Which of these two rifles for home defense carbine, with a twist?

[B.D. Turner]

For a home-defense carbine for just-in-case high round counts are needed,

Brother your going to have to run what ya brung. If only life were so simple. No disrespect but we just don't have that clear a picture of how something is going to unfold. I break it down like this given an option I grab a shotgun during hours of darkness and a rifle during the day. I answer the door with a handgun.

 

[JShirley]

Nothin' wrong with a short little carbine in .45 Colt for HD. Georgia Arms offers a "medium" sorta load with 260-grain HP that might be dandy for your HD needs.

You could consider a chain with a cable lock attached. 15 seconds to secure or release. Wouldn't be terribly hard to remove with tools, but no-one could just walk in, grab your stuff, and bolt.

John

 

[rfurtkamp]

If you're worried about "just in case" high round counts are needed, lever gun or shotgun is an awful choice IMO.

Both require two hands to cycle and operate with any degree of proficiency.

M1 wins given the two choices.

"Just in case" high round counts are needed would indicate (a) detachable box mag (b) semi-auto (c) as handy as possible for indoor/outdoor use, preferrably something you can theoretically shoot/hold/operate with one hand if possible.

I don't want to think about using a lever gun at full extension while doing a corner and having to cycle etc.

 

[JShirley]

Not necessarily. It would help if we knew where the poster lived. I'd take a strong .45 Colt over an M1 Carbine any day if large animals could potentially be the threat.

 

[jordan1948]

Well given the 2 choices I'd take the M1 carbine but if I didn't want to rely on a shotgun and a handgun for home defense I'd just try to get something cheap and reliable like a hi-point 9mm, ugly yes but all the BG's gonna know is it's a gun and it's in your hands.

 

[Cosmoline]

I don't have the time/energy to do so (laziness, essentially). A strongbox takes just as much time to put something into and out of each day, but is inferior (less secure) anyway

It takes no more time than opening a locked door. Most gun safes take considerably more time since they have a combination lock. I've found the strong box to be extremely easy and convenient. You can mount a go-to carbine on the underside of the lid and it's right there when you open the box up. That's more convenient than a safe and more secure than leaving firearms laying around. It also resolves your concerns.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I'm going to go aganst the grain here - how unusual...

My personal experience shows me that a rifle, even a carbine, is too long to use in a house with hallways and small spaces. Short shotguns with a pistol grip - OK, but other than that, not so much.

A 1911 with night sights is the cat's patute IMO. Any large bore non magnum SA semi auto or a similar DA/SA revolver works for me.

 

[gunNoob]

I have a WASR

 

[rondog]

I'll just keep my suggestion to myself, I don't wanna get snapped at.....

 

[Kind of Blued]

Is this shotgun an O/U? Is your handgun a Thompson Center?

Five to 10 rounds of 00 Buck and seven to 20 rounds of 9mm-.45ACP should do just fine.

Figure out how to get them both into action quickly, practice with them, and those two will be at least buy you enough time to get back to the safe to prepare for the rest of the zombies.

Let me know if I'm missing something here. Do you want to retire the shotgun from home defense duties in favor of a rifle? If not, how are you going to clear your house carrying two long guns and a handgun?

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Kind of Blued: Good questions, all:

Is this shotgun an O/U? Is your handgun a Thompson Center?

Rem 870 clone pump 12 ga with 6+1 and a cheekpad holding 6 more.

Five to 10 rounds of 00 Buck and seven to 20 rounds of 9mm-.45ACP should do just fine.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. Due to your response and many similar ones, I've decided to keep all rifles in the safe and just leave the handgun and shotgun out.

Figure out how to get them both into action quickly, practice with them, and those two will be at least buy you enough time to get back to the safe to prepare for the rest of the zombies.

Yep, good advice.

Let me know if I'm missing something here. Do you want to retire the shotgun from home defense duties in favor of a rifle? If not, how are you going to clear your house carrying two long guns and a handgun?

