MacTech
Member
Just kicking some ideas around here, wondering which one of my rifles would be the best choice for HD?
First off, let me set the stage here....
Home is a 230 year old Georgian Colonial style house in Maine, 50 acres of land, closest neighbors are 500 yards away line-of-sight, but for the most part, we're reasonably rurally located, wall construction is old Colonial wooden walls, no sheetrock prefab stuff, I'm not sure the *exact* wall composition, but they are sturdy and have stood for 200+ years
Using compass points, the closest neighbors are to the North and East of us, to the South lies the salt marsh, closest dwelling is about 2 miles away, on the other side of the marsh, and to the West, the closest neighbor is at the top of the hill, about 1/8 mile, our house is about halfway up the hill
that's the overall land/neighbor layout
Now, onto the thought experiment....
First off, let me just say that the options listed in my OP here are the *ONLY* options, *DO NOT* suggest "Sell rifle "X" and get rifle "Y", it's better", I am to work with what I have and nothing more, I'm open to different ammo or handload suggestions, but not changing the rifles, I like what I have, and with the economy the way it is, it's not financially wise (or feasable at the moment) to go swapping rifles around on a whim, I'm going to make what I have work for me
Secondly, I already have both a defensive handgun and shotgun, and to be perfectly honest, in a HD situation, I would likely reach for the shotgun first anyway, but that's not the purpose of the thought experiment
Okay, here are the contenders
Yugo SKS, with all original add-ons** (bayo, grenade launcher, night sights)
Ammo for the Yugo consists of;
Wolf Military Classic 124 Gn FMJ
WMC 124 Gn JHP
Winchester 123 Gn SP
Winchester 123 Gn FMJ
Yes, I know FMJ is not a good defensive round due to overpenetration, but I do have it in my ammo stockpile, so it gets listed
Marlin 336 lever in .30-30, basic non-crossblock safety 1970's vintage rifle
Ammo for the 336 consists of the following;
Winchester 170 Gn Power Point
Remington 150 Gn Core-Lokt
I do plan on reloading for the 336, and I also want to try the Hornady Leverevolution 160 grainers
the 336 is my newest addition, and I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet, this weekend if the weather's nice, I'll be determining what loads it likes best
So, which would be the best rifle for HD purposes between these two? and by best I mean "most effective at stopping the threat", I already know the 336 would be more "Jury-freindly" than the SKS, the bayonet (even folded away) and grenade launcher hardware make it look decidedly unfreindly to non-gun-types, wheras the 336 is "just an old cowboy's gun"
** I have been considering doing the 922r compliance thing to get rid of the launcher, as it's a useless bit of hardware (a bit overbuilt for a muzzle protector) and perhaps remove the bayo, mainly to lighten it up a bit and improve the balance, but then again, it's always useful to have a rifle with a big poky end on it.....
First off, let me set the stage here....
Home is a 230 year old Georgian Colonial style house in Maine, 50 acres of land, closest neighbors are 500 yards away line-of-sight, but for the most part, we're reasonably rurally located, wall construction is old Colonial wooden walls, no sheetrock prefab stuff, I'm not sure the *exact* wall composition, but they are sturdy and have stood for 200+ years
Using compass points, the closest neighbors are to the North and East of us, to the South lies the salt marsh, closest dwelling is about 2 miles away, on the other side of the marsh, and to the West, the closest neighbor is at the top of the hill, about 1/8 mile, our house is about halfway up the hill
that's the overall land/neighbor layout
Now, onto the thought experiment....
First off, let me just say that the options listed in my OP here are the *ONLY* options, *DO NOT* suggest "Sell rifle "X" and get rifle "Y", it's better", I am to work with what I have and nothing more, I'm open to different ammo or handload suggestions, but not changing the rifles, I like what I have, and with the economy the way it is, it's not financially wise (or feasable at the moment) to go swapping rifles around on a whim, I'm going to make what I have work for me
Secondly, I already have both a defensive handgun and shotgun, and to be perfectly honest, in a HD situation, I would likely reach for the shotgun first anyway, but that's not the purpose of the thought experiment
Okay, here are the contenders
Yugo SKS, with all original add-ons** (bayo, grenade launcher, night sights)
Ammo for the Yugo consists of;
Wolf Military Classic 124 Gn FMJ
WMC 124 Gn JHP
Winchester 123 Gn SP
Winchester 123 Gn FMJ
Yes, I know FMJ is not a good defensive round due to overpenetration, but I do have it in my ammo stockpile, so it gets listed
Marlin 336 lever in .30-30, basic non-crossblock safety 1970's vintage rifle
Ammo for the 336 consists of the following;
Winchester 170 Gn Power Point
Remington 150 Gn Core-Lokt
I do plan on reloading for the 336, and I also want to try the Hornady Leverevolution 160 grainers
the 336 is my newest addition, and I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet, this weekend if the weather's nice, I'll be determining what loads it likes best
So, which would be the best rifle for HD purposes between these two? and by best I mean "most effective at stopping the threat", I already know the 336 would be more "Jury-freindly" than the SKS, the bayonet (even folded away) and grenade launcher hardware make it look decidedly unfreindly to non-gun-types, wheras the 336 is "just an old cowboy's gun"
** I have been considering doing the 922r compliance thing to get rid of the launcher, as it's a useless bit of hardware (a bit overbuilt for a muzzle protector) and perhaps remove the bayo, mainly to lighten it up a bit and improve the balance, but then again, it's always useful to have a rifle with a big poky end on it.....