.308 For Home Defense?

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BluedRevolver

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I was looking at some low-penetrating .308 hollow point and ballistic tip loads from Hornady and Corbon.

In a handy rifle like a socom16 or something, would this be practical for self defense? You get many more rounds than a shotgun in a similar sized weapon with reasonable penetration. (Only obvious problem is noise and flash, which, if I can get the wife to agree, could be remedied with a short suppressor)
 
over penetration would seem a problem in an urban environment even with light rounds. And a miss could be a bad thing.

just how big are the perps in your area? :what:
 
The problem I can foresee is that the .308 is well past the point of diminishing returns as a CQB round. It's not really going to stop someone significantly better than a bunch of smaller/less powerful rifle rounds but it will have deafening thunderous crack inside a home as well as a flash that will be like a stun grenade going off.

I wouldn't do it unless it's for "property defense" and you've got 100 yards on any side of your house that might need to be defended.
 
.308 flash & blast out of a 16" SOCOM would be quite enough for me to quickly change my mind.

That sucker will peel the wall-paper off the walls and set it on fire inside a house!!

rc
 
yup, the muzzle blast alone should stun any perp, and in a house you too, and I doubt you are gonna be wearing hearing protection at the time.....get real, there are so many better, reasonable choices.
 
I agree with the fact there are many pros to choosing a rifle over a shotgun as a home-defense long arm. However, I would choose a 5.56 chambered rifle over a .308. I would also seriously consider hearing protection being kept with the rifle or spending the money for a stamp and purchasing a suppressor. Even better if you spend for another stamp and shorten the rifles barrel. If your going to do it then do it right.

YMMV, and the above statement is made by a guy who uses a trusted pump action for home defense. I spend my money on busting clays and running drills with the above mentioned shotgun than building the rifle I describe above which would be used if I ever get around to getting it.
 
Yup. You could successfully defend yourself with a double rifle in .600 Nitro Express.

But you'll agree that there's no need for that kind of power and it's going to come with some drawbacks. (Recoil, blast, bulk, cost to practice, practice, PRACTICE!)

A .308 in any rifle is somewhere on the "diminishing returns" end of the spectrum as well. There's plenty of cartridges and weapons that will do the job just as well, but with less blast and recoil (keeping you more in control and faster on the follow-up), less penetration risk, and with costs that are much easier to handle when firing thousands of rounds in making yourself proficient with the weapon.

If that's what you HAVE, by all means get some of the TAP type rounds and practice until you are one with the gun. If you're deciding what to buy for that role, there are better choices.
 
If you're using this as a justifying argument on the wife to get a suppressor for it, well good to go. However there are far better choices available for HD/SD that a .308 Winchester M1A SOCOM rifle.

As stated, a 12 gauge pump would be exceptionally hard to beat as a HD/SD long gun. I am also very partial to 9mm carbines like the Beretta Storm.

Don
 
You can mentally play out and practice all the home defense scenarios you brain can spit out and if something were to happen I can promise you it will be something you haven't thought of. If you like the SOCOM get it but if you have a lot of people in the house it may be an issue.
 
Get 12 or a 20 ga. shotgun, if you happen to miss, you won't kill the guy down the street 5 blocks away! The shotgun will take care of any intruder coming into the house, leave the .308 for this years deer season.
 
Zombie prevention maybe? But I do like the old Thompson machine gun ad with the cowboy on his porch blasting away.

Big diference in "defending your home" and "defending IN your home".
 
