Lever Action Rifle for Home Defense

[mr surveyor]

actually, the 9mm pistol (in the "Best Defense" series show) displayed the greatest penetration through the multiple sheetrock double walls. The .45 cal tended to drop considerably. The .223 round fired from the rifle began to tumble after impact, losing energy as it hit each consecutive sheetrock panel. The 00 buckshot had high rate of penetration and tight pattern, whereas the #7 birdshot had very low penetration through the 4th panel of sheetrock. The test was done with 3-4 foot square sections of sheetrock wall (using 2x4 construction with sheetrock on both sides), spaced at distances to simulate a typical home layout with a hallway seperating various rooms.

Great stuff on the Outdoor Channel - Wednesday Night At The Range is 4 hours of non-stop gun fun.


surv

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Sportsterguy]

If you use a gun like that, just make sure you stoke it with a lighter HP round (180gr or less) that will expand violently and reduce the chances of ricochet, or worse yet, traveling through a couple of walls and into an unintended target.....

+1 in a big way on the round selection! The old 30-30 still has the record for most deer ever taken. The averge deer weighs bout the same as an adult male, which makes the old round an excellent MAN stopper!

[jwhite75]

actually, the 9mm pistol (in the "Best Defense" series show) displayed the greatest penetration through the multiple sheetrock double walls. The .45 cal tended to drop considerably. The .223 round fired from the rifle began to tumble after impact, losing energy as it hit each consecutive sheetrock panel. The 00 buckshot had high rate of penetration and tight pattern, whereas the #7 birdshot had very low penetration through the 4th panel of sheetrock. The test was done with 3-4 foot square sections of sheetrock wall (using 2x4 construction with sheetrock on both sides), spaced at distances to simulate a typical home layout with a hallway seperating various rooms.

Great stuff on the Outdoor Channel - Wednesday Night At The Range is 4 hours of non-stop gun fun.


surv

I was actually speaking of long guns becaus ethat is what the OP was talking about.

Try DOWN RANGE TELEVISION with Michael Bane - DOWN RANGE TV - DRTV they have all the links there.

[mr surveyor]

here's the video link:

THE BEST DEFENSE - on the Outdoor Channel


I would like to see this particular "test" repeated several times to get a better sample rate of data. It does appear that a rifle round being fired through multiple walls loses energy faster than pistol rounds. This would seem to indicate to me that a rifle round fired in a SD situation at home whould be safer to occupants in other rooms than if a pistol were used (particularly a hot 9mm round).

[DOGOFWAR01]

if going lever then: consider cost and availability of ammo, etc, etc

Marlin 1894C 357 MAG / 38 SPEC

5.56 mm or .223 AR-15 will have much few penetration problems than a handgun or shotgun through doors and walls

[DaRedneck]

I really like the Marlin 336 30-30. Great deer rifle. I dunno bout HD but check it out and you decide. My locl WW has one in stock for $325 NIB.

[drs1457]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I am armed with new knowledge and headed to a gun show. Will post pics if I buy one.

[Rexster]

Gentlemen, it has been quite well-documented for quite some time that .223 can indeed be much less likely to penetrate multiple walls than common defensive pistol ammo. Of course, the .223 ammo designed for deep penetration in deer and similar game, such as the Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, will probably penetrate quite a few walls. The benchmark is the 55-grain JSP, which has quite a track record in law enforcement by now.

Keep in mind that most defensive pistol ammo these days is designed to penetrate to a certain distance in ballisitic gelatin, even after passing through various barriers, so it should follow that this controlled-expansion ammo will hold together quite well through common building materials.

The .223/5.56 55-grain JSP, that expands explosively inside a living target, will tend to come apart in building materials, or when ricocheting from a hard surface. I like this load for HD/SD. I also like my handguns and 12-gauge shotguns. There are certain moments in time when each will shine, in home defense. It is up to each of us to educate ourselves, and decide upon our salvation, as few of use have a gun bearer to hand us just the right weapon for the moment.

