What are you using for home defence? Rifle, Pistol or shotgun?
- Thread starter U.S.SFC_RET
- Start date
- Status
Bird shot is NOT an acceptable self defense ammunition! Please do not spread this kind of misinformation around. If I were 25 feet away in the dark running at you with a sharp object, or flipping the safety off of a loaded gun, as I probably would be if I were an intruder in your house and you just confronted me with a shotgun, you would be getting HURT. That bird shot is definitely going to do some damage, but something that has trouble putting down a chicken isn't exactly a good self defense round. Shame.
1shotonly
Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2007
- Messages
- 24
You are not going to be 25 feet away in a home defense situation, most rooms are only 12' to 14' feet wide, standing a couple feet from each wall plus the length of the gun means that the muzzle to chest distance is more likely to be around 8’; smaller shot will put him down plenty hard. Besides, if you study the laws, you are only justified in using lethal force if you are in immediate danger of losing your life or suffer serious bodily harm at the moment you pull the trigger. If he is 25 feet away it’s unlikely he is going to stab you or club you at that moment, or even shoot you, more than likely he will be running to get away from the house holder with the shot gun.
Btw, I edited my post, didn’t mean to offend you or anyone else. My apologies sire.
A .40 SIG P229 is usually handiest at any given moment, and a moment be all the time I have to grab a weapon. Given the time, I will bring a Remington 870 into action. These are the same personally-owned weapons I use for police patrol duty, and it makes sense to use the same weapons on my own time. Familiarity and training are parts of it, and paperwork is much less complicated if I use weapons with which I have qual'ed, as my chief considers me to be "in the line of duty" if I deploy a weapon off the clock. Rifles are available for worst-case scenarios.
With retirement, I might well switch long guns, but I am blessed that one of the "approved" handguns for me to use on duty is a best fit for my hands when all handguns are considered. I believe that both .223 and .357 mag carbines have merit at home-defense distances.
My wife works for a large county M.E.'s office as a forensic investigator, so she sees more death scene that I do, by far. She prefers .38 +P in a revolver, and has her own Remington 870.
Edited to add: I have seen the results of birdshot FAILURE to stop. An individual must pick his own level of salvation, and some believe on birdshot for HD. It works, sometimes. I use buckshot. At HD distances, 4 buck would be OK with me, but I use 00 myself; I may have to run outside to assist/defend a neighbor.
With retirement, I might well switch long guns, but I am blessed that one of the "approved" handguns for me to use on duty is a best fit for my hands when all handguns are considered. I believe that both .223 and .357 mag carbines have merit at home-defense distances.
My wife works for a large county M.E.'s office as a forensic investigator, so she sees more death scene that I do, by far. She prefers .38 +P in a revolver, and has her own Remington 870.
Edited to add: I have seen the results of birdshot FAILURE to stop. An individual must pick his own level of salvation, and some believe on birdshot for HD. It works, sometimes. I use buckshot. At HD distances, 4 buck would be OK with me, but I use 00 myself; I may have to run outside to assist/defend a neighbor.
Last edited:
Erik M
Member
could be anything I have, anything from a mossberg 500 to a rossi single shot .410, to a 92fs with a 30 round magazine. pretty much what ever I had out of the gun safe last and is lying closest to my bed.
U.S.SFC_RET
Member
Rexter: I have always said this to the men in blue. Thank you for what you are doing for our country. It is the men in blue who are the thin blue line between civilization and anarchy in cases. Whenever I see a LEO I thank him for his service and how much it means to me.
content
Member
Hello friends and neighbors // S&W 442 w/ 38+P and flashlight
Pull on shorts, with 442 in pocket and next is Remington 870 Express 12ga., w/ ghost ring sights and loaded 6+1 w/#4.
I have 3 00buck and 2 slugs in stock mounted shell holder if needed.
Pull on shorts, with 442 in pocket and next is Remington 870 Express 12ga., w/ ghost ring sights and loaded 6+1 w/#4.
I have 3 00buck and 2 slugs in stock mounted shell holder if needed.
76shuvlinoff
Member
all my guns are for HD 
but the primary players on the field....
Rem 870 12ga 20" smoothbore, two shot extension - slug, 00,00,00,00,00
Marlin 1894c full of hornady leverevolution 357s
Kimber full size 1911 Federal Hydrashoks
xd40sc w/crimson trace again with the Hydrashoks
If everything else in on the floor smoking and empty 18.5" 12 ga single shot with a butt cuff full of 00.
but the primary players on the field....Rem 870 12ga 20" smoothbore, two shot extension - slug, 00,00,00,00,00
Marlin 1894c full of hornady leverevolution 357s
Kimber full size 1911 Federal Hydrashoks
xd40sc w/crimson trace again with the Hydrashoks
If everything else in on the floor smoking and empty 18.5" 12 ga single shot with a butt cuff full of 00.
the iron horse
Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2007
- Messages
- 203
I keep a 12.ga Mossberg nearby at all times.