I agree with what most of the others have said. A .308 is WAY more firepower than you need for home defense. Also, I'd be less worried about the noise than the penetration. Depending on the type of home and neighborhood you live in, not only could it shoot through several walls, it could potentially go straight into your neighbor's home!!!!! Plus you have to have a plan. I have a 556 and a .308 (being built) but also have a 12 gauge shotgun with a light and loaded bandelaro, a .40 cal Glock with crimson trace and IWB holster and a .45 cal Glock with light/laser also in an IWB holster, all under the edge of my bed (near my head) in their holsters (all loaded with HD ammo). I also have IWB magazine holsters for both of the Glocks. I have several other handguns but this is my home defense set up. If anyone ever broke in, I'd lock my bedroom door, grab the 12 gauge and rack it...if they hear that they may just take off :neener:. If they come after you, at least you're ready for them. Then I'd put the .45 Glock and extra mag, at my side. Then the .40 Glock and extra mag goes in my back (DO NO FORGET TO LOCK AND LOAD YOUR PISTOLS). Then call 911! Remember...when seconds count, the police are just minutes away :cuss:!!!! BTW, I mean NO DISRESPECT towards LEOs!!!! It was just a joke I heard and thought it was funny and true (not they're fault though...they CAN'T be anywhere in seconds!). If you have children or other family in the house, you'll have to get to them (otherwise just stay in your bedroom). Try to get to your family, then just stay there rather than trying to get everyone back to your bedroom. You should have locks on ALL your bedroom doors. Put everyone in the closet, then get behind the bed or move a piece of heavy furniture around for cover. If they break through the door, blast away...they asked for it!!! :mad:

If you're just trying to justify getting a .308, tell your wife that there may be black bears where you plan to hunt and a 556 just won't take them down.;)
 
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Well, it's sounding like it might not be the best idea, even with a suppressor and "light" penetrating rounds. I would like to have more than the 5-8 rounds of a shotgun though, but with better terminal performance than just a .45 pistol or something similar.
 
While angles of fire need to be though out with a .308, the same is true with any firearm, especially any long arm. The flip side of that is that a .308 turns cover into concealment ine many scenarios. There are trade offs with caliber and ammunition choices, and only you can weigh the options and balance those trade offs. I would look at TAP and Vor-tx.
 
.45 ACP (what I use in my .45 cal. Glock) is a GREAT round for home defense!!! It makes GREAT BIG holes and is slow enough that it's less likely to blow through your neighbors bedroom! I prefer the 185 grain, but for some reason, the 230 grain is usually on sale, so that's what I use for practice. It's got a kick, but pushes backwards, so it's very manageable...so much so, that I can shoot pretty accurately one handed, with even the 230 grain.

Also, as someone else mentioned, a nice used shotgun can be had for only a couple hundred bucks. You can get a brand new Mossberg, for around $400-500. Plus you can get a couple of 25-50 round bandoleros and shotguns are easy to reload quickly!

Also, I'm curious...do you already have a .308 or are you just interested in getting one. If you're not dead set on a .308, a 556 with frangible ammo might be a good alternative.
 
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I would like to have more than the 5-8 rounds of a shotgun though,
Click to expand...
Either you are:
1. Expecting Attila the Hun and his hoards to invade your home?
Or
2. You are expecting to miss a lot?

The former is very unlikely.
And the latter can be fixed with a little shotgun practice & training.

Spray & pray will not win you any gunfights, so you need training & practice to prevail.
Then, 5-8 rounds in a shotgun will prevail, with ammo left over.

rc
 
Either you are:
1. Expecting Attila the Hun and his hoards to invade your home?
Or
2. You are expecting to miss a lot?

The former is very unlikely.
And the latter can be fixed with a little shotgun practice & training.

Spray & pray will not win you any gunfights, so you need training & practice to prevail.
Then, 5-8 rounds in a shotgun will prevail, with ammo left over.
Click to expand...


I don't intend to miss, it's just that sometimes there's more than one or two attackers and only in a perfect world would I hit and stop both with two (or however many attackers there are) shots. I guess my line of thinking is "better have it and not need it than need it and not have it"
 
Buy an AR and a few 30-round mags then.

Too much ammo in or hung on a shotgun will just slow you down because of excess weight in all the wrong places.

The thing is, a pump or auto shotgun with a 5-round mag tube never runs out of ammo.
Because you can stuff more in the bottom during every lull in the action.

rc
 
Let's not all jump to conclusions. He could be defending against bears in body armor.
 
NO! Overpenatration is your enemy for home defense and 308s drive through bad guys quite easly, sheetrock and 2x4 studs too. Only way you could do something like that is to custom load some fragmenting varmint rounds or something to that effect. I have 125gr Ballistic Tips pushing 3200fps in my 308 for hunting the farm where overpenatration is a concern.
 
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