Well if my rather large dog already has a firm grasp of your nards, you will be receiving a multiple 9mm gift to your chest. If dog is a little slow that night, you will get several 4bucks and dog will get the leftovers.

5.56 SBR with a bayonet.

Thanks for all the feedback, good discussion
I currently have a pistol by the bed in a biometric safe but looking for alternatives that may be more practical for my spouse to use or go to in a stressful situation. I do have young kids in the house.

proudtxag said:

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Thanks for all the feedback, good discussion
I currently have a pistol by the bed in a biometric safe but looking for alternatives that may be more practical for my spouse to use or go to in a stressful situation. I do have young kids in the house.

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Currently my #1 is a Beretta CX4. I have an AR but I haven't practiced with it enough, and the wife will likely always prefer the CX4. It's lighter, and more familiar/less intimidating. I'd like to SBR my AR eventually and have that as my #1.

We have no kids, but are expecting, so I don't know what exactly we'll do when there's a toddler in the house. I'm always going to want a long gun as my primary.

In fact I recently took my brother to his first trip to the gun range. I let him shoot a pistol for a bit, then handed him the CX4 and push the target out from 3 to 10 yards. Fairly sure hat's all it took to sell him on a long gun for in the house. It's just a matter of your personal situation though. Considering the needs/abilities of all potential shooters in the house, as well as keeping it away from the kiddos.

ARs bring added upfront expense as well as storage costs. I tell people their #1 priority should be to HAVE SOMETHING. If cost or kiddos prevents someone from having an AR accessible then by all means, they should get a pistol and a quick access safe and do it TODAY. Don't put off the purchase because someone told you an AR or shotgun is better.

proudtxag said:

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Thanks for all the feedback, good discussion
I currently have a pistol by the bed in a biometric safe but looking for alternatives that may be more practical for my spouse to use or go to in a stressful situation. I do have young kids in the house.

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Handguns are harder to use effectively than shotguns or rifles...that's what comes from a short sight radius and only two points of contact.

So if you're looking for something anyone in the family can use effectively without spending lots of time at the range, you're down to rifles or shotguns as the best choice.

An AR-15 has the following advantages:

1) Easy to mount a red dot and light
2) Adjustable stock means my 5' 1" wife and my 6' 1" self can easily both use the same gun.
3) 30 rounds on hand
4) Low recoil
5) lots and lots of quality purpose designed self defense ammo available
6) Disengage safety, pull trigger, repeat until threat is stopped, no arm flailing needed
7) Ergonomic

The one and only advantage a pump action shotgun has over the AR-15 is cost. That is it. It is lower capacity, harder to use, slower to reload, has more recoil, less adjustable to fit multiple people, ammo is more likely to deflect in bad ways inside the house, etc. A semi auto shotgun makes it easier to use, but you still have slow reloads, more recoil, same ammo problems, and you've eliminated the cost advantage over an AR.

There are also some safe storage options that allow you to keep an AR (or a shotgun, if you insist on using the least best option) close to your bed while still secured from little hands.

Before someone completely misunderstands, I'm not saying you can't use a pump action shotgun for home defense. It will work, if you understand its limitations. But when you start throwing the word Best around, a pump action shotgun isn't even in the same category as an AR.

Kaboom! Bendered!

That's why I prefer the AR pistol over the AR-15. A little smaller size with similar capabilities.

2 german Shepards and a sound track of children giggling and saying "It's time to play, silly!"

That's plan A.

Primary gun for home defense is pistol.
AR15 is ready to go, but secured in the safe.
For defending my home in anticipation of a threat, the AR15 is #1 for reasons already stated.
For the "bump in the night" I still prefer a handgun.
Reasons:

• If you find your self nose to nose with someone, a handgun can be fired single handed.
• I believe a handgun is less likely to be knocked or taken away in case you find yourself nose to nose.
• You can hold onto kid / wife / dog etc while still able to fire your weapon
• You can still fire one handed while the other hand manipulates door handles, light switches, etc.
• Handgun has night sights and weapon mounted light (although AR does as well, but most ARs done have night sights)
• I believe a handgun would be easier to operate under a sustained injury.

Like I said, I would be "fighting my way to the AR" but the pistol is my first to grab.

Also to add:
I have a battery operated gun vault in my night stand.
I have read on here that others have battery operated safes (biometric).
A couple of months ago, the battery in my gun vault died. I had to use the back up key to get in and replace the battery. Thankfully, it didnt happen when I needed to retrieve the gun in an emergency.
I decided to change the battery every six months and keep track of it.

Fast forward some, I was visiting with a family friend when she told me she actually had a home invasion while she was home alone. She had come in from outside walking her dog and went upstairs and heard someone in an upstairs bedroom. She went to retrieve their handgun in the master bedroom and found out the battery was dead on the safe. Fortunately,the dog chased the intruder down the stairs and out of the house while she hid in the master closet.

Now, a v-line safe with battery free mechanical lock is my next purchase.

I choose to use my 1911 for home defense. It is Uber reliable and I can get 3" groups at 25 yards pretty easily. My house isn't too big though and I doubt I would have to shoot more than 10 yards.

If that doesn't do the trick... The 500 Smith and Wesson and it's 350gr XTP hollow points get to play. May God have mercy on them... and my eardrums.

A question that cannot be answered for anyone other than yourself. In other words, there is no answer other than personal preference.


That being said, if you take the human being factor out of it, the AR is probably the most versatile and capable.

agsalaska said:

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That being said, if you take the human being factor out of it, the AR is probably the most versatile and capable.

