TTAG posits the suggestion that the AR-15 is the ideal home defense weapon:
The AR-15 has earned a reputation as one of the most versatile and effective firearms available today.
…and then the article goes on to compare the AR to other gun types like shotguns and handguns, listing all the pros and cons of each choice.
In the past, I would have come down on one side or the other. My dislike of the AR poodleshooter notwithstanding, there’s nothing wrong with having one as a home defense weapon, albeit with some reservations.
Side note: I am curious, in an academic kind of way, whether that super-loud CRACK! of the .223/5.56mm cartridge causes more damage to one’s hearing than would, say, a shotgun blast, the .357 Mag’s report or the 7.62x39mm coming out of an AK’s short barrel. If anyone has actual data on the topic, please feel free to share it. Suffice it to say that I keep about me several pairs of foam earplugs — trouser pocket, bedside, car and next to my living-room chair — which, if time permits, I would certainly try to insert before shooting any gun inside the house or car, or even outside.
In terms of which gun you prefer, therefore, I would support just about any choice, as long as you have a damn gun handy in the first place. Locked up in a safe is just plain silly, of course, despite those of the Nanny State persuasion trying to impose such “safety” measures on us, all of which I pretty much ignore anyway. I own several guns, I’m extremely careful about the handling thereof, and I try to keep myself “well-regulated” in their use.
In my own case, I have a .357 revolver next to the bed as my “first line” of defense, and a semi-auto rifle under the bed as my preferred long gun option. Next to my chair in the living room is of course my 1911 (which I carry every single time I leave the house, without exception — unless I feel in an old-fashioned frame of mind, in which case I strap on one of my revolvers, along with a couple of speedloaders, of course, ditto spare mags of .45 ACP for the 1911). If I’m going to be away for an extended period, e.g. on vacation or even just an overnight stay, I also carry a backup piece. In the car there’s another semi-auto rifle in case of an extra-busy social occasion.
Those are my choices. Others may vary, and whatever their decision, I’m okay with it. (I know a guy who carries a .22 pistol, and who can dump all ten rounds into a head-sized target in about four seconds, 100% of the time. Pity the fool.) As long as you are proficient in the use of whatever gun you choose, that’s okay and I will never really argue with your choices.
“Why not a shotgun, Kim?”
I dunno. I find the recoil of the 12-gauge cartridge unpleasant, and the low capacity of cartridges (5-odd) and lengthy reload time a little off-putting. Of course, I’m never going to argue with the deadly efficacy of the shotgun — one or two rounds usually suffices to end any hostile encounter anyway — but I’ve just never been a habitual user of shotguns outside of sporting clays with friends and family. (It’s a social choice rather than an anti-social one, in other words.)
As I said, go ahead and make the decision that suits you yourself, not the choice that the Smart Set and/or Tacticool Dudes think you should. (I suspect that most of my Readers are of similar mindset anyway.)
And all that said, I think I’m off to the range. Semi-auto rifle time…