[Min]

I just got a FAL that is nice and compact, and was thinking it might make a good home defense carbine given the right ammo.

Anyone know of good .308 ammo that will not overpenetrate and do a number on the BG?

[LAK]

What length is the barrel?

[Nightcrawler]

.308 ammo penetrates, and penetrates well. This is an advantage on the battlefield, but...for home defense, firing at a badguy through a wall might not hold up so well with the DA.

I'd look at specialty ammunition. Stuff designed to fragment, usually light bullets at high velocity, like Hornady TAP. And, if at all possible, test it before you count on it. The AR guys all say that drywall and sheetrock stop 5.56mm, but I wouldn't count on it stopping .308 unless I saw it with my own eyes.

Depends on where you live, too.

[Treylis]

What kind of FAL did you get?

[TODD3465]

Start reloading and use the SPEER 125gr "TNT" bullet.

[Thrash1982]

I've got a FAL and it's so long and heavy it's not very well suited to home defense. It comes up slow and is hard to maneuver in a hall or stairwell. Something lighter and shorter like an AK, AR or shotgun would be better suited for home defense.

[Min]

What kind of FAL did you get?


I'll post a pic soon. It's got OD furniture. Imbel Gear Logo receiver.

[WhiteKnight]

shotgun would be better suited for home defense.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

Take a look at the Hornady 155gr AMAX for a round that has less penetration than most .308 but still has very effective terminal performance (also note that less penetration than most .308 doesn't mean it won't zip through several layers of most internal walls easily)

[Rotty]

If you reload you can find frangible bullets in .308 on ebay or gunbroker.

[PAC 762]

Remember that your home defense weapon may also need to be shown to a jury.... Would you prefer the jury sees a 12 guage pumpgun loaded with deer ammo, or an FAL loaded with specialty ammo (aka super-duper, cop-killer, explosive ammo)???

On top of that, the shotgun is more suited to the job at hand.

[Jeff White]

I second the Hornady 155gr AMAX. Dr. Gary Roberts has done extensive testing and it's the load he recommends.

Jeff

[natedog]

Show me a few examples where the type of firearm (non-NFA) used in self-defense made a difference in the ruling of a defensive shoot, and I'll buy that. A clean shoot is a clean shoot.

[Ian]

What Rotty said. The US made frangible .30-06 for use in training anti-aircraft gunners. They're throw extra armor on a fighter, give the gunners frangible ammo, and let 'em loose. I have no idea how frangible the stuff is (its made of a combination of powdered bakelite and lead), but I have a few rounds of it in its original loading and it seems like it would disintegrate nicely. You can tell it by a green tip, white stripe below the green, and grey-green bullet color.

Get some pulled bullets, and you might not have much trouble handloading "house" ammo.

[Treylis]

Remember that your home defense weapon may also need to be shown to a jury.... Would you prefer the jury sees a 12 guage pumpgun loaded with deer ammo, or an FAL loaded with specialty ammo (aka super-duper, cop-killer, explosive ammo)???

If it's a righteous shoot, that shouldn't be a problem, plus, he's in Texas. Frankly, I'd still take a shotgun for home defense, but if I didn't have anything else I wouldn't think twice about an evil black rifle of any variety.

[Red_SC]

I'm with Todd. The lightweight Hornady TNT bullet is a varment bullet, designed to expand very rapidly and violently, which results in less overpenetration. A guy on another site (Snipershide maybe?) tried some of the milsurp frangible bullets. He said don't use them, they don't fragment the way they're supposed to if they don't hit steel. So, they might penetrate as far as a soft point in sheetrock, etc. The shock of striking the steel is what powders it.

[JShirley]

125 or 110 grain varmint ammo should work, but be sure you test it. I've fired my rounds into water-filled milk jugs before. The ratio is something like penetration of 5 inches of water equals 2 inches of gelatin.

John

[Snowdog]

If all I could use for home defense was an FAL, I would likely choose 125gr Ballistic Tips as the defensive fodder.
With some shops selling this for over $1 a pop, this isn't economical by anyone's standards... but this 125gr expanding/fragmenting slug pushed to 3200 FPS sure beats hardball in both terminal performance and safety.

I briefly Googled to find this, I'm sure there are plenty of other shops that will roll this combo up for you (Georgia Arms may be among them, come to think of it).

125gr Nosler Ballistic Tips (http://www.cpcartridge.com/308winP.htm)

[birdv]

Goodluck I tested different 308 out of my L1A1 on phonebooks and everything went through. The AR made it through the phonebooks also. I would try something super light or non lead.

[JShirley]

50 grain .223 Fed HP penetrated considerably less in water than good 9mm HPs.

[greg531mi]

Don't they make a Glasser in 308? I use them in my 380 and 9mm, I would hate it when the BG ducks, and I get my neighbor.... get a shotgun, unless you are way out in the country

[Mannlicher]

Come on Min, anything you feed a .308 is gonna penetrate everything in the house.

[PAC 762]

Show me a few examples where the type of firearm (non-NFA) used in self-defense made a difference in the ruling of a defensive shoot, and I'll buy that. A clean shoot is a clean shoot.

I don't know how to read a jurer's mind. If I did, I'd be a lot richer. :)

If you want to laugh at my suggestion, that's fine, but I know the majority of defense shootings (regardless of circumstance) end up in civil suits. I work in this environment and know that a plaintiff's attorney will have a field day deposing you about your EBR.

My $.02

(edited for spelling)