Rifles for home defense?

To answer the original question... I do not prefer a rifle for all the reasons previously listed.
I was a boy scout and was raised by family members that taught "prior planning prevents piss poor performance"... My grand parents were well armed huntin' folks. Either was likely to grab a 12 gauge or a .30-06 for home defense and I pity the fool that faced down either... Granny was a better shot than gramps!
Since I have kids in the house I prefer my mossberg 18 inch barrel 20 gauge. I load it with 2) 7 1/2 than 2)#3buck 1)00buck and a final shot is a slug...
TACTICS and TRAINING RULE THOUGH! In each house I reside I quickly and methodically TRAIN to be fully aware of layout in the dark. My family know that if it is dark and I ask in a commanding voice "WHOS THERE"... daddy is fully armed!!! They just gotta say... "its me daddy"! If I feel there is someone in my house who doesn't belong I am gonna be ready to commence firing in the dark with birdshot so the BG's yelp lets me know which quadrant of the room he is occupying so when I cross the door way I am ready to engage. I may or may not want the light on until after the second shot. I have no formal SD HD professional training but would take courses if I could afford the cash outlay. I have done my best to mentally prepare and practice for accuracy, different types of gun handling that may be forced on me, close quarters combat etc.
In the case of loved one held hostage... I have a mean ass wife, a burly 17 YO son, and a pretty brave 16 year old daughter who I just asked what she would do if grabbed and her reply was kick him in the nuts... I than asked what if he had a gun or knife on you? She said she would stand still. But if I say DUCK she would lean over... I know it ain't the best gun for this scenario but I think at the close range I would be at that it would be a very small shot spread so a head shot is possible. If they take my wife... THEY DESERVE WHAT THEY GET!!!:D:D:D
Brent
 
Which family member?
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. My keyboard (barely) remained un-drenched. Seriously, I would have no qualms about tagging a BG in close proximity to family with a scattergun at close quarters. The pattern is tighter than many might assume.

The main problem with long arms for home defense is that they're more cumbersome at close quarters. Harder to bring to bear on a close assailant and easier to have taken away from you. And when you're talkin' about a rifle, it can wreak havoc miles away from the engagement.
My CX4 is my primary weapon. My Beretta 96 is intended to fight my way to my CX4. Convenient since they share mags.
 
You said you had a SiG P220; I would opt for that. My HD is a H&K USP45C. Secondly (if not another handgun) an AR15 tactical carbine. As far as shotguns, well, some of us aren't that great with a shotgun. And besides, I shoot a .45 rather well, and handguns are the easiest weapon to handle, especially in my small house.
 
Rifles/Shotguns have there place but for the home owner I would recommend a pistol every time. Then would recommend a ton of training and lots of ammo.
A pistol is easier to safely store and secure, easier to handle, carries more rounds (depending on what you choose), easier to train others to use (family members), easier to reload and gives you one had free if needed.
Now that being said, if you know something is coming, a rifle every time. Being prepared is one thing, being prepared, trained and having a plan is something that will bring you out on top.
 
A little food for thought.

1. A .223 with proper ammo will penetrate walls with harmful results less than most 9mm or .45 cal pistol ammo.

2. Most people shoot rifles better than they do handguns.

3. Rifles (AR-style) hit harder than handguns.

4. Rifles carry more ammo.

5. Bad guys who do home invasions actually TRAIN these days. Do you?

6. Bad guys often wear body armor. Handguns may not work. A .223 will most likely penetrate soft body armor.

7. Bad guys who do home invasions often come in bunches. You may need more ammo than your handgun carries.

8. Put a set of electronic ear muffs with your AR. With them, you can hear better, and you protect your hearing should you have to fire that carbine indoors. Harbor Freight has them for under $20.

9. If you have not been trained by someone who knows what the heck he/she is doing, you probably have no idea how to handle ANY long gun inside a home for personal defense, and you are almost guaranteed to get some/most of it wrong.

