you hear so many people say and repeat overpenetration anytime a rifle in home use is mentioned.

those of you who have shot coyote with a 55gr Vmax 223 know you seldom get an exit some of you complain not enough penetration.

they do a decent job in this article with ballistic gel testing to show the actual pentation of several common rounds.

everything should be prefaced with , anything powerful enough to work , goes through a single drywall & stud wall common in current construction , if it didn't it wouldn't work to stop an assailant.

Hornady T.A.P urban is basically 55gr V-max rebranded , there may be some other small difference in low flash powder or velocity but basically

https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/556-223-home-defense/468844

lots of people and departments have known this and no it isn't perfect but combined with the better ability to place the round in the person that needs stopping it is the lesser risk.
I know a few departments have been running TAP urban for a while in my area as one police administrator put it their biggest fear was they get in a fight at one of the trailer parks and they exchange fire and their round exits the trailer with trailers aren't know for their thick sturdy walls.
other ammo designed to pernitrate windshields and such is available and they just weren't thinking that was the threat they were concerned with , let the vehicles run there are only so many roads and they can get on the radio and spike strip them some where else.

the best thing for keeping rounds from over penetrating is to make sure the round has to go through the bad guy first.

I seem to recall lot of the shoot threw argument back in 1970s. Officer's wanting more knock down wanted to up grade from their 38 special to 357 mag. Lot of the same with auto loaders and higher mag capacity. In the end all comes down to training and round going where their needed.

Mac

moving through a house with a long gun can be harder than with a handgun, both things you should practice.
that is where the Braced pistols with the short 10-12 inch barrels bridged the gap until this recent brace witch-hunt

after all how many papers have alphabet agencies written about the need for their SBRs for PDW in close quarters operations. not sure on exact number but just about every agency out there.

it is fairly deeply rooted in fudd-lore , of course while they will deny it your fudds are actually Anti's in gun owners clothing.

I suppose much the same way you see "hunters" so opposed to cable restraint or trap use.

So is my 00 Buck OK to use in my 10 Guage for Home invaders?? I always thought that 5 rounds of 00 Buck surely would stop them.

So is my 00 Buck OK to use in my 10 Guage for Home invaders?? I always thought that 5 rounds of 00 Buck surely would stop them.

use what your comfortable with
sure 5 probably will

there is a company making human torso ballistics gel manikins with replicated bone and organs now , there was a video of 12G 00 buck being shot at one from a distance of 80 yards 00 was a pass through on the torso , didn't get many pellets on target at 80 but what did went through

#4 buck has a little less penetration at distance and more pellets if your thinking about it that way

anything can work at the right distance, there were just a bunch of Junk Science claims about the 223 inferring that it would pernitrate houses as in plural hype giving it powers beyond physics. antic dotes like you don't want to shoot that in your house it will go through the bad guy and every wall and go across the street and kill your neighbor.
when the reality is light fast moving bullets especially those designed to fragment in many cases pernitrate much less than other things.

and because of this junk science people were discouraged from using 223 a tool that a small framed person could have been trained more effectively on to put rounds on target better and faster.

so if your wife , daughter , mother doesn't like the 10ga maybe they want an AR

Not the first time I've heard 55 gr V-Max's recommended. I bought a box of em to load up and play with... Need to work on that.

Mike

even the 223 55gr soft point didn't go that deep



I have shot deer with 223 55gr soft point , didn't get exit so I stopped using it , but hugely effective on the organs and the deer didn't run far , just no blood trail at all

Good article Pete, thanks for posting.

The problem with the not enough gun vs overpenetration and all these other old debates is lazy thinking and old data.

Back when 5.56 was a 20" barrel and 55gr fmj ball the case could be made for its unsuitability for urban work inside structures.


But today's short barrels and expanding ammo makes it as good as available pistol rounds with the ability to swap ammo for longer engagements.

Stay current on the technology available before launching into the debate.

The only thing I would add it to consider some sort of muzzle blast moderation if you choose to use short barreled rifles indoors.

I like SS 109s. They go threw bout anything

that is the sad part the dissemination of information moved so slow in the gun world , forums and gun media have helped significantly but many don't even attempt to keep up to date.

and because Grandpa Joe said it , it is gospel , we even see some of this here.

there are still people who are dyed in the wool believers that the AR is the same gun and same ammo that was in SE Asia in the late 60s . unwilling to accept that the army choose not to correct known issues , develop proper documentation, training or service schedules , nor that the lacquered ammunition was a significant part of the issue.

your right we should have suppressors , it is really sad we don't have this useful tool as available as mufflers on any other loud tool.

Pete for home defense in a 5.56 i would prefer the Sierra MK in 77 grain.

I've seen enough coyotes run away or not anchor on the first hit from Hornaday 55 gr in a 223 to last me a life time. 22-250 is a different story.

My wife uses her ladysmith with 357 Home Defense rounds. Otherwise she LOVES shooting my Thompson which is 45 Caliber and Both 50 round mags and the drum which holds 150. Not very long and no kick. It is very fun to play with.

In Florida Guns and Gold gets Suppressors and the Red Tape is not that bad.

a decision based on experience and not antidotal evidence several times retold to prove the point of the teller each time.

I would assume your coyotes are typically at 100 or more yards with the 22-250 and 223

a good way to think of it is a 22-250 55gr is at 100 yards what a 223 55gr is at the muzzle give or take a few FPS

so if your 55gr bullet anchors coyotes at 100 yards the 223 would do the same thing at a few yards.

I am in no way pushing 55s , there are many good options heavier that still don't have the kind of ridiculous over penetration so many have professed it to have.

Y’all must have some very very large homes to need an AR for self defense.
I guess if you’re trying to defend your property from Zombies then an AR would be great. Inside the home I don’t see it as a useful weapon for the average person.
If I’m awaken in the middle of the night with my alarm going off or my door kicked in, I’m grabbing my turkey gun with turkey loads. I know exactly what it does at 40 yards, which will easily cover from the bedrooms down the hall. If they are already in the house when I get home, I’m still leaving the AR in the truck and going with the handgun if they’re on camera. Maybe if there’s two of us to clear the house, I’ll take the AR, but by myself it would be the handgun.

12 ga would be my choice the best for many reasons!