Rifle for home defense

[JavaBrewer]

I'm not sure there is a way around the noise/ear damage concerns when discharging a weapon indoors in a HD scenario. The sound barrier crack from a 10-22 LR should not be discounted. I am on the side of overwhelming force in a life and death situation and thus a 12 gauge 00 buck, 556, 308, etc would be my choice. But our HD strategy involves sheltering in place and not walking around clearing the home. Come through the door despite warnings and that will be it.

I don't practice enough with a hand gun to give me any confidence I would be able to use it effectively when my shorts of full of crap. I am much more comfortable with a long gun. YMMV.

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Snapper beat me to it.

9mm rilfe:
https://ruger.com/products/pcCarbine/specSheets/19100.html

this one has my interest


https://www.joeboboutfitters.com/Grand-Power-Stribog-SP9A1-SB-9MM-8-30-1-Pistol-w-p/gun-stribog-sp9a1-sb.htm

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by jyl

But for this woman, it sounds like right now it is .22 or nothing. She’s new to guns. Isn’t a .22 the way many shooters start off? The 10/22 or whatever isn’t supposed to be the end game, just the gateway drug. I think getting her having fun plinking with the .22 and then receptive to “moving up” is more likely to produce a well protected lady in the end, than handing her a firearm that she won’t shoot but once. At least with my wife, there’s no way I could have persuaded her to start with a bigger caliber handgun. In my experience, have to take women along in incremental steps.

Yes, I agree. We need to introduce new shooters incrementally, beginning with firearms that will not intimidate them. The .22 is the obvious place to start. It's not the end game, though, if one is serious about home protection.

[vash]

i think a CCI Velocitor round will jack up a person..in a home defense type of way. it screams.

[Cajundaddy]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Any defensive arm needs to be capable of stopping the fight right now. Settling for less is a mistake. If someone is truly serious about providing for their defense, or for the defense of loved ones, they will put in the time necessary to learn to handle an adequate firearm. Anything less is pure fantasy, no more than wishful thinking. Just because someone owns and has access to a firearm, any firearm, does not mean they are armed. One of my favorite analogies is that "buying a guitar does not make one a musician". A commitment to defend one's self and one's loved ones is about as serious of a commitment that we will ever make. Far too may treat it far too casually. Get the training. Learn to use an adequate weapon. Your life, and the lives of loved ones, may someday depend on it.

I agree with this. A gun in the hands of someone uncomfortable with it is often worse than no gun in home defense. Reaching for deadly force in a panic or rising out of a groggy sleep at 3am is how friends and family get killed by friendly fire.

Lethal home defense for a woman? I favor shotguns for their stopping power inside of 30' and their tendency to stop once they hit something solid. Personal preference is a 12GA but if that is too much gun for her, a 20GA with #4 load will end it very quickly without so much shoulder violence. Add a monthly training session at the range to become fully comfortable with the weapon and she will be able to defend herself with confidence.

I also believe in making the home a hardened target against bad guys so they lose interest and move on down the road. Motion sensor outdoor lighting and cameras, perimeter gates, dogs for early warning, and secure doors and windows buy a lot of time and give the homeowner a tremendous tactical advantage. In the event of an intruder you get early warning, time to become fully awake, you will know where they are while positioning yourself in a secure defensive position. The bad guy has lost the element of surprise, lost their night vision, can hear big dogs barking, and doesn't know where you are. If they do continue to attempt a break-in it will be over very quickly.

[Por_sha911]

Home Defense means someone has specifically chosen to invade your home and coming face to face with them is a life/death scenario.

22lr? meh, I would consider that if she said its that or nothing. Make sure it is a semi auto and a large magazine.

Rifle? Too hard to swing around the furniture and she'll get one shot off.

Suggest 16 gauge - loud, hard to miss, will get the intruder's attention, not too bad on the kick. If she can handle it, 12 gauge is the best home defense weapon for people aren't marksmen or already do concealed carry.

