When you become the man of the house you inherit a sacred responsibility to protect your family. Former Marine Jeff Barnett gives the bottom line on the best tools for the job we hope you’ll never have to use. Jeff is a former Marine with a lifetime of experience with firearms. Read more from Jeff at his blog, The Midnight Hour.

Defending yourself and your loved ones from home intruders that would do you harm is a serious matter and a grave responsibility. If you have decided to take this responsibility seriously but don’t know quite where to begin then this article is for you.

Today’s focus is what weapon to choose for home defense. Each option I will recommend is a firearm, because firearms are simply the best modern home defense weapons. While a fighting knife and a backpack full of claymores may work well for John J. Rambo, there can only be one Rambo. Similarly, non-lethal defenses such as stun guns and mace leave much more to chance than I am willing to accept. Real aggressors don’t slowly walk towards you in a straight line like Jason Voorhees.