when firing a gun inside a closed environment like your home. Accordingly, a self-defense minded gun owner needs to first take into account where he lives (suburban house, farm, studio apartment etc.) and then assess the location and materials used in its construction. These factors will help determine your choice of gun and round you keep for home defense.

Factoring in location and terrain means knowing where targets will appear, potential backstops and beyond them. Since most inner walls in homes in western societies are made of sheet rock and many outer walls made of brick or siding, it's important to realize rounds could leave your home and keep traveling. Thinner than usual walls, glass windows or close neighbors should all play a part in your assessment of your home as should the sometimes strange angles and backstops inherent to ranch style or multi-level homes.