410 vs 556 for home defense

[AZ-Quailhunter]

Maybe start with a decent handgun, to get you to your long gun...whatever you choose for that....shotgun with buck, carbine....etc. Give some thought.

[FireForged]

Maybe start with a decent handgun, to get you to your long gun

if we are seriously going to start developing tactic around quips and mantra's.. "run what your brung" might be a more prudent philosophy. Expecting to simply upgrade your weapon at your leisure during a fight is asking for alot.

Sure, a rifle is generally a much better weapon than a pistol and if you plan on using a rifle for HD, you might wanna grab it to begin with. I have a large bore revolver dedicated to a HD role but I certainly understand the inclination to use a rifle. Its just not my thing.

[44 AMP]

is the .410 severely under powered compared to the 12gauge, is 223 or 556 as powerful out of a shorter barrel, can upper and lowers be exchanged between AR rifles and Pistols legally without paper work, and is it as accurate without the stock or with an arm brace?

yes, less powerful than a 12ga, although "severely underpowered depend entirely on your frame of reference

yes, the .223 out of a short barrel is as powerful as the .410

Yes, and no. AR Uppers and lowers can only be swapped in certain combinations and be legal. Other combinations are not legal without prior Federal approval.

as accurate as what? Mechanically, the AR pistol matches the rifle. Practically, the ability of the shooter to BE as accurate with the pistol is extremely difficult. Of course, at across the room, it hardly matters...

I do find it interesting how so many people disdain the .410 slug, as being inadequate, and yet are fine with a 9mm Luger pistol...(which, even loaded +P+ is significantly LESS powerful)

the .410 slug, while not terribly heavy at 1/5oz (about 96gr) IS .41 caliber, and is moving out of a full length barrel at about 1800fps generating 700ft/lbs of energy.

Also interesting, a 55gr .223 bullet out of a 10" pistol barrel ALSO generates around 700 ft/lbs of energy.

Also, please note that "lesser overpenetration" of the .223 round applies ONLY when using soft point/hollow point "varmint" type bullets! Use ball ammo and the penetration is much greater, enough to nullify the argument.

as a back up HD gun, advantage to the shotgun, as you will be able to shoot it more accurately (it has a stock).
Advantage to the AR, magazine capacity.
Blast and flash, advantage to the shotgun.
Looking "evil" in court, advantage to the AR pistol!

Choose which ever you want for all the OTHER things you will use it for. Either will serve as an emergency back up HD gun. Neither is the best choice for either primary or backup, but they will serve if needed.

[zombietactics]

Personally, I think the pairing of an (10.5" barrel) AR15 Pistol with suitable HP rounds would be the superior choice, of the two choices given.

If your use-case is actually home-defense, I'd strongly consider zeroing it for 25 yards, and then carefully testing your hold-unders for reference. You'll never be more than 2.6" under POI out to 25 yards, but it helps to know.

Alternately, you could install Paul Howe's CSAT sights, which include an integral 7-yard POA/POI notch when the main sights are zeroed at 100yds.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I think 44 AMP and I covered this. The guns suggested are not optimal, the OP hasn't been back and training is more important.

Buying some high tech blaster with no training is just silly.

Closed.