Rifle for Home Defense?

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ezypikns

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Clint Smith in the latest 'Guns' magazine makes the statement that a rifle is the best choice for home defense. I always figured that a short barrelled shotgun with buckshot might be best.
I live in Dallas, where most homes have a fairly largee front and back yard, with some space between them. Wouldn't a rifle tend to give way too much over penetration, even in a place like this?
Having said that, I'm thinking about an SKS as a general shooter. If a rifle would be suitable for home defense, what kind of choice would an SKS be?
Is there ammo for the SKS (or any other rifle) which would be more suitable for use in a non-rural area?

Thanks for any comments.
 
I scanned that article, but since I already have a rifle and no shotgun I just sort of thought "Cool" and forgot about it.

Clint usually makes a lot of sense, and my recollection is that he explained his reasons in the article. You make it sound like he just tossed that nugget out there with no explantion or rationalization.

On the penetration issue, consider that 00 buck is essentially a whole bunch of 32 caliber bullets all coming out at once. What kind of wall do you think that is NOT going to penetrate? If you haven't read up on the penetration issue, check out www.boxotruth.com and then come back to ask about overpenetration.

Residential walls are concealment, not cover.
 
A rifle will have overpenetration in a normal residence. So will buckshot or a pistol, but to a lesser extent.
I think a rifle would be good for HD if you live in a rural area with plenty of space between you and the next house. This has to be reconsidered if you have family members asleep in the house who could be endangered by stray rounds.
 
Col Cooper preferred a 20ga shotgun loade with birdshot for home, especially apt, defense IINM
 
A carbine would typically offer greater range, accuracy, and magazine capacity than either a handgun or a shotgun. The main concerns would be overpenetration and blast/flash, both of which would be minimized with proper ammunition selection. With proper ammunition selection, a carbine could also offer less recoil than the shotgun, and, when necessary, could quickly offer more penetration if barriers or body armor needed to be penetrated. Something like Hornady TAP might be in order to reduce penetration with some FMJs kept handy for rare occassions when you actually need to shoot through something. I keep a .45 and a Romanian AK clone next to my bed. The .45 is for if I don't have time to get the AK up--like an intruder coming through the window at the head of my bed or me awakening to an intruder already in my room. Other than that, a 30 round magazine of hollow points will do the job.
 
Contrary to popular opinion the 233 ,with proper bullets penetrates less than some of the handgun bullets.That's due to expansion and tumbling. The best for that use is the Federal 40 gr bullet.
 
Overpenetration should be far less of a concern than actually hitting (and stopping) what you're aiming at. A good carbine is several orders of magnitude more powerful and accurate than ordinary handguns, and with the right expanding bullets poses no more overpenetration concerns. For some weird reasons (probably Sillywood movies) a lot of otherwise smart people have gotten it into their heads that a handgun is the first and best choice for home defense. The handgun should only be viewed as a concealable weapon you use to get you to your rifle.

As far as SKS ammo, Corbon makes some good 7.62x39 loadings. I wouldn't trust Wolf SP's without some testing first. Their 54R rounds are OK, but I haven't heard any field reports from their 39 sp loadings. My concern would be that they fail to expand. Corbon certainly will expand, and one hit will likely be more than enough.
 
You never know when you may need the precision of a rifle, such as a dog running around the neighborhood threatening kids but wont get close enough for you to use buckshot. I keep my M4 right next to my HD shotgun, 2 20s on-hand.

Kharn
 
Take a rifle to a gun fight

I always thought your pistol was what you carrried when a rifle was out of the question.

I recently purchased .45 carbine (Thompson clone) for this purpose, replacing BOTH my pistol and scattergun in the bedroom. I guess if 30 rounds of .45 won't get it done, nothing else will. Short and compact for use inside, and a little range if needed. However, once "outside" I don't believe I have the right to shoot any longer...would one of th LEOs comment please...so the idea of having a rifle for "range" is questionable in my mind. Stopping power? Yes. Range...hmmmmmm :scrutiny:

Overpenetration?

Do you have a code red plan with your family, so that each individual knows what to do and were to go, so that they will be less likely to be hit by any stray rounds?

While this is not, by itslef, the only answer, it can help reduce the chance of FF accidents.
Also, if I remeber correctly during the "infamous" Miami shootout between federal officers and PLatt and his buddy, wasn't the .223 he (Platt) was using stopped by the officer's arm, saving his life? Doesn't sound like anything that is going to overpenetrate to me.

Now a .308 rifle? I would worry... :what:
 
I'm lucky, I sleep in a concrete-lined basement.

I have an SKS and several stripper clips of HP's nearby.

Wolf ammo in an SKS is very reliable. I've put well over 1,000 round of Wolf FMJ and HP through mine, and it always goes where I want it to and hasn't jammed yet. I read in a recent Shooting Times one of the authors was testing a new AK-M type carbine, and in the field report, Wolf FMJ's and Wolf SP's were the two most accurate 7.62x39 loads.


You can keep shooting out of the home in Colorado, I believe, where you can use deadly force to defend your property. Other than that, it'd have to be a "in fear of you/other's life" thing.


As for the original question, get a 7.62 Krinkov with a folding stock. If you're afraid of overpenetration, load it with frangibles, and always shoot for center-mass.
 
The thompson actually isnt a bad idea. Low recoil, low noise, high capacity. But I dont know where you got compact unless you purchased a SBR. At around 13 lbs or so, it could make for a very effective club if for some odd reason, 30 rounds aint enough...

I assume that the DA WILL make a big deal about it if worst comes to worst, and after making this assumption mine was my primary HD gun anyway (now I stick with the 590, with my thompsons and AR within reach).

