Would you use an AR 5.56/.223 for home defense

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I use an AR for home defense. It sounds like this debate hinges on one particular given: that everyone is equally good with everything, so choosing equipment is based on hard data. This is simply not true. I'm prior Army infantry, so the AR15 platform is one I am intimately familiar with. Would a shotgun or pistol be better? Maybe. But, it's not about the bullet or the firearm, it's about the person operating it. If you have the training, and you know the strengths and weaknesses of the platform, be it pistol, rifle, Imperial blaster, etc., then right on.
 
"The odds are gone when you train and practice. Like I said, its confidence in your abilities that eliminate the odds of something going south."

Having an Eotech/ red dot AND a zeroed laser device doesn't hurt either!;)
 
Have you checked a buckshot pattern at bedroom distances? It wouldn't be much trouble to keep them all where they need to be.
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So you mean to tell me that you think a shotgun loaded with buckshot would be just as good to make a precise shot as a rifle and you would actualy take that shot if some thug was holding your loved one next to them with a knife to there throat?????

I am with Kraigway on this I would have no problem making a shot on some thug holding my loved one hostage.
 
LE and military are finding it is a much better choice than the shotgun, which is slowly being replaced by small carbine AR's. True, it is only a single projectile, but at the ranges encountered in a home a shotgun pattern is so small it is in effect a single projectile weapon as well.
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That has to be challenged as a statement.

It is making a conclusion about a situation by attributing it to non related cause.

First the military always found a rifle more effective than a shotgun and for damned good reasons (shotguns were a supplement in some situations).

LEO was forced to go to carbines because they were facing situations where they were OUT RANGED as well as OUT GUNNED.

If you cannot stop the criminal with a shotgun, you have to risk some civilian casualties to stop from having more and issue cabines (and situation where you needed more range than a pistol with something lethal. Awful dilemma.

As for HD, that is also a dilemma. I intend to be as responsible as I can, but I will risk a round hitting a neighbor if I have to deal with someone I thinkis trying to kill my wife or myself.
 
The odds are gone when you train and practice. Like I said, its confidence in your abilities that eliminate the odds of something going south.

I will guarantee you the odds of someone getting out of my sight with my granddaughter are about as close to zero as you can get.

People have doubts of making such a shot because they arn't willing to put in the time, effert, and expense to make the shot. I'm not one of those.
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BG has your little girl flush to his right cheek, covering half his face and part of his torso. He's got a gun at her temple.

You are flushed with adrenalin and shaky.

You're sure you're going to make that shot? Really? :rolleyes:
 
Yes, a 5.56/.223 will provide a one stop shot with hollow points under normal circumstances. Even if the guy is a big hulking muscle head on drugs, it shouldn't take more than two to put him down...
 
You're sure you're going to make that shot? Really?​
If Cap'n Kraig can't make the shot, who can? He has the training, natural ability, and experience that 99.9% of us just dream about.
 
No way too much muzzle flash and noise. Have fired a .357 snub indoors with no hearing protection (dropped my hearing protection by accident forgot to put em back on). The sound of the blast is like getting hit with a flashbang grenade and can incapacitate you, not something I want to deal with when fighting for my life. My ears ring to this day from the incident and im not joking.
 
Dragline- I had the displeasure of being indoors with no hearing protection when a .357 snub was fired. Not fun. And yes it leaves a ring in your ears for a good bit.
Living on acreage, I find a carbine handy for shooting pitbulls who come ravaging into the property. Seems folks dump them off here. But being that I keep a loaded Ruger mini handy, I think it would be my go-to weapon if trouble came a knockin. If one prefers an AR- well then I say go for it. As long as you dont have neighbors closeby to worry about.
 
BG has your little girl flush to his right cheek, covering half his face and part of his torso. He's got a gun at her temple.

You are flushed with adrenalin and shaky.

You're sure you're going to make that shot? Really?
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Shoot the hostage. Take them out of the equation.

QwRND.jpg
 
BG has your little girl flush to his right cheek, covering half his face and part of his torso. He's got a gun at her temple.

You are flushed with adrenalin and shaky.

You're sure you're going to make that shot? Really?
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Yeap, in a heart beat. I've been training to take that shot, and training others to take that shot for over 30 years.

What I haven't trained for, is to let someone hurt my girls.

You eliminate the stress of such activity by training and practice. Never ending training. A bit of tactics can come in handy but those aren't too hard to learn.
 
"Yeap, in a heart beat. I've been training to take that shot, and training others to take that shot for over 30 years."


I'm calling BS right here.

USMC + Hostage rescue = no sale.
 
Quite frankly Whatever is closest becomes your favorite weapon real quickly if somebody is invading your home, armed or not. Looking at hard numbers? Shotgun spreads at 5-10 meters with buckshot? yeah the wad probably holds the spread together pretty well, As far as a pistol goes? If it's a .45 Expect it to go through a piece of drywall. Expect a .22 to go through drywall. As far as military training takes me in terms of close range combat with a V.I.P or hostage situation? Shotguns are a big No-no. Your odds of FF or hitting civvies goes way up. these high caliber pistols people keep going on about, I'm not convinced, There's this little thing called recoil, and it royally sucks on a .45 or whatever else your shooting, And everyone should know that the more recoil you have, The longer it takes for you to place more shots. I personally would go with the AR-15 platform only because it's similar Specs to the M16A1 rifle. I was trained and deployed with the weapon, So naturally it would be my first pick in a fire fight. So my conclusion? AR-15 would be my first pick if handed to me, Why? Prior training, Attachments for better placed shots, Flashlight accessories, and minimal recoil not to mention if you have a 30 round clip, You should have enough ammo to push through a firefight if your not a complete ****-tard and unload on your couch.
 
I'm still on the fence about this. As I am moving to a larger place with longer possible fields of fire, I must now concentrate on possibly changing my beloved primary carry weapon from it's secondary duty of HD in favor of a shotgun or AR-type carbine. I'll be hashing it out for the next year or so probably. I do have both a good AR and an autoloading tac shotgun, both of which I have become quite proficient with, along with a PLR-16, which may even enter the fray. I must admit it is nice to have choices.
 
AK2323

"Yeap, in a heart beat. I've been training to take that shot, and training others to take that shot for over 30 years."


I'm calling BS right here.

USMC + Hostage rescue = no sale.
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PM in route, read the third line of the instructor certification.
 
Kraigwy: It means "self evident" which to me isn't factual. Anyway... AK2323: So what alternative do you propose in the scenario you described? Just stand there and do nothing?? That's why Kraigwy's advice about training is so relevant. I remember the first time I killed a deer... tunnel vision, hands shaking and all that. Now, after many hunts, it's not even an issue. I'm not equating targets nor situations, but rather how over time with experience the physiological and psychological barriers to performance can be overcome to a great extent. True, you can't predict everything, and if things can go wrong they probably will, but back to my original question... what other option could you have at that moment??
 
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