Do you keep a rifle for home defense?

[nitesite]

I voted YES to a rifle without giving a rational explaination.

I have had my dogs look for a place to crap 150' from my house when coyotes in the high grass popped their heads up and wanted some munchies.

That's why I have kept a rifle close by.

There are 600'-1800' all around my home that is just wide open spaces. So a shotgun will not have the necessary range for four-legged predators that could harm my expensive dogs that are visiting the yard to take a piss.

A scoped Ruger M77 MK II .243 and an AR15 are kept loaded and close.

Inside the house there are several powerful handguns and a 590 8+1 with ghost rings for more personal encounters.

 

[Farnham]

Mossberg 500 next to the bed with a Surefire in a "redneck special" mount.

What has twelve legs, twelve fangs, and a dislike for strangers? My living room!

S/F

Farnham

 

[Rabbi]

AK with 30 and 40 round mags of Barnaul softball.

If they get by the 13 rounds of 230 grain .45 Hydra-Shoks, that is.

And the dog.

And the ol' lady's .357 SWC-HP at 1500 f.p.s.

And heightened awareness.

And maybe a 911 call to the fuzz.

Oh yeah, and 12 gauge buckshots from S&B (hot 12 pellet double oughts).

The buckshot and Barnauls are likely redundant.

 

[Tsonda]

Sorry DMK

But I keep at least one of each at the bedside. I live in a very peacful community, but I am always ready for a 3 gun match to break out in the living room. Besides this is Texas and I should have my choice right? I do not have a crossbow. Have you found the hole in my defenses? Darn it now I have to buy a crossbow.

I do however consider an AR to be the go to gun for now. Sometimes it is an FAL.

James

 

[Tsonda]

Not bright enough to edit

But I consider a long gun no more dangerous than a sidearm. I consider all to be loaded. I have always kept both loaded. I think some members are not basing their HD weapons on facts.

Best regards,

James

 

[MTMilitiaman]

If somebody is knocking on the door at 3 A.M. I'm answering it with my AR slung up for sure. I don't care who it is. If they have half a brain, they will understand.

I might be inclined to agree except you don't have my brother. During the late spring and early summer when I come home to live with my parents and work between semesters, it could get interesting. My brother got smashed at his senior prom. The doors were locked so he tried to crawl through my window--at 3 in the morning. I woke up to whispering outside my window and when it slid open and his head poked into my room he was looking down the barrel of a .45. Both of our eyes got really big when we realized what we were looking at. While I would appreciate advanced notice and more conventional means of entry (knocking at the door), brothers and friends are always welcome under my roof. I just can't know for sure that crashing sound in the living room isn't my brother knocking over a lamp trying to find the sofa.

 

[UnintendedConsequences]

I think the answer will vary depending on family relation and location

The answer to this question for me can only be based on my family situation and my location, others have based theirs on their own personal circumstances. Personally, I don't leave a round in the chamber of anything but my .22 Long Rifle rimfire rifles and revolver because if a fox or smaller predator attacks my small to medium sized livestock at night it is all I can do to get them out of the case and the scope covers off.

As for centerfire chambered items, All have full magazines but empty chambers because they won't be used as frequently as the rimfires and I don't want the cartridge and shell brass to corrode in the chambers because of the high humidity here during spring, summer and fall here. This is despite having a dehumidifier running 24/7. I have early warning systems in more than one species and the sound of a vehicle coming up my long, rough driveway will wake me up so that I can quickly chamber a round. Just in case, I also keep the bayonets for the long arms with them in case they need to be affixed to the lug. The only centerfire I don't keep with a loaded magazine is my M-1 Garand for the simple fact that you cannot close the bolt on an en bloc and not have it chamber a round. That's fine for combat when you need fast reloads to get back into the fight, but not for a standby arm.

Cartridges are in the .308 to .310/.312 bullet diameter range and with a buffet of 12 gauge fodder. If I have to fire my rifle or shotgun, it has to be splatted good with the first few rounds if not the first one. I don't mess with squeaker spankers because I don't have confidence in their ability to do the job against all the four and two legged vermin that might come across my path here. Action type includes all but lever action, break action and single shot, for now.

My short answer would be, multiples of all three plus bladed weapons too.

 

[Fosbery]

Marlin 1894 in .375 magnum at the ready to search the house, go outside with. Remington M1100 kept handy if I need to defend a room (it's got a 9 round magazine, so is a little big for clearing the house etc).

 

[ugaarguy]

The only people I know of who are big fans of bullpup rifles are people who have never used one under pressure.

- Chris

I suppose time will tell since the newly developed Iraeli main battle rifle is a bullpup. Urban combat with the IDF will be a great make or break verdict on the bullpup's future as a primary arm.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Before I could afford more, for a while my ONLY option was a Marlin 995 rifle in .22 cal loaded with CCI Stingers. I'd leave the magazine loaded with the bolt closed... to use it I'd have to cycle the bolt.

If it's ALL you have, a 22 fired from a rifle is better than harsh language.

I much prefer a shotgun. In 12 ga.