The range kinda sucks compared to a .223. Well, "kinda sucks" in a major understatement, but for home defense it shouldnt be an issue. But keep an AR handy just in case you're getting shot at by folks that are out of reach of the tommygun.

Dont be afraid to try hollowpoints, they feed in mine.
 
I gather the .223 is a good round for home defense.

Didn't the FBI publish a test where they found the .223 was less penetrative of walls than even some handgun rounds?
 
Living out in the boonies I prefer a rifle for H/D, then a shotgun then my pistol.

But it usually depends on the given situation.

Just general bump in the night investigatory poking about I’ll grab my trusty SIG P229ST 9mm with Surefire M3

But if the hairs on my neck really stand up or I feel I may have to venture outside I grab the ole AK w/ folder and 30 rounder and go inspecting.
 
TFW +1

I live on 40 acres and most of the neighboring properties are even larger. Because of the hills, only one other residence is even visible and it is almost a mile away.

So I keep a pack of "Wolves" ready to turn loose if necessary ;)
 
i read an article once that reference an fbi study that said 55gr 5.56 ammo had the lowest wounding potential, after traveling through interior walls, of all the ammo tested. iirc the other ammo tested was 180gr .40, 230gr .45, 115gr 9mm, #00 12ga and i think a few others. without the paperwork for aow or sbr a rifle can have a shorter legal barrel length than a shotgun, making for better maneuverability, but ultimately i think a rifle, especially scary black ones, wouldn't play as well in court.
 
If Clint Smith wants to come sack out in our spare room to take over guard duty, he is welcome to bring whatever armament he wants for the task. But for as long as I have the responsibility, the handiest long gun in the house will be one of several short barrelled 12 ga. 870s. It happens we like shotguns, doesn't mean Clint is wrong in his choice- or anyone else either for that matter. Clint is probably more dangerous with a sharp stick than I am with a shotgun, fortunately I doubt Clint (or anyone else as good as he is) will ever be trying to kick in my door at 0dark30 some fine morning with evil intent.

Of course, there is an AR carbine with a mounted light and a spare 20-round magazine in a butt pouch on the pegs in one hidey hole just in case it is needed outside- but it is not my go-to gun for things that go bump in the night. We live 'way out in the country and it's a long way to anywhere outside, thus the AR. But at close range, IMO nothing beats a shotgun, all other things being equal.

lpl/nc
 
Police Marksman published a study demonstrating that .223 SP and JHP had less wounding potential after exiting a wall than handgun rounds. The author (Gary Roberts, as I recall) unfortunately didn't even bother giving the reader much information about the ballistic performance of 40-gr and 55-gr JHP's--being of the "deep penetration" school of thought, he dismissed them a priori as being "not suitable for law enforcement use under any circumstances" due to their lesser penetration, and didn't feel it was worth his time to give the reader that info, but it's an otherwise excellent article.

Federal 40-grain JHP's have been used by SWAT teams from time to time specifically to limit overpenetration in building materials.

Personally, my mini-14 is loaded with a magazine of Federal 40-grain JHP's, and I have another magazine of 55 gr JHP's if I ever want something a little heavier. Both are less penetrative in building materials than 115-gr 9mm JHP, as I recall.
 
I live in a log cabin with no imediate neighbors. As much as I love my AR's, I'll grab a shotgun first. to me a handgun would be my LAST choice...... Essex
 
Depends where you live and the layout and such. For defense of a business at one time I would keep around sometimes instead of a shotgun a Marlin Camp 45 or a M1 carbine with Winchester hollow soft points.

At one time due to threats to business partner from a ex boyfriend of his girlfriend that did turn out to be idle threats though I kept a SKS loaded with Russian hollowpoints handy as well.
 
Rifle for HD? No friggin way.

An SKS for home defense? Are you kidding? 1. It only has 10 round capacity (hi cap retrofits are hardly consistent and the 30 rd mags look like they were made by a high school shop class); 2. the SKS barrel is longer than an AK's and would be no fun moving around corners (the SKS was made to be an accurate medium distance battle rifle).

The whole point of a home defense gun is maneuverability within that home. Unless your home is devoid of doors, walls, stairs, furniture, appliances etc, and you live in a big open boxy warehouse, I will never fully understand why people are drawn to long guns for home defense. I think it stems from machismo and the feeling that bigger MUST be better.

The shotgun is even a worse home defense weapon because of it's extremely low capacity PLUS long length and impossible accuracy (peppering your kid who happens to be standing by or behind the burgular is really stupid). Unless it's a street sweeper, the shotgun is an atrocious choice tactically for home defense. Some will defend the use of a shotgun for home defense until the cows come home. After years of arguing with these well meaning folks, I've noticed what their main error is: they have it backwards. A shotgun is good for OFFENSIVE entry, which is why the marines will have one guy with a 12 ga when they enter homes in Iraq, who is backed up of course, with several men with M-16s. For DEFENSE, the shotgun has numerous fatal flaws.

Anyway, as far as using a rifle for HD, the ultimate is an short barreled AK with folding stock. An AK pistol is basically the same concept and would be my preferred choice.

Of course you can overpenetrate with nearly any firearm, but rifles magnify that problem X 10.

I have purposefully typecast myself as a MAC nut, so predictably, I use a MAC-11 9mm with barrel extension (which aids in control) and a 30 rd Sten mag for home defense. It can be maneuvered around anything almost like it's a natural extension of one's arm. The barrel extension also serves as a big flash hider which will be appreciated in dark situations.

People frequently assume that there would be only one intruder, and/or that you'll get him with the first shot.
 
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