No, I wouldn't be retiring/substituting or carrying all of them. Just using: (a) handgun for house clearing, (b) Shotgun for sit and wait while dialing 911, and (c) rifle for some random as-yet-unforeseen-by-me need to go outdoors and shoot long-distance (would probably never ever happen, so....)

 

[dubious]

Hmmmm... both the m1 and 1894 are great carry rifles, no doubt. I think they both fill the same niche. The m1 has a higher ammo capacity and is semi auto... while 1894 is no slacker.

That said, you really should be locking up your guns when you're out. It's your responsibility as a gun owner. If you don't lock up your guns when you're out you're making a case for the gun banners. Don't be lazy... You need to be a role model here. Besides, what if someone DOES steal your gun (with your fingerprints) and proceeds to rob or even kill somebody? You may well get arrested for murder. Even if you win the case, you'll still be BROKE from the legal expense.

 

[janobles14]

sauceboy: so of all the posts before mine that didnt "answer" your question you pick mine and one other to rail on? ooooook. of course you may have done so on page 2 but again i didnt read them all. so get an ar or mini 14. or dont.

 

[Girodin]

My personal experience shows me that a rifle, even a carbine, is too long to use in a house with hallways and small spaces.

this is one of the reasons I've come to really like my bullpups. If I ever get a suppressor I may shift away from my twelve gauge to one of my bullpups. They are compact and quick handling. They can be fired with one hand accurately and easily, this means the other hand is free for a variety of tasks that may arise. They still offer the advatages of a long gun over a pistol, more firepower and better accuracy. I hope to run one through a carbine corse soon in order to improve my use of it and prove its reliability.

The main drawback in my mind to the bullpup is its horrible trigger but this isn't much of a concern at HD distances.

 

[lefteyedom]

What you need is a Marlin Camp rifle in 45 acp.

Here is a nice little link with more info.

http://members.aol.com/fourn6/camp9.html

 

[JD0608]

the biggest problem i see with leaving a gun out all the time is ... what if you come home and the guy robbing your house shoots your ass with the gun that was such a hassle to put in the safe before you left home..

 

[NWCP]

For home defense your shotgun and handgun are more than adequate. As for a rifle when would you really be needing one as a 'home defense' weapon? Within the confines of your home a rifle can be awkward to use and will penetrate most interior and exterior walls posing possible danger to your own family and neighbors as well. Shooting a bad guy at 50 yards, or more, would be considered hunting rather than self defense in most courts. That aside, your .45 lever gun uses a more effective round than the M1 IMHO. The only carbine I would consider using inside my own home would be my HK USC .45ACP. It's a short barreled semi that uses a great pistol round. Otherwise it's the 8 shot Mossberg 12GA, and my 15 round HK USP 9mm.

 

[Calhoun321]

There is no point having more than 2 arms out. Keep the handgun and either a rifle or shotgun. If you like having the shotgun out, but want more range, keep some slugs out (say in a cheek pad or side saddle). This would keep you in the fight out to 100 yards, which is about the same distance these carbines would be good for.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

That said, you really should be locking up your guns when you're out. It's your responsibility as a gun owner.

Hmm, I may start a thread on that. I don't see it as automatic negligence to not lock up a gun when I'm the only human that lives here and my front door is locked when I'm gone. But maybe I'm in the minority in that view....

Calhoun, that's exactly what I'm thinking now, and yes, I have 3 slugs in the sidesaddle on the buttstock of the shotgun. Both the rifles are staying in the safe.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Mike U.]

PremiumSauces,

I gather you've never been burgled before.
You typical house/apartment is sooo easy to break into you'd likely be shocked if you see it done by someone who knows what they are doing. A burglar finding a gun is a burglar who thinks he's hit a minor mother-lode. He then begins the search for more firearms as even the village idiot burglar knows where there is one gun there's likely to be more just waiting to be turned into cold, hard cash. How would you feel if one of your stolen guns killed a cop or ended up being used in a mass school shooting?
I'll tell you how your local DA will feel. He/she will feel like getting some payback for the surviving loved ones and you are now the target. And, let's not forget about all of those surviving loved ones who will lawyer up and take everything you own in court.

