First of all the term "home defense" is pretty broad. Let's say a person is qualified and wants a weapon to defend his family against the crazy who might come knocking on his door at 3 AM. A shotgun would be intimidating enough but it is unwieldy and hard to get to in an emergency. A handgun seems to be ideal for late night emergencies but I personally favor a wheel gun (revolver). You don't need to check a safety or feed a magazine or see if there is one in the chamber. The Tauris "judge" revolver is ideal. A revolver that can shoot a .45 or a 410 shotgun shell.