10. Almost everything you see in movies and episodic TV about how to handle a gun for personal protection is WRONG.

Tom

www.guntalk.tv
 
This is another of those questions that get as many answers as responders. But if I could have only one gun for HD it would be a 12 ga. pump shotgun. That being said, I keep a 12 ga. pump and a number 45 ACPs in different locations around the house.
 
which to use?

Yeah I am affraid only 2 or 3 people think like I do here. I would say P220, or P226 as my first chioce. Put in context of an emergency, and with stress levels high I wouldn't think I would pick up the closest 1. I would take the P220 first if I had time to think about it, but we are talking about someone breaking into your house.

I love shotguns, but only would use if it was only thing I had. why? because you have a long barrel to deal with. and lets be honest, things will happen fast, you stick that barrel out a bedroom door and try to swing it to aim?? I just dont see it. Sure outside it is ideal. and very effective, but inside I don't think much of a shotgun. I have the same feeling for same reasons with rifle. It would be my last choice for 2 reasons. hard to aim indoors, and over penetraition. Do you really want to shoot a rifle that will shoot through the BG then the wall and into the next room, maybe further? Now, the 30-30 is not a bad choice being a carbine, but still you have a load that will pass through the BG and likely the next drywall, and keep going. With a .45 or 9mm w/ hydra-shock, or silver tips loads you will not have this problem as bad, and they will be a LOT easier to control and use around corners, in and through doors.

Try for yourself 1 day, take your shotgun unloaded when no one is home, in your bedroom walk out how you would. Imagin yourself stressed and how you will quickly aquire a target down the hall. Imagin how this barrel will look comming out the door? will you walk out the door fast? slow? what if the BG is fairly close? will you still be able to lift it to shoot it? Now do the same thing with the P220 do you have better control? you can keep the gun down and out of site until you see your target, and can aim very quick at a target 2-5 feet away. you dont even have to aim really just point at center mass that close and you will hit what you need to.
 
Bama rifleman... What is your plan to defend against several Home invaders armed with a 12GA Pump and several .45 acp handguns?:eek:
This was pulled from the Box o truth shotgun test!
Lessons learned:
1. Notice that the #4 and #1 Buck penetrated 6 boards. In previous tests, 9mm, .45 ACP, and M-193 out of an AR all penetrated all 12 boards.

So, it seems that these loads do not "over-penetrate" as much as some have led us to believe.

The 00 Buck penetrated 8 boards, but was stopped by the 9th. Still not as much penetration as the pistol or rifle loads.

The slug penetrated all 12 boards.

2. Once again, please notice the size of the entrance spreads....2 1/2" to 3 1/2". Therefore, anyone that says, "With a shotgun, you don't even have to aim. Just point it in the general area of the bad guy, and you can't miss", does not know what they are talking about.

You can very easily miss with a shotgun. You must aim to hit your target.

3. The slugs were "bad" penetrators. By that, I mean that they will penetrate several interior walls. If you have loved ones in your home, consider this as you select your home defense weapon.

4. I "racked" the shotgun several times during the tests, and no bystanders lost control of their bowels.
Conclusion: Racking a shotgun will not make the bad guy faint.

Frankly, I was surprised that the shotgun did not penetrate more than it did. I had been led to believe that they penetrated more than a .223 rifle or a 9mm or .45 ACP. Such was not the case.

Amazing what you can learn by doing a little testing.
 
<<Imagin how this barrel will look comming out the door? will you walk out the door fast? slow? what if the BG is fairly close? will you still be able to lift it to shoot it? >>

Training addresses this. No need to imagine.
 
Hey Silentarmy

Any test involving "boards" can be readily discarded as they have no bearing on terminal balistics as they relate to human flesh. Crush cavities can't be quantitated with boards and these cavities play a key role in incapacitation.
Stick with animals or balistic gelatin testing and your data will be mch more realistic.
 
Agree with the pro-shotgun folks. But, if this is a question, I do keep my M1A in the safe with 10 rounds of Hornady 110gr TAP. Best load for the house, but it's more for the Katrina type situations.

My 10mm, and Winchester 12 ga. is for the gang bangers - after they penetrate the alarm system and my 3 akitas.

Tom
 
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