AR-15

[Eidolon20]

great guns but no disrespect here but its one of the worst choices for home defense. If you want the best home defense weapon then nothing is better than a 12 gauge pump shot gun with a short but legal barrel. The reason is simple. A shotgun is simple to use and does not require a great deal of motor memory skills. second is that if you are in a situation in which you have to use it in your home, you dont have to be exactly on target with it. a rifle and hand gun you will have too. keep in mind that there will be a great deal of distress being experienced at this time so aiming isnt the best for anyone. another very big and i mean big deal is that with a shotgun you dont really have to worry about it going out side the room or at least though your house to the outside. with that rifle or any for that matter. it will go through your house, your neighbors house and your neighbors neighbors house. I think we can all see how dangerous that scenario is... just my opinion....

I must respectfully disagree. I respect the choice of a shotgun for home defence; however, such a choice should be made with facts considered, instead of long standing myths.

All firearms used in a defensive situations should be aimed at the target somehow, whether it is looking through sights, looking down the top of the barrel, or looking down the slide of an autopistol. The firearm must be pointed at the target to hit the target. Hollywood has given us many bs lines about only having to be close with a shotgun, but the truth is, that at inside the house ranges (10-15yds.), with an 18" or longer barrel, the cone of shot is not wide enough to eliminate the need to aim.

Virtually all firearms/ammunition combinations suitable for self defence are capable of penetrating the interior walls of most homes and still be lethal to those on the other side. The 5.56mm cartridge, in most loadings, tends to penetrate less than typical handgun and shotgun rounds do after going through a typical interior wall. This is one of the many reasons patrol carbines in 5.56 are gradually replacing shotguns as law enforcement's long arm of choice.

I'll agree with you that pump shotguns have a simpler manual of arms than an AR-15. Those who rely on a firearm for self defence should practice/train enough with it to become proficient in its use. The AR-15 is not difficult to become proficient with.

Karl

+1

Shotgun are great for home defense, but mainly for the energy they produce on impact and the ease of use. The spread at 25 yds on 12 gauge is usually still in the body mass, so you'd have to aim.
A .223/5.56 hollowpoint round basically explodes on impact from what I've read, so they don't tend to over penetrate. Actually, thats one of the complaints of soldiers, not enough penetration.

Um...since hollow-points are illegal for warfare most soldiers I know complain about over penetration, not a lack of. The standard ball ammo travels at approx 3,000 fps and has a metal core designed to punch through helmets. From personal experience I can say that when firing this extremely light, fast ammunition at unarmored targets the over penetration is pretty severe. With that said, the civilian ammunition does somewhat remedy this by removing the metal core and by offering hollow-point/frangible rounds.

There are alot of things that go into choosing a good home defense weapon. Over penetration is a big one, as well as ease of use and how you intend to use the weapon. Manual shotguns are simple to use, easy to perform immediate action on, and can cover a much larger area. If your home has a long hallway, an internal stairwell, or a narrow choke of some sort then a shotgun may be a good weapon to choose. Plus, just the sound of the pump operating is probably enough to make any intruder seriously reconsider his actions.

Also keep in mind that for a home defense weapon you just have to be able to protect your home. Most states do not allow you to fire outside of your home, so the limited range of a shotgun or handgun should not really be a consideration. Hope this added food for thought...

 

[GA_boi]

Here's my home defense

 

[Mr Bogus]

AR15 for home defense... maybe if the USA is invaded... I go with 2 weapons.. 12G and a 45 acp..

neither has a habit of blasting through walls after hitting a body (if you have kids this is important) I can also vouch for the knock down power of a .20 gauge with #7 shot...

 

[Loki08]

An AR-15 is perfectly fine for home defense. So is a 12ga. So is .45acp XD.

Training and ammo selection make the biggest difference. Take some training courses, and learn how to defend your home. It will go a LOT farther than arguing which firearm is better for the task.

 

[300Busa]

You just need a bigger/better gun than the guy you are shooting at.

 

[NPD3507]

This is my patrol rifle and newest toy.
SIGARMS 556 Holo - comes with a 2 stage trigger, holographic sight w/ 3 apatures, new gas piston design, 1913 picatinny rails...collapsable stock..takes standard ar-15 mags. We are issued hornady TAP rounds, they will penatrate 1 layer of sheetrock, but not 2...perfect for building serches..

I added a grip pod, streamlight TLR-2 LIGHT/LASER system and 3 point sling..remote switch on order for light..Also have an EOtech sight, nv compatable and ordering the 3x optical magnifier.

 

[Mr Bogus]

you know the Windy is trying to go deploy full auto M4 tacticals.... They say the street cops are simply out-gunned...

