Low profile weapons a better option?

I’ve been inquiring about rifles lately. I’ve been looking at many different semi auto rifles, and I’ve been financially planning to get one. I want a rifle for these reasons, to exercise my rights so I have a more feasible means to protect my family if my handguns are not enough, and for hobby/ sport. I have found an AR would be a great option because they are affordable, ergonomic, easy to use, reliable and easily customizable. They are also a big political controversy in the discussion of gun violence.

On the other hand, there are semi autos that look more like ”hunting rifles”. These guns do not appear as threatening to society, and they can easily be just as functional as an AR (for example, the mini 14).

I am not looking for gun recommendations. I merely want to discuss advantages vs disadvantages of low profile weapons (which I realize is relative to the times. Who knows, all rifles could become “High profile” like the AR15). I want to also say, when I do buy a rifle, I’m going to buy the rifle I want, and this is just a small, if not irrelevant reason for my choice. In the case of home defense, I will most likely always go to my pistol first because I have it easily locked up safely but quickly accessible on my nightstand, BUT if I reached for an AR15 in home defense, could that end up becoming a politically charged situation where I could look bad to a jury shown a tricked out modified AR? Could the jury look at a Mini 14, or any other lower profile rifle in a brighter light? (Again, I’m not asking if they should, only if this could happen. Many people, at least in liberal media, are extremely anti AR-15).

Just looking for good discussion.

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I’ve had this discussion with friends. A pistol caliber carbine, offers good ammo selection, plenty of “power.” Good capacity. And, like you said, they don’t “look scary.” I believe the anti-2A crowd won’t stop at “assault rifles.” They’ll be after the “hunting guns” soon enough. On social media, Moms Demand Action even had a meme referencing the AR as a writing of war, and the M1 Garand as a hunting rifle. A revolver, and lever gun in .357 mag would make a fine matched pair for home defense.

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I agree, I spend most of my time in 2A circles now, but last night I branched off into anti gun media and it’s scary. In one article the author presented a letter they received arguing that AR 15s are no more dangerous than other rifles. The Author’s rebuttal was to ban ALL semi auto rifles… the author then presented another anti gun argument that suggested a pocket knife would be better for self defense…

I think when you look at this country and gun sales, most family’s see guns as a mean to protect (Liberals as well) and they stay out of the argument. That being said, it’s scary to see how biased anti gun most media platforms are… and people jump on those bandwagons…

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Here you go

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I believe a lack of knowledge (the definition of ignorance, but sounds nicer) fuels the bandwagon on which most anti-gunners ride. If they’d slow the roll for long enough to inform themselves, all of us would be better off.

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I’ve owned a lever gun, gifted it to my father for a hunting rifle. That has been my favorite gun to shoot, minus some military full auto belt fed.

I’ve been heavily considering that exact .357 combo. It’d make a fantastic truck/woods combo.

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I own a few rifles, and I love my AR15 (style) rifle because it’s what I grew up with and it’s what I’m comfortable with. That may not be the case for you. But you’re right that it’s a very popular and customizable platform, so it’s probably at least worth a test fire. For appearances, there are wooden stocks and grips for AR15 platforms, and there are plenty of models that shoot .223 or 5.56 that look more like traditional hunting rifles. (I was about to name a few, but then I discovered that there are way more than were on my radar.) There are also some nifty rifles in different calibers.

I think you’re asking good questions. We have the right to be judged by a jury of our peers, but some of our peers could look at your full-semi-auto-flamethrower-Rambo-black-bazooka-thingy and decide there’s something wrong with you. Hopefully you and your rifle will never find yourself before a judge in the first place, though.

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I am sure I will, one day, purchase a Ruger PC Carbine. That one in it’s base model looks pretty conventional. I think it is an acceptable intermediate-level weapon. Also, it might even be the same caliber as ones pistol. Good stuff and super easy to shoot I hear.

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.357 in revolver and lever is a good combo, but you could also look at the High Point carbine in 10mm or .45

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If we’re going 45, I’ll take a Redhawk, and a lever gun. 45 Colt, that is. 45 Colt +p will be WAAYYY more than 10mm. And in a rifle, thats 10-12 rounds of thumper.

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Indeed.

However I meant .45 ACP.

Not sure High Point has a .45 LC.

Not sure which is better, .45LC even if +p, or 10mm.

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If you are a USCCA member watch this month’s Attorney Webinar which indirectly touches on this in the discussion of firearms modifications.

My over generalized non-lawyer answer to your question is that if your actions in using lethal force were unquestionable then the cosmetics of the firearm used will make no difference. But if there is reason to question some aspect of your actions, then your use of a vilified gun could add to the prosecutor’s decision to prosecute you. It is a crapshoot as to what the jury will do, but certainly the use of a vilified gun could help influence them to find you guilty. The use of a functionally similar but cosmetically benign firearm would seem to reduce this risk.

IMHO (meaning I’m stepping even further from what I know about self-defense into extrapolating from what lawyers have explained to me in other areas of law), a prosecutor’s effort to convince the jury that a benign looking Mini-14 (for example) is the same as an “evil” AR-15 assault rifle, risks losing/pissing off the jury. And even if they don’t lose or piss them off, it doesn’t seem likely to elicit the emotional reaction that would make jurors interpret the facts in a way detrimental to your case. So the prosecutor is unlikely to go down this route.

I think it likely that most of us who contemplate using a rifle for self defense against homosapiens (vs dangerous wildlife) have something on the level of a “zombie apocalypse” rather than home invasion robbery in mind. Even though I could arm myself with a benign looking semi-auto rifle, in case of zombie apocalypse I’m going to reach deeper into the safe and grab the AR-15. In that scenario I’m not sure the cosmetics are really going to be top of mind, for anyone. OTOH, if I lived in a place where handgun ownership was problematic so I had to rely on a long gun for more common self-defense scenarios, I’d go for something that wasn’t in the vilified category.

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It made sense to me to be able to stock up on only one caliber of ammunition to feed my wife’s and my handguns which can be used also in a long gun. I bought the Ruger PC Carbine as the answer to that end. I can tell you that it is a perfect fit for my idea. It comes with a peep-sight (which I am used to from my military years) and it accurate enough at 100 yards. I switched to Glock double stack magazines to feed it so that I may - if the need comes - to find magazines. It was definitely a good choice for me.

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Ok. My .45 ACP combo of choice, goin old school.
A 1911, and a Tommy Gun. My defense would hinge on the “it’s 100 year old technology.”

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I really like the PC9s… but if I get a PC9… then I’m going to need to buy a glock so I can have the interchangeable mags between handgun and rifle… that’s a lot of money :rofl::joy:

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Or get a Ruger Security 9. That’s the mag the PC9 ships with

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I want that 33 rd Glock mags. If Rugar made there own 30 round mags… I don’t like generic mags.

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I was just addressing this on Facebook, following my borrow of the above image … The commenter is an intelligent, well-read individual … but is also a prime example of how emotionally-charged issues like this cause people to throw reasonable argument out the window from page one: investigating the other side.

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That last comment shows it all…

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And again, it’s a well-read, intelligent guy I actually know. The significant other of another intelligent, well-read young lady I went to college with many moons ago. But the research hasn’t been done before repeating anti-gun propaganda …
But, in all fairness, I see similar half-baked, incorrect arguments coming from our side as well…

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