I might be the odd one out here but my 16-inch 300 Blk Out is my multi purpose platform. Home defense, hunting, you name it. Works exceptionally well with both supers and subs and that versatility is unbeatable.
About the ony downside is the price of ammo. Though I'll admit that's been improving. A couple years ago I would've argued an AR in 7.62x39 would've been a nice option. Then you'd have a nice home defense gun that you can also cheaply practice with. Sadly that's been less of a thing with sanctions and the whole unpleasantness in Eastern Europe.
-Red dots are an iron sight substitute, at distance magnification is king, but if the question is home defense then distance is minimal. -Your first AR probably shouldn't be a pin and weld, but to each their own. It comes with complications a new person should avoid, but if you really enjoy diving into the deep end of the pool go for it I guess. -55 grain NATO rounds are fine. Plenty of people have dropped plenty of other people with FMJ rounds. Are there better rounds? Sure. Are they _necessary_ ? Absolutely not. -Once you go the NFA (or crime, crime is valid) route, the 10.5/11.5 with a can becomes the sweetest little 5.56 set-up. SOCOM has used the suppressed 10.5 for years to great effect, it works just fine. -I prefer vertical grips because they can be used as a hand stop or barrier stop, _BUT_ can also just be grabbed like a beer can if the rail gets too hot to hold. Sometimes you just don't have gloves.
Getting into an AR for HD can be bit of a learning experience for a new owner. I only recently decided an AR would be a good HD platform. I had a 16-inch AR15, but when I decided to go HD with an AR, I had one bult for just that. The 10.5, now an 8.2 is in 300 Blackout. Over the years of shooting the 300 I have given up on the idea of using subs for defense. opting for suppressed supers in 110 to 125 grain varmint rounds. The best may be Tac-TX, but they are more costly
Just a comment concerning subsonic 300blk and effectiveness. On a recent hog hunting trip I shot a raccoon with a 190gr Sub-x factory load. I knew the range to the target (87 yards) and dialed for elevation, perfect shoulder hit. When I went to retrieve the coon I realized he had died from blunt force trauma not penetration. I found 1/2 of the bullet was sticking out of his fur because it was stopped by the impact with the shoulder blade. It expanded well and held together just didn't make it thru to any vitals. I don't believe there was anything wrong with the round because it hit were expected, just not enough energy to pass through. Switched back to supers, 110gr Barnes, for the remainder of the hog hunt that night. Might be ok at significantly shorter distances not sure it the best choice for home defense. Just one man's experience.
This was an excellent discussion. It would have been helpful for your guest to describe what he had on each of the AR’s, their function, and their utility in an HD scenario.
I think what Mark was getting at with the muzzle flash (and they may still get to this later on) is the muzzle flash difference between a 556 and 300 BO out of shorter barrels like the 10.3
My $.02 from owning a 14.5" BCM middy: IF you're going to opt for a 14.5; build it yourself or be certain that you're satisfied with its configuration. That pin is a PITA.
Good discussion. I have to say though that I'm not using a 5.56 for internal home defense. If your plan is to only have one AR then 5.56, but if you plan on having at least two, then I go with 10.5" Blackout suppressed. 5.56 suppressed in a house is still a bad idea for you and your loved ones hearing.
5.56 suppressed is significantly quieter than a 9mm handgun or 12 ga shotgun, yet no one is ever worried about blowing their famille’s ears out with those. Subsonic 300 BO is basically a .45 acp, while I wouldn’t want to be shot with one, a good 5.56x45 (aka not m855) will cause significantly more terminal damage while reducing the amount of house it will pass through should you miss a few shots. I love my 300 BO with supersonics, but it lives in my truck safe, while the suppressed 5.56 lives in the under-bed safe. The supersonic 300 BO suppressed is every bit as loud (which is about like a 22lr) as the 5.56 suppressed.
Another option to consider would be a pistol caliber AR for home defense. A 16" AR chambered in 9mm would be a good choice if your every day carry pistol is also chambered in 9mm, even better if they share the same magazine.
Thing about a pinned and weld is they are committed to that muzzle device they need to research what they want later on and if they want to suppress or not
Never thought about a brake really effecting my situational awareness. I know I’ve been on the side of some crazy brakes while ROing and they do really have some concussive impact
I have one of those door stops and you can also just drop it over the one of the hinges and allows the door to never close without having to bend over to the ground
Here's lesson one. ARs are the wrong choice for most home defense. You are going to fire high power rifle rounds in a neighborhood? Get a shotgun if you have a house larger than an average 3 bedroom. 00 Buck will be your most common choice, but I like #4 buckshot at close range and in apartments. Shooting through walls is always a concern. Smaller stand-alone homes, I like a 9mm with a light. More maneuverable in tight quarters. Put a light on your shotgun, too. Anyways, my two cents.
Use a linear compensator. It doesn’t need to be timed and you can unthread it anytime for your suppressor. Also- it directs that sound toward the target.
@@richardmcdonald4190 it won’t help much indoors. But it doesn’t need to be timed with a crush washer. So, it can be removed and placed back on with ease. You DEFINITELY don’t want a crush washer under your silencer.
@@TheSkeptic000 I was debating trying the flash can at my indoor range to see what it would sound like, but I'll take your word for it. My one for all suppressor is 300 WM rated and makes my 8.2-inch pistol have 18.2 inches of barrel. It is quiet and hearing safe, as I have shot it indoors w/o ear pro several times. It's not handy, or quick maneuvering at that length, but I don't anticipate room clearing at this point in my life.
