Nah, Assualt Rifles are too much of a hassle for self defense. $200 tax, have to keep them locked in a safe, etc.
Now, an assualt weapon(or one of the lookalikes), OTOH, I could see possibly, in case the shit hit the fan. I’ve also heard that an AR-15 might possibly be conductive to home defesnive(reliable, large ammo capacity, accurate, and you are basically shooting glorfied .22’s so the risk of over penetration isn’t bad). I’d personally go with the shotgun, but I could see some people going the above route.
You should probably get a better source of information. Calling the round that goes into an AR-15 a “glorified” .22 is just silly. While it is not a “high-powered” rifle, like a .30-06 would be, it will still go through a house, out the other side, and keep going. The only reason to have a gun like that for home defense is if your home has a 500 yard long hallway, in which case the law will probably require you to run rather than use lethal force.
Actually, accident shooting are very low on the list. The study you refered to was done by a guy named Kellerman, and he made a lot of mistakes in his research. Apparently he has since revised his studies and the “risk” has fallen immensly.
Ummm, actually you can get hollow-point .223 ammo, that the police use specifically in .223’s because it fragments badly going through a single piece of sheetrock. It might still go through lots of other things, but then, so would anything else. I canno remember the exact name or loading, but I remember it’s a light (50-55 gr) wide-mouth hollowpoint.
…however…
The MAIN problem with firing rifles indoors is that the report is TREMENDOUS!!! Without hearing protection (that you won’t have time to use), it is virtually guaranteed that you’ll be temporarily totally deafened after the first shot in a typical 15’ x 20’ room. The general consensus is that you don’t need to endanger your ears in such a way.
~
I’d wager the boom from a 12ga is worse than most rifles, which are bad idea anyway for home defense. And my ears are not what I would be concerned about at that moment, the general consensus would be to prevent death or serious bodily harm to myself, my family, or another human being. Firing a weapon at a person outside of combat should be for those reasons and those reasons only.
[slightly OT]
An AR-15? Fergetit. An assault carbine (which is what the AR-15 is) excels at nothing IMO. Well, I take that back. I guess it’s the ideal rifle for “assault rifle shooting competitions,” but that’s about it. Other than that, it’s an $800 Mattel toy. If you want a real assault rifle I would suggest getting a main battle rifle such as an M1A, FAL, AR-10, or H&K 91.
[/slightly OT]
I’ve actually been privy to gun buffs arguing over this issue. Some have stated that an .223 round has LESS chance of overpentration then a 12 gauge shotgun. I don’t personally believe it, but it was interesting to listen.
I’d personally only try it if I lived out in the boonies, and had several hundred yards of clearance on between my house and the next.
You don’t necessarily want an expensive gun for this purpose. Because, gods forbid, you should have to use it, the Police are very probably going to take it.
And then there are legal issues over the weapon. Shooting 15 rounds from an AR-15 into the bad guy’s chest doesn’t quite look like self-defense. You might very well have the same issues if you put some 00 shot through his chest. If you use #4 through #8 shot, it looks a lot better, PR wise.
And then there are the lawsuits from the badguy’s survivors, who will no doubt wail and gnash their teeth in horror at your killing their dear husband/son/brother in cold blood with such an evil weapon. Of course they require mucho dinero from you in compensation for their anguish.
Well, no, that’s not it at all. I think there’s no point in having something AS DANGEROUS AS A GUN (I have small children) in your house if the effectiveness doesn’t exceed the possible negative consequences. My kids might get out the fire extinguisher and shoot it, but that’s not gonna make us end up on the 11 O’Clock news. Besides, I’m not paranoid, so people’s perceived “need” for guns is simply laughable to me, albeit sometimes scarily so.
If you don’t have small children, fine, be an arsenal, doesn’t bother me a bit. Sorry for the hijack, just wanted to clear that up. For me, it’s about safety and effectiveness, which for me, a gun provides neither.
By An Arky: “Besides, I’m not paranoid, so people’s perceived “need” for guns is simply laughable to me, albeit sometimes scarily so.”
Yet…IIRC, at least three posters in this thread alone have stated that they’ve “needed” to use their home defense wepon. Sometimes by just showing it or racking the action, but it was still used.
I’m glad I’ve got mine. Don’t keep one if you don’t want to, but IMHO it’s better to have a gun and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Concern for the safety of children is a valid concern.
Obviously, people who have children either have to remove all dangerous items from the home, or else teach the children respect for them and to not use them except under supervision.
If you can not/or will not, control/teach your own children, then you must take extra special precautions.
An irresponsible/disobeying child should never have any access to guns or knives, etc.
Period!!!
Obviously, if you have no control over your children and they will/could get into anything, then you should NOT leave loaded unlocked guns in the house, your butcher knives in the kitchen should NEVER be left unlocked, and your car keys should NEVER be placed anywhere a child could get them if left unattended.
Ummm… Didja miss where I said that the .22lr was fairly dangerous? Yes, it can kill, and is NOT to be taken lightly. It’s also absolutely NOT a reliable ‘stopper.’ Period. Sure, it can be quite lethal, but the instances where a .22lr stopped someone quickly are by far outnumbered by the cases where it failed utterly. For every person you can show me that was actually stopped cold by a .22lr, I’ll find you three that walked away. In fact, I’ll bet you a beer on that.
If you’re a good marksman, and know that you’re ready, willing, and able to shoot without flinch or tremble, then a .22lr-chambered firearm may be a good choice for you. Damned few people meet those qualifications.
That said, you are entirely correct that if you’re in need, then any firearm is better than none.
The main advantage to .22lr is that it’s cheap to shoot, and easy on the shooter, so you can practice much, much more with one.
The .22WMR is reasonably powerful, but I’d still reserve that for desperation, or for the real marksmen.
So, if you are worried about crime and just rely on locks(and the chance the cops will make it in time to save you), you are a normal person, but if you are worried about crime and have a gun in case they get past the locks, you are obviously paranoid.
