What Is the Best Weapon for Home Defense? - A Serious Discus

[C-dub]

And 7.62x51 M80 147gr

[video][/video]

[jmra]

I'd like to avoid being shot altogether, but I sure would like to avoid those in particular.

[C-dub]

One more by the same bunch.

12ga #8, #4, #1, 00, 000

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[C-dub]

Sorry. Last one. I forgot about a .45 comparison. Although it looks nasty and performs well, there's really no comparison to the others.

[video][/video]

[joe817]

Without question, for me it'd be a semi-auto 12 ga shotgun with 18" barrel, with a ramp front sight with a bead on top, using #1 buckshot.

[C-dub]

Without question, for me it'd be a semi-auto 12 ga shotgun with 18" barrel, with a ramp front sight with a bead on top, using #1 buckshot.

After seeing these gel videos, that seems like as good an option as anything else except for the limited number of rounds before a reload is required. I didn't keep a rifle nearby loaded until seeing this thread years ago. Since then, I am usually carrying the Glock on me at home, but sometimes just have an M4 within reach with a 40-round mag. Can't imagine a gunfight lasting 40 rounds, but it's there if needed.

[harrycallahan]

I've seen several discussions that have covered said topic. In each case the myth that a rifle or shotgun was best were generally dispelled. Factors such as ammo load, range to target and area covered all need to be considered in this decision.

[C-dub]

I've seen several discussions that have covered said topic. In each case the myth that a rifle or shotgun was best were generally dispelled. Factors such as ammo load, range to target and area covered all need to be considered in this decision.

From any of those discussions, can you provide any evidence that any handgun round has anywhere near the effectiveness that a rifle or shotgun load of 00 or 000 or slug has? There is also ample medical evidence that the effectiveness of rifle rounds are far better than handguns. That is also why the military and police prefer firearms in the following order even for close quarters. Rifle-shotgun-handgun

We're mostly talking about effectiveness of the round now. What is the best weapon platform may always come down to ease of use in a specific environment for each user and could vary dependent upon different scenarios. In a one-on-one situation a hand gun might be the best option for some. However, the effectiveness of the various rounds is mostly settled.

[The Annoyed Man]

This month's American Rifleman has an interview with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactical about what he thinks is the best home defense weapon. He says that it is without question a carbine length AR15 in 5.56. He gives all the pros and cons and he is pretty convincing. FWIW, Lamb has probably kicked down more doors in actual combat than most of us can conceive of. But I maintain my statement from previously in this thread - the best HD weapon is the one you are best with. He's right... an AR has a higher capacity, more accuracy, more range, and more power than any a pistol. He dismisses shotguns because he says that semiautos won't always run reliably on mixed loads, and a pump gun cannot be easily operated with only one hand.

He may be right about all those things, but my counter is that he has probably got hundreds of thousands of hours in tactically running an AR15. I don't. Currently, my AR is set up as a DMR, which is not as carbine-ish as one would hope for that application. So I rely on a 12 gauge pump gun loaded with buchshot and whatever pistol happens to be on my nightstand.......at least until I get my suppressed SBR built. Then I would agree with him....that my short handy quiet AR is the better weapon......for me.

[ShootDontTalk]

Harrycallahan...having a discussion settled by a bunch of people who probably have never used a weapon of any kind for self defense is problematical at best and might get you killed at worst. I have discussed the issue with a few folks on the Internet who finally admitted they made their decision about what to use to save their lives by playing a video game. Not good.

Police face an almost infinite variation of situations and you only need to watch the news for a few minutes to see what the preferred weapon is when things get bad.

If the most effective weapon for any situation were handguns, guess what you would see the military using?

I don't expect anyone to take my word for it. I do think it should be worth anyone's time and money to find out what works best from a professional trainer who has been there and done that. Ask him what works and what doesn't.

BTW the guy who does the Box O Truth has been there and done that and is talking straight. But don't take his word for it, go get some professional training and find out what the truth really is.