@@richardmcdonald4190 a silencer on your rifle is a good thing indoors. I would let that silencer live on your favorite rifle. Keep it close. The same way you would keep a good blade on your side.
I have one of the prototype 300aac barrels, been hunting since day 1 with 208gr subs, also aac ammo. 556 comes apart in drywall for the most part. Especially tap rounds.
223 50gr varmint rounds is what I got loaded, figured the pass throughs are less of a concern. Shot 8 deer in last 2 years with it and they are wicked little buggers, not much of an exit hole. 16in, light, laser, sling good to go
My current home defense is a 10mm Glock, but I'm always advocating for bigger hardware. My preferences are compact, short barrel, high round capacity. Beyond that it's just favorites and style.
i have my .300blk X95 Tavor set up with a Romeo7 and a 1000 lumen light + laser combo i can activate with my left thumb off the vertical grip. i'm enjoying training with this set up
Following the military trends (they did their homework) for general purpose, a 14.5" is ideal and standard issue M4A1. Portability for use from inside vehicles and long enough to get needed velocity from a 5.56mm caliber cartridge to be effective out to 300yards. Being on the topic of home defense, 300 blackout from an 8.5" (suppressed subsonic) or 10.5" (unsupressed supersonic) is ideal.
Also on the 300BLK SBR train for home defense mostly because of the shorter barrel. But realistically I doubt I'm getting to it before the encounter is done and over.
@21:40 I'm surprised it didn't get brought up when talking about 223 vs 5.56.... A barrel designed for 5.56 just means that it is rated for a higher chamber pressure. You can shoot 223 out of a 5.56 gun no problem. I wouldn't pick a regular 223 barrel, but 223 wylde if you are going that route. It gets you the slightly tighter tolerances, and the ability to shoot 5.56 since it is also rated for the extra chamber pressure. Also, some ar's can be finicky. So it's important to make sure it cycles your defence ammo well. You might have to change buffer springs. Also, it didn't get mentioned when talking about suppressors, but having a charging handle designed to minimize gas blowback into your face is a pretty good idea. Suppressors can also change how the gun runs and you'll probably have to tune the gun to cycle correctly with it. So especially if you are pin and welding a muzzle device, make sure you have a good adjustable gas block since you are committing to it. You would have to remove the welded on flash hider if you need to change it out later.
My current home defense setup is with the beretta a300 patrol but once my cans and parts come in I’ll be running an rattler with a single point sling setup or my 12.5 suppressed
Quad rail weight: As I tried to tell someone the other day, MLOK being lighter than picatinny needs context. For the 10" BCM hand guards, there's a whole massive, whopping, (drum roll) 3 oz of difference between a naked MLOK vs a naked quad. For the Daniels rails it's a massive, whopping 4oz of difference between the naked MLOK vs the naked QUAD. Yes, if you're going to get a handguard that isnt a quad, get an MLOK. KeyMod sucks, Crane says so, but weight as a proper concern is kind of a moot point unless you're really doing an ultralite build imo.
3 or 4 ounces less weight at the business end of an AR is definitely notable, especially in conjunction with a few other basic weight saving measures you can take by simply buying one part versus another. Say you have a BCM Mlok rail that is 3 ounces lighter than a quad rail, PLUS you get an aimpoint T2 (3 ounces, plus a scalarworks or Unity mount, another 2.5 - 3 ounces) instead of an Eotech, which typically weigh 10 ounces? You saved another 3 or 4 ounces with your optic setup. Say you opt for an 18350 weapon light body instead of an 18650 body - that saves you another ounce and a half or so, and as a side note, you retain rechargeable batteries over cr123. Throw in forged aluminum ALG sling swivels instead of steel swivels and use an Arisaka aluminum female-end QD mount instead of a steel mount and you actually drop another couple ounces - altogether, your gun at that point is actually approaching three quarters of a pound in weight savings by being mindful of your rail, optic, light and sling QD choices. That's a big difference when you're carrying/practicing/training with it for longer periods of time. Helps to go longer before experiencing inevitable muscle fatigue.
@@rivercityracer3683 until you remember that all those parts also go on the quad rail rifle, so the end result between 2 identical setups is still only 3 oz. Until you start trying to mount things to the handguard, then one needs mlok rail adapters that the quad doesnt need, hence why the weight savings of a massive 3 oz needs context and not just saying "quad rail heavy".
I think that it is misunderstood that the small fast bullets are over-penetrating strictly because of their speed. In reality, the heavier bullets carry their energy better and have been proven to have more over-penetration through barrier like walls, windshields, etc. .223/5.56 is a great option when worried about over-penetration because the light bullet dumps so much energy so quickly.
Nothing wrong with a 16 inch 1:8 twist barrel. However, 7.5 inch 300AAC Blackout pistol is great for home defense. The 10 inch 300AAC Blackout barrel is optimum.
Home Defense: I think Subsonic AR15 chambered in 9mm & 300blk, supressed 16" rifles. Also AR15 22 conversion with 22gr barrel maybe an option. Generally Hollow Points so you can to better control travel distances interior. Having a laser explicitly for close distance I think is good. I would not shoot 556/223 inside my house, but having one for more mid range or higher distances and switch to 300blk supers as needed. All that said, my first choice isnt shooting rifle in the house. I think a Shockwave shooting 12ga shorty buck shots for home defense with 9mm pistol on you as back up. I view ARs more like a second choice in house, but mostly for exterior home defense.
Speaking of suppressors, y’all should have the nerds from AB suppressors. Would love to hear from them here. I’ve been back and forth about potentially buying a suppressor for a year or two. After seeing their stuff, I have decided that the next “gun thing” I’m going to buy is one of their suppressors.
