Home defense/SHTF rifle

4506517 said:
What about penetrating the walls and hitting people outside? The neighbors?

What shotgun shells should he use? #4 Buck? #00 Buck?

What if he fires a round and it goes down the hall, opens the front door, and flies out into the street?
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The world is full of "what ifs"......... a .22lr could go through a window and hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk.

In my " Burb of the Burgh" like Federali I'd opt for a PCC... for me the CX4 with a red dot and white light.... that takes 20rd Beretta 92 mags and pair it with a 92 Centurion with 18rd Mec-gar mags. Two extra 20rds mags in the "backpacker" on the CX4 stock would work in either gun. If I'm caught in my "jammies" it would give me 79 rounds to face a herd of Zombies...... in Wranglers I could add another pair of 20round mags on my belt........ or as "The Gunny" use to say............ 119 rounds of "woop a--!"

Note: Adding 60 rounds to the CX4 isn't great for humping all day but .... great for grab and go.

At the cabin a 5.56 AR or Mini-14 with hunting ammo (I prefer 20 rd mags for anything less than TEOTWAWKI in an AR ; or a low profile Factory 10rd mag for the Mini backed up with pair of 20rd mags.).... would go nicely with just about any handgun .

Generally not a shotgun guy. but l like the little Mossberg 510 as a family friendly option.
 
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To the OP otis24; IMHO a 4" 686 is just about the best all around utility/duty revolver you can have...... grab a couple (or a handful) of Safariland Comp II speed-loaders for that baby!!!!!!!!
 
Need more data. In my neck of the woods, I need a centerfire rifle to handle possible critters ranging from coyotes up to cougar and black bear. I have a Ruger American in .450 for that.

Two legged types I stick to handguns, but there's a safe with ARs in the house should the need arise.
 
If it has to be a rifle instead of a shotgun I would suggest a Keltec Sub2000 in a pistol caliber like 9mm. Will take handgun mags. Light small and easy to use. Relatively inexpensive. For home defense you don’t need a hundred-yard shooter. You need a hundred-foot shooter.
 
My answer is the weapon you have. You can purchase numerous guns and never have the perfect firearm. .357 is a great home defense weapon (other than decibel level).

My SHTF bug in/bug out guns are my suppressed PS90 and FiveseveN. Ammo is expensive - subsonic is absolutely ridiculous. It's light and powerful enough I think I'll be able to make do. I just won't make any grizzlies or moose mad ;)
 
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I can't really answer the question without knowing what your defensive circumstances are or what you envision them to be.

For what it's worth I'll just say that my defensive long guns are a Remington 870 12 gauge and a Marlin .357 lever action. If needed I'll probably grab the shotgun to supplement my handgun.

I note and can appreciate your limited funds. With that in mind armslist and pawnshops are loaded with well used but very serviceable pump shotguns for +/- $200.00 that would serve you well. Cut the barrel to 18-20" and load it up with buckshot.
 
I wouldn’t sell off the Winchester just to get a long gun for home defense. I’m sure your handguns would suffice in the extremely unlikely event of a home invasion.

I used to work with a SWAT guy who had killed two guys in separate shootouts. He locked his 1911 in his Truckvault every night, and relied on a 9-iron for home defense.
 
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Until you find something more suitable, my advice would be to practice with your M70 at self defense range, using a technique were you sort of look down the barrel to put the rounds in the target. Shooting rifle at close range and putting the bullet where it needs to go is not difficult but it is something Shooter’s seldom do. If you have a scope on the M70 just rotate the rifle so you are looking down the line of the barrel and not through the scope.

Learn to run the bolt with the rifle mounted to your shoulder, and reloading without looking into the magazine well.
 
I own or have owned every gun already in this thread plus quite a few more! (The exception is a 450 Bushmaster.)

LEO's and Lawyers are stacked like cordwood in my extended family. The advise from them is avoid a semi-auto as a actual defense weapon! "A lever action is what John Wayne used, and no American jury will send an otherwise everyday guy to jail for defending his home with a lever action!"

Unless you have been deputized to pursue a criminal, leave the Semi-autos at home! (In 1968?, every man over 21 with a valid Utah hunting license was deputized in a state wide man-hunt!)(I could happen again, but not likely!) If a mass posse deputizing ever takes place, I'll be fearing for my life and hiding in my basement. Every crazy will be launching bullets in every direction. (It happened that way in Utah.)

Ivan
 
You may want to look for Clint Smith's Urban Rifle video. I think he makes some great points. There is a lot of great advice in these replies. I think a .357 lever gun,AR or M1 carbine would work well.

That said, my Mossberg 12 gauge riot gun is confidence inspiring. This is especially true at 0hDark30. You can get used shotguns cheap. You can buy the ammo at the Walmart. Shotguns will be among the last collected by "our government". Few will argue about buckshot performance at 10 yards. The Mossbergs and Remingtons are easy to work on if you a spare parts kit. Call me crazy but the shotgun makes a lot of sense to me.
 
4506517 said:
What about penetrating the walls and hitting people outside? The neighbors?

What shotgun shells should he use? #4 Buck? #00 Buck?

What if he fires a round and it goes down the hall, opens the front door, and flies out into the street?
Click to expand...

This is sarcasm people.

NO ONE remembers that thread?

Seriously?
 
FWIW, the last I knew, buckshot was illegal in South Dakota. But, if the SHTF, I won't be worrying too much about legalities!
 
#1 choice for home protection for me is 12 gauge pump loaded with bird shot. Hits like a slug at very close range, shreds flesh like a meat grinder but won't over penetrate walls and such. Honorable mention goes to pistol caliber carbines, even a High Point is very effective and intimidating. Also a semi auto .22 rifle like a Ruger 10-22 w/high cap magazine isn't a bad choice in my opinion. There's always a pistol by the bed though. The main thing is to have some kind of gun ready in case you need it.
 
LoboGunLeather said:
The M1 Carbine has worked well for me over the past 45 years or so. Handy at home, comforting to have in the car on a road trip. 30-round magazine in the carbine, 2-15 round mags in a stock pouch. Capable of "minute of pie plate" accuracy at 100 yards or more.

Made by Inland Division (General Motors) in 1943. Not showing any signs of wearing out yet! And it has a very special feature for home defense: it accepts the US M4 bayonet!
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I had a cherry 1944 Inland M1 carbine. Like an idiot, I sold it many years ago. On the bright side, I still have an AR15 carbine (mid-length). So things could be worse. :cool:


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I don't know about hordes of zombies, but a car load of tweekers or crack heads coming to visit late at night - happens to someone somewhere everyday. High cap firearms with extra mags at hand is a good plan. Better to have more than you need.

Companies are anxious to sell firearms. You can buy an AR rifle or pistol for a little over $400 if you look for the deals and sales. GI mags for a few dollars. Prices on .223 are way down. .300BLK pistols are popular although the ammo is still at the .50 PPR level. Used police pistols and mags are being sold everywhere. M&P.40s for $250. .45s for a bit more, 9mms are a bit scarce right now.

Shotguns are great. Capacity and reload time is the issue with those.

A bolt gun? Maybe if I wanted to keep them 500 yards away.

Whatever platform you chose, there are deals on firearms and ammo right now that are hard to refuse if you just need a function gun or guns.
 
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