RKBA is deadly serious business. You as a gun owner have a huge responsibility to keep your firearms out of the hands of those who want to make your arms THEIR firearms.

Laziness is the burglar's friend. Lock up your guns. Lock up your valuables if you intend to keep them. Every single victim of burglary will tell you "yeah, I know it happens, I just didn't think it would happen to me".

 

[ndh87]

The 45 Colt. its a much bigger round, lever guns are *generally* less likely to jam and it costs less if you have to replace it.

 

[mljdeckard]

For years now, my regular HD has been my 870 loaded with #4 buck as my primary, my M-1 carbine as backup/wife's primary. We keep it with two 15 rd mags in a pouch on the butt. I would very much like to acquire a second one to use, as this one is a bit of a family heirloom. The .45 Colt might well have better ballistics than an M-1, but I'm not into lever guns, the carbine performs flawlessly, and if you think about it, it's really a near equivalent of a .357 when it comes out of the longer barrel. My dad has killed three mule deer with it. It is the perfect size for my wife to handle comfortably.

If I ever use an AR for HD, it will be with dedicated ammo. (Hornady TAP.) I will never use a handgun if I have time to grab a long gun.

 

[texas bulldog]

premiumsauces,

i know it's not what you want to hear, but i gotta agree with the folks saying you should go ahead and put 'em in the safe when you leave. i too have a lazy streak (just ask my wife...), but i still find the energy to take a gun out when i get home and put it back when i leave for work.

as to the original question, i think you'll be well-served with just the shotgun and handgun. that's plenty of firepower for just one person.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I gather you've never been burgled before.
You typical house/apartment is sooo easy to break into you'd likely be shocked if you see it done by someone who knows what they are doing. A burglar finding a gun is a burglar who thinks he's hit a minor mother-lode. He then begins the search for more firearms as even the village idiot burglar knows where there is one gun there's likely to be more just waiting to be turned into cold, hard cash. How would you feel if one of your stolen guns killed a cop or ended up being used in a mass school shooting?
I'll tell you how your local DA will feel. He/she will feel like getting some payback for the surviving loved ones and you are now the target. And, let's not forget about all of those surviving loved ones who will lawyer up and take everything you own in court.

RKBA is deadly serious business. You as a gun owner have a huge responsibility to keep your firearms out of the hands of those who want to make your arms THEIR firearms.

Laziness is the burglar's friend. Lock up your guns. Lock up your valuables if you intend to keep them. Every single victim of burglary will tell you "yeah, I know it happens, I just didn't think it would happen to me".

Hmm, now that's a real eye-opener, and perhaps you are right. No I've not ever been burgled. I *DO* have these security bars on the doors and windows over and above normal locks & deadbolts, as a bit of extra deterrence, but I gather that a crook would probably make quick work of those, too, if he wanted to.

Maybe I should lock every last gun into one of the safes before leaving, particularly the ones I keep fully loaded like the home defense guns. I certainly wouldn't want to get shot by one of my own guns upon arriving home to catch a burglar in the act. I will say that of my two larger safes, one is pretty easy to get into/out of, with it's keypad lock. I should probably get another one like that for the bedroom, to make it easier to get in/out of and facilitate this and overcome the laziness. These "cheapies" with the keypad are only $600 at Sam's, so I could swing that within a month or two - I'll look into it. Anyone else have an opinion as to whether it's "automatically" negligent to leave out a loaded gun in a house in a fairly low crime-rate area, when the only person living in the house is the adult gun-owner? This definitely deserves a thread of its own with a poll.

 

[JShirley]

Within the confines of your home a rifle can be awkward to use and will penetrate most interior and exterior walls posing possible danger to your own family and neighbors as well.

Baloney. I would let this stand, except some other inexperienced person may read and believe it. Good, rapidly expanding rifle ammunition poses less threat of shoot-through than 00 buck.