Modern sporting rifles are effective home defense tools. They’re easy to use, have sufficient power and the capacity to handle multiple assailants with standard capacity, commonly available magazines. Case in point: this story from Memphis, Tennessee in which a homeowner got into a gunfight with two armed burglars.
“I see my house being ransacked and the dog was still going hysterical in the cage,” he said. “When he saw me he notified the other individual that was with him, ‘hey, they are here.'”
That’s the moment he said when the suspected burglars pulled out guns, but he was able to get to a hall closet to get his.
“I had my own personal AK-47,” he said. …
“I don’t know what’s going on but I know I’m going to defend my life to the best of my ability,” he said.
Both burglars were killed by the homeowner.
MPD said the man responsible for the shootings was detained but later released. The District Attorney General’s office determined that no charges will be filed at this time.
Modern sporting rifles — guns that are mischaracterized by anti-gunners as “weapons of war” — were designed with reliability and defense against multiple assailants in mind. Those who want a disarmed population work hard to outlaw them despite the fact that these rifles are seldom involved in crimes, suicides, or accidents, all of which are predominated by pistols.
MSRs aren’t used much by criminals because they’re much harder to conceal than pistols.
Use of a MSR in a home defense plan calls for thought and consideration of the rifle and ammunition. If the home to be defended is in a country/rural setting, the possibility of over-penetration is less of a problem. In the Memphis case, the brick exterior of the house served to limit penetration problems.
MSRs commonly use popular calibers that are available with bullets designed to limit penetration.
As with any home defense plan, how long the defender may have to wait for reinforcements is a consideration. In the Memphis case, the homeowner had been the victim of a previous shooting, which left bullet pockmarks on the outside of the brick.
A homeowner in Texas prevailed over assailants doing a drive-by shooting at his house, using an AR-15 to defend himself.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.