Best Home Defense Ammo

[BMF500]

Maverick 88 12 gauge, short barrel loaded with #4 buck. Cheap to buy, will stop anything. My opinion of course but I would not use my AR or AK in the house for self defense.

That's me but a 500 JIC. With an 18" cylinder bore barrel, DOA is not important.

 

[TXBassboy]

Black Hills 77gr

 

[zackmars]

Is that an evidence based contention?

Seems counterintuitive, but you could be right, though doubtful.

Here:
https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-1-the-original-box-o-truth/

An article (evidence) that the 5.56 penetrates way more housing material.

12 sheets of drywall was easily penetrated by both defensive pistol loads and the 5.56 so no answer there.

The pistol loads stopped halfway through 12 pine boards.
The 5.56 blew through all 12 boards.
Admittedly this was ball ammo and an expanding game round might halt sooner.

I've had this debate when out shooting and I know, first hand, that a 5.56 game load will blow right through oak firewood that easily stops 9mm and .40 hollowpoints.

Once long ago piece of old seasoned oak firewood caused a 45ACP standard GI ball to bounce right back at me and break an old asbestos siding shingle on the farmhouse behind me!!!! Zero penetration. Just a cm-deep divot and the ball elastically bounced off the oak log. Jeepers!

We are flirting with the long-running perennial (or is it perineal?) debate about momentum v. kinetic energy, momentum being proportional to velocity and kinetic energy being proportional the square of the velocity.

Anything worth using for defensive purposes will penetrate a lot of drywall, however 5.56 will more often than not (depending on load) will either break up, and/or greatly change it's trajectory. Either way, it looses a lot of energy, rendering it less of a hazard than say, even a 9mm JHP or 12ga 00/1 buck. Buck shot especially since very few loads outside of flite control/versa tite pattern worth a damn, and there's not a whole lot of people using vang comp barrels, or even chokes at all.

 

[HKShooter65]

Anything worth using for defensive purposes will penetrate a lot of drywall, however 5.56 will more often than not (depending on load) will either break up, and/or greatly change it's trajectory. Either way, it looses a lot of energy, rendering it less of a hazard than say, even a 9mm JHP or 12ga 00/1 buck. Buck shot especially since very few loads outside of flite control/versa tite pattern worth a damn, and there's not a whole lot of people using vang comp barrels, or even chokes at all.

Nah.
00 buck is just the equivalent of 8 simultaneous round out of a 32ACP in a 6 inch group across a room.
Can't say, evidence based, that the .32 penetrates more than a 5.56. No contest.
I don't even know where the concept of 5.56 projectiles "breaking up" came from. Vietnam-era mythology is agonizingly slow to die.

Go try something yourself.
A 5.56 round handily whizzes right through firewood that stops a 9mm or .40 or 45ACP. Put a target behind it. One hole. No breaking up. Argued and tested in the field employing scientific wild-ass testing procedures.

How about the magical 5.7x28 round.
Their mystical properties allow penetration of 18 inches of concrete, defying laws of physics.
(:

 

[Lonesome Dove]

Whatever is on hand.

 

[zackmars]

Nah.
00 buck is just the equivalent of 8 simultaneous round out of a 32ACP in a 6 inch group across a room.
Can't say, evidence based, that the .32 penetrates more than a 5.56. No contest.
I don't even know where the concept of 5.56 projectiles "breaking up" came from. Vietnam-era mythology is agonizingly slow to die.

Go try something yourself.
A 5.56 round handily whizzes right through firewood that stops a 9mm or .40 or 45ACP. Put a target behind it. One hole. No breaking up. Argued and tested in the field employing scientific wild-ass testing procedures.

How about the magical 5.7x28 round.
Their mystical properties allow penetration of 18 inches of concrete, defying laws of physics.
(:

I've done informal tests using left over lumber and drywall, 5.56 either yaws and deviates, or breaks up. 9mm and similar just go through until it cannot penetrate, though sometimes it deviates. Shotguns go through until it cannot pierce drywall, and it goes through a lot, despite being little more than .32acp. As it turns out, lead is great at going through lots of stuff

After going through a wall, 5.56 has lost more velocity than 9mm or 12ga, and has probably been knocked off course after a few walls, unlike other options

As i said eariler, anything worth a damn is going through a lot of drywall

 

[ZX9RCAM]

As i said eariler, anything worth a damn is going through a lot of drywall

So, does that mean that 5.56 is not worth a damn?

