I caveat first by commenting that the meaning of home defense depends upon your definition of "Home".
I had previously dismissed entirely the notion of rifles, specifically my AR-10, as a home defense weapon as the high penetration power could put neighbors at risk for some distance. I feel that still applies inside my house, despite it's block walls, it's just way more power than I want indoors, unless I could be convinced that some lower power frangible rounds would be a better mix of power/safety than my 12 gauge (I doubt it). My mental preparedness thus has been grab the pistol if there is no time, or grab the shotgun if there is time to.
Something happened the other week however that might have altered my definition of "home" and brought the AR-10, and rifles, back into consideration. Something I'd never really even considered a possibility. Specifically, a madman in a truck was tearing through the neighborhood, smashing people's yards, and chasing people. Fortunately no one was ultimately injured, but he did try several times to run a woman down, and it could have just as easily ended with serious injuries or death to innocent people. Had I been home I feel certain I would have confronted the man, as he was putting people's lives at risk. I have to ask myself, which armament would I have taken with me as a last resort when asking a madman in a truck to clam down?
If the driver couldn't be stopped with words but continued to attack, would I trust my pistol with expanding ammunition to penetrate a windshield and disable the driver if needed? I've heard windshields can really divert the energy out of those rounds in assorted ways (further observations here:
www.theboxotruth.com/docs/buickot2.htm
)
What about the shotgun with the buckshot loaded in it? My feeling is that it would only be safe/effective a lot closer than I'd like to be to ensure all the buckshot went into the attacker, and not into other non-targets. Again, what about penetration through the windshield? There's always slugs, but my home shotgun isn't really setup for precision placement of slugs. Lack of precision at range here troubles me.
My thought turns to the rifle. Be it an AR-15, AK-47, what have you. In my case an AR-10 with a reflex sight. No question of ability of the round to adequately penetrate the vehicle with reasonable power and accuracy. The precision nature also means better control of where rounds ultimately come to rest (the houses here are above the street level a bit giving a better chance of finding a safe backstop). And while the sight of any weapon carried in any visible manor might trigger an attack (not as concerned from a legal perspective here as the man was already attacking people without provocation), an AR-10 carbine hanging on a 2 point sling probably offers the best visual deterrence when compared to my pistol or shotgun. There is of course however always the worry that if one is involved even in a justifiable shooting, that you will be demonized for having such a "scary" armament. I think I have laid out sound reasoning for the selection of the tool however, and what more can you do other than stay in your home and hope he doesn't come into your living room? Of course, there's always the hazard of being seen by someone late to the scene as the aggressor. Is that worth the gamble of the more concealable pistol, or just a focus on situational awareness and readiness to put one's hands in the air?
So is that really home defense? After a fashion I think. I still would turn to the pistol and shotgun indoors, as they are least likely to endanger the neighbors. In terms of defending outside the structure however, I'm comming to think of the rifle as the tool to pick up.
Ultimately because no one was injured, and as a result I'm thankful that I wasn't home to have to be involved. I know I would feel otherwise if someone had been injured though. I also find it a downer to not only hear but see more and more people acting out under the current economic stress. My neighborhood? Really? It's most discomforting.
