AlexanderA
Member
Anything is good for home defense if that's all you happen to have available. I wouldn't pick a muzzleloader as my first choice.
Muzzleloader for Home Defense
- Thread starter Steel Horse Rider
- Start date
.38 Special
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- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
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- 7,373
I'd be pretty comfortable with a .36 or .44 caliber percussion revolver if - and that's a critical "if" - it had been worked over to ensure reliability. Out-of-the-box cap guns are notoriously unreliable and I would be very unhappy if forced to use one for defense. Properly tuned guns are, in my experience, about as reliable as factory centerfires.
And I have often noted that pure lead round balls are effective all out of proportion to their size. I would have full confidence in them, especially in the larger size.
The real issue is keeping the gun loaded and ready to go. I know there are plenty of instances of these guns working just fine even after years of sitting around loaded, but it would always be on the back of my mind. If I was really stuck with one as my primary defensive gun, I don't think I'd be happy without emptying and reloading it at least once a week or so.
Long arms are a different story, and I'd really rather not have to depend on a single shot anything for defense - let alone a single shot that takes a while to reload. How the fellow in the story came to have a loaded rifle ready at hand is another tidbit I'd love to learn about.
And I have often noted that pure lead round balls are effective all out of proportion to their size. I would have full confidence in them, especially in the larger size.
The real issue is keeping the gun loaded and ready to go. I know there are plenty of instances of these guns working just fine even after years of sitting around loaded, but it would always be on the back of my mind. If I was really stuck with one as my primary defensive gun, I don't think I'd be happy without emptying and reloading it at least once a week or so.
Long arms are a different story, and I'd really rather not have to depend on a single shot anything for defense - let alone a single shot that takes a while to reload. How the fellow in the story came to have a loaded rifle ready at hand is another tidbit I'd love to learn about.
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