12 gauge buck and slugs might cost more than 223/556 but 1 00buck or slug cartridge will do more damage than 5 223/556 cartridges.
No, no it wont. You've obviously never seen seen what a commercial load .223 Rem ballistic tip or JSP will do to a 150 to 200 lb deer. You've also never read any of Dr. Martin Fackler's studies, nor seen any of his illustrations of common tissue damage caused by common small arms wounds.
12 gauge is far better in a shootout unless its at 100+ yards then in that case the AR is better. the 223/556 is rather wimpy...
Wrong once again. Please see the stickies in the rifle forum to learn more about rifle terminal ballistics, and how light construction, high velocity bullets offer the least risk of over penetration in homes / apartments / urban areas.
... so I don't understand why the AR gets talked up so much like its the baddest gun ever. guess people just think they are "cool".
Some people have a firm grasp of terminal ballistics. Some have years (or more) of training on AR pattern rifles provided by Uncle Sugar. Some like low recoil, fast follow up shots, and greater precision while maintaining those excellent terminal ballistics.
there are plenty of other semi auto guns I would take over the AR to trust my life to. In close range though you cant beat the 12 gauge.
A 12 gauge shotgun is an excellent close range weapon. However, an AR-15, AK-74, Ruger Mini-14, or (insert favorite intermediate cartridge semi-auto rifle here) are only slightly less effective than, if not just as effective as, a 12 gauge shotgun, and the rifles are far more versatile. The rifle doesn't have to be an AR-15.
As for LEO use, as many have noted, department policy and what's issued (or not) are going to be far bigger factors than which weapon is actually better.