Some outside the box defensive rifle options

[MI-LPTroll]

I realize the question is for a rifle, and I myself have an AR. Despite that fact, if I had to leave my house with only one gun to defend myself for the rest of my life, Id be reaching for my Mossberg 500 with my slug barrel on 'er. To my limited knowledge, even most body armor is not going to hold up to a 3'' 12ga slug.
That being said, I second the mosin nagant. Although prices have gone up lately, they are still relatively inexpensive and pack a pretty good punch.

God bless
Dustin

 

[Maximumbob54]

Mauser 98 would be a good choice although ammo may be a little hard to find.

8mm Mauser is nice and easy to load and these old M24/47's can still be found for pretty reasonable for what they are.



And what's not to love about a .44 magnum lever that holds a bunch of shoulder pounding magnums and spits them out as fast as you can work the lever???





And as long as we are talking pistol calibers then we should all have a set that shares the ammo:

 

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

The Wife likes her M-94 357 carbine. I got it new, brought it and her to the range. Mistake.

Not even a full magazine and she says, "MINE" I have others....

For the Alamo scene where the Barbarians come over the wall, I have

a Nice Tula made SKS with knife bayonet.

A reminder that the Brits made a bayonet charge in Basra, Iraq. during Gulf War 2, 35 troopers were outgunned by 200+ insurgents and ran out of ammo.
Fixed bayonets on their bullpup rifles and charged. They won. I guess the insurgents never gambled on the bayonet.

I also like my Winchester 94 in 45 Colt. Goes with my Mountain Gun in the same caliber.

 

[carpriver]

I recently purchased a Mini-14. And I have 2 M-1 Carbines and a M-4 carbine clone and I can reload for all. I think I need to get a Remington 870 with a rifled barrel as a home defense and as a road gun. I have a old old single barrel 20 gauge shotgun. Where I live my concerns are staying warm in the winter and holding on to our food and getting meds for my wife. I am to old to run and have no place to run too.

 

[Texas Star]

Ohhh, THAT'S where they all went!

We had those danged things in the USAF until enough AR-15/M-16's were available. I wasn't too fond of them, and with FMJ ammo, they aren't noted for stopping power.

A HS pal popped an intrdeer in his garage wih one and the guy escaped, leaving a trail of blood. Police weren't thrilled, but he wasn't charged. No one ever turned up for medical treatment for the wound, as far as officers could tell.

If an individual one feeds softpoints okay, it might fare better.

Some of you won't believe this, although I was a Cub Scout and learned to speak the truth. But I could actually shoot an S&W .38 from the braced sitting position at 25 yards and have tighter groups than I got from some of those worn carbines.

I was very glad that the M-16 came along.

 

[Texas Star]

How about a Winchester model 71

Are you serious? Heavy recoil, very limited ammo. What are you defending against; a moose charge?

 

[Texas Star]

The bayonet made sense when the military used muzzleloaders. Perhaps there was still a place for it in WWII although there were no bayonet charges that I am aware of. In muzzleloading days the bayonets were often 14-18 inches or longer. It takes stones to hold your ground when they enemy line gets close. I believe there is a bronze statue in New England showing a Revolutionary war soldier loading a Pennsylvania rifle in the face of a bayonet charge. You can see the terror in his face. I wonder why they even have bayonets on M16s.

Have you seen, "We Were Soldiers"? It's based on a book by the real commander portrayed by Mel Gibson. If the movie was true to the book, the US troops, although numerically less than the North Viets, drove them from the field with a bayonet charge at the last.

BTW, the two heroic helicopter pilots in the movie (the real men) both eventually received the Medal of Honor for their gallantry. They undoubtedlly saved many American lives.

 

[butchkent]

Stick with a 94 in 30-30. They are inexpensive, reliable, ammo is readily available and cheap. The 30-30 has lots of knock-down power. The action is fast and with a little practice anyone can use one.

