Need a "quiet" semi auto rifle for home defense

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rem44m

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I'm looking for a rifle that is not ear drum popping loud and does not produce a muzzle flash that is bright and blinding.

I think my most likely options are something in a pistol caliber. I'm curious to hear any suggestions? I do not know much about AR's or Carbine rifles but I do know that I don't want to fire a AR in 223 or 308 inside my house with out ear protection. :eek:

Any ideas?
 
just about any long gun that's is suitable for home defense is gonna be loud.

a 9mm carbine would be a decent choice

i'd rather have my ears ring for a day or two than compromise on a home defense weapon. it's not like you're gonna practice w/o hearing protection.
 
You're probably not going to notice the shots if the time ever comes to use it. Ive shot rifles indoors without hearing protection during intense situations and the sound didnt bother me at the time.
 
Just curious what members think about some of the newer subsonic AR offerings for such an application.


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"Need a "quiet" semi auto rifle for home defense"

The whole premise of that is terribly flawed
 
I would say a 9mm carbine. I have a HiPoint which I really like and its not loud at all. I actually shoot it without hearing protection when I go out to the farm. Its the only one I will do that with, all others require hp.
 
Mac66- I realize that a quiet rifle is somewhat of an oxymoron but what I'm really after is a rifle that is quieter than most.

I've lost far too much hearing already due to shooting rifles and shotguns without hearing protection. I refuse to lose any more due to ignorance or carelessness.

C-Grunt Noticing the shots is not my concern, it is the irreparable hearing damage that starts to manifest years down the road. Me noticing the noise or not will not change the damage done.

NeuseRvrRat- I will not compromise, however if there are choices out there that are better than others I'd like to hear them.

Godsgunman- Thank you, I will look at the HiPoint, any issues with it feeding?

shaggy430- Tried that but the duct tape wouldn't hold very well ;)
 
A pistol cartridge carbine is what you want. You may even want to suppress it. Beretta makes a good one. KelTec makes a decent one. HiPoint makes a cheap one. You can also build an AR with a 9mm or .45ACP upper but that will not be cheap. To me perfection would be an AR 9mm or .45ACP SBR with a 4-6" barrel and suppressor in a short free-floating forend but you're talking about another $400 just in NFA stamps.


i'd rather have my ears ring for a day or two than compromise on a home defense weapon.
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Me too but firing a .223 just once indoors can cause irreparable hearing damage.


You're probably not going to notice the shots if the time ever comes to use it.
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Psychological phenomena will not prevent physical damage to your ears.
 
ANY centerfire cartridge, even including the 9mm or .45, will be horrendously loud indoors, and if fired will leave your ears essentially useless for some time.

My solution to the problem is simply leaving a pair of electronic muffs RIGHT WITH THE FIREARM, and checking the batteries once in a while. Cabela's has "Howard Leight" brand electronic muffs for about $30, which isn't bad at all.

The muffs will not only protect your ears, but also improve your hearing while dealing with the situation in your home.

I DO THIS, and my 'house guns' can include the .223, .30 Carbine, 9mm and .45 ACP....and the 12-gauge for good measure! (Not all at the same time, of course!). All these calibers are still rather loud in confined spaces, but my ears are still useable after the shooting is over.

I'd recommend actually tying the muffs to the gun with an easily-broken thread or light elastic so they do NOT get separated. This way, you KNOW where they are once you grab your gun.
 
ANY centerfire cartridge, even including the 9mm or .45, will be horrendously loud indoors, and if fired will leave your ears essentially useless for some time.
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A pistol cartridge carbine will be A LOT less loud than a rifle cartridge or any handgun. Even in magnum revolver cartridges.
 
I know it can cause damage but Id much ranther use a more effective weapon to save my family than worry about possible hearing damage latter on. You are going to use protection while training.
 
rem44m,

You are in a good state, ever think of a suppressor?

Or try looking at the .300 BlackOut. It doesn't have to be suppressed with those heavy slow (below the sound barrier) bullets. My 147gr GI pulls are much quieter than standard .223/5.56 rounds out of a 16 inch barrel. The .300 BlackOut is only a change of the barrel (just do a new upper, carbine buffers work better).
 
