Target Shooting and Defensive ammo
The caliber wars are never ending, but once spin to the argument that in my opinion is not much of an argument anymore, is that bullet designs are becoming more and more effective. When you read about the 9mm vs 45acp debates people argue about the size of the bullet, over penetration and stopping power. The reality is that hunting bullets and defensive ammo has taken a step, maybe not a giant step, but a considerable step forward in increasing a calibers effectiveness.
I was watching a instructional video where the instructor showed bullet penetration differences between a 38 special, shotgun with bird shot, buckshot, a 9mm handgun and an AR15. Most novice shooters would think the rifle was the biggest penetrator and the reality was it was not. It now depends on the bullet design and not the caliber. A fragmenting .223 bullet will transfer energy much easier to soft targets and violently fragment and not over penetrate. Something as mild as a 38 special with a FMJ can pass through an urban home much easier. Your AR15 may be a better option as a defensive weapon if you select the right ammo. If you own a 20inch barrel variant you may want to consider swapping out your AR15 Upper Receiver for something a little shorter just so manuevering inside your home is easier, but it hands down far better than a handgun for most defensive purposes.
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I think many of us have seen wild variations in quality of the Kalashnikov firearms. Back in the early 1990s there were very inexpensive guns coming in from Eastern Europe. The quality of many of these guns were pretty darn good. As the years went by, the guns got worse and worse and I started to see my fair share of AK style weapons that did not live up to the AK47s reputation of reliability. There were a few importers that were assembling guns that looked bad, but they worked very well. Some rifle sights were misaligned but other than that, it was really all about the rifle stocks.
I must admit that I wasn’t into the idea of needing a semi-auto 22LR. The 22lr isn’t an effective defensive round and really mostly a plinking and training round. A bolt action with iron sights is still the best configuration for learning how to shoot. It teaches aiming and trigger control, but i think the Ruger 10/22 is still a fun gun to shoot with. There seems to a lot of big kids that like to shoot the 10/22 and there’s nothing wrong with a kid shooting them. I have a friend that put a heavy barrel on his and it’s a tac driver.
It’s hard to know if a configuration is best for you. I recently got a phone call from a shooter that sounded like he was new to the AR15 family. He was asking about which rifle stock configuration was best and then I asked him what his LOP or length of pull was and he had no idea. The reasons for adjustable stocks is because each operator issued a Carbine has a different arm length. I’ve punched myself in the nose with rifles and shotguns that were too short for me and modified several of my M1A rifles to fit my comfort. There are also other reasons for having stock modifications. If you are wearing a heavy winter coat or body armor you will want to shorten your stock. Next time you are at a gun shop or a shooting range, ask other shooters if you can hold there gun and see how it feels. Check the gun stock manufacturer and do some research.
You might want to think about collapseable stocks or folding stocks. Guns can take up a lot of space depending on the optics and accessories you put on them. I’ve seen plenty of my friends go from 12 or 18 rifle safes to full size gun safes just because of the optics they had on rifles. One thing they never advertise when you are shopping for a gun safe is what kind of rifles it will hold. Cramming your guns in will only cause damage and make getting guns in and out a headache. Instead of worrying about having to find a new gun safe, you might want to think about spending a few hundred bucks on changing the stocks of your military style weapons to something that can fold or collapse.
Soft cases are usually made of nylon and many of the assault cases are designed similiarly. Assault rifle cases are very practical because they hold and organize your magazines. I highly recommend marking the case for a specific rifle just so you don’t get your semi-autos gun magazines mixed up. If you don’t need something like an assault rifle case, then and easy think to do is just a zip up soft case or gun sock. You may want to look into a range bag which can hold staplers or even handguns and magazines as well as ammo.
I was never the one that was into the tactical doodad thing when I got into shooting AR15 rifles. My idea of a rifle is a 30/30 or a M1 or FAL rifle. I understood the ballistics of the .223 round and knew what is was good for and always thought that I should stick with the 20 inch heavy barrel for the best terminal ballistics. Well, then I actually started learning about close combat and understood that toting the longest barrel gun and the heaviest barrel is going to mean slower speed and too much weight.
We get a lot of customers asking us about the new Eotac line of clothing. It’s no secret that the people behind Eotac were originally behind Woolrich Elite Series tactical clothing. Many of the products that first came out were very close to the Woolrich Elite products that have been out for several years and were also variations of what 5.11 Tactical has been selling. There are some differences that you will notices as soon as you put on the clothes and recently I had a phone conversation with a customer that mentioned he needed something that gave him more mobility that 5.11 pants.
I have to admit it, I am a Mini 14 enthusiast. The Mini 14 has served me well and I always respected and understood the design limitations. The more I involve myself with the shooting world, the more I just sit back and observe gun owners and watch their skills with the firearms they choose to use. Gunboard squabble will never end when it comes to one gun over the other, but there is nothing wrong with modifying a less expensive semi-auto gun and using it as a defensive weapon.