An alunimum bat should be good for home defense, as long as the intruders aren't armed and a distance off. Alunimum is also perferable to wood. Lighter weight = faster swing/ recovery. Also wood tends to channel the shock force thru skin and muscle, deep to the bones so a lot of times you have to commit to shattering bones to stop an aggressor. Whereas metal and plastics/polymers spread the force really well over the skin (read that as nerves) as well, therfore causing neuromuscular failure before the shattering of limb is required.......
+1 on the big dog from taurus. If you can/want keep one, you will find no better early warning/burglar alarm/remote antagonizer/best friend......we have two. The big one is an 85 lb Rhodesian/pit bull mix and his bark alone makes my eardrums hum in our apartment