 

[zackmars]

So, does that mean that 5.56 is not worth a damn?

That's not what i said. 5.56 is still going through walls, but its either in pieces, or hitting the floor or ceiling

 

[CodyK]

Well, since there is so much confusion, I will just get one of each!!! Thank you all for this! Instead of feeling bad about spending money on new guns, I feel good that I’m making my household safer!!!
“We’re gonna need a bigger safe!”


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[ZX9RCAM]

Where are pics of OPs new pistol, rifle and shotgun?

 

[HKaltwasser]

I would like to see the results from using spire, soft points, or even frangible . The test above is done with FMJ and is kind of expected with that. I wouldn't keep fmj in my HD gun. It looks like the only caliber that was tested with a hollow point was a 45.

Not that it would change my mind a whole lot. The rifle is for that rare situation in a home invasion. It happened to my sister a few years back and she was lucky that she had time to hide in a closet before the guys got spooked after a few minutes. It was 4-5 guys. Putting a line between the invaders and my kids would be my only goal....F the ears, those can be sacrificed. Although it makes me realize that I need to order that can pretty quick like.

 

[pronstar]

I would like to see the results from using spire, soft points, or even frangible . The test above is done with FMJ and is kind of expected with that. I wouldn't keep fmj in my HD gun. It looks like the only caliber that was tested with a hollow point was a 45.
.

Here ya go...a bunch of different bullets, including FMJ, JHP, frangible.

I’ve read that hollow points can plug-up in drywall, and may act more like a FMJ since it may not expand.



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[zackmars]

Here ya go...a bunch of different bullets, including FMJ, JHP, frangible.

I’ve read that hollow points can plug-up in drywall, and may act more like a FMJ since it may not expand.



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not all JHP's are equal, gold dot, HST, ranger (among others) are not susceptible to clogging.

 

[HKaltwasser]

Here ya go...a bunch of different bullets, including FMJ, JHP, frangible.

I’ve read that hollow points can plug-up in drywall, and may act more like a FMJ since it may not expand.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Is there supposed to be a link in there some where?

 

[BMF500]

Consider these. I shot a couple .45acp with a friend and @ 10 yards they don't penetrate a 2x4 but make a real mess of the surface.
https://shopcorbon.com/Glaser/Safety-Slug-Blue

 

[DyeF9]

Consider these. I shot a couple .45acp with a friend and @ 10 yards they don't penetrate a 2x4 but make a real mess of the surface.
https://shopcorbon.com/Glaser/Safety-Slug-Blue

Have you watched any ballistics gel testing with them?

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[HKaltwasser]

 

[BMF500]

Have you watched any ballistics gel testing with them?

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No sir, I have not. The only reason we shot those pricey things is because it was use up old ammo day. I saw what they did in the pasture and read the theoretical info on the package, but that's it. Non-penetrating projectiles aren't something on my shopping list, so I perused no more. Just offering consideration. I like a short barrel shotgun with #4 for inside the home.

 

[zackmars]

Consider these. I shot a couple .45acp with a friend and @ 10 yards they don't penetrate a 2x4 but make a real mess of the surface.
https://shopcorbon.com/Glaser/Safety-Slug-Blue

no, oh god no. get something actually useful for self defense

 

[avvidclif]

If you really want to piss off an emergency room Dr use #6 shot. They will tell you they can't remove all of it, too many pieces. And before you say they are too small think about this. Because none will exit the body you just got hit with a 1 & 1/8 oz or 1&1/4 oz pile of lead at 1100 FPS and got to enjoy all the kinetic energy. It converts flesh to hamburger. Sure it'll go thru a couple of interior walls but that brick on the outside will stop it.

Just food for thought for all the "What if" folks