AK47 for home defense?

[mongose99]

Hey, quick question. I was at a gun store a short while ago contemplating purchasing a new rifle. I thought maybe i would pick one up for the range and i could use it for home defense as well because i would like to mount a light onto it. Looking at an ak47 or ar 15 style rifle. Anyway, the question is I was told by the salesman if someone were to break into my house and i shot them with one of these rifles i would be in deep shit for "excessive use of force." Is this true?

[Magnum Banana]

I'm not familiar enough with self defense laws to give you advice on that. But I'd think a shotgun would be better for home defense. That AK round will penetrate more than you need, you would not want to hurt your family or the neighbors. A shorter barreled shotgun would be more maneuverable and easier to use under stress as well. But then again I'm a gun newbie so what do i know

Also people associate AK-47s with terrorists so that might play against you with the jury a little bit.

[SteveXD]

Hey, quick question. I was at a gun store a short while ago contemplating purchasing a new rifle. I thought maybe i would pick one up for the range and i could use it for home defense as well because i would like to mount a light onto it. Looking at an ak47 or ar 15 style rifle. Anyway, the question is I was told by the salesman if someone were to break into my house and i shot them with one of these rifles i would be in deep shit for "excessive use of force." Is this true?

I wouldn't use a AK47 for HD unless you live out in the sticks. You are going to shoot through the BG and through your walls. IMHO its a terrible HD gun. Shotgun it the way to go for HD.

As far as excessice force, unless it was a questionable shoot. I am sure you would be ok. However, if it went to trial you'll be facing jurors who will see that "evil rifle"...

[mongose99]

I currently use my .45 taurus as my primary gun for home defense and carry, but i was just curious if i bought a rifle and chose to use it for whatever reason, if there was such a law against "excessive force." Yeah i can see a rifle bullet sailing through the BG and a wall or two, haha, not exactly the best plan

thanks!!

[cms81586]

If you live somewhere where you won't put your neighbors at risk then why not. If you're in a situation where you're justified to use lethal force then you can't really use "excessice force" unless you dump a mag into the intruder. I'm no lawyer but we did discuss this alot when I was in college with a professor who was. As long as you use force until the threat is stopped you're good to go, so using an AK shouldn't matter as long as you only fire enough rounds to stop the threat to your life. If you go over to theakforum.com there's lots of guys over there using AK's. I had my AK-74 out for HD for a while before I got my Benelli M4. No matter what you use shot placement is critical. A .22LR will work if you hit someone in the right place.

ETA: Go over to the Box of Truth web site. You can see that most firearms will penetrate further than you think. The only way to be sure it to know what's behind your target. Unless you're using birdshot you're not going to do much to prevent overpenetration, and birdshot is not a good choice for home defense. If someone is trying to harm you or your loved ones you want something that will penetrate into vital organs, not just tear up skin.

CMS

[••SpraynPray••]

Hey why not use an ak? Putting 30 rounds into some one that decides to stumble into your house is never excessive, its just fun. Dont forget when you miss you might shoot your neighbors 3 houses down. Im sure they would like waking up to bullets flying through their house and killing their kitty fluffy.

But if you wanna be boring and safe... Just use a shoti. Not only is it cheaper, you can also use it as a baseball bat, Golf club, door stop, or a papper weight. Its your choice.

Ive always been a fan of utter chaos.

[cms81586]

Like I said...got to www.theboxotruth.com ... Shotguns can penetrate more than rifles. Putting one or two into a home intruders chest isn't going to get you in trouble for using excessive force. You stop when the threat stops. An AK is fine. No different than using an AR.

CMS

[••SpraynPray••]

Like I said...got to www.theboxotruth.com ... Shotguns can penetrate more than rifles. Putting one or two into a home intruders chest isn't going to get you in trouble for using excessive force. You stop when the threat stops. An AK is fine. No different than using an AR.

CMS

what about fluffy the wonder cat?

[LittleRedToyota]

Hey, quick question. I was at a gun store a short while ago contemplating purchasing a new rifle. I thought maybe i would pick one up for the range and i could use it for home defense as well because i would like to mount a light onto it. Looking at an ak47 or ar 15 style rifle. Anyway, the question is I was told by the salesman if someone were to break into my house and i shot them with one of these rifles i would be in deep shit for "excessive use of force." Is this true?

no that is not true.

personally, i would go with an AR over an AK just because .223 doesn't tend to penetrate walls etc. as much as 7.62.

ARs, imho, make about the best home defense weapon you could ask for.

[Willie D]

I like a lot of the stuff on the Box of Truth website but their original experiment is flawed. Their box doesn't accurately recreate an average wall (no studs, insulation, etc.) and shooting at 90 degrees also presents the absolute weakest target. From an angle, more force would get dissapated and each drywall sheet would present more material to penetrate.