A bum jumped in the open door of my bus last winter in San Deigo. We are still laughing. Our German Shephard ripped about half his arm off before he escaped!
I tote a Walther PPKS .380 and the Mrs carries a Beretta Tomcat .32 I also keep a S&W Model 629 .44 Magnum beside the bed.... Just in case....
Has to be comfortable to carry, and able to conceal under summer clothes. Bad guys are not impressed by the big gun you have back in the glove box of your pickup! Bersa .380 with jacketed hollow points, nice gun! As already mentioned, practice a lot, and read up enough to scare the hell out of you about having to use it! Even if you are correct and right to use it on an intruder, it looks like one expensive, long drawn out nightmare. I have read stories on the difference made in court between using double-ought and home defense loads. It helps to be able to make a case for intent i guess. I have been thinking about the new .410 home defense shotguns as a bedroom gun. I agree about the chilling effect of hearing a pump action being jacked, but again i have read of the sound just broadcasting your location to the intruder. Interesting too, are the stories from people who have discharged a 12 ga in the small confines of a bus. They said it was like a stun grenade going off, and was very blinding/disorienting to the shooter. So i would be interested in hearing from anyone who has the .410. And one question i have - i thought i had heard that at least for Minnesota, if you have RV plates on the bus, you do not need a permit to have firearms in the bus, it is the same as for your home. You don't need a permit to have firearms in your home. Is this true in other states as well?
I also think that sometimes having what people would call having protection might promote some actions that are riskier than they would do if they didn't have a piece on them (ie places to park overnight, etc.). Mike