Sometime in the near future I will probably purchase a semi-auto rifle for home defense.
Great! Since you are on the defense you get to pick whatever you want, and a rifle is an excellent choice.
I'd MUCH rather have a rifle in my hands in a gun fight, than a little sissy pistol.
I live in a fairly rural area,
Even better! This opens up even more choices!
I wanted some input about possible choices.
Most excellent. Since you're in a rural area and looking for a rifle, i'll give you a couple of ideas.
First up is an FG42.
Yes, I know that it's a dated design that many people have never even heard of, but from a practical standpoint, you've got 20 rounds of high powered 8x57mm on tap. Since it was designed for Nazi paratroopers it's compact, but robust enough if you run out of ammunition you can still effectively use it as a hefty club. The real wood and metal parts show your intruders that you have some class, and the bipod lets you engage targets at a distance of about 800 yards. Great for making sure the bad guys get the point and don't cross your 5 acre front yard out in the country.
Next up is the SCAR17S.
Similar in knockdown power to the venerable 8mm round, the SCAR provides you a level of sophistication well beyond your average shotgun-packing home owner that will surely leave the bad guys with the impression you not only know your business, but know it
incredibly well. Whether you are patrolling your back deck or your front porch, the SCAR will not feel out of place.
Of course if you want to properly defend your house against NATO aggression I'd heartily recommend something in the Kalashnikov lineage. Here you can see my collection of this exceptionally reliable home defense platform placed meticulously around the Christmas tree, with my
Dog of War Marley watching on; may he rest in peace.
(NOTE: it is best to arrange this type of photo shoot when the wife is out shopping and clean up prior to her returning home.)
The Kalashnikov weapons platform not only says to intruders that you are serious about home defense, but you are willing to take it a step further and start a full on revolution, comrade! Remember, in Mother Russia, cheap plywood and pressed steel is your only true friend.
With the AK platform you also have a choice of calibers which is helpful if over-penetration is a concern!
As an extension of that, the consummate revolutionary would accept nothing less than the penultimate home defense weapon. In that category there is only one rifle - the legendary PKM. Light enough to take out for daily routine man-tasks, like chopping down trees with your bare hands, it provides you many options.
With 100 rounds of linked 7.62x54R in the attached assault can, you can be sure that no intruder will ever bring enough gun to one-up you in a home defense engagement. In fact, you'll very likely have more ammo ready to use in your gun than any reasonable (or even far fetched) scenario would call for.
JUST in case 100 rounds is not enough you can also feed the rifle from a 200 round box attached to the lightweight folding tripod. This is great for static home defense scenarios like the end of a hallway in your bedroom door, or as pictured below, on the kitchen table trained towards the main entry stairwell of the house.
In case the PKM isn't enough on it's own you can pair it with the older RPD and (albeit sluggishly) carry about 1,000 rounds on your person. Note this is very, very heavy - but what bad guy wouldn't turn tail and run away when faced with a duel-wielding belt fed home owner?!
I mean, let's be real here. Nothing says "GET OFF MY LAWN"
quite like duel-wielding belt feds.
In the event you still feel undergunned with the intermediate and full rifle calibers listed above, don't fret - there are still options. Rest assured, this feeling of inadequacy towards home defense can be fully and finally conquered with a nice 50 caliber belt fed rifle such as this Soviet DShK.
Imagine the look on the bad guys face when you hit the garage door remote and they see THIS big gun pointing down the driveway!
Once your friends (a.k.a. "crew") help you get the DShK set up you will finally be prepared to handle any and all threats which get within 2500 meters.
So, there's some choices to consider. Choose wisely, friend!
