We recently had some vehicle burglaries in my neighborhood. After checking our video surveillance system, the thug with gun in hand checked my vehicle for unlocked doors and shined a flashlight inside looking for valuables. Fortunately nothing was stolen. I thought to myself, this person could have targeted my home and I haven't fired my home defense AR in over two years. So, Sunday I took it to the range and the second round was a MISFIRE. Scary. I have always used Remington UMS 55 grain and have never had an issue. I want to upgrade my ammo in all of the loaded mags I keep in the house. I guy at work suggested Federal HST. What rounds do you keep in your first response mags?

Are you sure it's the ammo? Did you perhaps install a trigger that uses under powered FP springs?

Speer Gold Dot in pistol and rifle.

http://palmettostatearmory.com/speer-223-remington-64gr-gold-dot-ammunition-20rds-24448.html

Yup that speer is a great round and an even better price.

No. The rifle is stock. The rest of the rounds went bang. I reloaded the misfire with the same result.

There are much better choices for home defense than an AR 15. A pistol or a shotgun would be an even better choice. I keep both in my bedroom, loaded and ready.

Bullets from an AR 15 will travel through many walls in a house before stopping. Much greater chance of hitting something or somebody you don't want to shoot.

Your opinion is noted. We have pistols in the bedroom too but a shotgun is too heavy for the wife. Thanks for your response.

I have to agree with the shotgun opinion. A 20 ga Franchi affinity is just under 6 lbs and lighter than most AR's unless you have one specially built with carbon lower.

AR is fine if you live in the country and by yourself but it will go through your wall and into the neighbor's house or all the way through your house and into a kids room and still exit into the neighbor's house.

Just something to think about.

In the AR, the 64gr gold dot is what I would choose. And the PSA price is great. I've got 6 mags loaded up in a 5.11 bail out bag along with first aid supplies in case I need to boogie. Inside the house the shotgun reigns supreme however, IMO.

In any regard, the best gun to have in a home defense situation is one that's loaded and in your hands.

The AR's I have handled are not lightweight weapons. Like RH said, there are some good lightweight shotguns, and a 20 GA would be much better than a 12 GA for a woman.

IMHO, if using an AR 15 for home defense I would use a highly frangible, lightweight varmint bullet. These should fragment easily upon impacting hard surfaces and not pass through multiple walls putting unseen people in danger. Just a theory of mine.

50gr vmax would be practical in this situation, but my 12ga reigns supreme and is first in line if a situation were to come into play.

x2

a year or so ago these guys went on and on about a shotgun being best for home defense. I didnt agree with them. I felt like i shot enough with a pistol that it would serve me better. Well a few months later i spined a deer, walked up to him and shot him with pistol from 6 feet away. A couple of minuts later he was still moving shot him 2 more times. Only found 2 pistol rounds in him. AAfter that went and got a pistol grip shotgun for me, and broke out the pump 20 gauge for the wife for home defense.

Dang goodman, I had the same situation happen to me except it was a gut shot deer that had been hit with the bow. My cousin missed a headshot and it went straight through the ears causing it to run. It ran out about 15-20 yards and one shot from the 45 acp and it folded like a sack of bricks.

You can look up the statistics but 80 something percent of pistol shot victims survive. Clint Smith says that a pistol is only good for fighting your way to your rifle. Inside a house distance a shotgun is just like a rifle except that it's not as likely to penetrate several walls and kill your kids or your neighbors.

You can watch videos all day where people are shot several times with a pistol and don't go down right away. That just don't happen with a high powered rifle or a load of #1 buck at room distance.

Great conversation guys. We both have handguns in the nightstands but I've often thought about putting together a home defense shotgun. I know from shooting clays that it will have to be a 20 gauge, the wife won't shoot a 12, but which one? What do y'all recommend?

A pistol is a good thing to bring to a knife fight.

That's about it.

The best firearm for CQB is a shotgun loaded with buckshot without a doubt. The effectiveness is without question.

You don't need anything fancy, Mossberg/Winchester/Weatherby all make a good short one in 20ga. Probably others.

A tactical pump with an extended mag and a flashlight mounted would be great,but even your dove and squirrel gun and a flashlight taped to it would work in a pinch.

Actually, a gun she is familiar with would be a lot better than one she isn't. In other words,an auto that she sometimes shoots might be better than a great tactical pump that she doesn't know how to operate.

Since we currently don't have one, is there a short barrel 20 auto that you'd recommend?

I know you guys are all about the shotguns. But let's think about it for a minute. Yes they pack a hard punch at close distances. But if your looking for spread out of a shotgun from across the room. It ain't gonna happen. Pattern most shotguns at 10-20 feet (most rooms are around this size) they have a pattern of a baseball(guessing) I'm just saying. Pray and spray at 20 feet is not gonna happen in an enclosed space.

Like someone said earlier. The best gun is one you have in your hands and you are proficient with. It's not about ballistics more than is shot placement. Dead is dead.