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I have a big dog that sleeps in our bedroom. My wife and I both have Berreta 9 mm on our night stands. That's 34 rounds we can put out before having to reload. We are both very experienced with them as well. No kids in the house anymore. All grown up.

Doubt an intruder would make it past the dog.

Spread around our house are the following loaded weapons:

M&P 9 with a streamlight / laser combo
2 Shields (our carry guns)
AR

No kids around.

CharlieBrown17 said:

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agsalaska said:

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That being said, if you take the human being factor out of it, the AR is probably the most versatile and capable.

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Yea I threw up a little in my mouth when I typed that.

If money and local/federal laws weren't an issue a suppressed sbr would be my ideal home defense weapon.

figured your keyboard looked about like this

SBR in .300 Blk Subsonic. Is that the best? I don't know but I like it.

agsalaska said:

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CharlieBrown17 said:

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agsalaska said:

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That being said, if you take the human being factor out of it, the AR is probably the most versatile and capable.

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Yea I threw up a little in my mouth when I typed that.

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I did my best to find and post a pic of an AR with a high-end wooden stock and handguard to make you feel a little better, but came up with nothing on my search.

Lipstick on a pig.

OaklandAg06 said:

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If money and local/federal laws weren't an issue a suppressed sbr would be my ideal home defense weapon.

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Suppressed 9mm AR with a a 4.5" barrel is my go to home defense rifle. 27" OAL makes it easy to manipulate, and I don't have to worry about permanent hearing damage if I do have to use it indoors.

Thought for today:

Don't use your really nice guns with a suppressor or SBR for home defense. If you use it the police might keep it for months or years while the legal system churns.

We use only our oldest yet still nice guns that could be taken and we would not miss them.

dubi said:

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Thought for today:

Don't use your really nice guns with a suppressor or SBR for home defense. If you use it the police might keep it for months or years while the legal system churns.

We use only our oldest yet still nice guns that could be taken and we would not miss them.

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While this is something to consider, I would rather choose my most reliable gun irrespective of cost. I can buy another suppressor or gun. I wouldn't want to have a malfunctions because my better guns were in the safe.

These are reliable guns that we have used in shooting competitions.

They are easily replaceable guns! That is the key.

I am not willing to give up my silencer or SBR for a bad guy.

dubi said:

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These are reliable guns that we have used in shooting competitions.

They are easily replaceable guns! That is the key.

I am not willing to give up my silencer or SBR for a bad guy.

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I think I am, or I don't see the point in spending the money on an SBR. For me. The only thing I would do with it is use it for home defense. Because an SBR is lighter and easier to maneuver, especially for the wife.

Quote:

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I am not willing to give up my silencer or SBR for a bad guy.

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This is where we disagree. There is no reason for me to have an SBR other than home defense. I am building one now just for this purpose. God forbid if I ever have to use it on a bad guy it will be money well spent IMO.

'03ag said:

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dubi said:

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These are reliable guns that we have used in shooting competitions.

They are easily replaceable guns! That is the key.

I am not willing to give up my silencer or SBR for a bad guy.

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I think I am, or I don't see the point in spending the money on an SBR. For me. The only thing I would do with it is use it for home defense. Because an SBR is lighter and easier to maneuver, especially for the wife.

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This. My SBR was purpose built and suppressed for home defense. My life, my family's life, and our hearing are well worth the $2000 or so I have wrapped up in a rifle that I will be getting back if the shooting is justified anyways.

PineTreeAg said:

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Also to add:
I have a battery operated gun vault in my night stand.
I have read on here that others have battery operated safes (biometric).
A couple of months ago, the battery in my gun vault died. I had to use the back up key to get in and replace the battery. Thankfully, it didnt happen when I needed to retrieve the gun in an emergency.
I decided to change the battery every six months and keep track of it.

Fast forward some, I was visiting with a family friend when she told me she actually had a home invasion while she was home alone. She had come in from outside walking her dog and went upstairs and heard someone in an upstairs bedroom. She went to retrieve their handgun in the master bedroom and found out the battery was dead on the safe. Fortunately,the dog chased the intruder down the stairs and out of the house while she hid in the master closet.

Now, a v-line safe with battery free mechanical lock is my next purchase.

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That's exactly why I gave my old GunVault away and replaced it with a Fort Knox handgun safe (same lock mechanism as V-Line). I went to get my gun one day and the battery was dead. I decided I never wanted that to happen again so I ordered the Fort Knox on Amazon later that day.

Ideally, I'd have a 10.5" AR, THEN a pistol grip pump (relax -- I would practice; a LOT), and a handgun for backup.

Yes, I agree strongly with those that say practice. Practice even more than that. But you also need to get some training and learn things you don't know or never thought of. When I took a citizens police academy, we ran through a shoot/don't shoot scenario. I learned more in that 30 seconds than I could have in a year at the range.

IME, it's much easier to teach a new shooter to use an AR w a red dot than a pistol or a shotgun loaded w buck or slugs.

I have no idea about teaching room clearing, etc, but it seems to be the fastest way to get hits on paper

This discussion has been very enlightening for me and thank you all. I am experienced shooter but after 62 years I don't shot as much but want to try an AR Pistol and hopefully make it a primary home defense weapon along with my shotgun and pistols. I would very much like your specific brand and dot sight/lighting recommendations and where to buy. I am in the DFW area. Thanks in advance and if you want to e-mail me any info : clay.callaway@yahoo.com

Are you looking to buy a complete weapon or build it?


Primary arms has good red dots for the price. I have one of their micros on my Scorpion Evo. I run Vortex optics on my ARs because I nabbed them all on sale.

Want complete weapon. Looking at H&K Z5RS but have no experience with these type guns.