 

[bummer]

The bayonet made sense when the military used muzzleloaders. Perhaps there was still a place for it in WWII although there were no bayonet charges that I am aware of. In muzzleloading days the bayonets were often 14-18 inches or longer. It takes stones to hold your ground when they enemy line gets close. I believe there is a bronze statue in New England showing a Revolutionary war soldier loading a Pennsylvania rifle in the face of a bayonet charge. You can see the terror in his face. I wonder why they even have bayonets on M16s.

The British did a bayonet charge in Iraq because they were low on ammo and won the battle. I ww2 I believe the 10th infantry (5th Div) did a bayonet charge in France. I learned how to use a bayonet during my time in Alaska and I would not want to be on the receiving end.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Here is a picture of the Remington 7615 off the internet:

16.5" Barrel
Accepts AR-15 magazines
Pump action
Receiver drilled and tapped to accept scope base.


IMHO, a very nice alternative for most jurisdictions where civilians cannot have a semi-auto rifle.

I think they can no longer be purchased in Connecticut.

 

[carpriver]

I have 2 M1 carbines and a mini 14 and a 5 22lr. and of course my 5.56 American sporting rifle. If there is a bad guy in the house the shotgun is coming out.

 

[Hack]

Korean War-Bayonet charge by American Troops to clear commie machine gun positions on a hill.

Can't leave out the bayonet charge in 'We were soldiers'. Don't know how much of that was true, or Hollywood, but the movie was based upon a true story.

 

[Hack]

If there is a bad guy in the house the shotgun is coming out.

Yup. I live in a two story colonial. 90' wide subdivision lots. Model 870 stashed upstairs, Model 1187 downstairs. Both with extended tubes.

I suppose if I lived out in the wilds, I'd be grabbing one of these:


Got everything from .223/5.56 (20, 30, and 100 round magazines) up to .338 Win Mag., in this cabinet. The scoped rifle is a new Model 70 in .30-06 with a Leupold VX-2 4-12X50. So I guess it all depends on 'the threat', which one gets put into service.

However, I think my Marlin 336C in .35 Remington, is a good quick handling lever gun. 200 grain round nose, will change a few attitudes at ranges up to 100 yards.

 

[ddixie884]

I have 3 Rossi Trappers, .45 .44 and .357, all in different rooms. I live a ways out of town........

 

[REVL33]

I have. been thinking long and hard about my options since this thread started I always wanted a m1a in 308. but way out of my price range right now so I figured a mini 14 would be better that is until I started looking at lever actions I have two 357.
handguns so I went to searching I finally was able to buy a 1894 yesterday pre remlin for 550 it has never been fired I think I got lucky on that one.

 

[jdh]

Good choice.

 

[REVL33]

Good choice.

thx jdh at least I think you were meaning my post but yes I'm very excited about getting this rifle I hope it serves me well.

 

[Brian41]

Not in production any longer but Ruger made a nice little carbine in 9mm and .40S&W a few years back. They use pistol mags and I own the .40 and it's matching pistol. Mine has ghost ring sights and is pretty accurate up to the 50 yards I've shot with it. Some are still around but getting rather expensive although the pistols aren't. They handle much like a 10/22 and only real limitation is the factory 10 round mag. I'm not sure what the 9mm holds.

 

[wbraswell]

Another vote for the M1 Carbine, or an SKS, if you want more power. Close range, a carbine of pistol caliber would be nice. I never shot one, but the Marlin Camp gun used 1911 mags in .45 and S&W 59 mags in 9mm.

 

[rwsutley]

I live in an urban area. Inside I have an old browning auto-5 in 12 gauge loaded with #6 bird shot. I also enjoy shooting my wife's S&W 686 and my Marlin 1894 in 357. Over the years I have had a number of rifles nothing was more fun than this little Marlin. The wife and I take a few boxes of 38spl to the range and have a ball. It really is more important that you shoot your home defense rifle often enough to become proficient with it than what type you decide to use. My wife can use her 686 with 38 spl or the Marlin with ease and confidence.