Do you keep a rifle within arms reach at home?

No. I have loaded handguns on every level and in most rooms. Also in every vehicle. No need to have rifles loaded but do have some magazines loaded in the safe along with the corresponding rifles. Ranking a home invasion by multiple armored assailants by likelyhood of occurence,I have to place it below being attacked by coyotes(yeah it's POSSIBLE).

I don't keep a rifle handy but I do keep my pump shotty at the ready. My house is fairly small, I don't have to worry about over penetration, and I feel I am better armed with a mag tube of 00 buckshot than my AR. For ME the shotgun is the best HD long gun, I think.

"I don't think giving any sort of description of my defensive firearms,
their state of readiness or my my ideas/tactics/plans for their employment is a good idea on a public forum."

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Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of joining a public forum where a lot of the discussion is about defensive firearms, their state of readiness, or our ideas/tactics/plans for their employment?

"JShirley
Administrator

One last time (in this thread, at least): a high velocity, lightly constructed rifle round is not only extremely effective for stopping deadly threats, it is less of a liability in the event of a miss inside the house.

That .45 or 9mm, OTOH, as sturdy, slower rounds will, is much more a liability in the case of a miss~ if you're handicapped by FMJ, there's liability even if you don't miss."



Absolutely RIGHT... a 52gr bullet moving at 3200fps is a little bomb at close quarters.. and it will defeat most all but the heaviest special purpose body armor.. even then, walk the rounds up to a head shot.. Ask Bin-Laden... oh yeah, I forgot, he is out taking a dip in the pool..

At all times within arm's reach, no. Within arm's reach from bed? Yes. And a spare 30rd mag.

Why do having long guns have anything to do with home invasions or zombie's? Ya'll do realize that home defense weapons can be needed for critters right? (Are zombie's critters???)

I do have pistols around but the longuns are more use. To me.

I keep a pistol handy almost all of the time (goes in the safe when the nieces and nephews visit), and a shotgun in the bedroom. I just don't feel unsafe enough at home to have a rifle every room that I am in. There is one in the bedroom, though.

Rifle, no.

Handguns, yes. A shotgun is kept handy, but not always within arm's reach.

I live in a dense area, where things happen close, so though I have rifles, everything is within shotgun and handgun range, and I do have slugs quickly available. I do believe that a .223 carbine is fine for HD, but I wear a badge for a PD that has rules concerning rifle deployment, and expects us to use approved weapons, and follow policy, 24/7. To be clear, I do not feel much handicapped by these rules, a pump gun is an old friend, even if that friend kicks awfully hard sometimes.

Shotgun deployment is at my discretion, and shotguns adequate for most perceived threats in my area, so I am MUCH more likely to go with a shotgun.

To be clear, a rifle is more efficient for more situations, and after I retire my badge, I will probably relegate the shotgun to fixed-position HD, and move a Mini-14 to first-line HD/utility duty. (I own an AR, too, so have no stake in the debate about which carbine is best; I just like the way a Mini handles.) I may even keep a .308 as the go-to rifle, if I move out of my densely-built and vegetated present hometown.

If I perceive the need, I can have a loaded .308 rifle deployed in about two minutes, but I can select-load Brenneke slugs into a shotgun much quicker, and those slugs will definitely change most cover into mere concealment.

no, not in arms reach. However, my shotgun and my AK could be presented in ~10 seconds from anywhere in my house, and i've got handgun within ~2-3 seconds of me at all times, though usually it's on my person directly.

I live in a close neighborhood so it is pistols & 12ga 00Buck with 18 & 1/2"BBL

I don't have a rifle, yet... but I do keep a loaded 12 gauge by the bed.

No, not close by. All are in the safe. Young children in the house.

Home invasion? I hope not, but you never know.
I may have to rethink my firearm storage arrangement....

I keep a rifle AND a shotgun "pretty handy" in my house. Here's what anyone breaking in will see,



My muscle memory with it has got pretty good over the last 25 plus years it's been my "go to gun", but once it's empty i'll be switching to a handgun i've owned and been shooting even longer...

DM

For the most part. I live in a small place right now and my rifle lives on a wall rack in the hallway at about the center of the house. Very easy to get to from about anywhere. I carry my pistol on me, however, so unless things get REALLY scary, I'm likely to default to that first. DM~, what kind of gun is that? I'd love to see more pics of it.