[varmint]

Split the difference. Get the civilian version of the HK MP5

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

We really don't care if they eventually die. That's not what we are after..

Well, sorta. I don't want the police hearing anyone's story but mine.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Well, sorta. I don't want the police hearing anyone's story but mine.

[jyl]

Slightly related. I went to the range with a friend. He used to train people (LE types) in unarmed combat, now trains them in guns. He and I used to work together, when we first met he asked what was that book I was reading. It was a book about the aeronautical ballistics of how WWI pilots shot each other down. The next day he brought me a book about the history of Glock. So we got along.

Anyway he brought some AR looking pistol caliber thingys and most of them were suppressed. I asked how come and he said range regulars are tending to use suppressors more now, to make lots of shooting more comfortable and safer to the hearing.

Has anyone tried using a suppressed pistol to teach people who are unusually averse to noise and blast?

[drcoastline]

Sub 2000, 9mm Glock17, 19 magazines or 40 S&W. 16" folded, 29-1/4" open. Can get 32 or 50 round magazines. Slightly increases velocity of the round.

[aigel]

A .22 rifle will certainly be better than a bedpan in a bedroom home defense situation. I did not read the entire thread here in detail but I think this one has not come up:

Rimfire ammo is inherently less reliable than anything center fire. So, unless the shooter is very familiar with the gun and can clear a dud quickly, I would NOT recommend a semi-automatic. The best thing would probably be a lever action carbine with a 16" barrel.

And I don't get why - if you are talking .22 - can't you shoot a .22 revolver with a longer barrel and 10+ rounds?

G

[Jim Bremner]

I love my 18" factory riot barreled Remington model 11 12 ga srmi auto shotgun. That being said if I needed to defend my life with a firearm i will grab something easier to reload. AR15 fits the bill. Might want to also look at a M1 Carbine. But the AR is what I would grab

[Bill Douglas]

A .22 magnum is a good defense caliber. And very manageable.

Maybe a revolver chambered in .22 magnum might tick all the boxes.

[drcoastline]

Then there is this loaded with either slugs or 00 buck.

[KFC911]

12 ga. Fiocchi 00 Defensive Buck out of a 20" bbl or Marlin lever .357 hp....similar length. The 00 is very managable recoil...way less than regular... almost none in the Marlin.

[GH85Carrera]

One of my friends was a retired homicide detective, and he taught a home defense, and a course to get a carry permit, back before the state became constitutional carry, no permit needed.

One of the things he always stressed was thy layout of your house, and where the bedrooms are of children or other people. Most rounds will go right through a wall, and several walls more. There have been cases where the homeowner was shooting an intruder, but some bullets missed, went through some walls and hit a loved one in a different part of the house. For that reason, he advocated for a smaller rounds and discouraged shotgun slugs, 356 Magnum and such. And no "hot loads" certainly.

The one certainty with an intruder in your house and the homeowner shooting the heart rate will be maxed out and the level of adrenaline will be at the top of the scale. Thinking and strategy will be almost impossible. Walk through your house and pick the best places to be before hand.

Of course if you live alone it is the neighbors you need to think of with your bullets going through a window and into their house.

No doubt, if an intruder invades my house I will do my best to give him or her severe lead poisoning.

[Halm]

Just picked up a S&W M&P Sport II for home defense. Local hunting store had them on sale for $680. First long spoon I have ever bought. Need to find ammo and then go hit the range.

[911 Rod]

I think if you are going to be using a long gun for HD, you better become good at shooting from the hip. Shortens the gun and it's easier to swing around.
"Say hello to my little friend" style.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Halm

Just picked up a S&W M&P Sport II for home defense. Local hunting store had them on sale for $680. First long spoon I have ever bought. Need to find ammo and then go hit the range.

Wow, nice score. I was looking at those recently, but there didn't seem to be any in Houston, at least, according to the various stores' websites.