What would you go for for Self-Defense?

[LifeisStrange]

M1 Garand, AR15, M14, or a plain ol' .22 Long Rifle?

Id personally go for the M-1, having shot several .22 Long rifles. I donno about you, but the 30 ot six round sounds a lot better to me

[gunslinger2006]

I don't think you'll find many who will advocate using the .22 lr, but it would do in a pinch. Of the others I would personally pick the M14, its in the same power range as the 30-06 but with readily available 20 round magazines. Nothing really wrong with the others though.

[Crash]

M1 Garand, AR15, M14, or a plain ol' .22 Long Rifle?

Id personally go for the M-1, having shot several .22 Long rifles. I donno about you, but the 30 ot six round sounds a lot better to me

LifeisStrange,

Depends on the scenario. For home defense, probably a handgun in a reasonable powerful caliber, backed up by a shotgun.

If faced with roving bands of bad guys, such as happened in NO and LA, probably the same as above, plus a rifle with fairly large capacity and rapid cycling and a reach out to 100-150 yards.

For a "Red Dawn" scenario (which I doubt will happen in my lifetime--I'm 65), I'd take all of the above plus a rifle with a reach out to 500-600 yards.

Just my $.87 ($.02 adjusted for inflation) worth...

Crash

[dannanchieftain]

I personally would go with the AR 15 but thats not to say that the others are bad choices.

M1 Garand : a fine rifle,a great all around caliber for hunting and other duties. Quite accurate for the purpose it was designed for.Very durable and robust. But it is Heavy and long. Ammunition is expensive and heavy. Low ammo capacity (8rounds). Cannot be easily topped off like a conventional Box magazine fed rifle. Heavy recoil. very Loud report. Maintaining it is somewhat of a chore and parts availablility is somewhat difficult.

M14/M1A: Great rifle,good caliber,very accurate out to long ranges,Box magazine fed with a good 20rd capacity.Very reliable and trouble free even when in harsh environments and abuse. The rifle itself is *expensive. It is heavy. Ammunition is heavy and somewhat expensive. Heavy recoil. Loud report. Maintaining it is a chore. Everything associated with this rifle is costly. Parts availability is not exactly plentiful but still reasonably easy to find.

22 LR: Good caliber for foraging and small game hunting.
Low cost rifle even the higher end ones are affordable. Most are very light. Easy to handle for any shooter. Ammunition is cheap and very light. The rifles report is not very loud. Almost no recoil. Some models have high ammo capacity.
Not a very effective caliber against humans or larger targets. Not effective or accurate at long range. Doesn't instill fear into a determined attacker. Some models are difficult to maintain. Some models have odd feeding mechanisms like tube magazines that may be harder to operate under adverse conditions. Some models are not very durable under harsh conditions. The only 22 in my opinion that could be compared in this class of rifles in terms of dependability would be the Ruger 10/22


AR 15 Good rifle, caliber is good, Good medium range accuracy. Rifle is reasonably priced.
Rifle is light and compact . Ammunition is cheap, light and plentiful. Easy to maintain with experience.
Recoil is very light. Box magazine fed with good capacity
Easy to handle and operate under fire. Easy to handle for any shooter. Popular rifle, parts and accessories are easy to find and reasonably priced. The platform can be easily altered with accessories/parts to meet the needs of the shooter, for instance; you can even make one into a pistol if thats your desire. The caliber is only effective against human targets. Not very good long range accuracy. Not as durable as other rifles in its class. Can be very reliable only if the operator maintains it well and is experienced in maintaining the rifle. Extremely loud report. They tend to overheat from prolonged rapid fire.


Thats just my opinion on these I am sure some of you will differ. I see no real need for a long range defensive rifle if a target is 5-6 hundred yards away its not likely to be a threat. Most average shooters cant hit a 600 yard target with any rifle. Most average shooters dont even know the science involved with hitting a target at 600 yards.If we are talking with conventional sights and no optics then truly only a highly exceptional shooter could do that,but we are talking about a defensive combat rifle with no optics. I understand the science but I have not had the training or practice to shoot at that range. I know in the army back in the day they used to shoot 600 yard targets but they were 8x8 foot squares not human size. I am reasonably sure I could hit a 8x8 square at 600 but I know I couldnt hit a human at that distance if I did it would be luck. I can however hit center mass on a human at 300 with just about any ceterfire rifle and that is effectively threat combat range.

[RangerRick]

Home 'defense' is without question the Rem 870 in 12 guage with a 10 round tube extension and copious quanities of 00 buckshot.

Rick

[tufhelp]

If you are down to it, the 22 LR will handle the task in close quarters - just remember 3 in head to make sure they're dead... It sometimes might come down to the handy gun, the one ready and close by.

[Farmer]

Self-defense where?

Out on the street, a 1911 in .45ACP with a S&W 340 AirLite in .357 for backup. Proven stopping power in both.

Home defense, an AR15 in M4 configuration .223 caliber with lighter weight bullets to prevent penetration where you don't want it.

Open country, longer ranges, an AR15 in .308.

Save the .22LR for squirrels and rabbits.

[LifeisStrange]

Personally, form what ive heard, id go for M1, or an Ar-15...

[Old_John]

.357Mag. Ruger revolver. It's with me all day, every day.

12 ga. Mossberg, if I'm in the house where it's close to hand.

I'd rather have them & not need them..........
Take Care.

[longshot]

for me 12 ga pump


simple
ls

[LifeisStrange]

Yeah 12 ga pump. When you need to STOP not shoot through.

Course ive seen em shoot through, and it aint pretty

[STRIKER]

Home 'defense' is without question the Rem 870 in 12 guage with a 10 round tube extension and copious quanities of 00 buckshot.

Rick

Yea. What he said.

I wouldn't shy away from a Ruger GP-100 .357 at 125gr. JHP either..