Home defense question: Which would you use?


SpaceFrank

New member
I'm planning to buy a shotgun when I have the money, and have been looking at the Mossberg 500 Home Defense, which holds 8 shells. Until then, however, I'm limited to rifles and pistols. I was wondering the other day what the optimum choice would be if, God forbid, I heard someone break into my house and had to grab something for defense.

I think the two most logical choices are the Baby Eagle .45 and the Mini-14. The BE currently holds 10 Remington Golden Sabers, and the Mini has generic varmint hollow points in either a 20- or 30-round mag. I'm a decent shot with either of them, and the longest distance inside my house is a little over 30 feet, down the staircase toward the front door. There are obvious trade-offs between range, capacity, accuracy, and penetration.

Which would you grab if something went bump in the night?
 

I' d grab the mini 14 for a few reasons
1 Long guns are tend to be easier to employ accurately under stress
2 more rounds per mag
3 can be used to parry a edged weapon attack as well as be used as a club if it jams or you run out of ammo
 
Depends if you are going to be staying in one room and doing all your fighting from it or is you are going to need to clear your house. If you have loved ones in other rooms you are not going to be staying in one room. If you have to move from room to room a long gun of any type is easier for someone to grab while moving through doors. A hand gun can be kept in the high ready position close to the body.
 
is overpenetration an issue? Know what is beyond the drywall, a .223 will go right through it like paper. The mini is probably a better choice in a rural area, the .45 in a condo.

As robbery is a property crime for profit, the risk reward factor changes a lot when there are guns present, most criminals will run at the sound of a slide being cycled (which is one of the great things about a pump shotgun!!!). However, the ones that don't are probably there for violence, not property, so shoot well.

But the real answer to your question is: to quote Front Sight, "any gun will do if you will do". Which do you feel you can use better faster under stress in your home?
 
But the real answer to your question is: to quote Front Sight, "any gun will do if you will do". Which do you feel you can use better faster under stress in your home?

+1 to this.

Also, it's a good idea to have a plan on how you will deal with a situation, as noted by HK4U. In my case, for example, no kids in the house, so I have no reason to leave my bedroom. I hear something "bump in the nite", I reach for the phone, grab weapon of choice and flashlight, and place myself and the wife so that bed is between us and door. While I wait for LE, I'm watching the bedroom door; anybody comes in...well, then...If you have kids, obviously, your plan would be different. For the record, as per weapons: shotgun first (old Wingmaster), then .45, then (wife's) 9 mm.
 
I agree! I keep the 870 under the bed it has a folding stock and pistol grip. easy to deploy. 38 S&W as backup. The wife will already be hiding behind me with her 9mm in hand. This would cause someone to have a real real bad day.
 
I live on the second floor of a 2-story house with 5 other college-aged roommates. Four upstairs and two downstairs. One of the guys downstairs is also armed, but he only sleeps here about half the time. So to be honest, I'm not sure if I should leave my room or not.
 
In my house all of the bedrooms are at the end of a long hallway. So my plan would be to open my bedroom door and deploy halfway down the hallway with my Glock 21 while the wife checks on the kids. My kids have had it drilled into their heads that if anything goes down they are not to leave their bedrooms until me or the wife comes to get them.

Of course that does not apply to a fire or other incidents where it is a must to exit the house as soon as possible. In that case we all leave through the windows and meet outside at a predetermined place.
 
I live on the second floor of a 2-story house with 5 other college-aged roommates. Four upstairs and two downstairs. One of the guys downstairs is also armed, but he only sleeps here about half the time. So to be honest, I'm not sure if I should leave my room or not.

Only you can work that out, SF, but my advice is to put a plan together. You don't want to wait until the SHTF to devise a strategy. May never happen, Good Lord willing, but if it does...Gonna be tough cause you have lots of roommates to deal with, nevertheless...Good Luck.
 
The video above is good..
Wondering around a house with a shot gun would not be a preference for me.. To easy for someone to grab and now you are in a struggle..
I'm with JJFlash on the plan, except without the shotgun..
Between the wife and I there are two guns and 911 on the phone. We know where the BG will come from vs him not knowing what is behind the door..
 
I'm planning to buy a shotgun when I have the money, and have been looking at the Mossberg 500 Home Defense, which holds 8 shells. Until then, however, I'm limited to rifles and pistols. I was wondering the other day what the optimum choice would be if, God forbid, I heard someone break into my house and had to grab something for defense.

I think the two most logical choices are the Baby Eagle .45 and the Mini-14. The BE currently holds 10 Remington Golden Sabers, and the Mini has generic varmint hollow points in either a 20- or 30-round mag. I'm a decent shot with either of them, and the longest distance inside my house is a little over 30 feet, down the staircase toward the front door. There are obvious trade-offs between range, capacity, accuracy, and penetration.

Which would you grab if something went bump in the night?


I'd opt for the closest firearm. If they're both within reach, I'd opt for the rifle before the handgun. Invest in some quality SD rounds for the rifle and practice, practice, practice. If you can find a place to practice CQ shooting, then all the better. Using the sights at CQ range with the rifle is rather tricky. I advise my students to learn how to engage targets by shooting instinctively when using a long gun at close ranges. The goal is to "stop the threat". One way of doing that would be to place multiple rounds in the COM of the threat. If that doesn't work, then you would need to have a back up plan. I usually opt for the pelvis, then a follow-up to the head. All of this takes a lot of practice, so get out to the range as much as you can.



gf
 

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