Using AR or AK as a defensive weapon

The AK/AR is best for home defense because naturally your going to hit the target more frequently, it's not as long as a legal shotgun, has 30 rounds, rarely jams, plus its imtimidating.
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There really isn't a rule that states that a semi auto rifle will hit a target more frequently than a single shot 12 gauge. The 30 rounds doesn't hurt though. But when you unleash rounds you have a responsibilty to your family members and your neighbors.

Personally, if someone broke into my house I would attempt to identify with voice, naturally if they don't answer I warn them I'm about to unleash, warn them they have to the count of 5 seconds to leave.
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Imagine I'm an evil criminal doing a house raid. I hear a voice that tells me to stop. I take my Tec-9 and unleash an entire mag in your general direction. Why? Because I don't care about neighbors or backstops.

You can't just fire/yell at a noise that you heard. It makes no tactical sense and it might get you: #1- Sent to prison or #2 - Killed. Target ID is essential.
 
My personal philosophy is that pistols are only for those times when you can't get to a rifle or a shotgun.
The pistol's purpose is to escort you from your bed to your gun cabinent or closet.
For close encounters, I would prefer the shotgun, pump or automatic, 12 gage, but I could certainly understand someone choosing a handy rifle instead.
 
I use a bushmaster M-17S for home defense with wolf hollowpoints (what can i say, theyre cheap), that and i have a few .22 rifles layin about the house as well
 
Shotguns are not always the best option either. If you have family members, or roommates, you take a chnace of hitting one of them with the spread of buckshot.

Right now I am leaning toward my 9mm carbine with +p hollowpoints, and my trusty 1911 for defensive situations. IF I need more than that the FAL is close at hand.
 
HKmp5sd says: The police and media are very likely to play upon the fact you used an "assault rifle" and you can be sure the family of whoever you shoot is going to sue you over it. But if you are skillful and lawful in it's use, there isn't a whole lot they can do about it.


I think the LAST thing I would be worried about when confronted with a life or death defensive situation, would be what some one else thought of my choice of weapons. I have what is to me, the best choice of weapons to defend myself and my family, and will not hesitate to use them if necessary.

If the family sues, they sue. So be it.
 
aye to that. I'd rather be sued by Johnnie Cochran than dead...

But I still say a shotgun's the best for home defense. If 30 people are attacking my house, they're probably gonna get me no matter how much ordinance I'm packing...


And the nice cha-chunk of a 12 gauge is awfully intimidating....







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Yeah I believe in Gun Control.... I use both hands!
 
If you're going to worry about getting sued and investigated after an SD need, you'd better limit yourself to a lamp or something that's in every home, maybe a chair so you can clearly worry about whether or not your estate is in order.

Otherwise, use an effective tool that you've practiced with and are competent in using.

My choice would be an AR of the two you listed, but an AK would be only a hair behind....
 
Mannlicher,

Being sued is the last thing I would think of also. But anyone that prepares to use a firearm for self defense needs to be aware of what is going to happen following the incident. You should know what physical effects it will have on your mental state, what the cops are going to do when they arrive, dealing with the DA and news media, etc. You can have a successful use of deadly force and hang yourself afterward by your actions.

There is a very high probability you will be sued, no matter how obvious the need for self defense appears. The BG is going to have a family member with a lawyer that smells $$$. The current estimate is that it will cost you at least $20,000 to defend yourself in a legal shooting where you did everything correctly, unless of course, the BG has a swastika on his forehead and his birth certificate says Charles Manson.

The type of gun should not matter, but it does. My 9mm suppressed MP5 is the perfect weapon for home defense. Very accurate, lots of bullets, no noise, no recoil and no overpenetration. To actually use a machinegun in a self defense incident would be legal suicide however. Everyone would focus on the gun.
 
If you really think it can't possibly happen, think back to the last time you saw a gun owner crucified in the press merely for *owning* an "arsenal" with one or two guns that didn't meet the letter of the law. You think the same departments would hold back after you've just shot some poor misguided young man who had just met the girl of his dreams, begun going to church, entered a 12-step program and was beginning to turn his life around?
 
First off, I have limited $ and made some choices that I have to live with for the time being. My primary go-to defensive weapon is my always ready cocked and locked HK USP .45 full size.

We live near a state prison. If word gets out that escapees are on the loose, the AK-47 comes out. If my family, friends or cave are threatened by bad guys and I have time, out comes the AK. SHTF in any way? AK gets the nod. If one USP magazine is emptied and a threat is still present, the other will be emptied on the way to the AK.

For the people that are already cringing... yes, the 8 - 30 round magazines are stoked with FMJs. Sure there are better choices I could have made, but this is the tool I live with when "something bigger" is needed than a pistol.
 
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