Living with the AR-15 -Home Defense

[djjdnap]

Found this article/book and thought id share.

Home Defense with Your AR-15

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[BillyT]

I liked this but what if you arent rich enough for one of those fancy rifles?


I heard the mini 14 is just as good, is that true?

 

[gunowner930]

good read.

 

[gunowner930]

I liked this but what if you arent rich enough for one of those fancy rifles?


I heard the mini 14 is just as good, is that true?

I'm not sure if you can get all of the tactical goodies on a Mini-14. but it usually fires the .223 same cartridge.

 

[sloughfoot]

Reference "tactical goodies" = Yes, the Mini-14 is the equal of the AR15 under the home defense circumstances.

What people fail to take into account when shooting any centerfire rifle inside your house is the muzzle blast.

It is as disorienting as a flash bang grenade, even to the guy pulling the trigger, if you didn't have time to put ears on. Glass will shatter, pictures will fall from the walls, your dog will hide under a bed and will never look at you quite the same again.

Prove it to yourself, safely and with somebody around to help you you find your way to the bathroom so you can empty your bladder.

But if it is all you have if the time comes......

 

[jblomenberg16]

I liked this but what if you arent rich enough for one of those fancy rifles?


I heard the mini 14 is just as good, is that true?

Any more a mini14 isn't really that much less expensive than an entry level AR. Add to that the added ability to customize and AR, as well as the typical advantage in accuracy the AR has over the mini, and you might as well get an AR.

That being said, the mini14 is by no means a bad rifle, and will certainly get the job done. But IMHO, it is not just as good as the AR. If it was, I'd venture to say there would be a lot of brave men and women in the "Sand Box" using them, instead of the M4/M16 that the civilian AR is closely related to.

 

[BillyT]

Mini 14 with ATI stock some weird bipod grip

Same stock

 

[esrice]

I liked this but what if you arent rich enough for one of those fancy rifles?

AK

 

[Saiga223]

I liked this but what if you arent rich enough for one of those fancy rifles?


I heard the mini 14 is just as good, is that true?

Mini 14s do cost nearly the same as a DPMS or Olympic Arms AR-15 (entry level Ar as stated above), but if you are really on a budget you can get a Saiga .223/5.56 for around $350 stock or grab a Kel-Tec .223 for about $450.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Only got one gripe about that article: His comments on FMJ. At home distances, I cannot see M193 going beyond the bad guy if it's real M193 and fragments.

Sloughfoot brings up an excellent point regarding HD carbines: .223/5/56 is pretty loud and percussive outdoors, I cannot imagine a 16 incher in my home. Heck, +P .38 deafened me for about 2 minutes our of a 4" barrel in an indoor environment. A 12 gauge would be loud and probably knock pics off your walls. Anything shot in your home will damage your hearing if you don't have protection. Electronic, amplified hearing protection isn't too bad. I am still saving up for some Sorden or similar NICE quality ears for the home. The ones sjstill had that he let me horse with were really nice and even AMPLIFIED low sounds!

 

[TheDude]

Not mentioned in the article (Unless I missed it) is that an ARs point of aim and impact are gonna be way different in real close ranges.











12 gauge

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Not mentioned in the article (Unless I missed it) is that an ARs point of aim and impact are gonna be way different in real close ranges.

12 gauge

i agree. if im awaken at night by a "bump" theres a good chance that ill be groggy. i don't want my life to be dependent on me hitting a target perfectly with a single bullet if im not totally coherent at the time. atleast with a shotgun with buckshot you don't have to think about your aim as much. as long as its on, (or even near the target depending on the distance between you), your goin to hit it. its more of a point and shoot rather than an aim and shoot. i like those chances better. granted if it is close enough you can just point the AR and probably hit, but again it is only one projectile and idk if i would readily lay my life on it.

 

[esrice]

its more of a point and shoot rather than an aim and shoot.

The flip-side of that is, however, that you are also more likely to have have a "miss", even if you make several "hits". Even a single pellet that sails past your attacker could penetrate a barrier and hit an innocent on the other side.

 

[jeremy]

Not mentioned in the article (Unless I missed it) is that an ARs point of aim and impact are gonna be way different in real close ranges.

Not really...

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

The flip-side of that is, however, that you are also more likely to have have a "miss", even if you make several "hits". Even a single pellet that sails past your attacker could penetrate a barrier and hit an innocent on the other side.

that is true but if the same were to happen with an AR there would be no hits with a miss, it would be all miss. atleast the pellets that do hit have a chance to incapacitate. thats where i would rather not take the chance with an AR. and in my house my halway forms a "deadly funnel" the only ways to tthe rooms in my house is down the hallway. well my room is closest to the doors so any shooting if it happened would be going to be away from any other person and towards my garage, so penetration is not much of a concern to me. depends on the circumstances of course, but is not a huge concern, especially if something happened at night when everyone is in bed. but thats just my house.

 

[jeremy]

So many do not have a firm grasp on what Shot does when it leaves the muzzle...

 

[esrice]

that is true but if the same were to happen with an AR there would be no hits with a miss, it would be all miss.

The thing I like about the AR is that I know where my hits will be. If I miss it will only be because I didn't do my part. With a shotgun, depending on the load and distance, I could do my part and still have a partial miss.

in my house my halway forms a "deadly funnel" the only ways to tthe rooms in my house is down the hallway.

With that setup, if over-penetration isn't an issue then I see where you're coming from.

Personally, I'm just not a fan of the "unknown variation" with a shotgun and buckshot. Some modern loads are getting pretty darn tight, like Federal's Flite Control, and I would trust them before I'd go with something that spread quickly.

 

[irishfan]

Not really...

It is a few inches off but should not be a real issue in home defense.

As far as home defense I choose my pistol as I have a few tight corners and long guns are to hard to get around. My girlfriend has a 12ga since she won't be going anywhere until police arrive.

 

[gunowner930]

i agree. if im awaken at night by a "bump" theres a good chance that ill be groggy. i don't want my life to be dependent on me hitting a target perfectly with a single bullet if im not totally coherent at the time. atleast with a shotgun with buckshot you don't have to think about your aim as much. as long as its on, (or even near the target depending on the distance between you), your goin to hit it. its more of a point and shoot rather than an aim and shoot. i like those chances better. granted if it is close enough you can just point the AR and probably hit, but again it is only one projectile and idk if i would readily lay my life on it.

If you actually see an intruder in your home the grogginess would probably go away fast. If using an AR for home defense, you don't take the time to close one eye and "sight in," you look over the barrel and put the front sight post on target. It's difficult to miss a stationary man-sized target from the ranges you'll see inside of a home. BTW who says you can only use 1 round? The AR will allow for very fast follow up shots.

Any gunshot fired indoors without ear protection is going to be LOUD. My Glock 21 is louder than my unsuppressed AR. I don't use ear protection when I shoot the AR outdoors but I need it with the Glock.

 

[jeremy]

As far as home defense I choose my pistol as I have a few tight corners and long guns are to hard to get around. My girlfriend has a 12ga since she won't be going anywhere until police arrive.

I hope you have a pass phrase worked out between you two...

Cause even though you are using a little pistol, it still produces a LOT of sound. I would hate to hear that you could not get back into the safe room...