Well... carry is out for me, not allowed with considerable reason, but home protection I have a Glock 19 gen4 which is always handy and loaded with American Eagle 9mm flat nosed - remember, you can't use hollow point in New Jersey except in competition or at the range. So I use flat nosed to hopefully stop over penetration if the need ever occur.
I'm still thinking about a shot gun, likely 12 gauge and likely pump action. I have three rifles and all are WW2 or early Cold War era, but shoot beautifully, but this is NOT something you protect your home with here: houses closely spaced apart, all three rifles to big to maneuver around - besides two are bolt action, SKS is semi-auto. Still, my Glock is always loaded, never chambered though and 2 full mags besides the ones in the Glock.
We could argue chambering a round in the Glock all day and I believe all sides would have very valid points. I just choose to know that my Glock won't go off until I rack it - oh and I use a Brass-stacker slide grip for fast chambering of a round. It was originally for helping my wife get a better grip on the Glock slide to rack it and although the gen4 spring eased a little, it is still a bugger to pull back compared to earlier generation.
So in the time I grab the Glock off the nightstand and have it in my hand, I've already chamber a cartridge. It is an almost effortless step and one I'd rather deal with, than have a negligent discharge in my home fumbling for the gun and grabbing it wrong in the dark and only awake seconds.
Besides the 9mm (and the 22 revolver I didn't mention here) I have "personal body alarms" which my mother bought for me and my wife over a decade ago, attached to our front and back doors. If the door is opened even a little the safety pin is pulled and a shrieking 100db alarm goes off. These are still around for about $20 a pair and attach simply to doors. I highly doubt anyone would come in after those alarms sound, but if the literally ran toward the living room or bedrooms, it would take 12 or more seconds - which is a life time of blaring noise and plenty of time to prepare for what might be climbing the stairs.
So we have drilled on the best route to protect ourselves, how about you? I know gun owners, mostly hunters who do not keep home protection weapons handy and I wonder why. As we all get older, there is always someone younger, faster, stronger and stupider that might try to pull off a home invasion and I believe you need to equalize the threat, if not neutralize it. And it's all an insurance policy against the worse case scenario - a stranger in your home that might be there to steal anything valuable for drugs or God help us, cause harm to our families. The latter may happen, but not without a fight to someone's death.
So, what do you protect your home with and why? And I didn't mention carry much here because I can't comment on what I can't do - but when you aren't home, what goes with you?