Soooo, i'm thinking of getting a rifle.

[02RangerXLT]

if it takes me more than 20 bullets to do it, i ****ed up.

if it takes me more than 10 bullets to do it, i still ****ed up.

Maybe so, but you don't know how stress and adrenaline are going to effect you.

It's best to be prepared. What you're saying is I shouldn't fill up my gas tank before a snow storm hits because 1/4 tank will last me long enough if I get stuck in a ditch. Its better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

 

[LIMA BEAN]

home defense...........?????????

won't do u any good.......................





unless





it's loaded........



safety off................



under the sheet.........



muzzle pointed at the b.room door.......




u sleeping on ur back.........




or on ur side----facing the b.room door.......



wit the rifle between ur face & the door......



das da fact............Jack!




ooooooooooooooops......that was a flashback........but the info is still good..................

Ahh but a good dog is a 24/7 diligent silent alarm to wake daddy up and can also aid in defense when instructed to or sees the need is eminent to engage on its own based on its situational awareness. If nothing else that best friend will die buying you 3-4 precious seconds to safety off, check target, find defensive cover for the ensueing firefight.

 

[74duster318]

Home defense M14/M1A? Of course...

The length of the SOCOM M1A is about right...but you'll be punching through walls with each shot. 7.62x51 is kind of an impractical home defense round unless it's for defending your property at a distance. But it'll kill anything you shoot it with.

You may want to consider a Ruger Mini14 (5.56/.223) or Mini30 (ak's 7.62x39) a smaller round, a little less power, a much more compact rifle, all at half the price. Still a little over powered for home defense, but not extremely. That would do most anything you want it to, while saving some cash. It's essentially a scaled down design of the m14, in the size of a m1 carbine.

I love the M1A/M14, but would not have that as a home defense weapon unless it was the only choice. They're ungodly expensive, but you get what you're paying for...they are beautiful rifles, with outstanding performance. If that's what you want, get one. Just don't expect it to handle well in the confines of a house in the dark...

 

[LIMA BEAN]

This is a comforting bedside companion, with 00 buck and slugs you dont have to worry about missing your target as much under duress, you simply blow that section of your house off the foundation especially if over penetration is not an issue. Might be tough on hogs though.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

He wants a hunting rifle first from the sounds of it.

7.62x51 > 7.62x39 for hunting hands down.

Personally I would rather get a bolt action with a scope on it though (for less $$) A M14 would be cool no doubt, but not really practical dollar per dollar IMO. If you get a used one, research the heck out of it beforehand to know what you are getting.

For home defense a shotgun takes the cake. Dunno a thing about hunting hogs (around here we keep them in pens until we take them to the locker ) but keeping in mind their 100yd range they do work pretty decent for hunting deer too. Aside from a late doe season in the dead of winter where almost everything .24+ goes all we have here to hunt deer with is blackpowder and shotguns in my state.

 

[Hahnsb2]

nah i'm just looking for a nice rifle, and one that's big enough to kill wild hogs without being too expensive to keep fed, you know?

I don't consider .308 "cheap to feed". It's also not the most practical for home defense. .223 is loud enough, .308 inside a house will be extremely unpleasant.

 

[heptofite]

well, as I'd said, i wasn't looking for home defense primarily, in a pinch it'll work, what i need is the range and the stopping power, with an M14 i can drop hogs across the pasture without leaving my parent's front porch

 

[super91(2.3)]

Don't get me wrong, ak's are fun to shoot. But the accuracy at even a short distance is terrible.

I have an SKS and have taken down full grown cattle with it. Very effective and intimidating

At my uncles butcher shop, we use a 22 mag pistol. It don't take much, just good placement.

 

[mn_smokeater]

get a 30.06 it will kill most anything in North America

 

[LIMA BEAN]

get a 30.06 it will kill most anything in North America

Lol maby in Southern North America. Check out some of the rigs a friend of mine makes, gotta love that co-pilot.

http://www.wildwestguns.com/copilot.html

 

[heptofite]

i just saw that i could also get an M1 garand in working condition for a lot cheaper, but i hear they can jam and misfire, good way to shoot yourself.

 

[robertc1024]

get a 30.06 it will kill most anything in North America

+1. It'll damn sure kill feral hogs, it's cheap to feed too. Feral hogs are so spooky that I'd go with something you could shoot a couple of hundred yards out with accuracy. Unless they're coming to a deer feeder, baited road or something, they always seem to be moving away.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

i just saw that i could also get an M1 garand in working condition for a lot cheaper, but i hear they can jam and misfire, good way to shoot yourself.

That is a risk with any semi-auto. Especially a 50-60 year old one.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Don't get me wrong, ak's are fun to shoot. But the accuracy at even a short distance is terrible.

Not really.

i just saw that i could also get an M1 garand in working condition for a lot cheaper, but i hear they can jam and misfire, good way to shoot yourself.

How is a jammed gun a good way to shoot yourself? Any gun can jam or misfire.

I question your ability to handle guns safely.

 

[heptofite]

Not really.


How is a jammed gun a good way to shoot yourself? Any gun can jam or misfire.

I question your ability to handle guns safely.

because the way in which an M1 jams, due to being clip fed vs magazine fed, allows the firing pin to strike the primer even when the bullet doesn't enter the firing chamber, it's a design defect made worse by poor care, and it's the reason a lot of people have modified their target shooting M1s to fire a single bullet before reload.

it can jam and fire simultaneously and in some cases cause the entire receiver assembly to come apart explosively.