Anything is possible. With that said, I would lose ZERO sleep over using a suppressed SBR for HD.
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Anyone else tired of Ayoob's pole jumping over mouse turd histrionics?
Seriously, the guy just feeds off the unreasonable fears of gunowners and has made a serious living spreading terror and then cashing in on it.
Personally, I don't think much of the guy, as he is kind of a leach, who feeds off, creates, and magnifies people's fears.
While I think a long gun is definitely part of the home defense kit, in light of the Tucson shooting, it might not always be the default choice. I recently heard a knock at an upstairs door, off a deck, during the day. Long story short, it was the local Sheriff, and he saw the gate open, and dropped by to discuss something about responding to our alarm. I was carrying under concealment, and I know that I, and most likely the Sheriff, was happy that I didn't answer the door with an AR or 870 in hand.
Ayoob's whole 'look bad in court" argument sates back 25-30 years when most cops were armed with revolvers and probably did not have hollowpoints.
Fast forward a few decades and now a high capacity handgun loaded with modern hollowpoints is standard issue to most police; AR's are now the most popular police rifle, and there are more companies that produce ARs in the US than any other longarm. Plus, you have more states now that have castle doctrine or will-issue concealled carry.
It is not the same environment.
When people on certain less sophisticated gun forums trot out a case of someone getting in legal trouble with a so-called assault gun, they typically did something very wrong that would ahve gotten them in trouble no matter what firearm they used.
There was a situation where two residents of an apartment complex had a long going feud and one threatened the other in the common hallway. The person who was threatened responded by returning to his apartment, retrieving an SKS, returning to the common hallway where he was threatened, and shot and killed the person who had threatened him. It's hard to argue self defense or unavoidability when you leave the scene of a dispute with someone you know to the safety of your apartment at which case the threat is over, retrieve a gun, return to the scene, and kill the person who you were having an ongoing dispute with.
anyway . . .
This is a good example of why a longarm isn't always the best choice for every situation.
On another note, if you think there is some type of threat that warrants you having a firearm on your person, I hope you have some way of determining it is safe to open the door before doing so--be it a peephole, nearby window, etc.
Me. For that and his repeated denigration of wound ballistics experts like Dr. Fackler and for his support of energy transfer/stopping power idiots like Marshall and Sanow. Ayoob is a hack that should stick to policework and leave science and physiology to people who actually have training in those areas. His bullshit ammo tests were always such fun to read too. Amazing how any round in any caliber made by Cor-Bon had superior "stopping power" to anything else. :rolleyes:
I like rifles more than pistols but I wholeheartedly (but respectfully) disagree with the notion that a long gun is better in a normal HD situation.
I've been the victim of 2 home invasions (didnt know at the time, but i moved into an apartment that a local dealer just moved out of:mad: No, it wasnt your normal run-down crack house. It was a very nice place so obviously he didnt "get high on his own supply":p) and let me just say that it happens so fast that its hard to comprehend anything. I now carry concealed throughout my own house (different home though).
Remember, your not expecting anything, your in your boxers with no shoes, your sleeping, your in the shower, your on the couch concentrating on a tv show etc.
The first time it happened i didn't have time to get to my pistol 20 feet away and luckily i only got the shit kicked outta me. The second time i had just enough time to get the pistol beside my bed and rack the slide in one motion (which never would have happened if they didn't really screw up).
In my opinion, no amount of training (theres no time to think)would have prepared me for this. My instincts and reflex's kicked in and that was it.
Anyway, regarding a long gun vs. pistol.
The only way that i can see a rifle being successful most of the time is if you were to carry it everywhere you go throughout the house for every single normal activity you do. I realize that sometimes there are home invasions where the homeowner will hear something and have enough time to prepare himself but i wouldn't count on it. If i would have been carrying a rifle with me the 1st time i was invaded it probably would have gotten me killed because they were on my back (literally) before i knew what was happening. Now, i wrestled around for probably 15 seconds trying to free my backside while they had their arms wrapped around my front trying to throw me to the ground as well as about 3 hits to the back of the head. If i would have have my pistol on my inner waist (like i usually do) i could have easily pulled it and wrapped it around the side of my body since my arms were only restricted at chest height by their wrapped up arms. Basically everything below my mid-bicep was free.
Also, as far as maneuverability i also feel the pistol wins hands down. Im sure if you had time to think while getting robbed a trained individual would do very well with a rifle/carbine but with a pistol you can peak around corners, push open doors with one hand (but still be ready) and mainly push off an attacker while trying to back away to create space while still being in control of your weapon etc.
The only point i'm trying to make is that its been my experience that a normal home invasion happens so fast (to the victim) that its very likely there will be (or extremely close to being) physical contact all while being at a huge disadvantage by being surprised which would make the pistol a better choice. Of course YMMV
To give an example of how fast an everyday situation can turn bad: The 1st invasion started like this: very good friend called and was on his way over (5 min drive)..... Knock on the door, confident it was my friend i quickly looked through the window and saw a guy in a hood (daytime and cold outside) who i guess resembled my friend enough that i didn't notice anything strange in the quick glance i took before opening the door (I live in a low crime town so even if i would have saw the stranger i probably would have opened the door to see what he wanted anyway). From the split instant i remember opening the latch my memory goes from that point directly to trying to fight people off my back and nothing in between. It turns out (by the huge mark/bruising straight down my forehead) that the instant i leaned forward and unlatched the door the perp kicked it which smashed the corner of the door into my forehead. So, between being mentally unprepared and getting stunned by the impact, i have no recollection of the entry they made or how they got on my back. In fact, before the 1st punch was thrown to the back of my head i was under the impression it was my friend just pissing around with me (bc i didn't remember the door kick).
Anyway, sorry for the long story i'm just trying to remind people of how fast these things can (and usually) happen.
Pistols certainly have their place, but there is a reason why SWAT teams and military organizations use 5.56 mm carbines for indoors close quarters combat, even at contact distances...
I'm sorry to hear about your experiences, and as they say in AA (AR's anonymous) thank you for sharing. I am NOT trying to talk down to you or lecture at your expense, as many home invasions begin with the victim opening the door. In your case you were expecting someone and mistakenly opened the door, but anyway . . .
I think what you wrote emphasizes the importance of having good locks/doors/alarms, etc. to deter and slow down any home invader as well as never opening the door unless you are positive of their identity.
it is easy to overlook the above when we get wrapped up in the discussion of defensive firearms.
Oh i agree......I made a stupid decision by opening the door without identifying the person. I never thought that it would happen to me haha I was just being careless. You can bet your ass that i check everything now. The 2nd incident i was sleeping in my bed and they kicked the door down (literally flat to the ground)
Doc: I completely understand your point about SWAT etc. using 5.56 etc. but they're prepared and have had time to prepare. As a citizen i would have a hard time carrying a carbine around the house with me.
BTW: Ive never had a chance to thank you for all your great write-ups on here. They're informationally priceless!!! Thank you;)