Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 5.56 ammo for personal defense

147s wouldn't scare me any... in the end, you have to account for failure of things, like expansion and such.

Put a hole where it needs to be a few times, it'll sort itself otu eventually.

Folks don't die very easily though from handguns which is why I like a bit larger hole to start with, but I have no dilusions.

I hope to never have to shoot anyone.

But if I do, I"d be most happy with my 308, from a distance and 185 bergers...

I can tell you that a .30 cal 125gr Ballistic Tip, Launched at Blackout speeds, works very well on Deer. One chap at the Campfire Hog hunt made a headshot on a pig with such a load, and the damage was impressive.

was impressed with same bullet, out of X39 too.

I'm going to work on a 53g vmax load for my home ar. I keep that bullet on hand for varminting and think it would work in a defense issue. My truck ar usually has 75g hornady bthp's in it because are varmint dogs have gotten bigger since the 90's. They'd probably work too.

My in home go to defense rifle is a 300 blackout with 110g vmaxs at 2500. They do some damage.

Bb

do you hand load those V-Max bullets?

Find an old abandoned farmhouse and start blowing doorknobs and hinges off the doors with birdshot and it might pull the scabs off your eyes.

If you actually take the time to pattern your shotgun with number four buckshot at close range you will forget about rifles for self defense. I can cover two sheets of paper side by side with pellets. Cylinder bore 18 " tube.

Define close range?

Nine paces would be close range for me. That would keep 34 pellets on two pieces of computer paper.
With just one pull of the trigger.
No need for any fancy battery operated sights either.

#4 Buck is a sub par choice against humans lacking the requisite penetration to reach vital organs, especially through clothing. As well "spread" in a shotgun is not a good thing. Those that use shotguns against people have, for the last several decades, tried to get the tightest pattern possible. With the advent of Federal Flight Control wads and others like them, the shotgun has reached it's zenith as combat/defense/protection weapon and yet is still generally a 2nd or 3rd rate choice for most when compared to what's available.

Despite popular opinion shotguns aren't rays of death, and you still have to aim them. Yes, even at close range. Two pieces of paper, even if using the narrow sides, is 17 inches wide. The vital organs of an adult male that one is trying to stop is half of that or less. When one factors in the reduced wounding potential of each of those buck compared to appropriate 5.56 rounds, the "spread" of the pattern over a 17 inch area is not a good thing. It may make one "feel" powerful, but there is a reason that every single high level organization that goes after bad guys inside of buildings uses rifles even when they believe they will never take a shot outside of room distance.



To be sure a 12G with good #1 or 00 buckshot at close range can be very effective when placed correctly, however it is not all that most think it is either.

Preach it. If the pattern is spread so much that you don't have to aim, it's not gonna be a devastating blow o' buckshot. If the pattern is so tight that it's a devastating blow o' buckshot, YOU'VE GOTTA AIM.

00 Flite Control-IC bore-10 yards


More pics here..... http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/9109989/1

I like what I see when I pattern my Ithaca LAPD
with Federal buckshot.
I guess I am old school.

I favor the 64 grain Winchester SP, loaded over H335. Works well on game, and should work well on bad guys also.
In my rifles, it is accurate, feeds reliably and I can load them at a price point I can work with.

We were raised on shotguns, in southern Alabama. I had an 1100 that was longer than I was tall, I have shot a lot of stuff with shotguns. I choose a black gun with a light and red dot, because I am familiar with it as I hunt with one. I guess I am under gunned these days, that little tiny 62 grain federal fusion bullet launched at a bad guy 15 feet away going at 3000 FPS probably won't even leave a scratch. I got's to rethink my life, gots to get me a guage.

I love rifles to but I also love putting lots of lead in the air with just one slap of the trigger.
Your mileage may vary.
After I moved into my retirement home my real estate agent told me there are meth heads that like to set a house on fire and watch it burn down.
I showed him my Ithaca gauge with cylinder bore and rifle sights.

It is all good my friend, we all have what works best for us.

There is nothing wrong with having the "Three Musketeers" at hand....Rifle, pistol, shotgun. And if you want to add the 4th, blade, that's fine too.

I knew a guy who said he would rather wound someone than kill them because his friends would have to carry him and it is very demoralizing to hear your friend screaming in agony.
So my vote is for Hornady V Max or Nosler Ballistic Tips.

My home defense AR is usually loaded with a 20 round mag of either 69 grain Priv HPBT or the 75 grain version.

One day a guy at the range brought his Benelli M4, which is arguably the ultimate badass shotgun, and I watched him pattern it, out of curiousity. It put the buckshot into about a 6 inch circle at ~20 yards. Which means, yes, you really do have to aim it

The house gun is a .300 Blackout. More shots than a shotgun, and shorter OAL. Easier to aim, too.

I notice the Kel-tec KSG's now are semi-reasonable in price. If they actually work I could like a short shotgun with 14 rounds aboard, however.

We issued and carried 55 grain Speer Gold Dots