Good rifle for home defense

[KiltedClaymore]

this




or this




im kidding, just to make sure you know.


i'd use a pistol caliber rifle, like a Ruger PC-40

 

[Professor Gun]

IMHO, there is nothing better for home defense inside the home than a shotgun loaded with buckshot from #4 up to #00. Look for a used Mossberg 500 or a Remington 870 in 12 gauge; they don't have to be pretty but they must have good mechanical function. In fact, the more ratty looking the better price you can get. Have a gunsmith cut the barrel to 18 1/2 " so you are legal. If the banged up wood stock really bothers you, you can get composite stocks at reasonable prices, you can put on a magazine extension so that it holds more shells, you can put on a light or laser, depends how "tacticool" you want to get with it.

 

[coop4u2c]

I would bet there is more than a few good ol' .30-30 lever rifles that have filled that roll for decades.

 

[JShirley]

About the only rifle-caliber that is suitable for Home Defense is hollow point or soft-point .223 (hollow point being the preference).

Untrue. Any rifle with rapidly expanding bullets is probably just fine for home defense.

You do want to choose a platform that doesn't have too long a barrel, and that is light enough for you to use rapidly. It may not be necessary, but quick follow-up shots would be a plus, too.

Also, tests in gelatin have shown that full-power Foster slugs penetrate less than other effective defensive shotgun choices (17" in gelatin, which will equate to even less in actual tissue). Full power slugs are a fine choice, as long as you hit your target...but that's true of any firearm.

Good choices for HD rifles:

Any lever-action rifle with no more than 20" barrel, in any caliber from .357 Magnum up to about .300 WinMag (Be certain to use rapidly expanding rounds for powerful calibers- IOW, don't choose 180-grain bullets for .300 WM.);
Slide-action rifles with no more than 20" barrels, in any caliber larger than .22 Magnum;
Semi-automatic rifles with no more than 20" barrel, in any caliber larger than .22 Magnum;
Bolt-action rifles if you can rapidly manipulate them.

In general, pistol caliber carbines are poor choices. Pistol ammunition tends to be overly penetrative, unlike lightweight, high speed, fragile rifle ammunition, which will tend to explosively expand or fragment at very close range, and which is considerably more powerful than pistol ammunition. The down side will be more blast.

Wear electronic ear muffs if you have time.

John