AR-15 for Home Defense
Some pros and cons that may come up in the courtroom. Seems too much to worry about to me. There are plenty of objective ways to convince reasonable people why an AR is appropriate, such as better stopping power, more accurate, and easier to control than a handgun.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:49 am
I firmly do not believe in using an ar-15 for home defense. I believe in using something that assures my survival namely an fn fal. I really like saying fn.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:59 am
For my situation at least I’d start by showing them what the Local PD has in every squad car.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Doesn’t seem like a “really fast” .22 bullet would be much of a problem for a jury. If I were in a less-free part of the country I might go with the mini-14 and wood stocks so as not to scare the jury, “Just my coyote gun, man.”
Whether it is appropriate or not would depend on the particular circumstances and location. I don’t think an AR would be a good choice for apartment defense. Or even a small house with narrow hallways and doors.
August 18th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Think it through before you need to explain it, and be ready for the prosecution’s demonization of whatever you used.
Why, that shotgun can put a foot wide hole through the front door! How dare you use that for self defense?
That horrid black military style rifle is designed only for killing people – which was what you intended to do the moment you picked it up, right?
That handgun has a cylinder (or magazine) holding 5,(or 6, 7, 8, 10, 15, 17, 23 etc.) rounds! What were you going to do with that many bullets, kill everyone on your block?
You dared to use a single shot rifle more suitable for an elephant safari than anything else – what were you thinking?
August 18th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
To a dishonest prosecutor:
Every handgun is either a Saturday Night Special, an overpowered man killer, or the handgun of choice of street gangs and drug dealers.
Every rifle is either an assault weapon or a sniper rifle.
Every shotgun is a street sweeper.
Remember that due to voir dire, the prosecution gets to eliminate from the jury pool anyone who ever even thought about using a gun for self defense.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Well, when I shot at my burglar in my back bedroom in January 1983, the only major sticking point was whether or not the Perp actually violated the plane of entry by trying to get through the window. Since he did, and I wasn’t about to let him get any farther, the Judge ruled it was a lawful shooting. The gun was Ruger 10/22. When I asked the Judge if it would have made any difference if I used some other type of firearm, He said “Only if you had a Tommy Gun and emptied the whole drum, then I might have ruled differently”. Then he said, “Oh, the next time you have to shoot someone, use a bigger gun. Those little 22’s won’t stop some of these junkies I’ve been getting in my courtroom lately. Use a 357, or a 45 or a 30-30 or shotgun, something with stopping power”. Of course, this was in Virginia, in the early ’80s, and you could only get Colt Ar-15’s, and the Ruger Mini-14’s were coming out at a LOT lower price…
August 19th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I would never use an AR-15 for home defense. I think it penetrates too much and could go through several walls and possibly even end up in my neighbor’s house.
I prefer larger, slower rounds that have more knockdown power. Personally, I keep several guns handy for whatever I might meet in the cold dark night.
August 20th, 2010 at 12:32 am
Shotgun, 12 gauge, pump action, one each. Ammo: buck or slug, or a combo (Centurion Multi-defense, with one .65 caliber ball, and 6 pellets of #1 buck). As to getting around the evil prosecutor, well, the lesson is don’t hire a cheap lawyer, hire the best in your city. “Lawyer up” immediately, and say nothing to the cops except your name and that this is your house. Deny permission to search the rest of the house beyond the shooting scene. Expect that if you have an illegally modified weapon (a 922 issue, for example), the locals are not interested in those but they may very well bring in the BATFE. So, don’t have those guns. Also, make sure you’re not over your local fire marshal’s limit on blackpowder amounts, etc. People have been popped for THAT.