if you have plans on using it for home defense I highly suggest getting some sort of training. Shooting at a human that breaks into your house is a lot harder than it sounds the stress levels are very high and some people will freeze in the situation and it is not uncommon for the invader to wrestle the weapon from you and than use it against you.

Mine's a Bushmaster XM15-E2S. Not technically a real AR-15 but it's a very good gun.
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...y/DSCN1651.jpg
I'm not sure that it's the best choice for home defence. I'd be worried about the kind of penetration you'd get with the .223. .223 tumbles when it impacts, but you'd have to be sure to get hollow points or it'll probably go straight through at that range. Not much stopping power, either.

+1, good advice. The very first thing I'd do if I were him would be get a copy of those DVDs from the NRA, they won't teach you what an instructor can but it's got some good tips (including evasion). One thing that is really important is that you call the cops and stay on the line, that way they can hear everything that goes on and every call that goes into 911 is recorded. In one of the videos they show a situation where a lady's house is broken into and she's forced to fire on the intruder and she is arrested but the evidence from the 911 tapes got the case against her thrown out.

IMO the best home defense weapon is a short (18" barrell) shotgun with a pistol grip filled with buckshot. you most likely be shooting within close range and if you do shoot somebody make sure the entry wound is in the front of the body or you will be in lots of trouble if you dont kill them

Shotguns are good, but they've got some serious recoil and with a pistol grip they're harder to handle. It takes some training to be able to fire a pistol grip 12 gauge, your first time shooting it it will rock your world! Exit wounds must always be in their back, if they turn and run you cannot shoot, cannot chase, etc. or it's manslaughter.

OK, my zombie apocalypse plan now includes heading to your place! :lol:

Just say they called you a racial slur and then threated to kill you.

As far as shooting someone in the back, flip them over afterwards and go to town with that 12 gauge. It is hard to tell what happens at close range...

I like the 12 gauge with XX buck. At under 10 feet the pattern is about 4" or less so you are gauranteed a kill. I keep a 9 in the bedside table with 17rds of Winchester STX hollows. And a .45 with some ashtrays for backup. Plus I have a .40 in the desk drawer in case someone tries to get fresh when I am typing on the forum...

Went back and read the rest of the thread...

As far as guns go, buy all you want. I can safely say every gun I own is worth more than when I bought it. Stick that in your 401k pipe and smoke it. Wall street... lets see them make some money now... I bought guns and ammo as a hobby and an investment. Ammo has more than trippled in the last 3 years, and guns never go down in price. I have so much stuff it is not even close to funny, makes my r/c collection look like a joke.

Back to shooting people, well if it is them or me, I choose me. We have 6 billion people on the planet, so the guy who tries to rob me, or rape my wife, or molest my kids will not be missed. As a society we need to stop rolling over and feeling sorry for the people who do not deserve to cohabitate with us. This country was founded on the backs of strong willed men who did not want to take crap from anyone, lets keep it that way. Anything else and we are giving the bird to the men and women who fight and give their lives to keep us free. I suggest we do not make a mockery of their actions.

Disclaimer, if you are a soccer mom or tree humper and you have any issues with what I have said please feel free to write your liberal congressman and complain to him. Cause I am deaf and don't read that good.

I have quite a bit of training.

Nice AR.

+1 to what Linc said.

Loved the whole post.

As far as guns in the house with kids, it's all about how you handle it. I grew up with guns in my house, as did most of my friends, and the rest of my family for generations. If proper precautions are taken and kids are taught from an early age about them, things will be fine. Many people we say use gun locks, which is stupid on a gun for personal protection. Other guns fine, or keep them locked up. If you have a gun for personal protection and someone breaks into your house and is threatening you, do you really think they will just wait while you collect your gun key (wherever it may be) and then nervously proceed to try and unlock the lock on it?

People can believe what they want, I just don't want these people imposing their gun beliefs on me and trying to take away my rights.

Anyway, nice b-day presents and collection unsullied!!

+1 on this. Proper gun education is vital. I did not grow up with guns, but still knew that shooting yourself was a bad idea.

In any case, gun shootings pale in comparison to Doctor malpractice killings. Something like 40,000 people die of malpractice a year, gun related deaths, especially acccidental ones, are way lower than that. I have a feeling car accident deaths are higher too... time to ban cars, and doctors while we are at it. Then we will be all safe and fuzzy with that warm, caring feeling...:wink:

+1 to this entire post.

TexasSP: I agree that things change with children in the house. My Nephew (will be turning 8 in a few days) is over right now, and the safes are locked! I would like to buy a small safe with a number pad or thumb/hand print lock on it for safe storage yet quick removal of the XDM-40, but that's going to have to wait until I've got some more $$$.

I've already stripped the entire thing down, wiped off the cosmoline and re-oiled everything. I do this to every new guy I buy and go even more in depth for the used ones (bought a Ruger 10/22 with over 10,000 rounds through it that had never been cleaned, that thing was a nightmare to get clean). Thanks for the support guys :mdr: