I don’t generally use my ARs for home defense. Most of the time they stay in the safe. But that’s not because I think they are unsuitable. When I have kept an AR handy for home defense, I’ve generally kept it with a loaded magazine, bolt in battery on an empty chamber. This guy thinks an AR is useless for self-defense, because he’s such a badass he’ll just be able to take your gun and beat you with it:
“I need an assault rifle and 20 round clips to defend my homeâ€
Bullshit. First of all who in the hell are you defending your home from? The Taliban? Unless you are sitting in a chair at your front door, magazine in, round chambered and safety off, you are not going to shoot a damn thing. So in reality, if I had broken in, by the time you got up, got the gun out and started loading it, I would have taken it from you and beat you to death with it.
And by some miracle, you got it loaded, and actually shouldered it to fire, you are going to miss because I will be too close for it to be effective unless your plan is to watch in awe as the bullet passes through the wall when you miss me and you kill your neighbors SUV.
We’re often accused of being chest-beating neanderthals, but who is doing the chest beating here? I half expect him to proffer Joe Biden’s advice about double barreled shotguns next. I get tired of these self-proclaimed self-defense “experts” opining on topics they know little about. I sincerely doubt your average SWAT team, which tends to practice entering homes with considerably more equipment and training at their disposal than your average home invader, would feel confident knowing their suspect was sitting inside the house with a loaded AR, ready to shoot whatever comes through the door. Better hope that door goes down on the first strike with the battering ram, and you get extraordinarily lucky and catch him taking a dump on the toilet or something.
I’m fairly certain knowing that, surrounding the house, and convincing the suspect to come out peacefully would be the preferred option over entering the house. I’m definitely sure they would not bet money they could get in the house and beat the suspect with his own AR before he could start launching bullets their way.
He will abuse you with your own gun, but not until he is done abusing apostrophe rules.
In my case, I am not a big supporter of using a rifle inside my house. But that is mostly because of the design of the house than any Ninja BS. But you have to be a grade one-USDA-certified to enter any location unarmed knowing that the people inside have firepower.
At this point the papers will give anyone a column if they think it will increase readership, even those who have no clue what they’re writing about.
The Fail is strong with this one. His post is taken right from the opposition’s handbook:
1. Sets up “Reducio ad absurdem” with “First of all who in the hell are you defending your home from? The Taliban?” He ignores the threat from multiple assailants in a home invasion scenario, as well as the irrefutable fact that a carbine is easier to use under stress than a handgun, and less punishing than a shotgun;
2. Resurrects antigun meme that a criminal will use your firearm against you, despite evidence from victimization surveys that indicate that people who resist criminal attack with a firearm are less likely to be injured even than those who don’t resist;
3. His alarmist statement that any carbine round fired will kill your neighbor next door either ignores or is unaware of FBI research that indicates many 5.56mm defensive loads, such as Hornady TAP, are less likely to penetrate common building materials than are 9mm pistol or SMG rounds, or indeed even 00 buckshot;
4. His entire spiel about how rare it was to use full auto when he was in the military is largely irrelevant to the subject at hand, but it does indicate something about his own experiences. I see no evidence that he had any but the most cursory training in CQB use of a carbine.
5. The bulk of his post sets up strawman arguments that even Homer Simpson could see through. (105mm howitzer indeed!)
6. Argumentum ad auctoritatem: based upon his status as a veteran, the author claims to know more about the use of firearms in home defense than anyone who would want to use a M4 clone to defend their home. (He doesn’t know enough to distinguish clips from magazines, though.) Based upon his post, it appears that the author comes from Chicago, so it is doubtful if he had much exposure to firearms of any sort before his service due to firearms ownership being illegal in that benighted city until recently, and it is still difficult and uncommon. U. S. Army units that were not being deployed typically fired less than 100 rounds annually per soldier, and often only around 60, for zeroing, qualification, and night firing requirements. I doubt if the USAF, his service, exceeded this expenditure of rounds. He makes no allusion to having served in combat, nor for that matter what his MOS was. Working six years as a POL clerk or HMET driver does not make one an expect on the employment of small arms. For that matter, my own MOS (MP and Armor Crewman) didn’t make me one either, although I sought out all of the opportunities for training that I could get and served as a marksmanship instructor in my BN.
Qualification on the M4/M16 can be optional for USAF personnel prior to deployment.
The course is a one-day class. Until about a year ago it was 100% “basic marksmanship” at 25 yard scaled silhouettes, with no CQB component. Someone with an Appleseed Rifleman’s patch has more credibility in my book.
USAF M4/M16 qual credentials are complete bullshit prior to 2012.
my comment to him? molan labe pos
Although I keep an AR for home defense… I’m likely to wake up with my throat cut from not waking up than an inability to use a specific kind of weapon.
Of course that only applies to the average of two hours a day where everyone is asleep here.
Rick Scalzo is name of the author of this anti-gun tripe about him disarming AR-15 owners and then beating them up with their own AR-15’s.
Hey, Rick Scalzo, I really hope that you will see what I wrote here, so let me tell you a few things:
First off, thanks for your military service and all, but I’m a military veteran too, and neither your service, nor mine, qualifies us automatically as firearm experts, or any other kind of expert.
Second, it seems that you think you know the layout and the other relevant details of everybody’s private residences in night time settings. Ever heard of dogs, pal? Lots of people have them in their homes, even AR-15 owners, and dogs tend to bark loudly and nonstop when home invaders comes barging in at night. This tends to give even us sleeping gun owners and AR-15 owners alike plenty of time to get our guns loaded and at the ready before you can reach us inside our homes.
