AR Usage

[TangoFoxtrot]

How many here use an AR-15 for home defense, or for SHTF senarios? What setup do you have? How many mags and ammo do you keep on hand?

[Rick]

Not me. I lost all of my weapons and ammo in the great canoe accident of '10.

AR would make a lousy home defense weapon. Not only is it unwieldy but you run the risk of over penetration and taking out neighbors. I rely mostly on idle threats.

[natertot]

Huh? What? I don't know what you mean by defense. Don't you just call the guys in uniform?

[Wildthang]

Since I live in the country, and my neighbors are not all that close, I would use my AR as home defense without hesitation. It is quick handling, lethal, and in my humble opinion, that is one of the things it was designed to do, defend!
My first line of defense in most cases is my 9mm glock in my nightstand, just something to grab when I'm half asleep. Behind my nightstand is my AR leaning against the wall. If there is more than 2 offenders, and I figure I can't take them out with my Glock, I will retreat back to the bedroom and grab my AR. If I am lucky enough to see them coming before hand, and it appears to be 2 or more, and well armed, I will not even look at the Glock!
My AR has open sights, and a loaded 30 shot magazine, with a good combat light mounted to the forend. I keep 1 extra clip to grab in the nightstand, and that's it. If I cant getem with 2 magazines, I aint gonna getum!
Some may ask, well why dont you just grab the AR and why even keep the glock, and my answer would be, It depends on whether I hear a funny little noise, or windows crashing and people talking as to which I would grab! I like choices!
I have around 8 magazines total for the AR!

[crashdive123]

Sourdough - he didn't mean it. It was just a slip of the tongue. He really meant magazine, not clip.

Whew! Glad I headed that one off.

[Wildthang]

Sourdough - he didn't mean it. It was just a slip of the tongue. He really meant magazine, not clip.

Whew! Glad I headed that one off.

Who said clips? I am pretty sure I call them magazines! Oh, now I see, Please forgive me SD for I have sinned

[Wildthang]

Who said clips? I am pretty sure I call them magazines! Oh, now I see, Please forgive me SD for I have sinned

I edited it so it wouldn't burn your eyes!

[crashdive123]

Since I live in the country, and my neighbors are not all that close, I would use my AR as home defense without hesitation. It is quick handling, lethal, and in my humble opinion, that is one of the things it was designed to do, defend!
My first line of defense in most cases is my 9mm glock in my nightstand, just something to grab when I'm half asleep. Behind my nightstand is my AR leaning against the wall. If there is more than 2 offenders, and I figure I can't take them out with my Glock, I will retreat back to the bedroom and grab my AR. If I am lucky enough to see them coming before hand, and it appears to be 2 or more, and well armed, I will not even look at the Glock!
My AR has open sights, and a loaded 30 shot magazine, with a good combat light mounted to the forend. I keep 1 extra clipto grab in the nightstand, and that's it. If I cant getem with 2 magazines, I aint gonna getum!
Some may ask, well why dont you just grab the AR and why even keep the glock, and my answer would be, It depends on whether I hear a funny little noise, or windows crashing and people talking as to which I would grab! I like choices!
I have around 8 magazines total for the AR!

I guess two out of three ain't bad.

[Wildthang]

I guess two out of three ain't bad.

I was trying real hard Crash!

[kyratshooter]

1. In the current world you are not defending your home until the bad guy comes inside. A shotgun will do for inside defense more effectively than an AR and you get three for the price of one.

2. SHTF or TEOTWAWKI is a different time and place. Today is not then and one can only speculate on the conditions in place at that point. You will not know until you point whatever is in your hands down the hallway, out the window or over the berm, and see what is comming at you if you made the right choice.

3. In either of the #2 senerios you do not have enough mags or ammo. No one has enough mags and ammo. Some of us that were in the military have looked at a duce and a half load and said "Go get more!".

4. Guns and ammo are only part of your defense, you also must harden your position. You may very well wish you had spent $500 on barbed wire instead of $1200 on an AR.

[jcullen24]

I don't know how people can say an AR-15 is unwieldy.
I considered the M-16 as perfect for clearing rooms.
I don't have one now, but I'm not bugging in.

[hunter63]

My nephew calls magazines for his Glock "clips" as well,........I have tried to correct him, but maybe its a Glock thing?....a young guy thing?
It's too bad about the canoe accident, I can relate, and I feel your pain....similar thing happen here as well.

Used to keep them in the safe....take them out and look what happens.....Oh well, some day maybe fix the damage,,,,still about a dozen magazines around, "deployed" as it were....

I don't have visions of grandeur as far as single handed hold off the hoards, I would guess that is a last resort, as my guess that any "invaders" would be of the cowardly persuasion and would be a gang.

So for now the .380 PPK will have to do.......

[Wildthang]

1. In the current world you are not defending your home until the bad guy comes inside. A shotgun will do for inside defense more effectively than an AR and you get three for the price of one.

2. SHTF or TEOTWAWKI is a different time and place. Today is not then and one can only speculate on the conditions in place at that point. You will not know until you point whatever is in your hands down the hallway, out the window or over the berm, and see what is comming at you if you made the right choice.

3. In either of the #2 senerios you do not have enough mags or ammo. No one has enough mags and ammo. Some of us that were in the military have looked at a duce and a half load and said "Go get more!".

4. Guns and ammo are only part of your defense, you also must harden your position. You may very well wish you had spent $500 on barbed wire instead of $1200 on an AR.

I have a lot of ammo, I just dont keep it all in the bedroom. And since the S aint hit the fan yet, I figure for home defense, 2 mags is enough against a would be intruder or 2 or 3 or 4! Shotguns are just not my style, and I dont know why. I like them to hunt birds with, and I love the over under's with the shorgun on the bottom, but for home defense, they would do a lot of damage to your house, and throw a pattern of lead in a broad area, so there are good points and bad points to shotguns. I know they are good for self defense and I probably need to rethink all of that, but I just like pistols and rifles and always have.
But I do plan on buying more mags at the next gun show. Beleive me, if I even think the S is going to hit the fan, I will harden my defense big time!

[shaner]

oh my golly man , u didnt say clips i didnt see it , !!!!!! ok i did but wont rat ya out, iam still a firm believer in a shotgun, for home defense myself, i like a mossberg 410, 18in barreled shotgun with number 7.5 shot, or 6shot 3in, check out some tests on them, close range , its lethal, and the surrouding area pretty much safe, and anyone in the household could use it without fear of recoil on them, and u dont need any clips! or magazines!!!

[hunter63]

.................
But I do plan on buying more mags at the next gun show. Beleive me, if I even think the S is going to hit the fan, I will harden my defense big time!

I don't think it will be announced....if you know what I mean.....

"News Up Date.....SHTF!"
The moment we have all been waiting for is gonna happen a 4:00 P.M, as there are those that don't like to get woken up with crap like this in the middle of the night.

Full story at 11:00

[Wildthang]

I don't think it will be announced....if you know what I mean.....

"News Up Date.....SHTF!"
The moment we have all been waiting for is gonna happen a 4:00 P.M, as there are those that don't like to get woken up with crap like this in the middle of the night.

Full story at 11:00

Yeah Yeah Hunter I know! But I am not going to start building concrete barriers around the house just yet. I can see them coming a long way off where I live. And I think we have time until total chaos from economic collapse takes ahold of us! Or the attack or the Chinese forces for that matter! But I do hope they announce it, that would be handy! Hell they put everything else on the news so why not actually put some useful info on there for a change! Naaaaaaa, that wouldn't happen would it?

[natertot]

I like them to hunt birds with, and I love the over under's with the shorgun on the bottom, but for home defense, they would do a lot of damage to your house, and throw a pattern of lead in a broad area, so there are good points and bad points to shotguns.

Patchin a wall and replacing a window is still a cheaper price than a funeral for yourself or family member. I just call the uniforms, but if I did have boomsticks, 12ga primary, semi-auto handheld secondary. Then again, that is what I was taught in the Navy and in LE/Security training.

[Wildthang]

Patchin a wall and replacing a window is still a cheaper price than a funeral for yourself or family member. I just call the uniforms, but if I did have boomsticks, 12ga primary, semi-auto handheld secondary. Then again, that is what I was taught in the Navy and in LE/Security training.

I actually agree with all of that, but the only shotgun I have is a Remington 1100 with a barrel long enough to reach across the bedroom. I dont know how long the barrel is but it's long, so my AR with the 16" barrel seems a lot more nimble and more gooder for household engagements.
I guess I need to get a short shotgun! See now youv'e done it, I need another frickin gun because of you! I hate you!

[Rick]

I don't know how people can say an AR-15 is unwieldy.

People didn't I did. You are not clearing rooms. You are defending yourself. That means you take a position and wait on them to come to you. Hopefully, you got the 911 call in. An AR sucks for home defense. Maybe if you live in the country it would be okay but those rounds will go through green board and sheetrock in my house and my neighbor's house.

In a SHTF scenario I won't use it either. My definition of SHTF is tornado or blizzard. I still prefer a shotgun for looters over sending rounds down the block to take out some innocent person.

If I had a weapon or ammo, that is.

[kyratshooter]

You get more for your money with a shotgun than almost any other defense tool.

A $200 pistol is not much pistol.
A $200 simiauto rifle is just a pipe-dream
A $200 pump shotgun is a beast to contend with in any serious social setting.

Besides, if you buy a shotgun you will have something you can actually hunt with in Ohio!

Think about springing $200 for a riot barrel for the 1100. Back in the '70s that was the issue shotgun for the LAPD and several other cities.

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