Assault rifles offer a bit too much for home defense

Indy Star ^

[conservativefromGa]

John Strauss

Assault rifles offer a bit too much for home defense

February 14, 2003

As store shelves throughout the city are emptied of duct tape and plastic sheeting by people concerned about terrorist attacks, other folks think the best defense is a good offense.

Don Davis said gun sales at his Westside store have doubled since the latest terrorism alert. He said the $599 AK-47 is a top seller.

Davis became locally famous a few years ago with endlessly repeated TV commercials in which he cocked a finger at the camera and cackled, "Folks, I don't want to make money -- I just love to sell guns."

It turns out that terrorism sells.

"For me, when times are bad, business is good," Davis said Thursday.

He was at a trade show in Florida this week, shopping for gas masks for customers suddenly nervous about chemical or biological attacks.

At his Don's Guns, manager Ben Chance let me test-fire the AK-47 and a $999 Bushmaster, similar to the military M-16, in the store's indoor range.

The Bushmaster delivers a high-velocity round very accurately with little kick. The AK-47 will give you a jolt, but with that kick you get a larger round capable, they say, of going through a car's engine block.

Just what you need to stop terrorists invading your subdivision.

Of course, some people might end up with guns simply for home protection. And if that's the case, Chance says, an old-fashioned shotgun might do the trick.

"A 12-gauge is a nice gun to have in the house. You don't have to aim the gun. You just point it in the general vicinity, and you're actually going to hit what you're pointing toward, because (the shot) scatters."

Business also was up at 500 Guns on the Westside and at Pop Guns Trading Post on the Eastside. But managers at those stores said that had more to do with the arrival of income tax refund checks than Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein.

"There have been a few people come in and express concern," said Mike Hilton, the manager at Pop Guns. "But overall, people tend to be pretty complacent about it, to be honest."

Hilton said he recommends that someone who wants a gun take a training course. Then, once he has an idea of their skill level, he'll suggest a firearm -- often a small revolver.

He's not big on the AK-47 in this case. If used for self-defense, it's likely to "overpenetrate" -- go right through the attacker, through the wall of your home, through the wall of the next house and into somebody there.

Guy Montgomery, manager of 500 Guns, also recommends a revolver -- not a battlefield rifle -- for home defense.

Still, there's a magnetism about the assault weapons. Firing one of these guns is the shooting equivalent of twisting the throttle on a squat Harley -- lots of noise and simple, raw power.

They're fun, but they may not be real practical.

So if you're convinced al-Qaida is down the street and you want to establish a defensive perimeter in the front hallway, do the neighbors a favor.

Just borrow dad's old shotgun.

[Mulder]

bang

[Mulder]

They're fun, but they may not be real practical.

LOL! I can't think of anything more practical in a SHTF situation than a semi-auto rifle.

[Mike Darancette]

Nothin' says "I Love You" more than your mate hearing you jack a 12Ga Magnum 00 buckshot round into your sawed off Mossburg and head off down the stairs after that suspicious noise.

[xrp]

Assault rifles protect us not from those who wish to kill us, but from those who may wish to curtail our freedoms.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Truthfully, for home defense, a 12 ga pump filled with most anything can't be beat. Even #7 1/2 bird shot at 20 feet will inflict a wicked wound that will take the fight right out of an intruder.

[Bogey78O]

I have me one of them assault 22's with a 30 round clip. I dare them terrorist to come around here with their attack squirrels.

[Orangedog]

I think the universal sound that makes any burgler fill his pants is the sound of a 12 gauge being racked. He knows that any white wall in that house could quickly become an Impressionist painting with the squeeze of the trigger.

[umgud]

Magnum Research offers a 5 shot revolver that will chamber .45 Colts or .410 shotgun shells. These are full sized shotgun shells, not snakeshot typical handgun loads. They aren't legal in CA, but I'd really like to try one to see pattern and damage potential. Might make a good hallway cleaner.

[Long Cut]

"The AK-47 will give you a jolt, but with that kick you get a larger round capable, they say, of going through a car's engine block"

Did this imbecile say "ENGINE BLOCK"?!?!?

For the less-well informed in these matters, the AK's 7.62mm round approximates that oh-so-POWERFUL round, the .38 SPECIAL, in ballistic potential. It just does it at a longer range.

And once again, a reporter totally destroys his own credibility on a given topic, by being dumber than a bag of scared hammers.

[cinFLA]

"A 12-gauge is a nice gun to have in the house. You don't have to aim the gun. You just point it in the general vicinity, and you're actually going to hit what you're pointing toward, because (the shot) scatters."

Only very slightly at indoor distances.

[PUGACHEV]

I'm curious why people always tout pump shotguns. I have a Remmington semi-auto 12 ga. which works just fine. I'll admit that the sound of a shell being racked into the chamber is pretty intimidating, but there must be more to it than that.

[Long Cut]

Oh, yeah...the photo above is of an AIR-SOFT pellet gun...a FAKE, TOY rifle.

Let the disinformation continue!!!!

[way-right-of-center]

IMO, #6 or 71/2 Heavy Game load is the ideal home defense load. It will almost certianly stop anyone in your home, and wont penetrate the walls to the extent buckshot will, lessening the risk of hitting innocents. My home defense weapon is a Ithaca model 37. First round in the Magazine- #6 Turkey load. Followed by #1 buck. I keep it secured of course, and with an empty chamber in case you were worried.

[Orangedog]

I dare them terrorist to come around here with their attack squirrels.

Know your enemy...then blast 'em!

[cinFLA]

For the less-well informed in these matters, the AK's 7.62mm round approximates that oh-so-POWERFUL round, the .38 SPECIAL, in ballistic potential. It just does it at a longer range.

For the less-well informed, you post is entirely misleading. I could make the same statement about the 50 caliber sniper rifle and the 38.

[Pat Bateman]

Okay, what about HomeLAND Defence???

[Jael]

Big gun bump.