Need advice on a HD rifle...

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I won't use a rifle for HD. It's too easy to shoot through the walls & kill a family member or neighbor. All I use is a 12 Gauge Pump Shotgun with #9 shot. It will turn a human into hamburger meat & the psychological terror of hearing one get racked into the chamber will chase most intruders off.
 
You can think of it as a "home defense" rifle, but reality is that in a home defense situation, the only time you should use ANY rifle is if it is the only gun available at the time.

Inside the house, any handgun, even a pocket gun is easier to maneuver (doorways, etc) and outside the house, how do you justify shooting at ranges where a rifle is needed?

THe shotgun is very popular, although having the long gun's disadvantages inside the house, the lack of long range penetration is a benefit. Defensive shooting is a short range proposition. It is an extremely rare situation when it isn't.

Now, if the rifle is going to have another use (pest control, hunting, target shooting -formal or informal), and still be somewhat useful in a defensive situation, thats a bit different.

The Marlin lever guns (or Winchesters when you can find them) in a pistol caliber (.357mag, .44 mag, etc) are find handy guns, and while not as handy as a pistol inside the house, are much better than a bigger "hunting" rifle.

And they have the plus of NOT being a handgun, something that might be important depending on the laws where you are.

I gave my father in law a Marlin 1894 carbine in .357 one Christmas, for protection when he went camping. He wasn't a real gun person, but he loved the gift. Carried it in his camper for years on their trips. And he never had to worry about the laws in different states about handguns.
 
Thanks for the information and experience guys. I have decided to acquire another shotgun and also a handgun.
 
Using a rifle is fine for home defense if thats what you want to use. The issue is the ammo. You need to find some frangible ammo or varmiter style ammo that will break apart on contact and not overpenetrating. You have a great home defense weapon now with your mossberg. I would look at the frangible ammo thing if you want a rifle caliber or maybe you could get a pistol caliber lever action or semi auto which I think you would be better served using.
 
White Mamba said:
All I use is a 12 Gauge Pump Shotgun with #9 shot. It will turn a human into hamburger meat & the psychological terror of hearing one get racked into the chamber will chase most intruders off.
Click to expand...

Nice, you got two fallacies into one sentence.

Bird shot is not generally recommended for defense and even those few who do advocate it suggest #4 or larger, certainly not #9.

The chamber of a defense shotgun should be kept loaded not 'racked' to scare an intruder.

The reasons are first its slow and second it gives away your location.

What if when you 'scared' the intruder he responded by firing his weapon in the direction of the racking sound?
 
The argument that you should use a handgun for HD over a rifle due to overpenetration is absolutely false. Problem is, it seems like common sense. That's why it gets repeated over and over and over... But, real world ballistics suggest otherwise.

This is just one site that has a ton of links based in science and actual shootings, not just what some guy on a forum thinks....

http://www.firearmstactical.com/wound.htm

Basically, if you use HP or soft point modern rifle rounds, your penetration will be roughly the same as a JHP pistol round. The difference is the temporary wound cavity and ft/lbs you will hit the bad guy with. IMO, if you're in a defensive position (i.e. calling the police from inside your bedroom) you can't beat a rifle or shotgun (not with birdshot, but on that note---00 buck penetrates more than almost all handgun calibers...). If you're clearing rooms to get to your family members, perhaps a handgun would be best. It's comes down to your comfort level and expertise with the platform.
 
Its hard to use a lever action 1 handed. Never know when you could become disabled in a home defense situation.

Shotgun is a fine option for home defense and every home should have one imo. However nothing you can legally shoot from a shotgun will defeat body armor. Same for handguns.

I have an AK 47 for my main defense weapon for the following reasons
#1 easy to operate with one hand for 30 rounds anyway
#2 will defeat body armor
#3 epitome of reliability
#4 bayonet makes a useful tool and a strong deterrent against someone attempting to disarm you. Bayonet will also defeat body armor.
#5 since ill most likely never need a home defense weapon its cheap and fun to shoot

Get something you will take to the range and get comfortable with and hope that you never need it for its intended purpose
 
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