Rifle for home defense?

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Gary O

Gary O

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Been thinking about a rifle for home defense. Since I live (for now) in California, I am not able to possess any kind of an assault rifle. Would a lever gun in 357 work? Which one would you chose? Thanks….
GaryO
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That is considered by many here to be a reliable, compact, quick-handling and adequate rifle with enough firepower to handle almost anything. You can even reload on the run and still have a rifle at the ready at all times!

With iron sights a practiced shooter should be able to hit a 5-6" circle at 100 yards; and up close you should be able to shoot about once per second with reasonable probability of hitting your target.

Loaded with Jacketed 158-gr or 180-gr .357 Magnum rounds you can actually be overpowered. 158-gr +P .38-SPL JHPs would be some good medicine for home defense. Even they would probably exit an average human target if shot from the direct front.

But at oblique angles the .38/.357 cartridge is awesome thru a rifle.

I would avoid shooting lead bullets like the LSWC if your barrel has Micro-Groove rifling such as is found in the Marlin rifle.
 
Something like this maybe . . .

photo_1894C.jpg


Marlin does lever guns about as well as anyone. This is the 1894C in .357/.38
I'd not feel underarmed with this around. .357 out of an 18.5" rifle barrel is a wholly different round than from a pistol. .38 Special's would probably do well for home defense unless you aren't worried about overpenetration in which case go for the Buffalo Bore heavies in .357.
 
Not to downplay the leverguns but, check out the Beretta CX4 Storm carbine.
It can be had in several different handgun caliber. If you have certain Beretta pistols the CX4 Storm makes a great companion carbine. All in all the .357 you are considering is just fine, and Marlin makes them as good or better than Winchester used to. Good luck.
 
That is considered by many here to be a reliable, compact, quick-handling and adequate rifle with enough firepower to handle almost anything. You can even reload on the run and still have a rifle at the ready at all times!
Click to expand...

I'm another levergunner and I agree. The rifle holds 9 +1. Load with a good HP or SP... make 'em count and have extras and you got plenty. Myself, for this kind of set-up, I like the whole idea of having the rifle and revolver both in .357, having both loaded full, plus having my cartridge belt full of the same ammo (provided the belt is canvas so it don't cause the green crap on the brass cartridges).

With iron sights a practiced shooter should be able to hit a 5-6" circle at 100 yards; and up close you should be able to shoot about once per second with reasonable probability of hitting your target.
Click to expand...

That 5-6" circle... that's shooting from offhand and the rifle, in my experience, is capable of decent groups. While it's true that you should be able to shoot that fast, you do have to aim. Instictive shooting (aka "from the hip") is still aimed fire, just not by using the sights. I recommend getting a good aperture rear sight such as a Williams 5D and learning how to use it. Up close, a .357 or .38 +P from a 18.5" barrel would be an extremely tough round to take and keep going... unless they're doped up so they don't feel it. In that case, the same rifle in .44magnum might suit the situation a mite better. I recall Sheriff Jim Wilson wrote at length on these leverguns as HD/fighting tools and he said he carried a Marlin '94 in .44mag on drug raids as well as keeping one by his back door. I'd say either the .357 or .44magnum version will do the job nicely, if "nicely" can be applied to HD.
 
I have to admit to a failure in California law, but my personal preference in home defense and the one which leans in the corner of my bedroom is a good ol' M1 Carbine with 30 round magazine.

Failing that (based on stupid laws regarding max round magazines) I would recommend a simple pump shotgun, first round like 7 1/2 shot and the rest #4.

No man can stand up to the winds that blow out of a good short barrelled shot gun.
 
I am with the pro-lever gun crowd. Mine is in .45 Colt, and is a Trapper: short, handy, and with different loads ranges from home-defense to bear defense to plinking. Practice and put a peep sight or ghost ring on. Mine is a XS ghost ring and I think it is the best set-up.

If you are restricting yourself from a semi-auto because of California law, you can also get an SKS, Mini 14, or SU16, which are plenty of rifle for home defense and not too expensive, or an M1A, which is a bit much for home defense and many more dollars.