Second, since you are a veteran, do you recall ever seeing something such as the M7 bayonet? Perhaps you do, but what you might not be aware of is that some of us AR-15 owners own such bayonets, and these bayonets will fit upon and work just fine with many AR-15 rifles. A barrel of sufficient length and a bayonet lug on an AR-15 is all that is needed. I just happend to have a M7 bayonet for my AR-15 rifle. I keep it alongside my AR-15 rifle. Both of these are within easy access of my bedside. So, are you still confident that you are going to be able to disarm me of my AR-15 with its fixed bayonet, in the unfamiliar darkness of my house at night, that is, without you first getting stuck by the point of my fixed bayonet, or shot with the business end of my AR-15?
Third, for you to mention how seldom you fired your issued M-16 rifle on full automatic mode proved nothing. It seems that you are not aware that AR-15 rifles are semi-automatic only. I would likely only have to shoot you once anyway, and if I were not able to do that, see my point above about the M7 bayonet in the fixed position on my AR-15.
Following what Ronnie above,
Rick Scalzo says, “How many times did I use my M-16 on full auto when I was in the service?”
Scalzo does not appear to old enough to be around when/if (and I emphasize IF) the Air Force issued (assigned) the full auto M-16s to individuals.
Excellent points!
While I do believe everybody is entitled to their own opinions,,,,, it remains to be seen WHO can do WHAT with an AR15. The gun itself isn’t a “weapon”,,, the real “weapon” is a person’s mind. I have seen some who can perform incredible actions with knives.
To Mr. Mall Ninja,,,,,, I have heard ducks fart on water before.
if his argument is sound why are our armed forces and LEO’s issuing rifles to guys kicking in doors and clearing rooms? Imagine how much money we could save on equipment and training if we just took his advice…………….
His argument against AR-15 home defense is an argument against all home defense. He’ll be on top of you before you even know what’s going on, and resisting his might will just anger him and make him use your tools against you. He can speak of a marginal difference in being easier to grab a long gun, but why would having 10 or 30 rd magazine matter?
Also note that he’s already “trending downward” by focusing on how useless a 20 round magazine is.
And that’s a good point. If Mr. BigMcLargehuge can disarm you with an EBR, then why can’t he do it with a bolt gun or a shotgun?
Arrogant twit isn’t he. Well, assuming that no one else on the civilian side meets or exceeds your level of training or experience is hazardous to your health.
Someone needs to remind him that a citizen’s AR isn’t just for defending his own home, but his neighbor’s as well. Sure, Mr. Cyber-Ninja might be able to rush the rifle-armed guy and disarm him in hand-to-hand (anyone want to bet no military ANYWHERE has that in its doctrine?), but he’ll have to deal with the neighbors on the way out.
I’m sure everytime he saw an untrained Iraqi insurgent civilian he took their AK from them and beat them to death with it.
A lot of naive people around. Using a rifle or shotgun for home defense does require some degree of training and while maybe you as an individual have that training, plenty of people who own AR’s do not have it, not at all, none, zip. By pure luck any of us might be able to pick up an implement and successfully defend ourselves and our home against one or more violent criminals. It does happen. But luck is not a great a strategy. Plenty of people who think they will be able to use their shotgun or rifle for home defense have no training with it at all for that purpose.
So they’d be better off with a pistol? If took me a lot longer to learn to shoot pistol competently than rifle.
What? That makes no sense. Of course training will make you more proficient in using a rifle in a home- especially in clearing a house. But its not that difficult to pick up a rifle and point it at a door (and wait) or an intruder.
My home defense weapon is a 16″ AR with an EOTech sight and a flashlight on it. I don’t even have to line up any sights- just point with the dot on the target. And a rifle is way more accurate than a pistol or shotgun. That’s the biggest reason I use it.
Ursa Ele —
Actually, using a semiauto rifle such as an AR15 for home defense is easier than using a pistol, even with only the minimum training needed to know basic gun safety and how to load the rifle. Even if they only get enough range time to know what to expect in terms of recoil.
Anyone who can run a shotgun confortably for hunting or sport can run that same shotgun for home defense.
Is training useful? Sure. Can you learn how to run the gun more effectively for home defense with training? Sure.
But in the end, at 10 yards (a pretty safe bet as to the maximum range you are likely to face in your house), simply having the gun shouldered provides enough accuracy to get the job done.
(I don’t recommend this, mind you, but even shooting an AR “like a shotgun” by looking across the sights is pretty accurate at 10 yards. Hell, I used to do my NBC mask qualifications on the F type pop up targets at 25m that way, since my pro mask glasses sucked so bad I didn’t install them.)
The only reason this Navy Vet doesn’t keep an AR around for Home Defense is a Tight Budget.
But the Wife does have an M1 Carbine ready to go for her side of the Home Defense Solution.
With a Smith .357 K-Frame as a Back-up.
Kinda Olde Skool, but it works for us.
Screw Scalzo. I intend to use this as my home defense round:
Warp Speed Bullet
What a self-aggrandizing douche. Just being from Chicago disqualifies him from ANY firearms related discussion – but he CAN talk (freely, even) on the subject of; jailed Governors, corruption, bag-men, pandering, dead voters, ward heelers, corrupt Cops, influence peddling, and other Democrat policies and activities.
This argument is moronic. If The Flash here can open a locked door and be on top of someone before that person can disengage the safety and pull the trigger, why does the type of weapon matter.
My offer: we put his theory to the test with Sims. I get an AR-15 loaded with Sims. I will let him wear eye protection but he will not be allowed to wear a cup. Take me up, numbnuts.
This argument is moronic. If The Flash here can open a locked door and be on top of someone before that person can disengage the safety and pull the trigger, why does the type of weapon matter.
My offer: we put his theory to the test with Sims. I get an AR-15 loaded with Sims. I will let him wear eye protection but he will not be allowed to wear a cup. Take me up, numbnuts.