RRC Archives

Talk to me about the good and the bad, with the primary goal having fun, secondary goal is killing bad people that try to break in. And third, because I live in KY and I can have 30+ round clips!

AR
Fun to shoot
Expensively made
Relatively accurate (due to close tolerances)
Somewhat unreliable in a dirty environment (due to close tolerances)
Good for killing things.

AK
Fun to shoot
Cheaply made
Relatively inaccurate (due to wide tolerances)
Quite reliable in a dirty environment (due to wide tolerances)
Good for killing things.

Not that I have any personal experience, but it's what the gunny types say.

Ditto on the AR, also the ammo is relatively cheap. You can get a kit and put san AR together a lot cheaper than buying one already assembled. They're really simple to assemble/disassemble and easy to clean. Overall great gun, but not ideal for home defense, a tactical shotgun would de more appropriate.

I've had an AR for a while and they can be VERY accurate with some practice. I don't know much about AK's

The AR round is 5.56mm and the AK is 7.62mm, I'd go with the bigger round. The difference in penetration and knock-down power is huge. AR's are varmint rifles, the round isn't much bigger than the .22cal I toted around as a kid. And like Izzy said, for home defense you really can't beat a shortened 12 guage, unless you have a machine gun permit.

That is a good point, the AR is a varmint caliber rifle. However, I believe it is an overall better made firearm. If you look around, you might even be able to find the drop in pieces they used to make to convert the AR from a semiautomatic to fully automatic.

I also agree for fun, afford ability of the gun and ammunition, ultimate knock down power, and ease of hitting a target, go with a 12 gauge, pistol gripped riot gun. Yee Haw!

I wonder if the US/NATO armies know that their rifles are just for shooting varmints, and not for people?

The 12ga pump is the sorta "standard" recommendation for home defense, and I totally agree that if you hit someone in the chest with a load of 00/0/1 buckshot, they are going to be very dead. But, shotguns are not all that easy to handle/shoot unless you have a solid stance. Hollywood aside, trying to shoot on one handed is going to break your wrist. And, the pellets really don't start spreading out til nearly 10 yards or so, with legal barrel lengths, so in a way, you are just shooting a really big rife under 10 yards.

The ar is way lighter then a 12 ga, easy to shoot from just about any stance (pretty sure I could fire one handed back over my head). .223 isn't a huge round, but it has a lot of energy, and I would think you could hit someone 4-5 in the chest in about the same time as it takes to cycle a shotgun.

Wes wrote:pretty sure I could fire one handed back over my head

the new gangsta style...........

i do like this new way of controling people jumping the fence......

Sure nuff Wes, I didn't say it wouldn't kill a person, but the .223 round is a varmint round. If you don't believe me, check out the Finnish company Sako, who makes some of the finest long range varmint rifles on earth, and the .223 caliber is one of their favorites.

How about a hang gun? My dad (serious gun nut) was just telling me this weekend that some magazine had released a list of the finest weapons and corresponding ammunition for killing people. The winner was a .357 magnum, and I can't remember the ammunition for sure, but it was some kind of hollow point. The .45 ACP was also high up the list as well. However, a Colt Python (.357) would make a great home defense weapon. I like double actions, they are almost completely fool proof, they don't jam or malfunction, easy to quickly use. And the knock down power is absolutely extraordinary! Just a thought....I can find out what the specific ammo was if you would like.

the bourbon thread is less weird.

ar-15. it's deadly accurate if you squeeze rather than pull the trigger. while many complain about its jammability in rugged conditions, my times spent in the mud on field exercises (with an m-16, but same difference) suggest one would have to ignore daily maintenance for this to become an issue. plus, how many of us expect to be on 5 day patrols in kentucky?

my zombie plan includes an AR for clearing long range fields of fire, a 12 gauge for room sweeping, and a .45 just in case.