Aw, this is too hard to do like this. Recreational shooting at a proper facility is so much harmless fun that it justifies itself. Hunting is - words fail me - something that's an aquired taste and often savored like a rare vintage. Self-defense is full of moral and legal implications for each individual to puzzle out - and maybe there is value in discussing that here, provided the various extreme views (any corner of the debate) are throttled back a bit.

Chris K wrote some great advice. Meanwhile, isn't there some ETS member close enough to you to volunteer to take you out for some range time? I enjoy my guns very much, but it's just electrons here - this is cold hard world stuff.

OK, now that I got all that off my chest - you're not gonna be permanently deaf from firing a shotgun inside. Just don't make it a routine practice - good advice in any case! I did that and far worse than that during my career in the US Army (I'm retired) and my hearing is fine. Well, fine for a guy as old as Chris K <grin>.

Close range, a shotgun, hands down. 12 is the universal number, but 20 is OK. Forget anything else for various reasons. If not an afficiondo, it is hard to beat the simplicity of a break-open double barrel, but they still take practice - and remembering little things like automatic safeties. Close second choice is any reputable brand/model pump gun - most boogie men instinctively understand the sound of a pump gun cycling a round into the chamber. Any legal barrel length that handles OK for you in close quarters is fine - again, you can get fancier later. At across-the-room range it doesn't matter anyway. Ammo for indoors is about anything factory loaded that reliably goes "bang" when you pull the trigger. You can get fancier when you know more.

Long range - er, why? That sailing-around-the-world thing? If you're a capable shot at long range, you don't need any advice from any of us. If you're not... it doesn't matter. <shrug> Practice, I guess, and then when you're really good at it, you'll already know whatever you need. But I'll admit that Chris K's Enfield suggestion for Canadian canoeing is good - they work fine across-the-campfire, too.

Pistols take the most practice to master and caliber selection IS more important than in the long guns because generally they have significantly less inherent capability than a long gun to end an incident in time to matter to you. Am I against pistols? Hardly! But I'm an expert with pistols (no sense being falsely modest) and have many to chose from. There can be good arguements for a pistol, but they all include instruction and practice, practice, practice. Usually a poor choice to start out with, so no more specific advice from me on that topic.

Again, Chris K wrote some great advice. Maybe someone knowledgable lurking here lives in your area...?

Go cautiously slow and good luck.

Tom