I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on what the best options are for home defense. I would be looking at a handgun and/or rifle, and possibly lightweight armor.
TIA
TIA
AgEng06 said:
I'm just here, waiting on Bender to find this thread and address the posts so far...
Quote:
Shotgun is all you need, lots of great choices on them too. Don't shoot through walls and ruin your life and someone else's.
not sure why you'd ask a bunch of aggies. we haven't defended Kyle field since the mid 90s.Mr Gigem said:
I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on what the best options are for home defense.
OUCHAggieOO said:not sure why you'd ask a bunch of aggies. we haven't defended Kyle field since the mid 90s.Mr Gigem said:
I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on what the best options are for home defense.
StockHorseAg said:
When can we just pin a thread at the top about home defense weapons? I feel like this subject is discussed at least two times a week on here.
trip98 said:
if you're defending your home, do you really have time to put on armor?
option 1...shotgun....some say go with a pump gun b/c the sound of racking a round can be enough of a deterrent
option 2....pistol...use hollow points
option 3....mean, loud dog
option 4....rifle....smaller projectile designed to go longer distances not ideal for close quarter defense. yes, can be effective, but better options (see above).
You would meet a very bad fate if you tried at my house. As an insomniac, I am always awake at that time of day. Also, I have a very large, not too friendly dog that hates strangers and almost anyone that tries to come into the house. Also, since it's only me & the dog, I don't worry about securing the weapons. The pistol is on my nightstand ready to grab.Jason_Roofer said:
Pistol with hollow points. I don't believe in the shotgun approach. Racking? No thanks, if it's for self defense, it shouldn't need racking.
My unpopular opinion is that for most all of these defense options are pipe dreams and false comforts when someone kicks in your door. I'd never attempt such an exercise but I feel pretty confident that myself and one other person could kick in a door at 3am and get to a room with people in it before the homeowner woke up, gained awareness, processed the situation and got done fumbling around for his pistol, shotgun, armor, mace, spear, or lance…or putting on his armor.
I genuinely feel that, barring weekly practice drills, the best option is dogs, plus pistol, plus escape plan. Dogs are the best option, they'll slow down progress and serve as an early warning system. Just my opinion.
But this discussion also must focus on personal comfort, so if you are of the opinion shotgun is best, then you'll be comfortable and confident with that and that's important.
schmellba99 said:trip98 said:
if you're defending your home, do you really have time to put on armor?
option 1...shotgun....some say go with a pump gun b/c the sound of racking a round can be enough of a deterrent
option 2....pistol...use hollow points
option 3....mean, loud dog
option 4....rifle....smaller projectile designed to go longer distances not ideal for close quarter defense. yes, can be effective, but better options (see above).
Option 1 - no
Option 2 - no
Option 3 - no
Option 4 - yes. AR with the correct projectiles (Hornady TAP, frangibles, etc.). Easier to operate, more accurate, 30 rounds, add a bright AF weapons light, etc.
SharkinAg said:
I keep a pistol with multiple mags available. Also, a solid bedroom door with a reinforced deadbolt will buy you a little time as well to gather your thoughts. Get rid of the little screws that go into the frame and replace them with long screws that go into the stud. Door jams on the perimeter doors also slow them down. Nice to have the wife trained to bolt the bedroom door while you get to your gun. If you have kids in other rooms around the house this obviously wouldn't be an option. Not an issue for me yet.
My biggest issue is being roused from sleep and having a clear head. Most times I'm fine. But my alarm once went off at 3am due to a faulty sensor and I was disgusted/sick to my stomach how long it took for me to gain a clear head.
If you have a German wife then you don't need the German Shepard.big ben said:
German Shepherd, Remington 870 Pump, and a really really large wife to hide behind
Doors are your first line of defense, and buy you time to do all the other things. I have something like this reinforcing my door jam and hinges: https://asafehome.net/SharkinAg said:
I keep a pistol with multiple mags available. Also, a solid bedroom door with a reinforced deadbolt will buy you a little time as well to gather your thoughts. Get rid of the little screws that go into the frame and replace them with long screws that go into the stud. Door jams on the perimeter doors also slow them down. Nice to have the wife trained to bolt the bedroom door while you get to your gun. If you have kids in other rooms around the house this obviously wouldn't be an option. Not an issue for me yet.
My biggest issue is being roused from sleep and having a clear head. Most times I'm fine. But my alarm once went off at 3am due to a faulty sensor and I was disgusted/sick to my stomach how long it took for me to gain a clear head.
Mr Gigem said:
I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on what the best options are for home defense. I would be looking at a handgun and/or rifle, and possibly lightweight armor.
TIA
AgEng06 said:
I'm just here, waiting on Bender to find this thread and address the posts so far...
Quote:
Given the widespread availability of this information for over a decade, I am shockingly surprised to read about the "overpenetration" with "high powered assault rifles". In this day and age anyone who is spouting this BS needs to be horsewhipped… Several respected organizations have done structural wall testing, including the FBI, CHP, and IWBA. In our IWBA and CHP testing, replicas of standard construction interior walls were fabricated using two pieces of 1/2 thick dry wall cut in 12 x 24 segments and mounted four inches apart using 2 x 4 fir studs and 1.5 dry wall screws. Five rounds of each load were first fired into bare gelatin to serve as controls. Then 5 shots of each load were shot through interior wall segments into gelatin blocks placed a set distance behind the intermediate barriersvarious distances have been tested, typically ranging from 1 to 10 feet.
Generally, common service caliber JHP bullets failed to expand and had very deep, excessive penetration after passing through the interior wall, due to plugging of the hollow point. With the hollow point plugged, the bullets performed nearly identically to FMJ pistol bullets. The terminal performance of the 12 ga. 00 buckshot and slugs was not altered by passing through interior wall replicas, with penetration and deformation nearly identical with their performance in bare gelatin. Likewise, .308 rounds were not usually effected by the presence of an interior wall intermediate barrier.
With one exception, the majority of the 5.56 mm/.223 loads, including M855 62 gr "green-tip" FMJ, which were fired through interior walls demonstrated either minimal changes in terminal performance compared with bare gelatin or reduced penetration. The major exception were 55 gr M193 style FMJ projectiles which exhibited minimal fragmentation and deformation after first passing through interior wall replicas and hence penetrated deeper than in bare gel.
Since all of the 5.56 mm/.223 bullets fired through the interior wall had significantly less penetration than 9 mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and 12 ga. shotgun projectiles which were fired through an interior wall, stray 5.56 mm/.223 bullets seem to offer a reduced risk of injuring innocent bystanders and an inherent reduced risk of civil litigation in situations where bullets miss their intended target and enter or exit structures. As such, 5.56mm/.223 caliber weapons may be safer to use in CQB situations and crowded urban environments than service caliber handguns or 12 ga. weapons.
Obviously, it is important to keep in mind that purpose built barrier blind 5.56 mm/.223 projectiles, such as the 55 & 62 gr Federal Tactical JSP's and the Nosler 60 gr Partition, will offer deeper penetration than fragmenting designs and may exit.