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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Rifles and Carbines.




What I know about rifles and come from practical hunting application of both small game and deer.  To transfer this knowledge to home defense requires a bit of thinking out of the box. Most of my hunting rifles have been either large caliber single shot such as the Ruger No 1 or bolt action like the Remington 70 or the savage scout concept. All have had some type of glass on them. But of all of these I would only consider the Savage Scout to be somewhat adequate for home defense.

There are a few things to consider in a home defense rifle or carbine. 
1. The distance the gun is meant to shoot. (Will you be shooting at hordes descending 500 yards down a slope trying to gain access to your property?  
2. Will you be using the gun as a house clearing device. The invaders have already gained entry.
3. Will you be blockaded in a safe room until help arrives?
 I think in all these scenarios I would opt for a semi-auto. In #1 I might go with a good accurate bolt action. But I think I would still prefer a semi auto in a larger caliber such as 308 or 30:06.
In all situations I would prefer calibers that are very common, where picking them up at Wal-Mart would be easy or some local hardware store might carry them. Save the odd ball stuff for fun and games now.  I would also consider stocking up on reloading supplies such as proper dies powder brass primers and reloading manuals scales and press. If you don’t want to spend a fortune then buy simple stuff. Such as a Lee hand press. Most of the lee products are good quality and wont break the bank. Practice the reloading technique now.

If reloading isn’t in your future then consider stocking up on ammo. Keep your calibers to a minimum. Such as 2-3 handgun calibers like 9mm and maybe a 22 to practice or in our case I have a conversion kit for my 45 to convert to 22. I get to shoot my primary gun at a fraction of the cost. With rifle I would stick also with basic calibers. 30:06 or 308 for longer shots 7.62x39 for closer in shots and of course the 5.56 nato or .223.

What would I consider a good battery? For not so much money I would opt for a M-4 clone maybe by rock river arms or Stag arms. Or there is always the SKS or the AK type rifle.  An ar10 could cover the 308 rather nicely. I would not feel under gunned with a good AR or M4 and a 45 acp or even a 9mm hand gun.

The one rifle I have left in my hunting battery is a Winchester 94 carbine in 44 Mag. As this is a lever action and short and light I feel it’s a somewhat decent choice to keep. It’s a good 100 150 yard game getter. And I would not be afraid to defend myself or home with it as it is short and powerful enough.
So these are my thoughts on firearms. Whatever you do keep it sane and keep it legal. The following are a few links that may prove valuable.

There are plenty of others please just google what you need or go to You Tube and do a search.

God Bless

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