Bullet penetration

R

Road Dog

Inactive
Back to the home defense carbine, I'm going towards the direction of either an M-1 Carbine or a Ruger mini 14. My biggest concern is about the wall penetration of my home. Can anybody give me any ideas on the pros and cons of the different rifles/calibers? Thanks RD
 
Road Dog being the expert that I ain't, you can take this for what it's worth. I would think any rifle round could/would penetrate almost any wall in a conventional house. I also think most handgun rounds would do the same. There was talk awhile back about a shotgun being used for such situations as you are talking about. I really don't remember what #buckshot was deemed the best for inside the house usage w/ the least likelyhood of going through a wall you don't want it to go through. if you do a search, you might be able to find it, or i'm sure someone else has a better memory than I. my.02

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fiat justitia
 
Glaser and Magsafe both makes rounds just for these uses. You can get them in rifle calibers.

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
Yes both 30carbine (7.62x33) and .223Rem (5.56 nato) will go well beyond the average soft wall constuctions, brick might stop one if it was an HP or SP, my choice would be the 30carbine with eiher SP or HP ammo it is a less powerfull round as far as speed goes but fire a heavier bullet with more cross section and threfore acts more like a pistol than a rifle in performance I have read and feel it to be true that the M1carbine is about equale to a .357mag in abality aginst man sized targets.
 
Thanks for your input. How would the two compare if the .223 was loaded with ballistic tips? Any ideas? Thanks again,
RD
 
Road Dog: By the time the ballistic-tipped .223 goes through the second or third wall, it will no longer be an effective man-stopper.

The .30 Carbine is better than a loud scream and I wouldn't want to be shot with one, but I would not select one as my primary defense weapon. If you do have one for self-defense, use hollow points or the 100-grain "Plinkers" loaded to the max. If you use GI ammo, make sure you don't quit shooting until the problem is obviously ended. There's a reason for the M2's selector switch...

For your choices, I'd take the Mini-14.

Regards, Art

[This message has been edited by Art Eatman (edited May 27, 1999).]
 
Road Dog,

>>M-1 Carbine or a Ruger mini 14. My biggest concern is about the wall penetration of my home<<

You're right to be concerned..., with either weapon.

I once owned a 6" barrelled Ruger Security-Six in .357 Mag. Loaded it with 140 gr. CCI/Speer Lawman ammo.

My ex-wife..., after swearing she'd *NEVER* touch my guns again (after shooting a couple and being terrified by the blast and recoil)..., she heard "a sound" one afternoon, grabbed my .357, and accidently fired a round. That 140 grains went though a closet wall, through the closet, through two bathroom walls (and would've drilled, dead center, anyone sitting on the potty :) ), through the dining room and dining room wall, through a kitchen cabinet..., finally lodging in a cabinet door on the far side of the kitchen. I found the separated jacket from the slug.., I think.., in the dining room.

I hate to think what a rifle might've done...
 
!

Does she still shoot?

:)

Repeat after me...
I will buy Magsafes for home defense, I will buy Magsafes for home defense...

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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
I think that researching this subject will show many "desireable" pistol rounds, e.g. HydraShok, Gold Dot, Golden Sabre, etc, penetrating interior walls much more than will many .223 rounds.

I think the IWBA has done studies on this very topic, although I can't seem to find the particular report at present.
 
IMHO, a shotgun with #7 shot will take care of almost any situation at close range without excess penetration.

It is better for legal purposes also. ("I grabbed my hunting gun" sounds better than "I grabbed my AR15 assault rifle with the laser sight and the 30 round magazine".)

My personal home defense gun is a .45 M1911A1 which is utterly reliable and also will not overpenetrate. I would have to be concerned not only with my own house but also neighbors' houses less than 100 feet away.

Jim
 
Kodiac,

>>Does she still shoot?
Repeat after me...
I will buy Magsafes for home defense, I will buy Magsafes for home defense...<<

:) Actually, the first round in the .45 beside my bed is a Magsafe..., the rest are hydroshocks.

I don't think my ex ever played with guns again... she's got a nice, numb scarred fingerpad to remind her of the one round she put through our house. She had her left hand near the barrel, and took the flesh off the pad of her "bird" finger, down to the bone.

My BM59, otoh...., it'll shoot through concrete! :)

Kirk
 
I used to own a Mini14. I sold it, got an AR15. Then I got a Mak90 and Garand. And now I have an M1 carbine. Based on handling and size, I'd go with the Mak90 or the M1 carbine or even a handgun (Glock 17, most likely) inside a home.
Mini14 did not strike me as all that reliable or accurate as a rfile. For in-house range, I feel that handling would be more important than accuracy. The only thing that the 30 carbine can't do all that well is penetrate body armor. However, having 15 or 30 rounds of .357mag equivalent on tap in a package with slight recoil and noise compared to .223 looks good). 7.62x39 is also quieter than .223, has a more potent round than the M1...and more likely to overpenetrate.

If lack of penetration is an important issue, a 20 gauge shotgun with birdshot (#4 or so) wouldbe ideal. However, 30 carbine is closer to that ideal than .223
 
Art. Stick with hollow points or soft nosed bullets in the M-1 carbine. Speer plinkers will not feed reliably. I have video of me shooting one with Plinkers, and more time is spent clearing jams than actual shooting.
Paul B.
 
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