[Phillip Beall]

All,

Since this is the General Ragchew area I am going to add something a little unorthodox.  Through the years I have had a lot of people ask me what is the best “defensive” firearm.  My standard reply is the one that is with you.  It doesn’t do you any good if you are here, having a “thing”, and it is back at the house, in the car, whatever.  In the context of the best home defense firearm I go with what Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch (and Gunsite before that) fame says – A handgun is used to fight your way to a carbine.  Then I usually add that opinions are like a$$holeos; everyone has one and most stink.  After the laughing dies down I say that I believe it is the AR15 carbine.  They make them very compact these days so the weight is negligible.  They are the same price today as they were forty years ago, at least at the low end price-point.  They hold plenty of ammo and they hit hard.  And then I usually segue into “If I said retired Sgt. Maj. Kyle Lamb would you know who I am talking about?”  Used to some knew of him, but today few do.  Lamb was a US Army Delta force operator for most of his career.  When he wrote “The AR for Home Defense: One Expert’s Choice” in the June 2015 issue of the National Rifle Association’s American Rifleman it wasn’t the writing of an academic, an egghead, no, he has used the M16 and M4 on our behalf to good effect all over the world.  So, I always suggested that they read that article and consider his background and then make an informed choice.  I can hear it now, some will say “Too powerful for inside.  If you miss it will over-penetrate.  Wrong, wrong and wrong.  Police SWAT teams all used to use the H&K MP5-SD, right?  Yes.  Now they all use 5.56 M4 carbines.  Ditto US military special forces types.  There is a lot of science behind the change.  Ask me about it sometime.  In the meantime, maybe think about what Lamb says and buy a quality AR15, some spare Magpul mags, ammo and a small “spare parts kit” of springs, pins, detents, etc.  One guys opinion.

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

[Danial Beard]

Call me overly pragmatic and horribly old-school, but for home defense, I’ve always liked the fire-and-forget factor of a fully fueled and operational fur-missile.   In lieu of/in addition to one of those, I would rather stick to whatever is available and has the most deeply ingrained muscle memory.

[Charles Penry]

We bought a Hi-Point carbine and love it! For our carry we use .380 auto pistols and we bought the .380 caliber carbine so we could use the same ammo. With a red/green dot on it both of us can hit a target center mass quite nicely at a distance.

https://rangehot.com/hi-point-carbine-in-380-auto-it-does-make-sense/

 

Here is Muhaden, my bodyguard, with my vehicle, on our way in Iraq in the Baghdad area, back from the airport to the Green Zone for the night. I believe he was using a H&K MP-5. He was a local from Baghdad, seemed like a nice guy!

[KI5LHM]

I would encourage interested folks to go one step further and actually build an AR15. You will gain valuable knowledge and experience and also be better prepared to troubleshoot any issues that might come up by understanding how the rifle actually works. It’s easy and fun if you just take the time. Then you can build it any way you want from the get go instead of buying something off the shelf and swapping out a bunch of parts.

$0.02 from the engineer that can’t help himself from taking things apart.

[Danial Beard]

Yeah.   Except … guns scare me.   They’re like — dangerous and stuff.

[KW3J]

Tonya and I both carry compact 9mm handguns. Same make and model so we can share mags and are both completely familiar with each others firearm. Inside the home is 12 gauge pump. We have an AR that I built has thermal for hog hunting so would be difficult to use for home defense.

[AF5WO]

I carry a 9mm due to ease concealment, lol but at 6’5″ I also carry a 45.  I do drill at the range with both.  I use Hornady critical defense in both, personal preference.  I train with it some but normally use the cheap stuff.  Wow ammo costs make it hard.  I train at the Maxey Rifleman Gun Club, it has pistol and 200 yard riffle ranges and is clean.  At home I use a 12 gauge with 00 Buckshot.  AR’s are great but they go through walls.  In the right position AR’s will work but with kids and other family members in my house I would think twice before using them inside.  Ok I have rambled enough.

God Bless! and 73

Tom de AF5WO

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