totman

I recently picked up a new Mossberg 535 12g shotgun for Deer hunting. Its an awesome gun but I have to use sabots which cost almost $3 a shell. Im going to pick up a new gun in a few weeks, this gun will be more for target/selfdefense. The gun its self doesnt matter, the round it fires does. I want a gun that fires a cheap but powerful round. I was thinking of some type of AK or a 9mm carbine. What are my options round wise?

Any info is greatly appreciated.

totman

Big Guy01

Does it have a fully rifled barrel? You only need sabot slugs if you have a rifled barrel. Lots of guys have good luck with "lightfield" sabot slugs.

totman

Yes it is a fullyrifled barrel and I use lightfield sabots(They work awesome).

Retaks

Round wise? 9mm, 40 S&W, 45 ACP, 7.62X39, 5.56, 12 Gauge, 20 Gauge, and about any other round you could want. My favorite self defense rounds is my Mossberg 835 loaded with 3.5" 2 1/4oz no.5 Turkey Loads. They dont penetrate exterior walls but makes a major mess of whatever is hit with it within 10 yards. I would much rather hit someone with a couple hundred small pellets then 1 slug or 8 pellets of buckshot.

idunno

I'd have to say I am100% in agreement with this statement. The chance of overpenetration and hitting an innocent bystander is greatly reduced.

totman

I think I might get a 9mm carbine. I can get 100rds for $20from a local gun dealer.

The only thing I've found is those Hipoint tactical carbines. Are they any good? I think there butt ugly but Im guessing they have aftermarket stocks.

driftrider

If you want a long gun for home defense, nothing beats a good 'ole 12 gauge pump gun. Simple, reliable, and loaded with 00 buck, there isn't a man on Earth that will walk away from 9 pellets of buckshot to the chest from 10 feet away. It'll also penetrate less structural material than a 9mm pistol. An AR-15 with frangiable bullets is a good second choice.

I remember reading about an FBI study on the penetration of various bullets through common building materials a while ago. At the time they were toying with the idea of switching from the MP-5 9mm submachinegun to the M4 carbine for their tactical units after the Hollyweird bank robbery debacle (the two bad guys covered head-to-toe with two layers of ballistic armor, with real-deal AK-47's, that held their own against several dozen LAPD and FBI armed only with shotguns and their sidearms until the cops eventually took them out with rifles borrowed from a convieniently located FFL dealer). But they were worried about the rifle overpenetrating or passing through (several) walls and killing innocents on the other side.

Anyway, they shot the 5.56mm NATO and 9mm Parabellum (and some others pistol calibers too, if memory serves), through various types of walls common to residential, commercial and industrial buildings, and found that the 5.56 NATO M4 penetrated through fewer residential-type walls (2x4 studs, drywall) than all the pistol bullets, and also in geletin tests where the round was fired through a wall at various angles and then into ballistic gellatin on the other side, the 5.56 displayed far less penetration and potential lethality than the pistol bullets. At the same time the 5.56 showed far greater projected lethality than the pistol cartridges on direct contact wounds, and was able to penetrate 2 layers of class IIIa light body armor without a trauma plate (similar to what the Hollyweird bad guys were sporting), and one layer with a trauma plate.

Just food for thought... Have a Merry and Blessed Christ-mass!

Mike

Retaks

OK so your gonna get a 9mm rifle. Ok choice. But your gonna trust yours and your familys life to the cheapest rounds you can find? Im guessing they are 115gr FMJ. Ive seen what they do to people from being in Iraq and seen people get killed because the bad guys took awhole mag worth of them out of an M9 and kept shooting back because they just passed right through at 10 feet. After that i personally do no trust my life to a 9mm but that is my experience. I carry a 40 S&W min with good hollow points. NOt the ones you get a box of 50 for $20. I got a few boxs of them and found i like the Remington Golden Saber in 180gr the best and they are $36 for 25 rounds but im trusting my life and my familys life to their reliability. Alot can happen in the time it takes to clear a jam. Ive learned that first hand.

oldsmellhound

For pure self-defense, like a couple guys already said, just load up your Mossberg with buckshot. My home defense weapon is my Winchester 1200 pump loaded with #4 buckshot- I feel very confident with that by my side.

However, if you want to get a new gun that is cheap and shoots cheap ammo, I'd suggest an SKS. I have one I bought for $120 (this was a long time ago, I don't think you can find them that cheap anymore)- shoots the 7.62x39 ammo that is very cheap (at the local gunstore they sell 25 rounds for $3 on sale). It could serve as a self-defense weapon as well. Only downside is that it's not very accurate- but it is accurate enough for plinking around for fun. Mine's accurate enought to shoot pop cans at 50 yards and milk jugs at 100.

totman

Ok, I'll get some 00 buck shot shells for my Mossberg for self defense. I still want to get a new rifle that shoots a cheap rounds for plinking.

I'll look into an SKS.