The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - home-defense bullets/rounds: pistol vs. rifle (vs. shotgun)

hangglider · February 8, 2012, 02:36 AM

@BN Real: Where I live it is well-known that 1) gangbangers hit homes in numbers; and 2) guns and assault rifles are out on the street and actively used. The Chattanooga PD recently up-armed to level the playing field by buying 30 AR's.

If a gang of potentially armed thugs break into my home and I probably have mere seconds to respond I'm grabbing the best weapon option available. I may be wrong, but given the widespread publicity of serious violent crime and murder in my area I doubt the use of an assault rifle in HD would be a liability compared to a ".40 or better" handgun (unless of course you take out innocent neighbors).

As the "box of truth tests" show, the issue of penetration versus defense effectiveness is a tricky one. My impression from these tests is that common large caliber handgun rounds and buckshot actually go through more secondary structures than a lower-power non-pointed 223 round which seems to lose it's velocity fairly quickly going through common home walls. My impression is that if I'm engaged in a firefight where the outcome is determined by how quickly I can get the most rounds off, whether or not I use an assault rifle is a question of semantics if the BG's are armed and in numbers. Either way, I'd rather be alive and take my chances in court than dead.

The gang activities and violent crimes are not hypothetical scenarios I've conjured up in my head to justify using this kind of weapon--it's a daily fact of life (and death) here. Chattanooga has a chronic epidemic of gangs and violent crime making it one of the most dangerous cities in America.

To steal a line from Tom Berringer: "what I know, is cause I live here."

February 8, 2012, 02:36 AM	#26
hangglider Junior member Join Date: December 24, 2011 Posts: 212	@BN Real: Where I live it is well-known that 1) gangbangers hit homes in numbers; and 2) guns and assault rifles are out on the street and actively used. The Chattanooga PD recently up-armed to level the playing field by buying 30 AR's. If a gang of potentially armed thugs break into my home and I probably have mere seconds to respond I'm grabbing the best weapon option available. I may be wrong, but given the widespread publicity of serious violent crime and murder in my area I doubt the use of an assault rifle in HD would be a liability compared to a ".40 or better" handgun (unless of course you take out innocent neighbors). As the "box of truth tests" show, the issue of penetration versus defense effectiveness is a tricky one. My impression from these tests is that common large caliber handgun rounds and buckshot actually go through more secondary structures than a lower-power non-pointed 223 round which seems to lose it's velocity fairly quickly going through common home walls. My impression is that if I'm engaged in a firefight where the outcome is determined by how quickly I can get the most rounds off, whether or not I use an assault rifle is a question of semantics if the BG's are armed and in numbers. Either way, I'd rather be alive and take my chances in court than dead. The gang activities and violent crimes are not hypothetical scenarios I've conjured up in my head to justify using this kind of weapon--it's a daily fact of life (and death) here. Chattanooga has a chronic epidemic of gangs and violent crime making it one of the most dangerous cities in America. To steal a line from Tom Berringer: "what I know, is cause I live here." Last edited by hangglider; February 8, 2012 at 08:48 AM.