AR Pistol for HD?

[yoni]

I have cleared homes with a 16",14.5,11.5 and lastly a 10.5" barreled M16. I have to be honest I never felt at a deficit due to barrel length and the ability to clear a structure.

So for home defense, where I think you should hunker down rather than go out and search. I don't see a reason to worry about barrel length.

Even though I am a great supporter of PCC for certain missions, for home defense give me a rifle.

[AndyLate]

Huh? Can you imagine the blast and the flash from a 16 inch M4 in a room, let alone a 10 inch 5.56?

That's why my HD gun is a 9mm carbine. Quieter than a pistol, no flash to speak of.

If it's loud to the somewhat prepared homeowner, think about the effect on the criminal who is (hopefully) in front of the muzzle.

Andy

[hazmatt]

The advice we give to our handgun class students is simple enough. If something goes bump in the night, but it isn't really suspicious, take your pistol and flashlight and have a careful looksee.
If you're fairly certain that an 'undocumented visitor' is in the house, get you and yours in a tight corner that's easy to defend, and call the cops. It is a judgement call.
But remember what they say about lawyers who represent themselves?
I concur that a handgun is much handier for the looksee thing. A carbine is a better choice in the case of widespread civil disruption, where you may have to fend for yourself for awhile. If it's really going to be a fight, get a long gun. That's when the carbines come out of the cruiser, for the same reason.
Moon

This has been my thought process for a few years usually some type of pocket pistol. Unknown person at door etc. I have dogs and alarms and cameras that will confirm a threat in that case my family bunkers behind me and a long arm. Excellent post.

[Robisten8]

The advice we give to our handgun class students is simple enough. If something goes bump in the night, but it isn't really suspicious, take your pistol and flashlight and have a careful looksee.
If you're fairly certain that an 'undocumented visitor' is in the house, get you and yours in a tight corner that's easy to defend, and call the cops. It is a judgement call.
But remember what they say about lawyers who represent themselves?
I concur that a handgun is much handier for the looksee thing. A carbine is a better choice in the case of widespread civil disruption, where you may have to fend for yourself for awhile. If it's really going to be a fight, get a long gun. That's when the carbines come out of the cruiser, for the same reason.
Moon

Your advise to hunker down and wait for police goes to show you have absolutely zero experience of how fast home invasions or home burglaries occur and they can go downhill even faster if the suspect is armed and actually stumbles upon an occupied residence. Calling the cops is secondary to dealing with any immediate threat. You have the advantage since it's your home. You know where every nook and cranny is. I'll be damned if I'm waiting in a corner of my house when an unwanted guest is roaming around with my kids sleeping in another room. I'll 100% treat that situation as an active shooter scenario. No way in hell I'm waiting for the local authorities to respond and oh BTW, I'm going on year 21 of being a cop. I won't be calling 911 until after I take care of the threat!

To speak about another post reference the shot volume an SBR vs. handgun. I have a 9" 300 BLK for HD that will eventually link up with a currently jailed suppressor. Best option IMO, but if something happened tonight where I'd need to use it, I couldn't care less how loud it would be. If I'm pulling the trigger, it's a deadly force situation. Last thing I'm concerned with is my ears ringing for a bit.

[tlw613sp]

Your advise to hunker down and wait for police goes to show you have absolutely zero experience of how fast home invasions or home burglaries occur and they can go downhill even faster if the suspect is armed and actually stumbles upon an occupied residence. Calling the cops is secondary to dealing with any immediate threat. You have the advantage since it's your home. You know where every nook and cranny is. I'll be damned if I'm waiting in a corner of my house when an unwanted guest is roaming around with my kids sleeping in another room. I'll 100% treat that situation as an active shooter scenario. No way in hell I'm waiting for the local authorities to respond and oh BTW, I'm going on year 21 of being a cop. I won't be calling 911 until after I take care of the threat!

To speak about another post reference the shot volume an SBR vs. handgun. I have a 9" 300 BLK for HD that will eventually link up with a currently jailed suppressor. Best option IMO, but if something happened tonight where I'd need to use it, I couldn't care less how loud it would be. If I'm pulling the trigger, it's a deadly force situation. Last thing I'm concerned with is my ears ringing for a bit.

No one is saying YOU hunker down with kids/other family in another room. Get everyone in the house rounded up and THEN hunker down. In my case, me and my wife would move to my kid's room and wait there.

As for calling the cops, have your wife/kids call them while you keep a gun trained on the door. Again, no one is saying to clear your house while on the phone. Round up the family, hunker down, then call.

[Robisten8]

No one is saying YOU hunker down with kids/other family in another room. Get everyone in the house rounded up and THEN hunker down. In my case, me and my wife would move to my kid's room and wait there.

As for calling the cops, have your wife/kids call them while you keep a gun trained on the door. Again, no one is saying to clear your house while on the phone. Round up the family, hunker down, then call.

I'm assuming you live in a two story and that's possible, but not with my floor plan. My kids' rooms are closest to the front door, mine is closest to the back on completely opposite sides of our one story house and there's everything else in between. I'd literally be passing both front and rear doors just to get to their rooms. Staying put is not an option!

[tlw613sp]

I'm assuming you live in a two story and that's possible, but not with my floor plan. My kids' rooms are closest to the front door, mine is closest to the back on completely opposite sides of our one story house and there's everything else in between. I'd literally be passing both front and rear doors just to get to their rooms. Staying put is not an option!

My floor plan is single story, with all bedrooms off of a single hallway in the side of the house. The hallway acts as a 'fatal funnel' for any intruders. It's a fairly decent layout IMO.

Frankly, your layout sucks and requires slightly different actions, but it's still the same concept. If I was in that situation, I would fight through the house to the kid's rooms, get everybody in one room, and then stay put.
Same as before, you just have to go further through the house to accomplish it. Once everyone is together, going through the house is not smart or safe.

[Robisten8]

My floor plan is single story, with all bedrooms off of a single hallway in the side of the house. The hallway acts as a 'fatal funnel' for any intruders. It's a fairly decent layout IMO.

Frankly, your layout sucks and requires slightly different actions, but it's still the same concept. If I was in that situation, I would fight through the house to the kid's rooms, get everybody in one room, and then stay put.
Same as before, you just have to go further through the house to accomplish it. Once everyone is together, going through the house is not smart or safe.

My layout will pretty much guarantee contact would be made with whatever threat before I fought through the house to get to my kids. I've cleared 2-3 residences a day on average for the past two decades though, so I'm pretty confident in my skills, especially at my own residence.

With that in mind, I probably have a .0001% chance of having to worry about my floor plan when it comes to home invasions or burglaries thanks to where I live. I'd rather take my chances with the open concept than share a hallway with my 4 and 6 year old and their mother, my hot ass wife, who likes to take care of my needs and is pretty vocal when I take care of hers.

[Uni-Vibe]

My house is so small, when the Thugz go marching in, instant resistance is required. No hunkering, no dialing. Grab the Cx4 and get to work.

[halfmoonclip]

Everyone may have their own circumstances, but I'll stick by my statement. Robisten, I've gotta wonder why you might be clearing that many residences...? Fully sympathize with the issue of having the kids out of earshot when you get a romantic notion.
The other issue; in a defensive posture, you're less likely to be charged if you do have to light somebody up. Even in a 'castle' state, a defensive posture looks a lot better.
I'm not your keeper, gang. But 'get in a tight corner, call the cops' is the best move for most of us.
Moon