Testing For Home Defense Ammunition For Carbines
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 9 months ago
For us, the main takeaway is that if you have a bad guy hiding behind a common interior wall, concealment is all it’s really providing. With an AR-15 carbine, there’s a high probability your bullet will perform nearly as well after passing through that wall—even if it hits a stud—as it would if there was no barrier between you and that bad guy at all.
We also learned that the 150-grain 300 HAMR load is rather wicked with regard to terminal performance. Though it may provide deeper-than-desirable penetration in a home-defense setting, from a wound-cavity standpoint you can see why this cartridge is one of the best available for big-game hunting with an AR-15. And finally, do not discount the 125-grain hollowpoint .30-30 Win. load for personal protection. It should not over-penetrate, and it creates a reasonably large crush cavity. It’s clearly a great choice for home defense if your life-saving gun is a lever-action carbine.
If I had to pick one of these cartridges/loads for home defense, I’d probably go with the 110-grain 300 HAMR load because of its consistent 12 to 14 inches of penetration and the lack of over-penetration concern associated with it. The Speer Gold Dot load for the .223 Rem. and the FTX load for the .300 BLK delivered similar, but slightly deeper performance. There are, of course, lots of other loads and carbine cartridges to consider. This test is only a glimpse. But, it does give you an idea of what can be expected with carbines, and even the ancient .30-30 Win., if they must be fired inside a home to save your life.
Well, the .30-30 is a venerable cartridge, and stands today as the load that has probably taken more white tail than any other cartridge. It would be an awesome home defense round. It’s also noteworthy that lever action rifles are very popular within the AR community, and for good reason. Every man should have lever action rifles.
The summary is a bit strange though. The graphs show the 300 HAMR as over-penetrating, and the last thing you want inside a home is over-penetration. Moreover, availability is an issue, as is cost.
On February 21, 2022 at 7:40 am, Russell G. said:
” The graphs show the 300 HAMR as over-penetrating, and the last thing you want inside a home is over-penetration.”
Damn right. Not many people seem to think about this–testosterone abounds on the builds. And, that’s IF you run into soft tissue with that shot. Down your street is more of problem with AR/223/556/308s, where things are more likely to get frisky. Go outside for a minute…what’s your backstop behind the bad zombie? In any direction?
I’ve never see a piece of meat that can walk away from an 1 1/4oz of #4 buck at reasonable range.
On February 21, 2022 at 7:47 am, Nosmo said:
I realize that over-penetration is a concern and a favorite topic when defensive loads are discussed, whether they’re “inside a structure” or “on the street” situations.
But, as has been pointed out repeatedly, “over-pentration” is not much of a concern if – and when – the majority of shots fired miss the target completely (something the police do with amazing regularity and it’s never questioned or challenged, nor does any mention ever appear in the usual MSM “street shooter” reports).
We don’t often have the ability to choose the backstop (although it’s becoming more frequent for 12 gauge aficionados to recommend dropping to a knee indoors to fire at an upward angle, something that works for carbines as well) but thinking about where the misses go is worth more consideration than over-pentration risks.
On February 21, 2022 at 8:46 am, Bob in NC said:
@Nosmo – I had not heard about dropping to knee and firing upward. I suppose that might make sense depending on the layout of the house.
I love my lever action, but self defense in the home, I would always use shotgun. If I am shocked awake at 2:30 AM by a noise, I want a gun that I just have to aim in a direction rather than being precise enough to put a round on target.
On February 21, 2022 at 9:27 am, Fred said:
Yep, hit the criminal assailant center mass! Don’t get fancy.
On February 21, 2022 at 12:52 pm, CM Dutch said:
What about subsonic rounds? This is why I have a 300 blackout. I know that it will also work as a deer round if needed. Maybe not the best, but work.
On February 21, 2022 at 2:07 pm, xtphreak said:
@ Russell G.
Backstop 10″ pine log (unless a window or door) so better than most for slowing a bullet.
Then empty land (filled only by oak, hickory, walnut, locust … also ridges).
Not a huge concern for hurting neighbors, but thanks.
General answer
1) If I’m at home, there’s one human (fiancé) on the side of the bed away from the stairs (loft master bedroom).
And one frightened feline (cat). So no concerns about hitting bystanders.
Rather than shooting up, I’ll most likely be shooting DOWN from the loft.
I have a 12 ga shotty (#4 buck) but normally I grab my Marlin Camp 9,
[20rd mag, alternating 115gr Federal 9BP (JHP) 1160 fps and 115gr Federal FMJ 1180fps and a tac light]
I’ve always alternated JHP & FMJ (started in a BHP back in 1981) just incase I needed to shoot thru a wall or car door or ….
If I’m at my temp location (for work out-of-state), I’m in my Class A, so probably a .22LR would go thru the wall. I’ll probably pick up a 1911 (.45ACP Speer GD 230gr JHP 890 fps) or my EDC Sig 938 with Federal HST Micro P9HST5S (150gr HST 900 fps).
On February 21, 2022 at 2:17 pm, xtphreak said:
just checked http://www.ballasticsbytheinch.com
the Federal 9BP is rated at 1295fps out of a 16″ barrel.
On February 21, 2022 at 5:31 pm, Fred said:
Xtphreak is a cat person. I knew you were alright.