Rifle vs. shot gun

joshwright2006 said:
Which would be better for home protection, Rifle vs. Shot Gun?

I won't be using it for any other purpose besides protecting my family. I don't want anything to big or to heavy with a lot of kick back, Im pretty strong so i'm not worried about that but need it to where my wife could handle it to.
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Due to high penetration of walls a rifle would only be a good choice out in the country where you might see em coming. in a home the shotgun would be a good choice

MontyB said:
My suggestion would be this...
12G Valtro PM-5 Hunting Stock 14"
The PM5 Shotgun includes the following features:

  • Choice of Pistol Grip or Standard Stocks
  • 14 inch barrel
  • Ultra Light Weight
  • Non-Glare matte Black Finish
  • Removable Prismatic Box Magazine Feed
  • Interchangeable Choke Tubes Optional
  • Folding Stock Optional
  • Simple reliable design with minimal moving parts
  • 3 inch chamber will fit 2 and 3/4 and 3 inch shells
  • Internally Chromed Barrels
  • The special alloy receiver's surface is resistant to atmospheric agents
  • Minimal Maintenance required due to simple design and rugged construction
  • Used by Law Enforcement and Military around the world
img

You can kiss goodbye to walls windows and most of your house fittings as well as the attacker but it is small in length and packs a punch and it looks neat.

However I think your best bet is as pointed out, move to a safer country.
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If barrel is less than 18" you have to go through a Class III dealer, I believe the Federal fee for a short barrel shotgun are a lot less than on a machine gun, unless they've gone up.

MontyB said:
Given that he is looking for a home defense weapon I think the shotgun is ideal, it is easy to use, doesn't require a whole lot of accuracy (ideal for untrained users), the short barrel is better for confined spaces use, and will do enough damage to deter most attackers.

Rifles are really only useful for ranged defense and I didn't get the impression he was going to use it to hold off the Indians circling the house.

Pistol is of course the other option but accuracy goes out the window in the hands of inexperienced users.
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joshwright2006 said:
I already own a pistol actually. And trust me when I say Im not afraid of someone breaking in, but with me gone a lot work wise and other reasons, I want my wife to feel safe when she may be by herself ya know. so thats why I was asking.
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joshwright2006 said:
lol you guys are crazy. but no my wife is not weapons trained. I took her to the fireing range once so she could practice shooting my 45 and she actually did pretty good. I think I may go with either a 12 gauge or a 20 gauge shot gun. what you think
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MontyB said:
The only advantage to a 20 gauge I can see would be lower recoil but the 12 gauge has a much wider variety of loads including reduced power rounds I would be inclined to go with the 12 gauge simply for its versatility.
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Borrow both 12 & 20 and see what she can handle. An auto loader like the Remington 1100 with an extended magazine would do well. Don't get the 12 if she may end up being afraid of the recoil.
 
George said:
Due to high penetration of walls a rifle would only be a good choice out in the country where you might see em coming. in a home the shotgun would be a good choice

If barrel is less than 18" you have to go through a Class III dealer, I believe the Federal fee for a short barrel shotgun are a lot less than on a machine gun, unless they've gone up.
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Pfft call yourselves the land of the free and cant get a 14" barrel.
:)

Borrow both 12 & 20 and see what she can handle. An auto loader like the Remington 1100 with an extended magazine would do well. Don't get the 12 if she may end up being afraid of the recoil.
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I agree, I have the Valtro PM-5 which the wife uses without any difficulty but not everyone is the same so it is probably a good idea to test out both options however if recoil is an issue I would still suggest a 12 gauge with an auto-loader and if need be low power rounds would still be a more versatile weapon that both of them could use just by changing rounds.
 
MontyB said:
Pfft call yourselves the land of the free and cant get a 14" barrel.
:)



I agree, I have the Valtro PM-5 which the wife uses without any difficulty but not everyone is the same so it is probably a good idea to test out both options however if recoil is an issue I would still suggest a 12 gauge with an auto-loader and if need be low power rounds would still be a more versatile weapon that both of them could use just by changing rounds.
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We can get them, think it a small charge, used to be something like $25 Fed. tax vs $250 for a machine gun. Forgot to mention..always use buckshot, there are places where you would get sued for maiming someone with #7 instead of killing them with 00 buck:shock: 16" min for rifles w/o the tax.
 
A rifle at close range would go through a person and could go through the walls of the building and could hit and kill some else in the house. A shot gun will blast an area, I would have thought a small calibre automatic pistol would be ideal for inside a house.
 
My knowledge of ballistics maybe a little hazy. But pistol rounds are better penetrators of housing materials than 5.56 as the latter are designed to tumble. Where as pistol rounds though slower impart all their energy along the line if travel therefore are more likely to. Punch through light materials such as furniture and drywalls. Don't get me wrong a rifle will penetrate those objects and more but they will more likely be tumbling unpredictably whilst rapidly slowing ...