 

[Stiletto Null]

Well, I'm back to a lone Mauser.

Lots of stopping power alright, but it's long and it'll shoot through schools.

 

[DMK]

Sorry DMK
But I keep at least one of each at the bedside. I live in a very peacful community, but I am always ready for a 3 gun match to break out in the living room. Besides this is Texas and I should have my choice right? I do not have a crossbow. Have you found the hole in my defenses? Darn it now I have to buy a crossbow.

LOL at imagry of a three gun match in the living room.

Before I actually watched one, I sort of wondered how they would run though the match carrying two long arms.

 

[GarandOwner]

My family keeps every rifle, shotgun, and handgun we own loaded for as long as we have ammo for it.

...Remind me NEVER to visit your house!! I can see if you keep a home defense weapon, but I think it unwise to keep every weapon you own loaded. In my mind that is just begging accident. I keep a loaded 1911 in the nightstand. Rifles are WAY to overpowered to use for home defense (I can see about using a rifle in rural places where intruders are outdoors, and not human in nature, like coyotes or foxes on a farm. But here in the suburbs, well the neighbors dont generally take well to having a .30 cal slug going through their house.) too many times people forget about #4! "Know your target and whats behind it" most rifle caliber rounds can go through the walls of your house, and out the other side. It can even go into your neighbors house depending on how close/how many walls it has to penetrate.

 

[taliv]

garandowner, i think the theory there is about rule #1, all guns are always loaded. so if you actually keep your guns loaded, you won't ever be tempted to treat them with less respect than they deserve, thinking they aren't actually loaded.

in other words, keeping your guns loaded could result in fewer accidents

 

[Stiletto Null]

Consistency is the important factor, I'd think.

I keep non-ready guns unloaded and opened.

 

[DMK]

most rifle caliber rounds can go through the walls of your house, and out the other side. It can even go into your neighbors house depending on how close/how many walls it has to penetrate.

Pistol rounds and buckshot can do that too.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/

Sheetrock and plywood do very little to stop errant rounds.

 

[GarandOwner]

i think the theory there is about rule #1, all guns are always loaded. so if you actually keep your guns loaded, you won't ever be tempted to treat them with less respect than they deserve, thinking they aren't actually loaded.in other words, keeping your guns loaded could result in fewer accidents

Not exactly. While the owner might know and practice safe gun handling the danger would come from a visitor who might not know any better (might be of young age). That is where the accident may lye.

Pistol rounds and buckshot can do that too.

Yes but they tend to have less penetration than most rifle calibers.

Im not trying to be arguementitive, just defending my opinion

 

[Vairochana]

Double barrel shotgun in the bedroom safe with slugs and OO handy- I have an 87 lever action on order as a bedroom gun after an encounter with a BG with a knife in my yard the other night.
For outside my .22 sees off the evil Indian Mynas

 

[Fosbery]

First, I'm a fan of bullpup rifles. Well, not all bullpup rifles, but the two I've used extensively: the L85 and the AUG. Now I've never used the AUG 'under pressure' unless you count practical rifle etc, but the L85 handled fine in combat. I'd rather spent 2 milliseconds longer on a magazine change but have twice the barrel length to be honest. Both the AUG and the L85 are the most natural pointing and easy to shoot rifles I've ever used.

Second, I keep two of my guns loaded, the rest unloaded. The two I keep loaded, I reload everyday. Leaving rounds sitting in magazines lets them settle and become more comfortable so to speak. This can cause feeding problems, so if you do keep guns loaded, remember to reload the magazine or at least give it a good smack every evening (no need to hit it on a helmet like in the movies, the flat of your hand works just fine ).

 

[taliv]

The two I keep loaded, I reload everyday. Leaving rounds sitting in magazines lets them settle and become more comfortable so to speak. This can cause feeding problems, so if you do keep guns loaded, remember to reload the magazine or at least give it a good smack every evening

in all the thousands of threads and posts on this subject I've read, I've never ever heard that before. I can't say it makes any sense, either. Normally, the question is "does it hurt your springs to leave the mags loaded" and the answer I assume you know is that "no, compression doesn't hurt them, it's the compression/decompression cycle that wears out springs".

in other words, what you're suggesting will weaken your springs over time, whereas leaving them loaded for 20 yrs without touching them will not.

what really gets me is your "settling" comment. please explain what you mean. your post seems to contradict itself, as what better way to settle the rounds than smacking them every day?

 

[Stiletto Null]

Hey Fosbery, are you still active .mil, or one of those rare "collector" types?

 

[Fosbery]

I am no longer in the military, but I still shoot as a civillian. In the military we were taught to slap magazine on our rifles, but as a civillian I just use a table edge or my leg when using box mags, and with internal magazines on shotguns and leverguns I just reload them.

When the magazine has been sat still for a long time, everything achieves a happy status, sometimes this isnt the best way for things to be. Smacking the mag makes all the internals move, so that any rounds that are slightly twisted will jump back under the pressure from the spring into the correct position for feeding, thus preventing stoppages.