Mk 262, Mod 1 vs M193 for defense inside the home?

[Chris17404]

Hi all,

Is Mk 262, Mod 1 ammo still a good choice for defense inside the home where wall penetration is a concern? I know that M193 is designed to fragment and should not penetrate walls, but will the heavier Mk 262, Mod 1 ammo do the same? Also... is it recommended for both 16" guns as well as SBRs (e.g. 11.5")? Thanks.

Chris

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

If you don't want over penetration why not consider a fragmenting varmint round.

[Ironman8]

This might answer your questions, but be warned, a little critical thinking might be necessary

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=112461

[Texas42]

If you are using a firearm within the walls of your home, why not choose a shotgun instead of a rifle? IMO the shotgun is an ideal home defense tool. If you are using a 12 gauge shotgun, you can load it up with either 00 buck or #1 buck and can have anywhere from 8 to 16 .30 cal projectiles to immediately incapacitate the threat. In a home invasion situation, the common distances involved are essentially only a few feet. In such a situation, I would prefer to stack the odds in my favor, and I feel the shotgun gives anyone the advantage in a home invasion situation.

Just to give you an idea of how my shotgun is setup; it has a surefire flashlight for target ID, XS tritium front sight to enable me to quickly pick up the front sight, Hogue 12" LOP for easier handling of shotgun, plus some "extra features" I deemed necessary.

Buckshot will penetrate as much, if not more than the 5.56.

[Swatdude1]

Buckshot will penetrate as much, if not more than the 5.56.

And it won't penetrate body armor. A 5.56 will.

[BufordTJustice]

I can say with certainty: NOT M193.

See here for more info:
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19881


I'm a huge fan of the bonded soft points like the 62gr Federal Fusion/Gold Dot and the 62gr Trophy Bonded Bear Claw.

[BufordTJustice]

Hi all,

Is Mk 262, Mod 1 ammo still a good choice for defense inside the home where wall penetration is a concern? I know that M193 is designed to fragment and should not penetrate walls, but will the heavier Mk 262, Mod 1 ammo do the same? Also... is it recommended for both 16" guns as well as SBRs (e.g. 11.5")? Thanks.

Chris

Chris, I fear that you are searching for a magic bullet: one that penetrates enough to kill/incapacitate but will not "overpenetrate" an interior wall.

I hate to break it to you, but there is no such round...no such projectile.

Anything that will penetrate enough vital structures inside of a human body to be lethal will also penetrate multiple interior walls. With that said, the WORST offenders for penetrating interior walls are handguns....by a large margin. Even a bonded soft point in .223 will penetrate less than an average 9mm HP.

If you're truly concerned about "overpenetration" (whatever this arbitrary figure ends up being), I would invest in the Hornady 75gr TAP with the cannelure. This round was designed to fragment from the beginning. You will get the shortest neck length and greatest temp cavity (and most consistent) as compared to the Mk262. The mk262 was not designed to fragment, it was designed to be accurate. The fact that it tends to fragment well in most situations is simply a fortuitous accident.

[BufordTJustice]

Also see "the presumptive hazards of overpenetration":

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=56486

[Ironman8]

Eric, I (or anyone else) can't tell you what YOU should use in a HD situation, but I'll outline some categories that a 12ga would fall short in.

Ballistics: As was stated, it won't penetrate soft armor. In a stressful situation, generally, you will automatically shoot for the largest mass that presents itself. If you have an unobstructed shot, this will be the torso. If it is obstructed, then you have a smaller target to aim at, in which case accuracy, and indirectly, mag capacity will come into play (more on that later). Back to torso shots, yeah that's what you'll (generally) be aiming for if presented. Combine that with the rise in occurences where home invaders use armor, and you can see the problem there.

Penetration: You're absolutely right that you don't want to use inferior loads just to mitigate the possibility of penetrating walls and hitting an unintended target. Hoever, in my mind, if I can control this variable as much as possible WHILE using adequately performing loads, then that is a win win. If you read my thread that I linked above, you'll see that every round tested is capable of going through a typical home wall and doing damage on the other side. If every load "can" do damage, then why not just stick to a bonded soft point through an AR platform. Here, I have the control over just how much "lead" is coming out the business end, and moreso where it is going than with a shotgun. As you said, with each pull of the trigger you get 8-16 projectiles. I'd rather have one go through a wall than 8+ at any one time if I can help it.

Mag Capacity: 30 vs 6-7 rounds PLUS the ease of loading the weapon. Nuff said there.

Accuracy: Even within CQB distances, precision is a must! This goes back to partially obstructed shots....or what if one of your family members is taken hostage, and you absolutely have to take a head shot inside that "credit card" area. Which would you rather have in your hand? AR or shotgun?

Manueverability: Given the same barrel length, an AR will just about always be shorter and more manueverable than a shotgun. Also add in the fact that the shorter the barrel on a shotgun, the shorter the mag tube will be. Not so on an AR.

I'm sure I'm missing one or two shortfalls of the shotgun, but these are the ones that come to mind. Again, use what you want since I probably won't be there with you when that time comes...but just know that it's really not the best tool for the job.

[Ironman8]

Chris, I fear that you are searching for a magic bullet: one that penetrates enough to kill/incapacitate but will not "overpenetrate" an interior wall.

I hate to break it to you, but there is no such round...no such projectile. Agreed

Anything that will penetrate enough vital structures inside of a human body to be lethal will also penetrate multiple interior walls. With that said, the WORST offenders for penetrating interior walls are handguns....by a large margin. Even a bonded soft point in .223 will penetrate less than an average 9mm HP. Not necessarily true, according to my tests that I linked above. It does penetrate more than you'd think though

If you're truly concerned about "overpenetration" (whatever this arbitrary figure ends up being), I would invest in the Hornady 75gr TAP with the cannelure. This round was designed to fragment from the beginning. You will get the shortest neck length and greatest temp cavity (and most consistent) as compared to the Mk262. The mk262 was not designed to fragment, it was designed to be accurate. The fact that it tends to fragment well in most situations is simply a fortuitous accident.

Agreed that TAP is a great round, better than MK262, but again, it does penetrate enough to cause damage...so I'd just stick with bonded soft point.

Buford, see above.