C-grunt

I would agree, and please bear with me here I am new to the semi auto rifle but how is using an AR 15 chambered in 223 or 5.56 more effective than a 9mm out of an AR 15 platform?

I'm not challenging what your saying, just genuinely asking why there is an advantage with one over the other?
 
I know it can cause damage but Id much ranther use a more effective weapon to save my family than worry about possible hearing damage latter on.
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You can have it both ways. I've had a good dose of tinnitus for the last 7-8yrs. I already have to have a fan on just to sleep. I don't want to lose even more of my hearing just because some scumbag decides to break into my house while I'm in it. Not if I don't have to. You give up absolutely nothing in effectiveness to use a pistol cartridge carbine over a .223.
 
I would agree, and please bear with me here I am new to the semi auto rifle but how is using an AR 15 chambered in 223 or 5.56 more effective than a 9mm out of an AR 15 platform?

I'm not challenging what your saying, just genuinely asking why there is an advantage with one over the other?
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Decent 5.56 ammo is dramatically more effective at stopping than any 9mm. Although a couple hits of 9mm are usually good enough. Standard 5.56 AR15s are also easier to find and easier to find in top quality form, while there are only a few brands of 9mm and not all are good quality.

I wouldn't want to sacrifice reliability and effectiveness. Since you're in Utah, what about a 5.56 AR with a mini suppressor? It does add cost, but gets you top effectiveness with greatly reduced noise, blast, and flash. Surefire and AAC (among others, I think) make the type of small cans I'm talking about.

If noise is priority #1 and you can't do a suppressor, I suppose a 9mm carbine would be a good choice. I wouldn't necessarily go with an AR15 if going 9mm - there are other options that may cost less and be equally or more reliable (for 9mm - a 5.56 AR can be wonderfully reliable).
 
CraigC said:
You can have it both ways. I've had a good dose of tinnitus for the last 7-8yrs. I already have to have a fan on just to sleep. I don't want to lose even more of my hearing just because some scumbag decides to break into my house while I'm in it. Not if I don't have to. You give up absolutely nothing in effectiveness to use a pistol cartridge carbine over a .223.
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Im going to have to greatly disagree with you on that last statement. Having served two combat tours in Iraq and being a LEO for a major metropolitian police department for the past five years I have seen what the 22./5.56 will do. I have also seen many times what a handgun will do.

Plain simple truth is handguns suck at stopping fights. Ive been on more than one scene where we were chasing or trying to find a bad guy who had been shot with a handgun. And these were good COM shots. Ive interviewed people that were near mortally wounded before the ambulance arrived.

My experience with the 223/5.56 has been the exact opposite, especially with hollowpoint 223. They have a reputation on my dept of BANG-FLOP. Even in Iraq with M855 it dropped bad guys in their tracks with good shot placement. Even with bad shot placement it did some serious damage and took the guys out of the fight a majority of the time.

I also have tinnitus but that more from IEDs than shooting.
 
Suppressors are great, no doubt about it. They are also EXPENSIVE, often reaching $1000 or (much) more , particularly after paying the ransom to the government.

also, that suppressor will only be of use on the gun it's mounted on, no others. I usually have at least two, and often more, guns ready for service, and they will NOT have suppressors for the above reasons.

I considered the electronic plugs, but the possible screw-ups in (a) finding them in the dark, and (b) getting them properly installed under stress and urgency, make the muffs much better FOR ME. The fact that the muffs work with ANY of my guns. and at minimal cost, make them very attractive for my purposes.

As time passes (I'm a shooter of some sixty years' experience) I find that I like the M1 Carbine better and better in this role......but Lordy, it's a LOUDMOUTH indoors! Good hollowpoint ammunition makes it quite effective at close distances.
 
I didn't say handgun rounds were "just as good". Obviously a .30-06 with an expanding bullet will do even more damage but how much do you really need to cause to be effective? Pound for pound, people don't take much killing. A pistol cartridge carbine is very effective on bipeds and I'd rather save my ears.
 
Even a 9mm with a can on it will make noise (not ear shattering), but a 22LR using sub-sonics with a can on it, will be what your looking for. For firepower i would use a Ruger Charger or 10/22 with a can.

Just my quiet recommendation (pun intended)
Jim
 
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