Is it True 223 is Safer in the Home?

[not_retired]

In hickok45's latest video he compares a double barrel shotgun to an AR for home defense in an obvious knock on Biden. (love his videos, he is the grandpa I never had). He says something that surprised me that 223 is safer than double buck inside the home.

I don't own an AR (223) so have no experience with this caliber's penetration characteristics. Other videos I've seen seem to refute hickok45's claim.

I'm new here so sorry if this is like starting a synthetic oil thread in a motorcycle forum. Thanks in advance for your comments.

[internet troll]

You might want to post a link or embed the video so people can check it out. Safety is a subjective thing depending upon how you look at it. I can only speculate, but maybe he's thinking that both 00 buck and a .223 would go through a wall. Since 00 buck would have a wider spread than a single bullet there might be a better chance it would hit a family member or other innocent person after it travels through a wall. Just a guess at his logic though.

[streaker69]

I bought a box of frangible .223 and have it loaded in magazine, just in case I were to have to grab an AR and use it in the home.

[RXM]

I depends on the type of home you have; specifically, the build material and how it was constructed.

[scruff]

I've seen tests showing that .223 ball ammo penetrates a good distance through walls. but .223 soft point penetrates the same or less than 9mm.

No matter what you're shooting, you should consider what's on the other side of walls in the line of fire. But the other part of "safer" is choosing a round that will stop a threat. From that standpoint, .223 is a fairly "safe" round for you, and very "unsafe" for an intruder.

[not_retired]

You might want to post a link or embed the video so people can check it out. Safety is a subjective thing depending upon how you look at it. I can only speculate, but maybe he's thinking that both 00 buck and a .223 would go through a wall. Since 00 buck would have a wider spread than a single bullet there might be a better chance it would hit a family member or other innocent person after it travels through a wall. Just a guess at his logic though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKk45...e_gdata_player

[streaker69]

If you're shooting #4 or #7 shot in your home and miss, you're gonna have a huge mess to clean up with patching walls and such. If you're shooting a .223 and miss you can just get a bit of spackle and cover the hole.

A miss with 2 3/4" .00 Buck is only going to be 9 holes to patch, a slug would be one hole, but it would be fairly large, but still easy to patch.

[internet troll]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKk45...e_gdata_player

Thanks.

[Shodan]

I believe Massad Ayoob recommends 55 grain soft points if you're going to use an AR for home defense.

[ByAnyMeans]

From ballistic testing I have seen performed specific loads for 5.56 will fragment after less sheetrock than 12 gauge buckshot or even .45 or 9mm HP ammo does.

Again this is all about using a specific load. Not all HP or SP 5.56 and definitely not any FMJ would be good to use in your home. Look for Hornady TAP 55 or 70 grain as I know they penetrate less than 12 gauge buck or 9mm/45acp per ballistic testing.


*Regardless what you use know your target and know what lies behind it.