 

[NPD3507]

Till the last couple of years, we were not allowed to carry rifles at all...The hornady tap round is really the only thing that made believers out of the administration....So now, I have my Smith & Wesson M&P sidearm, Glock model 22 .40 cal as a backup, Remington 870 pump shotgun (mounted in car) and my SIG 556.  I have plenty of ammunition in the trunk for all the weapons...lol

I'm actually waiting for the 1st Zombie attack to happen, i'll be set for quite a while...

As soon as Uncle sam decides to give me my money, i'm ordering a M1 Grand from the Civilian marksmanship program online....Going to get a match barrell for it and make it my distance gun....Whoot

 

[321CYA]

great guns but no disrespect here but its one of the worst choices for home defense. If you want the best home defense weapon then nothing is better than a 12 gauge pump shot gun with a short but legal barrel. The reason is simple. A shotgun is simple to use and does not require a great deal of motor memory skills. second is that if you are in a situation in which you have to use it in your home, you dont have to be exactly on target with it. a rifle and hand gun you will have too. keep in mind that there will be a great deal of distress being experienced at this time so aiming isnt the best for anyone. another very big and i mean big deal is that with a shotgun you dont really have to worry about it going out side the room or at least though your house to the outside. with that rifle or any for that matter. it will go through your house, your neighbors house and your neighbors neighbors house. I think we can all see how dangerous that scenario is... just my opinion....

+1

 

[Revlis]

You might be talking about my post not too long ago. <a href="https://www.hayabusa.org/forums/?act=ST;f=12;t=61640" onclick="window.open(this.href,'_blank');return false;">"Rev's New Rifle".
</a>
Be careful, the internet is full of "experts" on everything from what's best for home defense, to why a .40cal is gods gift to handguns. Most of these "experts" are just as bad as the 50 something knowitall Range master/Mall Ninja A55hole we have all met at the range or your local gunshop.

So do your own research, think for yourself and try not to get caught up in the hype... LOTS OF HYPE... "Colt Is best".... RRA is Best... Blah Blah blah...

Besides, everyone knows that you buy Smith & Wesson cause they are superior...

Cue the Legions of Brilliant pundits to explain how Smith only Finishes, and Assembles their AR's... Blah Blah Blah... Just Haters...

Cheers...

Oh and FWIW, the AR is getting pretty long in the tooth. It's a fantastic Rifle and I love mine, but the SIG above and some others are superior in many ways...

Some recent shots... Sorta...

Magpul Grip,

Extended Charging handle latch.

Still not sure about the vertical foregrip... I dunno, it's handy, but I'm not convinced.

Just remember AR15s are basically SURs... Sport Utility Rifles. They serve little to NO useful civilian purpose, but they look cool, are fun to mess with, and are pretty tough. There are very few right or wrong answers.

 

[NPD3507]

I agree with your post totally Rev.

I figure that the guy is in the Military (Guard or otherwise) and already has had the training on this weapon system. Its what he asked about and what he wants. Does not matter why he wants it or what he is going to use it for...Nice M&P

 

[Aceshigh]

As far as a shotgun being the best home defense weapon, opinions vary, but I tend
to agree that just the chambering of a shell ALONE is quite intimidating enough
for a would be burglar to hear. Bullets leave little holes.....shotguns take off limbs.

Now only that, but varying upon location and your social culture you dwell in, you
don't want to miss or slow them down you want to HALT them. So a shotgun is guaranteed
to do that. The downside is they are long and bulky.

However myself, I keep my shotgun secured well, and my pistol near my pillow.
I like to have something easily accessible and maneuverable myself.
I'm expert pistol qualified several times over in the military so I feel confident
enough in my abilities to take anyone out with it. Plus I have ALOT more deadly
self defense rounds at my disposal, and it really only takes one of these evils sumbitches
to shut someone down bad.

There is a reason ROCK RIVER won the DEA contracts

Yeah, they bid the lowest.....

That's how all govt contracts are won.

and of course they passed the testing. I do agree though that they are top quality.

I do lean into the camp of thought that an AR-15 is just not my first choice as a home
defense weapon. I think it's way overkill myself, and the risk of the rounds going through
your exterior walls into a neighbors are great, depending on the outer casing of your home
of course. But to me, it's dangerous because it's for longer range targets IMHO.

I don't want to miss and accidentally kill some innocent or put holes in my cars in my driveway.

I think a Hydrashock round in a .45 would be better suited for a home defense round.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM517-3593-207.html

 

[Revlis]

Mmmmm I have been eyeballing the Springfield XD45 for awhile now. I've never liked the 1911... From Colt to Kimber none of them work for me, I am just not happy with the feel. But the XD fits nice, the Glock 45 works OK but the XD really fits my hand. I'm a fan of the 45s, bout time I found one I really like.

I'm also after an M14. Give me a real rifle caliber to work with and of course I want a Garand at some point. But next rifle will likely be the M14 Scout Rifle.