Maximum caliber for home defense?

[fnlrun]

Belt feed ma Duce transferable or sample.

[ZombieLivesMatter]

I have 308 and 6.5creedmoor rifles and for home defense like you mentioned of the two legged variety I wouldn’t use them, at worst I’d grab the 5.56 AR15.

[CSACANNONEER]

I'm in a semi rural area and have no safety concerns about using a 10lb Parrott Rifle or a little .50BMG for home defense. It really depends on the EXACT location and situation.

[JohnnyMtn]

You can top that with an 1861 Springfield, which is .58 cal. Just make sure your shot placement is good because reloading is a bit slow.

[nitroxdiver]

[ironhorse1]

To test penetration for home defense I made a box 36" long. I filled the box with wet paper and masonite partitions every 6".

I fired a medium velocity.38 Special cast bullet load which penetrated the entire box.

Next I sent a 3000 fps .223 load with a 55 gr sp into the box.

The 55 gr sp stopped before the first partition fully expanded.

Conclusion is that a .223 with a sp bullet is less likely to over penetrate while a handgun bullet may pass through walls easily.

This was a very small test window. The key is high velocity and bullet type play
a significant role in potential penetration through multiple layers. If you want to use .223 get varmint type sp hp bullets. I did not test fmj bullets and would expect different results in a wet medium.

irh

[P5Ret]

Claymores in strategic locations, plus the one mounted on the Roomba should be more than enough for any and all defensive situations.

[DB>]

I noticed while watching some YouTube vids on .22LR vs .22WMR that the "faster" wmr rounds (which appear to use an otherwise similar size/weight bullet) seemed to penetrate LESS, expending a lot of the energy on impact (and doing more "damage" in the process).

This seems counter-intuitive to me, but was consistent in the tests I watched. There is more to ballistics that just "caliber".

[TKM]

106mm. Go big or go home.

Opa had one at the top of the driveway in Westchester County. We moved before "they" moved in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCBMLkgOp0o

[sigstroker]

What would you say is the most powerful caliber round for suburban or semi-rural home defense, without the round being so powerful it puts the entire neighborhood at risk? I know that all rounds can penetrate walls. I'm thinking the answer might be 7.62x39 with segmented hollow points or 00 buckshot. I think .308 would be too much. Maybe 7.62x39 is a bit much...could be the answer is 5.56 or 9mm. What do others think?

Military cartridges with hollow points suck. They were only developed because the govt wouldn't allow them to import fmj's.

[Starslinger]

Military cartridges with hollow points suck. They were only developed because the govt wouldn't allow them to import fmj's.

What?

[003]

To test penetration for home defense I made a box 36" long. I filled the box with wet paper and masonite partitions every 6".

I fired a medium velocity.38 Special cast bullet load which penetrated the entire box.

Next I sent a 3000 fps .223 load with a 55 gr sp into the box.

The 55 gr sp stopped before the first partition fully expanded.

Conclusion is that a .223 with a sp bullet is less likely to over penetrate while a handgun bullet may pass through walls easily.

This was a very small test window. The key is high velocity and bullet type play
a significant role in potential penetration through multiple layers. If you want to use .223 get varmint type sp hp bullets. I did not test fmj bullets and would expect different results in a wet medium.

irh

Observed a similar test, 9mm 115 gr ball ammunition went thru more dry wall than a 5.56/.223 round.

[cdtx2001]

Honestly, one can never go too big when it comes to home defense.

16 inch shells will definitely keep would be invaders from getting close to your perimeter.

If they do make it to your perimeter, open up with the 5 inch guns.

If they make it past your perimeter, the twin 40mm Bofors rounds with HE projectiles should stop them.

Anything smaller than that for home defense is just a pedestrian effort, and also means you don't know how to keep marauders away from your perimeter.

[theduracellbigd]

Honestly, one can never go too big when it comes to home defense.

16 inch shells will definitely keep would be invaders from getting close to your perimeter.

If they do make it to your perimeter, open up with the 5 inch guns.

If they make it past your perimeter, the twin 40mm Bofors rounds with HE projectiles should stop them.

Anything smaller than that for home defense is just a pedestrian effort, and also means you don't know how to keep marauders away from your perimeter.

Yes Yes Yes...haha but you forgot the M18Claymores at every door

[BajaJames83]

12ga 20 #4 buckshot is extremely devastating