Ultimate Home Defense Rifle Opinions

[Rob]

I'll leave my thoughts on fighting inside confined spaces to another thread. That said I would highly recommend a Flashhider over a comp and suppressed is even better.

Forged upper and lower rec'rs. I would suggest Aero. They are making a quality affordable product. Billet stuff is nice, but heavy and not as strong as forged if weight is the same. I am not a fan of ambi controls other than the safety.

Barrel. FN M4 barrel these barrels are hammer forged and 1/7 twist. I would not use an adjustable gas block on a combat style rifle and might go as far as running it slightly over gassed. This can be tuned with the gas port size.

BCG. I am only using JP enhanced bolts from now on. They really are superior to anything else on market.

Small parts kit. I just use the pins and such so I tend to go cheap. I suggest the ACT trigger or Rock River NM. Noveske short throw safety's are a nice addition as well.

Stock and Grips. That's shooter preference. I use a LMT SOPMOD stock and Magpul grip.

HG. Free Float is highly recommend. You don't have to spend a fortune here. There are some great HG's out there under 100.00. I have a Geissele HG right now and like it. It locks up tight and doesn't Flex at all.

Muzzle device. A2 Flashhider or if you want to be fancy BE Meyers. Brakes suck in confined spaces and muzzle flash is a real concern as well.

Mags. PMag, HK, or plain old alloy GI(with updated followers) are all good. Shoot the rifle a bunch with the mags you do decide on and keep track of those.

Charging handle. Keep it simple. I do not recommend ambi handles, they are overrated and weak. GI works great with a extended latch.

Hope this helps.

Great info.

I have liked the ambi set ups, I find it interesting you don't.  I typically go ambi on the mag release, safety and charging handle.  Beyond weak charging handles, why do you dislike ambi?

Mainly years of muscle memory. I have inadvertently hit the bolt stop and mag release. I also think that they are an additional point of failure and double the potential for foreign object issues.

Makes sense!

[dscubame]

Stardard AR in 556. Frangible home defense rounds, 55gr varmit rounds for yotes and paper.

 Problem with that is rounds going through the walls.

Exactly.  A inch of drywall and some insulation (if) won't hold to much back.

[jpharcher]

Hey Jacque......
Why does it have to be John's wife?

[Alchase]

I keep an old Remington Sportsman 48 semi loaded with 00 buck.
I have two mags loaded with Hornady 556 TAP rounds just for home use.
Hand guns loaded with Gold Dot .40s.

[superdown]

There's a difference between home defense and ranch rifle, if you want a "Ultimate Home Defense Rifle" give up the idea of shooting coyotes at 300 yards.

Totally agree.

I also agree that a 12 gauge is the best home defense firearm.

This is the exact same shotgun i have at the ready but i also installed a six round side saddle so it's got a total of twelve rounds of  3" 00 buck i keep the chamber empty for two reasons first being safety and second being the Racking sound i hope will make an impression.I also have a 300blk AR with a 1-4X Leupold next to it for longer range and if my wife or someone else can be armed also.

[theleo]

There's a difference between home defense and ranch rifle, if you want a "Ultimate Home Defense Rifle" give up the idea of shooting coyotes at 300 yards.

Totally agree.

I also agree that a 12 gauge is the best home defense firearm.

This is the exact same shotgun i have at the ready but i also installed a six round side saddle so it's got a total of twelve rounds of  3" 00 buck i keep the chamber empty for two reasons first being safety and second being the Racking sound i hope will make an impression.I also have a 300blk AR with a 1-4X Leupold next to it for longer range and if my wife or someone else can be armed also.

Why not just 1 1/8 oz trap loads? At the range of a few feet the pattern doesn't have a chance to open up much and the force of a nearly 500 grain mass of lead traveling 1,200 fps is going to stop any intruder in a hurry.

[superdown]

There's a difference between home defense and ranch rifle, if you want a "Ultimate Home Defense Rifle" give up the idea of shooting coyotes at 300 yards.

Totally agree.

I also agree that a 12 gauge is the best home defense firearm.

This is the exact same shotgun i have at the ready but i also installed a six round side saddle so it's got a total of twelve rounds of  3" 00 buck i keep the chamber empty for two reasons first being safety and second being the Racking sound i hope will make an impression.I also have a 300blk AR with a 1-4X Leupold next to it for longer range and if my wife or someone else can be armed also.

Why not just 1 1/8 oz trap loads? At the range of a few feet the pattern doesn't have a chance to open up much and the force of a nearly 500 grain mass of lead traveling 1,200 fps is going to stop any intruder in a hurry.

No reason other than that's one of the most common self / home defense loads that is recommended and i get the 15 packs for cheap at walmart.   