C-Dub...nice videos, but there are a couple of problems. 1) the test media does not include the standard 4 layers of denim which can change results significantly. I had the volume down. Did they give depths of penetration? 2) slugs, while making impressive displays, are notorious over penetrators which are great for barricaded suspects in cars or behind walls but used against humans may stop a lot more people than you intend. Buckshot is king for a reason.

TAM...he is right. The easiest weapons to run, those requiring the least training to learn the manual of arms, are, in order, from easiest to hardest: AR, semi-auto pistol, shotgun. In shooting aimed fire (an essential) the order is AR, shotgun, pistol. In learning/teaching good aimed fire it is the same: AR, shotgun, pistol.

The AR does not take thousands of hours of training, it is a battle weapon, designed for ease of use in the stress of combat. I agree though that my first line of defense will be my pistol. Why? Because I wear it everywhere. It's always on me, so I'll use it to fight my way to more effective stuff if need be.

[C-dub]

Harrycallahan...having a discussion settled by a bunch of people who probably have never used a weapon of any kind for self defense is problematical at best and might get you killed at worst. I have discussed the issue with a few folks on the Internet who finally admitted they made their decision about what to use to save their lives by playing a video game. Not good.

Police face an almost infinite variation of situations and you only need to watch the news for a few minutes to see what the preferred weapon is when things get bad.

If the most effective weapon for any situation were handguns, guess what you would see the military using?

I don't expect anyone to take my word for it. I do think it should be worth anyone's time and money to find out what works best from a professional trainer who has been there and done that. Ask him what works and what doesn't.

BTW the guy who does the Box O Truth has been there and done that and is talking straight. But don't take his word for it, go get some professional training and find out what the truth really is.

C-Dub...nice videos, but there are a couple of problems. 1) the test media does not include the standard 4 layers of denim which can change results significantly. I had the volume down. Did they give depths of penetration? 2) slugs, while making impressive displays, are notorious over penetrators which are great for barricaded suspects in cars or behind walls but used against humans may stop a lot more people than you intend. Buckshot is king for a reason.

There are some folks here that have been there and done that and even some that are still doing it. I'm not one of them, so I'll have to rely on their opinions.

As for the videos, I stumbled upon the first one and then looked for the others for comparison. Although, the results would be different if denim were used, do you think the effectiveness of one or the other would change enough to make one overtake another? Would it just change the effectiveness of all of them or further separate them? As is, each video is done at 10 feet under the same circumstances. The penetration depths are not given, that I remember, but the differences are evident. The blocks underneath the gel might be 1" each. Maybe!

[ShootDontTalk]

In my experience the presence of denim changes some that perform well in bare gel into ones that over penetrate and don't expand. Others seem to do better with the denim in place. Denim clogs hollow points. Guessing how they will perform just doesn't work very well. The effect is predictably different for pistols, shotguns, and rifles in that order from most to least.

[harrycallahan]

[quote="C-dub"][quote="harrycallahan"]I've seen several discussions that have covered said topic. In each case the myth that a rifle or shotgun was best were generally dispelled. Factors such as ammo load, range to target and area covered all need to be considered in this decision.[/quote]
From any of those discussions, can you provide any evidence that any handgun round has anywhere near the effectiveness that a rifle or shotgun load of 00 or 000 or slug has? There is also ample medical evidence that the effectiveness of rifle rounds are far better than handguns. That is also why the military and police prefer firearms in the following order even for close quarters. Rifle-shotgun-handgun

We're mostly talking about effectiveness of the round now. What is the best weapon platform may always come down to ease of use in a specific environment for each user and could vary dependent upon different scenarios. In a one-on-one situation a hand gun might be the best option for some. However, the effectiveness of the various rounds is mostly settled.[/quote]

I was only speaking from the view point of effectively being able to deploy a given weapon within the close quarters such as a residence.