Paintball

[LK-13]

how about a classic or reproduction of the old 30/30 lever action?
now that is cool and functional.

[Drum]

Originally Posted by Stuffy

I would say an m1 carbine its got enough knock down power to stop an intruder and not to much enertia to go through the wall behind the perp...through your kids, through your houses load bearing wall, through your neighbors house, into you neighbors ect, ect...

Better check that, Stuffy. In my experience, .30 cal carbine is capable of extreme over-penetration at short to moderate ranges. The bullet is 2x or so heavier and, even moving half as fast, it is moving faster than most 9mm bullets with greater weight. IIRC, a USGI .30 carbine load produces a muzzle velocity of between 900 and 1000 fps and usually weigh in at something like 110g.

A few years back, a couple of our local sheriffs' deputies were killed while trying to serve a warrant on a criminal armed with a .30 cal carbine. The deputies' body armor was defeated, in one case through the door of a car.

I sure would not want to risk killing a loved one or neighbor while defending my castle with .30 carbine. On the other hand, if the swat team ever comes to confiscate my cats, the M-1 Carbine is among the first I would grab out of the gun safe.

D

[cmosser502]

beneli R1 - .300 winchester.


a 12gauge slug/sabot bould be the most effective though. possibly buckshot or a 3.5" turkey load.

[RealtorTommy]

I'll take my Rem. 30-06 that is a tack driver and Match AR-15.....but not if they are running away....

[Tohri]

300lb recurve crossbow, With 3" mechanical expanding broadhead bolt.
Air cannon loaded with Steel tipped Spike round, In sabot. (Piston valved, alluminum chamber, running 200PSI)
Tournament Electro, Ramping, Torque loader, Pepperballs.
Powered urushiol carrier and OC filled explosive sachet tripwire mines, With sentry gun if they don't get the message... Though this would require Decon after the fact, The Home invader would lose all will to live... (Urushiol, Banned by geneva conventions)
Caltrops are a perennial favorite.

If they get past all that, Armor your walls with 2" thick rough pine from the local lumberyard, (Both sides) Doors with epoxied triple 1" laminating, With Hardware cloth in layers 2&3, And don't worry yourself with over-penetration.

Bear in mind, I live in massachusetts, And can leave my doors open. And that I don't have much worth stealing.

[Railgun]

Correct me if I'm wrong, and being Canadian with only a smattering of firearms knowledge that's quite possible, but for stopping power isn't it more about the energy transfer and the ability of the bullet to STAY in the attacker's body that counts? 7.62 and the newer NATO standard high velocity 5.56 is all about WOUNDING a soldier so the other side has to use more resources to care for them. At least that's one aspect.

Also isn't a full sized rifle going to be harder to maneuver in the often tight confines of a house? I know that even playing paintball around this area that often has fairly tight undergrowth I'm really favouring short compact setups for the lack of bush and tree fouling I get.

Given all this would not a handgun or a very short shoulder stock pistol style gun shooting relatively low velocity but high mass energy bullets that frag or mushroom (hollowpoints) in the body be better? Not to mention that misses won't tend to punch through walls into other houses so easily?

Somehow I can't see much stopping power from an "acupuncture needle" that just zips right through a body and leaves them with a bit of a sting even if it'll result in their death a few minutes later after they are finished stabbing you 50 times or wearing out a pipe on your head while their puny brain slowly gets the message.

Obviously there's some minimums you want as the idea is to put enough energy into the effort to do the damage needed and push them back all at the same time.

Given what I just typed I'd almost say something like an MP5 if not a handgun. But those only use 9mm Para rounds and unless they are higher power types don't really hit that hard I gather.... Not that I'd want to be on the receiving end of one...

[c6quad]

i didn't know he's in Texas. hell, go big. get a M-1 in .308. that has plenty of knock down power. more than an AK-47. will be accurate too. AK's accuracy sucks at best.

[LK-13]

how about a 10 Gage shot gun with good ol' Rock Salt in the shells.
10 Gage has lots of punch to it and nothing like the sting of Rock Salt
an inch under your skin to change your mind about what ever you might be doing.

[souz4402]

semi-auto or pump 12 gauge shotgun loaded with rock salt for 1st round and slugs/buck after that

or maybe a good ole 1911........

[Walking_Target]

For target shooting and possibly hunting, i like .308 Winchester (7.62x51 NATO) because it's readily available, has a nice stable trajectory; unlike 5.56x45 (.223 remington), which in my experience suffers at longer range because the lighter slug is more highly affected by wind and carries lower kinetic energy at terminus. (for those of you who are half hammered like me, lighter bullet moves more downrange)

I haven't had the chance to shoot .30-06 (7.62x63), but would expect much the same as the .308, but with higher muzzle velocity and a much harder kick.


For home defense, a shotgun with as short a barrel as is legal or a handgun seem to be the premier options in the opinion of the experts. I myself would be a bit worried about over penetration with just about anything with decent stopping power though.


Edit: Railgun is right... stopping power is a function of energy transfer to tissue. The answer to that is hollowpoints or buckshot. And yes military jacketed ammo is designed to better wound, not kill. A hollowpoint 7.62x51 has tons of stopping power; deer gets hit with that, it isn't getting up. I even know a couple fellows who hunt moose with that caliber in a hollowpoint format.