This turned into a much longer post than intended. Sorry. But bear with me: I've been following this Topic and buried in here may be at least one tiny bit of information that someone might find mildly useful.
Soccerdad1995 wrote:Of course, the flip side is that you don't need long range accuracy for home defense, and an AK should be plenty accurate for the typical ranges involved (less than 25 yards in my house). So in other words, for home defense, either one should work fine. And both are better than a pistol.
I mostly agree. The AK--even a sloppy Russian mil-surp--isn't the inaccurate brick that some defame it as. A 400-yard shot with an standard AK? Nope. Not something I'd attempt. But at 100 yards it can have perfectly adequate combat accuracy.
That said, my HD primary is an AR for several reasons:
- Training and familiarity: I don't have to spend time thinking in order to operate an AR.
- Penetration: unobstructed, a 5.56 round will travel a long way, but once it encounters an interruption, like two pieces of sheetrock, it's less likely to cause unintended damage on the other side than even a 9mm pistol round.
- Payload: I have a number of Magpul 40-rounders and have tested them pretty extensively without a hiccup; I keep one round chambered and 38 in the mag, with a couple of charged spare mags in the nightstand.
- Effectiveness: I'm with TAM in my affinity for the .308, but the comparatively wimpy 5.56 is still superior to most handgun rounds (won't compare it to a .454 Casull or .500 S&W Magnum at close quarters, but still...)
- Speed and accuracy: with a good red-dot (I use EOTech), at HD or small-property distances you can quickly place rounds on multiple targets with a high degree of accuracy...and unlike "journalist" Gersh Kuntzman's assertion, a 5.56 AR rifle has virtually no felt recoil.
Items three and five are reasons I don't typically council a shotgun for primary home defense. It's been a go-to for years, and ain't no slouch. I love 'em, and have a customized Remmy 870 I wouldn't trade for the world. People unfamiliar with shotguns, though, tend to think of "spread," the patterning of shot as it leaves the barrel, as the reason to choose buckshot over a center-fire cartridge. They think that makes a shotgun more effective because precise aiming isn't important.
That's completely wrong, of course, in a home defense scenario. The typical formula for the progressive expansion of pellets out of a cylinder-bore shotgun barrel is two centimeters (0.8 inch) for every meter (39.4 inches) traveled. That varies from one centimeter up to about five depending on size of the shot, length of the barrel, choke, etc. Generally, the smaller the shot the more rapid the expansion...but also the less likely it is to be effective in a self-defense scenario. Shooting at bad guys in a home invasion with #4 shot may not have the immediately desired effect.
So at 10 yards--a reasonable HD situation--double-aught buck out of an 18" cylinder bore will spread to a pattern of approximately seven inches. Meaning you still have to be accurate with your aim, but you have an added issue that, even with a hit, one or more pellets may fly off unobstructed.
Semi-auto shotguns shoot softer than pumps, and you experienced three-gunners can put follow-up shots on target faster than any bad guy would expect. But you still have a limited number of rounds on board, and even highly skilled recharging of the tube can't compare to having 30 on-board with another 30 at the ready with a quick mag change.
The elephant in the room with
any long gun for home defense is that, well, it's a
long gun.
If you've ever done any shoot-house training you know that in residences--unless you live in a 20,000 square foot mansion with humongous open spaces--confines are relatively small, hallways and doorways are tight. If you are alone and not working as a trained tandem, clearing a residence with a rifle or shotgun is an iffy proposition. You simply do not have the maneuverability and retention capability a handgun offers. If you have rooms leading off at right-angles from a standard four-foot hallway, especially if those rooms are at the end of the hallway, you got big-time clearance problems even if you aren't using a long-barrelled tool.
In our case, it's a 2,500 square foot basic suburbia with two stories. The master is down, and no one is upstairs at night (home gym and three spare bedrooms). All three external doors were replaced with generic-looking steel doors painted white, with reinforced frames and long deadbolts; even a portable breaching ram would take a few hits to get through. Windows are 3M Safety and Security Film lined, but they are absolutely the vulnerable points; the glass won't shatter like a BG would expect--and it will give us plenty of noise alert time if we're home--and it's a relatively cheap way of doing a little to shore-up those vulnerable points. Monitored home alarm system with all exterior doors and windows on the ground floor sensored; motion sensor in the living room; no monitoring on the second floor. Video fore and aft; could do a much better job with that.
No kids and no other occupants is key for us. My wife's EDC is a Springer XD-S in 9mm, and she puts it on top of her nightstand when we go to bed. An AR is within immediate reach on my side of the bed. A Springer XD(M) .40 S&W full-size is my backup...in the extremely unlikely case we'd ever need to clear the building.
I'm not a fan of weapon-mounted lights on a handgun; never have been. Sitting beside my XD(M) is a SureFire P2X Fury Tactical; a bit too large for EDC, but a heckuva light. I won't go into all reasons I don't choose a handgun-mounted light, but a few are:
- Weapon-mounted lights have to be extremely lightweight, and that lack of mass reduces the potential of the output.
- Attaching the light to your firearm limits options: where your light originates is where your firearm is.
- If you don't train regularly with that handgun and with that specific weapon-mounted light, your ability to get on target quickly will be compromised.
- A quality flashlight is also a very effective impact instrument. Much more effective than an empty hand.
- Force-on-force training has shown that most gunfight injuries will be to the hands and forearms. A weapon-mounted light puts all your eggs in one basket.
- I prefer the Harries technique, but the so-called FBI method lets you use the light as a force-multiplier, blinding a potential BG before you lean in to clear a room.
Tip: if you live with anyone else who is firearm-competent (or even willing) train with them. Especially train with them in defense-of-residence. If something slams you awake at zero dark thirty, you should both react immediately, without needing to communicate.
Tip: you know your house better than anyone. Practice a home invasion scenario. Know how you'll react at first alert. Look for critical choke-points where you can gain an advantage by mounting mirrors or framed pictures that have reflective surfaces. If you have a two-storey, absolutely position a reflective surface that allows you to see the second-floor landing. Clearing residential rooms is difficult. Clearing a residential stairwell when you have no visual...not a good thing to attempt.
Besides, I was taught you keep firing until the threat stops. It's best to have more bullets than you need than not enough.
