Honestly, if it comes down to an actual fight with someone who means you harm, I think you would be better off with a gun and little to no training with it, versus trying to tangle with the intruder with a hand to hand weapon like a bat or knife, which actually takes a lot more training to be effective with. This ain't the movies... even those who are well trained in hand to hand, if they're honest, will tell you that odds are a well trained fighter will STILL get cut or take some blows in an all out fight to the death with someone who is similarly armed. That is aside from any disparity in size and strength, which you will likely be dealing with too. If it comes to a fight, I believe a loaded revolver will give an untrained person a better chance to walk away than a bat or a knife will. Of course your first and best option is always to avoid the deadly situation in the first place... which means getting away if you can do so safely and without contact with the intruder(s); and if not, hunkering down behind cover in a room with that revolver trained on the doorway, and popping rounds off at anyone who tries to come through it.
A good used .38 Special revolver (i.e. Smith & Wesson ) is something that even a total n00b can pick up and get rounds on target with. Cartridges go in the chambers, and it shoots where you point it if you squeeze the trigger. Nothing could be simpler. Now obviously going out and buying a gun without having any training in it is not the best option and I would encourage taking a pistol class as soon as possible... but it is preferable to going up against an armed intruder who is probably larger than you with a hand to hand weapon or a less than lethal weapon that might just piss him off.
I'd go down to H&H and talk to some of the guys in the gun rental area. For not much money you can try out several types of handguns to see what works for you, and get some decent advice on what to buy. In the process, you will get at least some instruction on how to safely handle and operate a handgun, and a much better idea of what you will actually want to buy.
A good used .38 Special revolver (i.e. Smith & Wesson ) is something that even a total n00b can pick up and get rounds on target with. Cartridges go in the chambers, and it shoots where you point it if you squeeze the trigger. Nothing could be simpler. Now obviously going out and buying a gun without having any training in it is not the best option and I would encourage taking a pistol class as soon as possible... but it is preferable to going up against an armed intruder who is probably larger than you with a hand to hand weapon or a less than lethal weapon that might just piss him off.
I'd go down to H&H and talk to some of the guys in the gun rental area. For not much money you can try out several types of handguns to see what works for you, and get some decent advice on what to buy. In the process, you will get at least some instruction on how to safely handle and operate a handgun, and a much better idea of what you will actually want to buy.