A rifle is really designed for long range and you would have a hard time convincing a jury of self defense if you shot someone beyond 50 yards unless for some reason they were shooting at you with a rifle. Indoors a shotgun is a lot more practical as it offers unequaled stopping power without ruining your hearing like the sharp crack of a rifle will if fired in a confined area. In anything short of total anarchy where there is no law enforcement and you have to head off of roving gangs of looters, you probably don't need a rifle at arms reach. Heaven forbid, if a situation like that arises you should have more than enough time to fetch an AR out of the closet or safe before widespread looting and rioting starts. The only two times I have seen something like that were the LA riots and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and in both cases it you would have had plenty of warning that things were turning bad if you owned a TV or radio.

Owen, are you saying that one should not use a much more effective weapon for close to mid range (ie the 5-50 feet likely in a home invasion scenario) in favor of a pistol because of what somebody might think? This sounds wrong to me somehow. If my home is broken into, I'm going to use the most effective weapon I have at hand when the event happens. Just because rifles are primarily used for long range doesn't make them any less effective for closer range. Sure, you probably won't be sighting or using a scope unless it's a 1x red dot, but even firing from the hip with a rifle at indoor ranges you're more likely to hit the target than with a pistol in frightened shaky hands.

I live in a rural area on acreage. A loaded rifle is kept handy mostly due to 4-legged creatures that can, on occassion, cause significant problems. At other times, these creatures may be simply legal and entertaining 'targets of opportunity' or a food source (sorry, PETA). A handgun is all but worthless for this duty. A rifle can, though, serve as a double-duty firearm offering significant self-defense capabilities.

For my purposes, if I were allowed only a rifle OR a handgun in the house it would be a rifle. Now, if I were restrained to a suburban/urban environment (restrained is the only way that I would live there) I would pick a handgun. Fortunately I live in the boonies, no such rules exist, and I get to have both.

Yes, but more because I just like to be able to see it We have four legged vermin that I could use it on, but you can't shoot in a neighborhood

DM~ What kind of gun is that?!?

the AK is by the bed, the sub2000 is by the easy chair

For those that asked, it's a Krieghoff drilling.



It was made in 1935, but i've owned it since the early 80's,



It weighs right at 7 pounds, and breaks down into a small space for travel,



Over the years it's been my "go to gun", i've shot everything from small game to moose with it, and it's been a perfect hunting gun for all of my needs. And when i slide and lock in one of the precision Krieghoff inserts that i have, it makes an EXCELLENT 22 rifle for small game at longer ranges too,



Anyway, it's been one of the BESY BUYS i've ever made in my life, and absolutely the best hunting gun i've ever owned! It's also VERY accurate too!

DM

That is one of the coolest weapons I've ever seen.

I love that Drilling.

To answer the OP, no, I don't keep a rifle within arms reach at all times. I've got a 9mm carbine loaded at one end of the house and a 12gauge pump loaded at the other end of the house. The house is small enough that I can get to either one in less than 10 seconds from anywhere else in the house, unless I'm on the toilet. In that case, I dare them to come in, chemical warfare beats home invader every time

A rifle is really designed for long range and you would have a hard time convincing a jury of self defense if you shot someone beyond 50 yards unless for some reason they were shooting at you with a rifle.

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If what the jury thought was more important to me than my loved ones' well being, I would use my three year old's pink T ball bat...

Good&Fruity
Do you keep a rifle within arms reach at home?

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Pistol and shotgun. I figure that if 20 rounds of 9mm and 7 rounds of 12 ga 00 buck won't do it...well...

A rifle is really designed for long range and you would have a hard time convincing a jury of self defense if you shot someone beyond 50 yards unless for some reason they were shooting at you with a rifle.

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The criteria for self defense is the SAME no matter what the distance is. If a person poses an imminent threat to me or my family for 5 feet or 500 feet self defense is justified. Really, any firearm at 50 yards is a deadly threat whether its a shotgun, pistol, or rifle. I don't think if would be hard to convince a jury at all that a man standing 50 yards away, shooting at me with any of the above, is an imminent threat. BUT, that being said, I keep a rifle loaded because it is a better and more effective weapon than a pistol, not because I forsee any threat at that great a distance. I think most people would be better served by a shotgun in most circumstances.