Do you keep a rifle for home defense?

[DMK]

Just curious about how many of us keep a rifle over a shotgun or handgun for home defense. I'm not talking about SHTF, Red Dawn invasion or anything like that. Just the glass breaking in the middle of the night kind of thing.

Tell us about what you use.

I have a few handguns and a shotgun readily available, but I have a ready AR carbine loaded with a tac light and red dot as my primary HD weapon. With 75gr OTM, I have a lot more faith in this than a handgun and it's a lot lighter, handier and more manueverable than a shotgun.

 

[Black Snowman]

My handy gun is a Mossy 500 with a Streamlight M3. My eyes ain't so good so without my glasses and it's easy to sight down the barrel and throws up quickly. If I feel I have to clear the house, I have my M17S bullpup that gets around tight spaces easier and any of a number of handguns for backup. Only one with a round in the chamber and handy is the shotgun.

 

[Tsonda]

I did not vote

Sorry but the poll did not fit me.

James

 

[45Guy]

Keep the AR with loaded mag, empty chamber. Keep 870 with shells onboard but not loaded, 26" is too long for HD. M-1 Carbine with 27 HSP's loaded.

 

[RNB65]

Sort of a combination. I keep a loaded XD40 and a spare mag next to the bed. In the gun cabinet, I keep an 870 loaded with 6rds 00Buck and an empty AR15 with two full 30rd mags on a shelf next to it.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

I am sure there will be a good crowd here wanting an "all of the above" option. My 870 has a 26 in barrel so it isn't really set up for that sort of thing. At any rate, I have a Glock 20 and two 15 round mags of 180 gr Gold Dots to get me two steps across the room, then I got a Rommie AK with a red dot and two 30 round magazines loaded with 122 gr JHPs. I'll take a rifle over a shotgun for just about anything any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

 

[DMK]

I am sure there will be a good crowd here wanting an "all of the above" option.

Yea, I purposely did not make it a multi select. I'm an all of the above too, but really, at o' dark thirty when you are suddenly awakened by something that goes bump in the night, you are probably only going to grab one of the nearest ones.

 

[DMK]

Sorry but the poll did not fit me.

What did I leave out? Do you keep a crossbow?

 

[gaven]

I KEEP A MOD. 1917 S&W 45 D.A. CUT DOWN TO A SNUB NOSE . I KEEP IT RIGHT NEXT TO THE BED WHERE ALL I HAVE TO DO IS GRT ONE HAND ON IT.

 

[Otherguy Overby]

Sheesh, where is all of the above?

Wot good is an empty gun?

I keep a D model sks in the bedroom with a 30 round AK magazine along with an 1894 Marln in 44 mag. Their's also either a 20 gauge 870 with a 9 round Choate extension or an 870 marine magnum. For pistols, at the very least, I'll have my carry gun on a shelf on the headboard.

If I had class three weapons, they'd be sleeping with me, too.

 

[MudPuppy]

+1 on the "all of the above".

No crossbow, though.

Oh yeah, I keep the dog loaded as well. "Pin 'em, Muddy! Hold 'em still!"

 

[The_Shootist]

Yeah

...technically I do as my Ak is on a chair at the foot of my bed with a 30 rounder ready to rock and roll.

Realistically, I'd likely grab my SP 101 (with the night bead and FBI loads in it) on my bedside table if it sounded like I was facing an uninvited guest.

Although I would speculate that the crisp sound of an AK bolt going back chambering a round in the darkness might even give the Wolf Man pause

 

[mustanger98]

Poll didn't really fit me that well either.

If at some point I feel like I need more handy than my .45caliber sidearm, I'll have my Winchester '94AE carbine in .45Colt loaded with HP's. That 16" barrel's pretty handy and it holds 9 +1.

And don't give me the business about a levergun vs. an AR-15. I already know that arguement and AR's still don't suit me.

 

[nitesite]

I answered YES to rifle even though there is also a handgun and shotgun nearby. If something is beyond the walls of my home the rifle is my "go-to" defensive firearm.

 

[The-Fly]

all of the above.

Night stand has glock 26 (my carry gun) loaded. Next to night stand is my 870 loaded with 00 buck. In my closet (15 feet away), i have one of my AR's in a tactical bag that holds 3 loaded mags.

 

[taliv]

after the day i've had... i might get loaded myself tonight! although that prob won't be a very effective HD strategy

 

[KIMBER45TLE]

Depends

Depends on which side of the bed I'm on. Starboard side I keep a Norinco Mod 99 coach gun, rabbit ears and all, in 12 gauge with 3" mag Turkey loads. Port side there is a 1911 with two extra mags. Course, you have to get by 84 pounds of dog first.

 

[Chris Rhines]

My house gun is a 16" lightweight AR-15A3 carbine, built up from a mix of Colt and Bushmaster parts, with a LaRue Battlelight and a 30mm UltraDot. Ammo is 77grn. Black Hills Mk262, 28 rounds in the gun, 28 in a spare magazine in a buttstock pouch.

If/when I have the available cash, I'd build up a similar AR-15, but with a 10.5" barrel and a suppressor.

- Chris

 

[Gunslinger686]

If thay get pass stumpy




then the 870 get's a turn

 

[dev_null]

Since there was no option for more than one, I didn't vote.

 

[rbernie]

Small children in the house = electronic cypher-lock style handgun safes sprinkled about with pistols in 'em. If they made 'em in rifle sizes, I'd buy those and move to a long gun for HD.

But no unsecured long weapons, thankyouverymuch. Not until the kids get a wee bit older.

 

[nero45acp]

M1 Carbine (loaded with Winchester 110gr Super-X Hollow Soft Points) on top of my dresser, FN BDAO (DAO Hi-Power) in a cigar box on my nightstand. S&W 432PD (my CCW) in a cigar box next to my computer when I'm not carrying it. S&W 640 & extra speedloader locked in my glovebox in my car.


nero

 

[Terrierman]

Really it's all of the above, S&W Models 60 and 686 are handy, both loaded with .38 special +P Hydrashok. An 870 loaded with # 1 buck is in the closet. The 870 is the one I would go to. The other option is a 760 .30-06, but it's not the 1st choice for indoors. There's also a .22 mag in the closet and it gets more HD use than anything else as the primary form of trespasser requiring an armed response has thus far been armadillo....Coyotes sound like a threat at times especially with our kennelled dogs, but have yet to be offered a shot at one from the house. The neighbors seem to be pretty well behaved so we haven't had to shoot any of them yet either.

 

[blackhawk2000]

Where is the "all of the above" choice?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Where is the "all of the above" choice?

I was wondering the very same thing. Handguns are used in conjunction with flashlight to investigate bumps in the night. Shotguns are used when you are quite sure there is a threat and you and your family are secure. Rifles have there place in the more dire instance of multiple threats, possibly armored.

Personally, if I am sure someone is in the house, I will get me and the wife behind the bed with my AR-10 in front of me. She'll probably still be armed with her S&W 4006. The AR has a surefire 660 below the barrel to positively ID a threat and is loaded with a mixed bag in a custom 30 round mag; suffice to say there is nothing one can wear that would protect them if I have that rifle ready.

Of course, they first must get past Romeo. If I hear him yelp in pain, I'll just start poking holes in the walls about 4' up.