Home Defense Guns

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 26, 2015

I was recently asked to contribute To a Round Table Discussion in Ballistic Magazine. The topic was Home Defense Weapons, what I chose , and why. I thought i would share my thoughts here:

Home Defense Weapon of Choice: Daniel Defense Mk18

Why? The Mk18 gives me a proven,super reliable platform capable of defeating any threat that I am likely to encounter in my home. There are a variety of excellent ammo choices available that will defeat soft body armor without posing an over penetration risk to my family. My personal choice is the 77gr SMK loaded by Black Hills. I use the Mk18 extensively at work so having the common platform at home is a big plus.

Modification: On my home defense rifle I keep things pretty basic. I have added the Unity Tactical VTAC Micro Hub with fixed Iron Sight, Surefire M300B Scout Light, and a VTAC MkII Sling. I also use the excellent Giselle Super V Trigger. The Super V is reliable and effective, and since I also have one in my work rifle , it insures consistent platform performance.

noob · Apr 26, 2015

are you worried about percussion in a small hall way? I would imagine a 10.3 inch barrel indoors will be deafening. My 10.5 inch noveske sure the heck is....

SpeedRacer · Apr 26, 2015

noob said:
are you worried about percussion in a small hall way? I would imagine a 10.3 inch barrel indoors will be deafening. My 10.5 inch noveske sure the heck is....

He left off the part about his AAC Mini 4 hanging off the barrel.

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

Yes my gun is usually supressed but if it wasn't i wouldn't worry anymore about a 10.3" gun than a 16" gun or a shotgun or a pistol.

jdavid1 · Apr 27, 2015

Are you not worried about bullet traveling through walls in a home defense situation?

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

Most 5.56/.223 ammo, particularly JHP stuff has less residual penetration through interior walls than 9mm Ball. By design the projectiles are low mass/high velocity they become unstable in barriers and fragment. Drywall is a particularly difficult medium for them. There will be some secondary frag but im far less concerned about than I am with buck shot or slugs and I don't consider pistol ammo to be less of a risk nor do I find it to be sufficiently lethal.

bsoileau24 · Apr 27, 2015

VG what optic are you using?

323MAR · Apr 27, 2015

Would you consider 125gr .357 or 200gr 10mm to no sufficiently lethal?

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

bsoileau24 said:
VG what optic are you using?

I use an Eo Tech EXPS-3.

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

323MAR said:
Would you consider 125gr .357 or 200gr 10mm to no sufficiently lethal?

I don't consider any handgun rounds to be sufficiently lethal in part because of physics and in part because of circumstance. There is an alarming trend nationwide of Home Invaders donning body armor. I want to be able to meet the worst case scenario threat or come as close to it as reasonably possible.

JHenley17 · Apr 27, 2015

Can you legally use SBRs and suppressors for personal defense?

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

If you can legally own them, and own them legally there is no reason why you would not be legally able to use them for self-defense. There is quite a bit of case law to support the legal use of NFA Items in Self Defense. The most famous is probably the Gary Fadden Incident.

Geauxfish · Apr 27, 2015

Would you not chose a 12 ga for the same reason (ie the possibility of body armor)?

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

No because I find shotguns to be less Shootable (slower, lower capacity, less accurate, more recoil, more difficult to operate), and the shotgun ammo types that have been proven to be sufficiently lethal I.e. #4 shot or bigger and Slugs go through walls like a wrecking ball. I have children at home a loose pellet of 00 Buck is completly unacceptable. Two of the great myths surrounding shotguns are their ease of use and close quarters accuracy. When we put on our Shotgun Class nearly everyone is impressed upon that their shotgun is not what they believed it was.

Neil09 · Apr 27, 2015

Well this throws a wrench in my home set up. I kept the AR locked up since I figured it would penetrate too much in the direction of my kids room. Maybe I should put a light on the AR and swap them out.

323MAR · Apr 27, 2015

What handgun would you use as a backup to your AR?

gunz4me · Apr 27, 2015

323MAR said:
What handgun would you use as a backup to your AR?

My Glock 20 or 21. 15 rounds of 10mm or 13 rounds of .45 ACP.

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

I shoot 9mm Glocks. Specifically a Glock 17 or 19.

JadeRaven · Apr 27, 2015

Why not a bullpup (e.g. Tavor, Aug) that can offer a full-length barrel for the same overall length as the DD Mk18?

Vanilla Gorilla · Apr 27, 2015

Because I am not enamored with the Tavor or any of the modern bullpups. They lack the track record or reliability I am looking for, they can't be fired from the support side without mechanical modification, the manual of arms is weird, and with the availability of JHPs and ammo like the 77gr SMK and TMK I don't believe there is much of a diffrence in lethality vis a vis 16" vs. 10.3".

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