Would go with the shotgun. Better alrounder especially for self defence.
 
LeEnfield said:
A rifle at close range would go through a person and could go through the walls of the building and could hit and kill some else in the house. A shot gun will blast an area, I would have thought a small calibre automatic pistol would be ideal for inside a house.
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A shotgun would be the choice for static defence in the bedroom. If someone just has to go check out the odd noise in the living room, can't tell for sure if it's a break in, then I'd go for something like a .40 S&W, .45 ACP or .357, something with decent stopping power. Many years ago a guy was sleeping in his business in Miami, a huge guy (250-300 lbs) broke in & charged at the owner. The owner had a Glock 17 with ball ammo & he had to empty it, bringing the guy down just short of reaching him. The Lib Prosecutor charged him with excessive use of force & the jury convicted him, if the owner had a .45 with hollow points....But @ the same time it's better to have a handgun of the size the wife can shoot well vs something too powerfull or large for her to handle.
 
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The exceptions on the rifle comments would be carbines or Winchesters chambered for handgun rounds, like the Ruger 44 mag carbine, or the M1 carbine. A shotgun would stillbe a better choice.
 
MontyB said:
Given that he is looking for a home defense weapon I think the shotgun is ideal, it is easy to use, doesn't require a whole lot of accuracy (ideal for untrained users), the short barrel is better for confined spaces use, and will do enough damage to deter most attackers.

Rifles are really only useful for ranged defense and I didn't get the impression he was going to use it to hold off the Indians circling the house.

Pistol is of course the other option but accuracy goes out the window in the hands of inexperienced users.
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I agree with MontyB, go with a shotgun. Here is my reasoning

1. As rifles tend to have longer barrels than shotguns, meaning in a indoor environment its easier for an intruder to grab if hes hiding around a corner. Problem still exists with a shotgun, but is less easy to grab due to the smaller length.

2. A rifle's big advantage is its range, which is useless for indoors as you will close to your opponent unless you live in a stadium. At close range a shotgun is going to offer much more stopping power.

3. OverPenetration. A Rife releases gives too much kinetic energy indoors, when you fire that rifle that bullet is going to keep on going through the walls and keep on going until it runs out of power or hits something else. That can be very dangerous if you have other people in your house or neighbors close by.
 
George said:
A shotgun would be the choice for static defence in the bedroom. If someone just has to go check out the odd noise in the living room, can't tell for sure if it's a break in, then I'd go for something like a .40 S&W, .45 ACP or .357, something with decent stopping power. .
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mmarsh said:
I agree with MontyB, go with a shotgun. Here is my reasoning

1. As rifles tend to have longer barrels than shotguns, meaning in a indoor environment its easier for an intruder to grab if hes hiding around a corner. Problem still exists with a shotgun, but is less easy to grab due to the smaller length.
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A hand gun would be the choice for sneaking around the house. There's no real difference in lenth of a "combat" style shotgun with an 18" barrel & an AR or carbine with a 16" barrel, either would be grabbable.
 
George said:
A hand gun would be the choice for sneaking around the house. There's no real difference in length of a "combat" style shotgun with an 18" barrel & an AR or carbine with a 16" barrel, either would be grabbable.
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I disagree, the rifle would be easier grab simply because of diameter of the barrel, it can be done easily with one hand. Grabbing a shotgun (most shotguns, not all), especially with one hand is a much trickier affair. I do not deny the potential still exists but I do think the risk is lessened.

The problem with a handgun is you are not always sure your target is going to go down unless you are carrying a hand-cannon, and that might be too much recoil for some.

If the attacker is big you are going to want something that's going to bring him down in a hurry before he can get to you. .45 ACP isn't for everyone and anything smaller may not do the job. In a life or death scenario I would want something I know is going to put him down no matter his size. Nothing does that better than a shotgun.
 
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I've known of attackers put down with a 25ACP and died at the scene, while someone shot with a 45ACP ran away and died later. Shot placement is vital.
 
BritinAfrica said:
I've known of attackers put down with a 25ACP and died at the scene, while someone shot with a 45ACP ran away and died later. Shot placement is vital.
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I agree that any gun is deadly in the right hands. Unfortunately most people are not expert marksman (me included), and I wouldn't put my faith in a .25 ACP when a 350lbs attacker high on Heroin is charging at me, even if he dies later it will have done me little good. For most people, especially a woman (as the poster is looking for home protection for his wife), He needs to be stopped immediately.

With a shotgun loaded with 00 Buck you don't have to worry as much about shot placement.

If guns for home defense were permitted in France (which it isn't), I'd have both. But my primary would be the shotgun.
 
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