My personal HD favorites include the Mini-14, Marlin 1894C, and Remington 870. One of those, of course, is a lever rifle. Outside the home, I really like the Browning BLR; I have three of them in .308. Why three? Well, I have gun-savvy family members, for one thing, and I keep one of my BLRs stashed away from the home, in a safe place, so it is really only two at the house. I live in a hurricane/tornado area, and believe in keeping a basic battery or favored weapons in a second location.

I have contemplated a BLR chambered in .22-250, which is available in 55-grain JSP, as well as other bullet types also loaded in .223/5.56. There have been a very few BLRs chambered in 223, but they have been limited runs, and are collectible$.

Edited to add: FWIW, I have worked 25 years, and counting, for a PD which has long used .223 JSPs in SWAT rifles and patrol carbines. There are several thousand of us, and we shoot quite a few bad guys over time.

[SleepingZ]

My vote---Marlin 44mag. Neat gun, lots of capacity, low recoil, and nice BIG holes. It would work for limited deer, black bear, hunting also.

Best part---nice looking tool.

Z

[retsupt99]

Although I like my coach gun for HD...my Marlin 336SS (30-30) is the perfect HD perimeter and hunting rifle...

[jdivence]

While i enjoy shooting lever action i see one major problem with any lever gun for HD that is reloading. with a detachable box mag you can have reloads waiting for you, while reloading a tube mag will slow you down.

[Gideon]

I think...

Pros
-.38 special = 10 rounds,
-not as noisy as a 30-30
-easy 2nd shot
-can reload on the fly and never take the gun out of action

Con's
-difficult if not impossible to mount a light
-difficult if not impossible to mount a light

A long gun in the house would benefit greatly with a light to allow 2 handed operation and I think having the light set up with a switch or other easily pushed button that enables it to be easily switched on and off while keeping the front hand in control of the front of your weapon.

I see this as the biggest downfall for a lever action. If someone knows of some kind of light mount then I'd be all for it.

I still think a pistol is ideal for manuverability or a smalll carbine like a CX4 storm. A shotty is good unless you're a shorter guy. then the reach can get a bit long making it more awkward to manuver with it in the house.

If you're sitting in a room, i think we all agree then a shot gun is ideal and as far as an AR goes? I think it's all good.

I heard one guy on a thread somewhere around here say that if you want to stop a guy it's likely to be a round that'll penetrate a wall. I think you have to accept that if you're not penetrating a wall or two you may not be stopping a bad guy like you'd want to. At the end of the day you have to consider the rule to know your target and what's behind it! That includes locations of people and bedrooms, etc. and it means you can pray and spray.

Deliberate shots....

[Rexster]

While i enjoy shooting lever action i see one major problem with any lever gun for HD that is reloading. with a detachable box mag you can have reloads waiting for you, while reloading a tube mag will slow you down.

The Browning BLR uses box mags, though the capacity is small. Unlike certain other Browning rifles, and perhaps earlier BLRS, the current BLRs eject those mags smartly, and the replacement snaps right into place easily. While I consider my .308 BLRs to be primarily outdoors rifles, one would do for HD well enough if due consideration was given to .308's penetration, or, as I mentioned above, the weapon was chambered for something like .22-250.

[shooterX]

While i enjoy shooting lever action i see one major problem with any lever gun for HD that is reloading. with a detachable box mag you can have reloads waiting for you, while reloading a tube mag will slow you down.

I disagree with this, you can load a lever gun with fresh ammo, much like a tactical load for a shot gun, and you don't have to take the gun apart, in the middle of a fight to top it off.

[Arisin Wind]

I disagree with this, you can load a lever gun with fresh ammo, much like a tactical load for a shot gun, and you don't have to take the gun apart, in the middle of a fight to top it off.

You're right on that. My Winchester 45 Colt '94 hold 10 rounds and I can reload it very easy - without fumbling for a magazine.