Leverguns are more fun, and less threatening, if that matters to you.
 
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Nothing wrong with a lever gun. Nothing at all. "The PC assault rifle." I always get a kick out of local Christmas parades which feature cowboy action reenactors in full cowboy garb, toting their Winchesters down Main Street in El Cajon California (near San Diego.) How many folks on the street have any idea that all of those rifles are fully capable of throwing out a serious amount of lead? Yet they are welcome to troop down mainstreet on horseback, rifles up. Try that with AR-15s! Every SWAT team in North America would come helicoptering in!
 
How many folks on the street have any idea that all of those rifles are fully capable of throwing out a serious amount of lead? Yet they are welcome to troop down mainstreet on horseback, rifles up. Try that with AR-15s! Every SWAT team in North America would come helicoptering in!
Click to expand...

It's like I've said in other threads... Some people live in a fantasy world where supposedly "outdated" weapons and ammo are thought to be so "old and decrepit" as to be non-functioning even if every one in the bunch is new production. But I've always held it to be self-evident from watching SASS/CAS competitors and others that some serious supressive fire, as well as accurate aimed fire, can be laid down by a bunch of levergunners. And I've not seen anything to compell me to misunderestimate a single levergunner either, but that's all relative one guy to the next and how well he knows his rifle.
 
I got an 1894C, and it sure is sweeeeet!
Because of my nearsightedness I truly sucked with irons, but with my 3-9x scope mounted, hitting cokecan-sized targets aint hard.
Just go handle one at your gunshop, and you'll fall in love instantly :)

.38 Special's felt recoil in the rifle is next to nothing, and with 10 rounds of .38 Special in the tube, most anything can be dealt with, within reason.
 
m1 carbine with soft points. light recoil and very controlable. cartrige is very close to a .357 magnum as far as performance.
 
+1 on the 1894c. though i own "assault" rifles, i'm a levergunner at heart. my 1894 wears a red dot scope, and it's my go-to gun for javelina or general predator defense while camping. it's small and handy, and i would gladly depend on it for home defense. with practice, the lever action has the potential to be one of the fastest manual actions. and like previously mentioned, you can top off the magazine when you have a spare moment.

if i ever have to live in California again, it would definitely come along for the ride.
 
I would not worry if I had a lever gun at all. The .357 Marlins are great from my limited use. Have you thought of the bigger guns? I have a guide gun in .45-70 and they are very impressive. Theycan be run very fast trust me, I shot the heck out of mine before a bear hunt.:)

james
 
The Kahr Arms/Auto Ordnance M1 carbine I recently purchased is intended to serve that role (as well as informal plinking). I have absolute faith that a well-placed 110gr SP from an M1 will strip the fight from most assailants. If not, there's always the remaining 14 rounds at the ready. ;)

A recent play dough test of mine proved nice .50-ish caliber expansion from MagTech 110gr SPs after 4 layers of denim (clothing has no effect on SP expansion) at 25 yards with enough remaining bullet shank afterwards to provide penetration that I found quite impressive.
 
How about an AR-15 type rifle, yes I said AR-15.

Go to calguns.net and start reading up on the availability of "off-list" AR-15 type rifles. The short version of the story is that an AR type rifle can be built and legally owned in CA as a "top loading" weapon. Essentially you must pin a 10 round fixed and non-removable magazine in place. To load the rifle the rear takedown pin must be pulled out and the rifle pivoted open like an over/under shotgun for loading. It's not the most user friendly system, but I'd still take it over a lever gun or a lot of other rifles out there.

Besides if you ever go shooting to Arizona, Nevada, or other free states, the mag catch release can be replaced in less than five minutes. You can then remove the 10 round fixed mag thereby restoring your rifle to accepting 30 round detachable mags just like any AR sold in the rest of the country.

When you are done dumping a case of ammo out of your 30 round pre-ban mags, replace detachable mag with dumb 10 round fixed mag, and then drive back home.
 
I use a Marlin 1894C with the XS ghost ring sights and a holo sight, and a Surefire on a barrel clamp. Quite a blending of modern Gucci-ness and old Western style :D
 
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