Regarding .223/5.45mm and/or 7.62x39 and other rifle ammo
AR-15 or equivalent. I'm no expert but have read many writings of those who may well be, who feel the stopping power and round count available make it the gun you would "use your handgun to fight your way to". Having said that, I'd prefer a Glock or equivalent handgun for maneuverability in the meantime. Shotguns are awesome, don't get me wrong!
Do you live within 1 mile of other structures, roads, or parks (etc)? The reason I make this comment is because a rifle round is capable of being accurate to 1 mile, or even greater. If you accidentally injure other persons or are responsible for property damage, there could be criminal and/or civil liabilities with that. Think very carefully about that.
I also mentioned earlier in the post that any sort of long gun can be difficult to maneuver, especially in tight areas. That being said, in some training scenarios, I learned that a long gun is very easy to grab and disarm. That means it is very easy to BG to disarm you! It happened to me in almost every single training scenario. The long gun was taken out of my hands or compromised in these scenarios. I'm not a long gun fan because of those experiences.
Also, chasing a BG around your home is tactically unsafe, unless you have a 3+ man team specially trained for that. If BG is hiding (for example, just inside a bathroom door), he is able to hear you coming. You don't know where he is, and it's easier to surprise you. That makes defending your home a completely moot point. However, if you wait for him to come to you, the advantage of surprise is yours.
I CANNOT GIVE YOU LEGAL ADVICE, BUT...after a LOT of research through very reliable sources....over 20 years...
I have homeowners insurance. Take the damn TV set. For $500.00 deductible, I can get a brand new TV set, much newer and better than what I have now. Go ahead, take the TV set- you're actually doing me a favor. I have exterior keyed locks on my bedroom doors. If my home is breached, I would lock the doors and call 911. If BG comes crashing through the door, then it is very obvious (to law enforcement personnel and in court)that the BG was there to do more than take my stuff. He was there to harm or kill me.In court, it would be an open/shut case of self-defense. Period. If you go chasing BG through your house looking for a chance to shoot someone, it might be interpreted as an aggressive attack against some guy who happened to 'accidentally' show up in your house drunk. Keep in mind, the people on the jury might not be Rhodes Scholar winners. They also might be purposely chosen because they are ignorant, liberal and looking to make an example out of you- in other words, looking for an opportunity to hang someone simply because he owns a gun and used it, regardless if it was clearly a clean shoot or murder. It will be called murder unless you can prove in court (beyond any doubt, that there were no other alternatives. You were clearly out of other options.
If you use a rifle, whether a Ruger 10-22, or a .308 sniper rifle, or an AR-15, or an AK-47 semi-auto, that AR-15 always will be represented in court as an M-16 assault rifle, sole purpose for killing other humans and nothing else. You and I (obviously) know better, but uneducated people believe the trash that liberal media feeds them.
That semi-auto AK-47 will be represented as a middle-eastern terrorist weapon, used by terrorists in blatant attacks to genocidally slaughter innocent civilians. Of course, you and I know better, but people believe the ultra-liberal media, who is out to make an example of you.
Your .308 target or hunting rifle will be represented as a sniper rifle, whose sole purpose is to murder unsuspecting people in cold blood. And yes, you and I know better. And guess what I'm thinking about the uneducated people in the public and even worse, on the jury. What am I thinking?
I'm not offering legal advice here. Nor am I preaching to the choir. I am encouraging you to very carefully think this out before SHTF. Where do I get this information? I read the news, read legal briefs, people this has happened to, blah, blah, blah, blah.
In short, if you injure or kill someone of cause property damage with your rifle, you could be in much more trouble than you were in to start with. People (public) and jury will try to make you look like a monster and sentence you for life in prison or even death sentence.
I hope that everyone reading this will think carefully and read as much as you can. I feel bad to burst everyone's bubble.
