AR-15 home defense ammo

[benEzra]

I'd suggest trying to use realistic wall spacing, as in that test, as much as you can. I've seen some tests in which a dozen sheets of wallboard are stacked an inch apart, and that tends to overestimate penetration because it minimizes the effect of yaw (and bullets have way more drag sideways, both in air and in wallboard).

I would expect that FMJ penetrates more, though; one of the reasons that fragile 55gr JHP/SP tends to penetrate less is that it tends to fragment even in building materials, whereas FMJ (particularly milsurp) tends to be made to shoot through stuff.

 

[MtnCreek]

Will do. I'll put together a plan and post a thread. If anyone is interested, they can critique the plan prior to testing.

 

[BP Hunter]

I use Hornaday TAP ammo. They are designed for home defense us. They break up in pieces to prevent over penetration which is the main concern of HD ammo. We'd like to keep the bullet in the perp and if we miss, we want teh bullet to break up when it hits the wall.

 

[MtnCreek]

BP Hunter,
Check out the link provided by Mr. Thompson.

http://230grain.com/showthread.php?6...st-(Adpat)

 

[mrmeangenes]

Once more, I find myself wondering whatinhell kind of neighborhoods some of you live in...

 

[M2 Carbine]

Once more, I find myself wondering whatinhell kind of neighborhoods some of you live in...

Actually a very quiet crime free neighborhood, because most everyone owns guns and knows how to use them.


Like when I met the new neighbor lady for the first time, the first thing she said was, "You the one that does all the shooting?".
I said, Yes, that's me.
"Would you teach me to shoot?"
Yes, be glad to.

Then later it was, "Would you teach me to shoot the AR? I want it for a house gun."
Yes, be glad to.

Yes Sir, a nice quiet neighborhood, except for me doing all that shooting that is.

 

[harmon rabb]

it's a rifle. i don't think it matters. anything your AR feeds and ejects reliably will work.

 

[jmr40]

it's a rifle. i don't think it matters. anything your AR feeds and ejects reliably will work.

As far as stopping a bad guy it doesn't. The reason for softpoint ammo is to greatly reduce overpenetration. As has been stated earlier softpoint 223 ammo is less likely to continue down range than buckshot or pistol rounds.

 

[Al Thompson]

Harmon, if you use a good JHP/SP, the wound effects are much more effective for stopping someone, regardless of caliber.

 

[Cop Bob]

Anything you want... EXCEPT FMJ....

Personal real-world experiences of some close buddies showed me why.... not so much as the overpenetration, even though there was some of that... it was how many hits the bad guys absorbed before being physically out of the fight... Total # rounds expended 88, by both officers and suspects, length of firefight... about 2 minutes 40 seconds by dispatch tape.. Two suspects down, one survived, one expired at the hospital WITH SEVEN GSW's IN HIS TORSO... Final Words...(would probably be deleted so I won't post them) but they show he was alert and oriented when he was loaded in the ambulance....In other words he was still mentally in the fight...
No ball ammo for me please....

 

[benEzra]

Once more, I find myself wondering whatinhell kind of neighborhoods some of you live in...

Why? Because we keep guns for self defense, in addition to merely shooting paper or furry woodland creatures with them?

If it's a carbine vs. shotgun thing, why would a civilian .223 carbine be eyebrow-raising, when the traditional HD long gun is a .729 caliber weapon that throws eight or ten .33 caliber projectiles with every pull of the trigger and penetrates more with favored loads?

 

[nipprdog]

Once more, I find myself wondering whatinhell kind of neighborhoods some of you live in...

Thankfully, not NJ.

 

[HOLY DIVER]

well my neighborhood is kinda shady. it has not always been that way but it is now.i hear gunshots ringing out at all hours of the night,so yes i'm very serious about HD. my AR is not my primary HD weapon its my back up(shtf gun) i keep 6 30rd p-mags loaded with hornady 60gr A-MAX my 1st choice is my 1911 .45acp

 

[Art Eatman]

chris in va, from inside my house I couldn't hit a neighbor's kid with a Barrett .50. If I went to the southeast corner of my front porch, I could play Ma Bell at 830 yards and then the next neighbor at around 1,200...

In a most-probable shooting direction, there's this 250-foot mountain thingy in the way for the three-miles-away neighbors.

 

[mrmeangenes]

It crosses my mind folks who worry about which type of rifle ammo to use on other people probably worry about whether two guns (and a tactical knife) are enough to carry when visiting the mall (that back-to-school crowd can be tough !) and/or what hideout gun would be best for attending religious services.

 

[M2 Carbine]

and/or what hideout gun would be best for attending religious services.

Matter of fact my friends do carry their "hideout guns" to church. It's called concealed carry.
There have been some rather nasty murders in church.


A smart person prepares for what might happen.
A very smart person prepares for what might not happen.

 

[sarduy]

to make it simple: anything good for hunting in 55gr and up.

 

[ugaarguy]

It crosses my mind folks who worry about which type of rifle ammo to use on other people probably worry about whether two guns (and a tactical knife) are enough to carry when visiting the mall (that back-to-school crowd can be tough !) and/or what hideout gun would be best for attending religious services.

Has it crossed your mind that people may be asking about home defense ammo selection because they actually want to avoid over penetration, and ARE worried about minimizing risk to neighbors?

Have you used the search function to read about rifles for HD? Are you aware that with proper defensive ammo selection rifle rounds like .233/5.56 have less penetration than defensive handgun and shotgun rounds?

The Trolley Square Mall (SLC, UT) shooting occurred in 2007. Are saying you'd rather not be armed in a mall?

What's wrong with carry to religious services? Are you aware that there are hate groups which target every religious sect? Do you want to be the unarmed Christian attacked by the extremist who claims to be a Muslim? The unarmed Muslim attacked by the extremist claiming to be a Christian? The unarmed Jew attacked by the Neo-Nazi? Attending a religious service can make you as a target of violence.

You seem to be a proponent of victim disarmament zones, and outdated thinking on defensive firearms. NJ is a fitting place for you to live.