I stand corrected and after this I am likely going to rethink my home defense strategy. I went to look up penetration tests on gel, and to my surprise what I thought I knew was indeed Wrong!
Which came as a bit of a shock seeing as how it appears some swat teams use subsonic .300aac for anti body armor combatants and that more or less changed my paradigm.
Truthfully, until I do some more research I am probably going to bow out of recommending anything.
This came as a serious surprise. Now I have to sort some things out. Thanks Nathan. Now I have to probably spend money.
Research is cheap! Glad you discovered it for yourself. I still love the 300 though. Ballistics with subsonic on paper is similar to 45 acp.
Not many people consider the sectional density of bullets. That is where the big difference between the two lies.
That isnât talked about because a firearm is lethal force. You should, 100%, anytime you use a firearm, expect it to be considered lethal force, even if you load it with rock salt.
There also exists a very real possibility, if you start mixing ânon lethalâ rounds and lethal rounds in the same gun, youâll get the âother oneâ by mistake. In LE when they have bean bag shotguns etc, they use dedicated different color special guns that never get real ammunition in them (if they are even compatible), if they are doing it right.
Youâd hate to think you have a ânon lethalâ rock salt round when, well, no, thatâs buckshot.
Youâd also hate to need to stop a violent attacker/intruder right now and, well, the rock salt really stings but itâs not even slowing them down oops.
Mossberg 500 pump next to the bed, mainly because itâs something my wife is also comfortable with. Sheâs really not a gun person, so the simplicity of the shotgun is something sheâs familiar with.
A pump shotgun has a safety and a slide release. Going with the ar, you are adding a magazine release. So one less button or lever for the non firearms enthusiast to remember.
I doubt a mag release would be needed in a home defense situation if you have 20-30 rounds of 5.56 on tap.
In the event you need that much, Iâll wager that reloading the AR is far easier than reloading that pump shotgun. Plus, of course, 20-30 shots before reloading the AR vs, what, 5-6 before reloading the shotgunâŠand reloading shotshells individually under stress isntâ exactly fast and smooth for non gun people either
The pump shotgun also as the pump for every shell, the AR being semi automatic does not have that.
The way I see it, if you keep both in the same ready condition, the semi auto AR has fewer controls to use than the pump shotgun does. Could be, flip the safety and then just pull the trigger.
Well, the pump shotgun works for one shot in that condition, but it stops there, as you have to rack it, and not short stroke it, to get the next round, where a semi auto continues to be just pull the trigger.
Shell in the chamber, action cocked, tang safety on. My wife is not interested in guns, but she does know how to shoot one, and I run her through the procedure regularly.
Out of curiosity, how do you have the shotgun stored in the bedroom? I have not fully figured out the best approach for that as I do want mine available in the bedroom, but somewhat secured. Still fussing around with ideas.
Have been looking at a below the bed safe.
I, and many others, donât care for lasers on firearms. The otherwise extremely consistent nature of training to sight via, well, the sights, or optics, goes away with a laser, so talk about losing consistency.
They are also âtwo wayâ especially in certain circumstances, like after any round have been fired, with smoke in the air.
Home defense long guns should, IMO, have a light mounted on them. My shotguns and rifles all have a mounted flashlight/WML. Reason: Itâs much easier to legally justify having a gun in your hands in your own home than it is while carrying out in public, so, unlike a concealed carry gunâŠthere is a pretty solid chance that upon retrieving your home defense rifle/shotgun, you will desire the ability to illuminate an area or threat while both of your hands are controlling the firearm (note that, as anybody trained or YouTube watched will know, shining a modern day bright light at the floor or the ceiling in the general ish direction, indoors, will generally illuminate an area or possible threat without having to point the gun at them.
I keep our shot gun in the closet next to the bed, again itâs just my wife and me and seldom do I have to concern myself with house guests. Itâs out of the way and inconspicuous but yet very handy.
@Nathan57 Iâm not advocating for not having a light on a long gun or any gun for that matter, but Iâm curious as you offer the âtwo wayâ of the laser as a negative. How do you get around the âtwo wayâ of a light on the end of your gun? The thought that came to mind was using an IR light with Red Dot if that would work? It just seems to me it would equally display you in a defensive situation.
You get around the two way of the WML buy not turning the momentary-operation-only WML on unless it is needed. In the event you cannot identify the thing/person in your home, itâs worth the two way effect of a light to positively ID. Also, if you then point the firearm and activated light at the threat, in lighting where that light was needed to ID them, there will likely be a blinding/disorienting/distracting effect of that bright light in their eyes if they try to look at you, which a laser used as a sight wonât have.
The two way effect is absolutely something to keep in mind before hitting that light, to be sure.
Also, in regards to the laser as a sighting system, there are as good/better sighting systems that are more consistent to use, that do not have the two way effectâŠthat are reasonably priced or perhaps even less expensive than a laser.
There isnât really such an alternative to a WML. If youâve got the big bucks, and the time, you could go with a full night vision goggle setup and use at most an IR illuminator or similar to avoid two way effect of someone without their own NVG but weâre getting way, way above the price range of just about everybody hereâŠnot to mention the logistics of it, even NVG equipped dudes seem to keep a white light on HD guns in case they didnât have time to fully kit up after an intrusion lol