A couple of pistols stashed in easy to reach locations.
Plus: a baseball bat, a walking stick, a hickory stick, and a can of of hornet spray on top of the icebox.
A couple of pistols stashed in easy to reach locations.
Plus: a baseball bat, a walking stick, a hickory stick, and a can of of hornet spray on top of the icebox.
Deltaboy1984
Member
870 with 00 buck and a Sigma 40 VE.
michiganfan
Member
G 23 with Glock Light on the rail
MAURICE
Member
Kimber Custom II loaded up with 230 gr. JHPs and a Remington 870 loaded up with 6+1 rounds of 00 buck. 6 additional mags kept close to the 1911, and a metric ton of buck and slugs at hand to feed the boom stick. I plan on getting another AR or AK soon to compliment these.
Alot of experts say....
that a shotgun/rifle is not a good choice for home defense.They reason that a perp./inturder can easily wrestle the rifle out-of-your-hand as you negotiate turns and corners in your home.Whereas a pistol you can turn corners quicker and sweep and scan areas with ease and less threat .
And remember,the ear damage that a shotgun blast will cause you if you actually have to fire in your house !
that a shotgun/rifle is not a good choice for home defense.They reason that a perp./inturder can easily wrestle the rifle out-of-your-hand as you negotiate turns and corners in your home.Whereas a pistol you can turn corners quicker and sweep and scan areas with ease and less threat .
And remember,the ear damage that a shotgun blast will cause you if you actually have to fire in your house !
What exactly was questionable about that shoot? The man was chased for 20+ miles by an armed man who shot at him, and he was literally cornered before he shot.
He shot his attacker with a legally owned weapon. So what?
I call BS.
First, you should not be out "negotiating turns and corners in your home" during a home invasion. There are situations where this can be necessary, but it's something to be avoided.
A pistol is actually easier to have wrestled out of your hand since there's no good method of retaining it, short of your hands themselves. A rifle or shotgun for HD should have a quality sling which will prevent someone from yanking it away.
A pistol is plenty loud enough to damage your ears, just like a shotgun.
Last edited:
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
I'm not saying the shoot was a bad shoot, I'm saying that since it happened outside the home there is ALWAYS a question.
A self defense shooting INSIDE one's home is nearly always cleaner from a legal standpoint so using the argument that the HK shooting is a reason not to use full auto at home doesn't really hold up.
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
Poor choice of words on my part.
Officers'Wife
Member
Using your hornet spray for vermin not specifically listed on the label is a violation of law. Consider your actions carefully.
As for rifles and shotguns being easily wrestled out on ones hands 'negotiating' corners. In the event of a home invasion I will be in a corner with my children behind me. The only way the intruders would get my SAIGA would be one round at a time. There is an old saying - you don't go looking for trouble, you wait and prepare for it to come to you.
Balog
Member
Sigman: when I was clearing houses in Ramadi we managed to not get our rifles snatched away from us by BG's. Your argument smacks of "don't carry a pistol, a criminal would just take it away from you."
Any round that will reliably penetrate to the vital organs on a bad guy will go through several interior walls, and exterior walls for that matter in typical newer wood frame houses. In the apt that I live in, so many lanes of fire are not safe I chose to not rely on a firearm as primary. I keep a short hafted pickaxe out of the pioneer kit on a HMMWV next to the bed. I can get from one side of the apt to the other faster than most people can draw aim and fire. If the bad guy breaking in has a gun drawn and at the ready I'm in trouble, but that's true of any weapon I might choose, nicht wahr?
I'd prefer to be able to use a firearm for the distance, but in my circumstances a hand weapon is a better choice.
Any round that will reliably penetrate to the vital organs on a bad guy will go through several interior walls, and exterior walls for that matter in typical newer wood frame houses. In the apt that I live in, so many lanes of fire are not safe I chose to not rely on a firearm as primary. I keep a short hafted pickaxe out of the pioneer kit on a HMMWV next to the bed. I can get from one side of the apt to the other faster than most people can draw aim and fire. If the bad guy breaking in has a gun drawn and at the ready I'm in trouble, but that's true of any weapon I might choose, nicht wahr?
I'd prefer to be able to use a firearm for the distance, but in my circumstances a hand weapon is a better choice.
This is easy to get around.Using your hornet spray for vermin not specifically listed on the label is a violation of law. Consider your actions carefully.
Go buy a gold-colored blazer at a Goodwill. If you have to use the hornet spray on a BG, slip the blazer onto him, and when questioned by the prosecutor, insist that the label indicated it was for use on "yellow jackets".
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked