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Home Defense!

GMW has a lot of great articles like this one. And this one is pretty on point. I particularly refer to the "Area of Denial" and taking CQB classes from several different instructors.

And I have heard the old chestnut about racking your shotgun several times just in recent history.

Thanks for posting RandomHero. Very important stuff to ponder.
 
Good stuff. I’m glad they stress the need for hardening your home...I’m of the opinion that preventing access in the first place is the best overall defense.

Beyond that...I’ve done some CQB solo training enough to know that it’s something that I really, really, REALLY want to avoid if at all possible.

Which is why my plan involves bunkering up, and have them come to me if everything goes egg-shaped.
 
Good stuff. I’m glad they stress the need for hardening your home...I’m of the opinion that preventing access in the first place is the best overall defense.

Beyond that...I’ve done some CQB solo training enough to know that it’s something that I really, really, REALLY want to avoid if at all possible.

Which is why my plan involves bunkering up, and have them come to me if everything goes egg-shaped.


That is by far the best kind of plan. Having French doors in my bedroom is something I had never let my wife talk me into. Until the house flooded in 2017 and I had to gut it. Where once was a solid wall, there now is a 6' french door which faces my back yard. I do have a 6' wooden privacy fence, which is a small deterrent, but I still am not comfortable with it. It doesn't help that my wife insists on never having it covered with drapes or blinds or anything.

Another little FYI. Until about 8 years ago I was a carpenter/remodeling contractor. I guarantee you there is no such thing as a "Security" french door and no such thing as a "Security" sliding glass door. I assure you I can enter through either one, completely silently in less than 30 seconds.
 
Due to medical issues, I sleep in a recliner in the living room, right by the front door. My home defense is right here on the side of my chair.
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I always live by the mantra that locks are only useful in keeping honest people honest, useless for everything else.

People with ill intent have no issue with getting past locks.

Love the mention of a dog buying you ten seconds. That is a vital part of my response strategy, ten seconds to get in the right mindset.
 
I always live by the mantra that locks are only useful in keeping honest people honest, useless for everything else.

People with ill intent have no issue with getting past locks.

Love the mention of a dog buying you ten seconds. That is a vital part of my response strategy, ten seconds to get in the right mindset.

Not really.

They can be good at slowing down someone with ill intent, too...and like you said, it’s all about buying time.
 
The article say that the 223 is better that a shotgun or pistol round. Would the 300 BO be better than the 223.

Probably not, particularly the heavy subsonics...

The 5.56 has less penetration (with some bullets) due to light weight bullet construction and high velocity...they hit walls, start to fragment and/or yaw, which limits further penetration.

But have no doubts: they will still go through wallS, plural. Any round that will have enough penetration to be effective at stopping an assailant will also...

TANSTAAFL.
 
Probably not, particularly the heavy subsonics...

The 5.56 has less penetration (with some bullets) due to light weight bullet construction and high velocity...they hit walls, start to fragment and/or yaw, which limits further penetration.

But have no doubts: they will still go through wallS, plural. Any round that will have enough penetration to be effective at stopping an assailant will also...

TANSTAAFL.
I figured a pistol round would be better for home defence. I want to get a PCC or a SA PDW for home.
 
I figured a pistol round would be better for home defence. I want to get a PCC or a SA PDW for home.

It’s ironic, but most pistol rounds will out penetrate a 5.56 defensive load...the reason is that even a JHP pistol bullet will clog with drywall and act like a FMJ...

Of course, there’s some variables on this, particularly when it comes to short barreled AR’a and load selection...any ball round will likely punch through several walls, as well as the heavy 75gr bullets that people love out of their short barrels...they won’t have the velocity to fragment.

When I ran a 10.5” AR pistol as my HD choice, it was loaded with either 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady V-Max, same weight. In a test, they only went through (iirc) 4 layers of sheetrock.
 
The article say that the 223 is better that a shotgun or pistol round. Would the 300 BO be better than the 223.
It doesn’t say that exactly. It says it may be better for over penetration. And it’s probably basing that on slugs from the shotgun. At any rate it doesn’t specify what kind of loads it is basing it on so I would be hesitatant to take away from that part of the article that 223 is better than a shotgun for home defense.
 
It doesn’t say that exactly. It says it may be better for over penetration. And it’s probably basing that on slugs from the shotgun. At any rate it doesn’t specify what kind of loads it is basing it on so I would be hesitatant to take away from that part of the article that 223 is better than a shotgun for home defense.

It’s basing it on OO buck, judging by the second paragraph under “Home Defense Calibers”...

I’ll try to find the tests that show it outpenetrates a lot of 556/223 loads.
 
Thank you for posting. Very enlightening! I had a Sheriff tell me just a month or so ago, that racking a shell works well in scaring off people. Also, I have always believed that a shotgun penetrated less than a .223/556 shell. Well, If you’re lucky, you live and learn. Great article.’
 
The writer of the article made a lot of very good points however
“and I’m no expert” but I feel he missed on a few and the 10 second dog warning in my experience is to short.
The article mentions lightning but in case I missed it there is nothing said about lighting outside of the home. I was a home improvement contractor for 11 years and set up countless perimeter lighting systems starting at the outside edges of the property working inward. These systems included both motion and heat sensors to mid-agate common issues with lighting constantly going on due to large animal movement.
When you can light up the night you can help to keep the bad guy from getting close to your home.
Dogs, medium to large dogs are the best but when you include the live dog with recordings of dogs barking outside the home you increase the stress level of the bad guy(s) these can also be activated by motion detection or tied into the lighting controls. The article talks a lot about inside the home. Keeping the bad guy out is paramount.
 
The article say that the 223 is better that a shotgun or pistol round. Would the 300 BO be better than the 223.
I like the 300blk over the .5.56 for a HD platform, if that’s what your asking. 9” bbl is all you need vs at least 10.5” on 5.56. Plenty of options and with the right bullet on SD rounds on 300blk. It should suit you just fine. 5.56/223 is a great option as well, and I like that round and platform for a lot situations/scenarios. Again lots of good options on bullets for this setup as well. This can be a “to each their own” type of situation as, to me they both are good options.
 
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I like the 300blk over the .5.56 for a HD platform, if that’s what your asking. 9” bbl is all you need vs at least 10.5” on 5.56. Plenty of options and with the right bullet on SD rounds on 300blk. It should suit you just fine. 5.56/223 is a great option as well, and I like that round and platform for a lot situations/scenarios. Again lots of good options on bullets for this setup as well. This can be a “to each their own” type of situation as, to me they both are good options.
I agree with “to each his own” thinking and with the addition of the Saint 5.56 pistol with a 7.5 inch barrel brings the 5.56/.223 very close to the 300 BO option.
 
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