[Lefthook]

My bedroom door opens out to the back deck in the backyard, so if someone makes the mistake of kicking my bedroom door in, they will get a face full of .357 magnum self defense lead. If I need a rifle, this is the one that is ready to go, definetly not ideal but it will do the job. It's loaded up with lead soft points, a couple quick blasts at the *censored* walking in through my bedroom door should stop the threat. I feel comfortable with my handguns though.

[fish vacuum]

I have a friend who is a sheriff's deputy, firearms instructor, and former swat member. He has an extensive gun collection. After his handgun de jour, his next home defense weapon is a 30-30. His reason is that a lever action with a wood stock looks less aggressive to the average jury member should he ever find himself in court.
I'm not saying that's the right way to think about it, but I get his thinking.
Personally, I'm in the pistol camp for in-house work. Then a pump action for everything else. If I was concerned about threats hundreds of yards out, I have a few hunting rifles that could handle it.

[Lefthook]

I have a friend who is a sheriff's deputy, firearms instructor, and former swat member. He has an extensive gun collection. After his handgun de jour, his next home defense weapon is a 30-30. His reason is that a lever action with a wood stock looks less aggressive to the average jury member should he ever find himself in court.
I'm not saying that's the right way to think about it, but I get his thinking.
Personally, I'm in the pistol camp for in-house work. Then a pump action for everything else. If I was concerned about threats hundreds of yards out, I have a few hunting rifles that could handle it.

In my post I pretty much said I would use my .357 magnum, at the end of my post I said I was comfortable with my handguns. This thread being about rifles, I included my SKS because in my mind if the handguns weren't getting the job done I feel the SKS would finish it.

I tend to believe in a sheriff deputy's reasoning, that being said, I have posted a pic of my new home defense rifle. I hope the scope doesn't look to aggressive. Also, I wouldn't shoot someone in my yard, I was strictly speaking of the perp entering my home, a home invasion style attack would definetly get my attention.

Thanks for the heads up.

[brew]

There's a difference between home defense and ranch rifle, if you want a "Ultimate Home Defense Rifle" give up the idea of shooting coyotes at 300 yards.

Totally agree.

I also agree that a 12 gauge is the best home defense firearm.

This is the exact same shotgun i have at the ready but i also installed a six round side saddle so it's got a total of twelve rounds of  3" 00 buck i keep the chamber empty for two reasons first being safety and second being the Racking sound i hope will make an impression.I also have a 300blk AR with a 1-4X Leupold next to it for longer range and if my wife or someone else can be armed also.

gotta disagree with the thought of keeping the chamber empty--50/50 on the "safety" aspect--i can somewhat understand if you have people in the house that you wouldn't feel comfortable with around a loaded weapon with the safety on but racking a round for the sake of an "impression" will just give your location away to the bad guy...if the situation has escalated to that point the only thing i want the bad guy hearing is the harps playing at the pearly gates and them getting on the elevator that only stops at the bottom floor

[HuntandFish]

Interesting thoughts on the low key rifle and after the shot repercussions. I would never shoot at any threat or person unless my life or a family members life was truly at risk, meaning there would have to be multiple shots fired in a long range incident. So I would think there would be ample proof of the need for lethal action, and at that point I would hope it wouldn't matter what the rifle looked like....But I get it, some people only know what they see on tv!

I like the setup shown, and think it would be functional?

Thanks,
H&F

[shootem]

A trusty 12 ga, .223, 300 BO, any handgun, and all the other suggestions seem to be good options for home defense. Can anyone testify what it is like to discharge any of these weapons indoors. I bet accurate follow up shots for most are all but impossible because of the noise and flash. Go suppressed with any weapon and you will be ahead of the worlds best weapon unsuppressed. Practice with your preferred weapon in the scenerio you expect  to have a need. Discharge any firearm in an enclosed space and it is really painful so be prepared on how to do it. Go suppressed.

[Crunchy]

My vote is a shotgun in either 12 or 20 gauge.  Otherwise any semi auto handgun. 

[Lefthook]

I agree H&F, I wouldn't be shooting unless there was a threat of serious bodily harm or death to myself or my loved ones. In a situation like that it really shouldn't matter what weapon is used to neutralize the threat. But I also understand how the tables could be turned and I wouldn't want to be found guilty of manslaughter because the weapon I used looked scary to an uninformed jury. I hope I can successfully defend myself and my family with the handguns I have for that purpose.

I like your set up. I think there is a large number of gun owners across the country that have those guns in their arsenal so just about anybody would be grabbing something like that if the need arises. If it came down to it, I'd grab any one of those weapons and put them to use.

This is all hypothetical of course, I don't live in fear of something terrible happening, it's all a just in case type theory to me.