I’m using a suppressed 11.5" in 5.56 and I’m trying to decide between M193 or M262 clones. Palmetto started selling some really affordable 77gr OTM.
Military guys seem to really like 77gr SMK, but energy numbers seem to favor light and fast 55gr. I have a theory that maybe the longer 77gr bullet yaws and makes a bigger hole, but other people online say it’s the fragmentation that counts.
I also have a 10.5" in .300 Blackout, and 110gr V-Max to get the maximum velocity and stopping power out of it, but I can’t afford to practice with that gun as much.
I home carry a Glock 17. But if I have an AR-15 nearby, and the bad guys are still working on breaking down my door, it stops the problem faster and more precisely, with fewer projectiles going out into the neighborhood compared to a pistol.
That’s a good point. I think I’d rather use an AR for the same reason. Would a frangible round make sense to mitigate wall penetration and potential ricochets inside a home? Or would penetration (or lack thereof) be an issue?
I wonder how frangibles would work on concrete blocks? My exterior walls and some of my interior walls are made out of them. Most houses around the Arizona desert seem to use them.
Then again, even FMJ won’t penetrate concrete blocks right away. The first hit shatters the block, or part of it, and the second or third shot goes through.
Assuming a passthrough in three shots is actually really generous to 5.56. That assumes that I keep hitting the same spot over and over. That’s unlikely for HD.
A .308 or similar will destroy the block on the first shot, and either clear the debris or passthrough on the second shot. But it also won’t penetrate on the first shot, although the shattered concrete can hurt.
I live in the city, in a single family brick home. MY HD weapon is an Sig P227 with a TLR-8 underneath - green laser. If this is going to be a running gunfight, I have my Chicom copy Winchester 1897, with a skeet spin-in choke and #4 shot. No mag plug and no disconnect, so you can slam-fire it. 20” barrel - it was my CAS shotgun. I have an original made in 1898 per serial number but wouldn’t want to have the cops hold it after a shooting; Chicom isn’t that valuable.
?Why do you use a 5.56 SBR. You could build/buy a 300 BLK upper in an SBR, then shoot subsonic suppressed off the same SBR frame (lower) with just a letter to the ATF stating what you are doing with your SBR; no additional tax stamp is needed as the SBR tax stamp is associated with the lower. This set-up would allow you to shoot a substantially heavier and larger bullet without waking up the neighborhood. Not much muzzle flash to deal with either,
But do you really want “rifle-like energy in a home. Let’s remind ourselves that average shooting distances INSIDE a home are generally 20 feet or less (unless you live in a mansion). There is nothing wrong with .45 ACP energy for HD; it’s the “shooting mechanism” - ie. pistol - that is the issue. Pistols are inherently difficult weapons to control properly, especially in a “combat” situation. It is the standard reason carbines are generally considered effective firearms - they are far easier to control, hit a target with, yet shoot the same round as a handgun (usually).
Your choice probably leads to overpenetration. SBR energy from a 5.56 isn’t exactly anything to write home about, seeing as much of the powder load isn’t burned up in the barrel but outside it in the SBR configuration. That gives you less energy than the carbine version yet most likely produces a significant muzzle flash - enough to lose night vision in the most likely HD scenario. Even with a can, though that can mitigate the flash some.
300 BLK, OTOH, was designed for house clearing. It carries to maybe 200 or so yds reasonably well, and shots beyond that are not really HD shots, nor SBR distances. A 300 BLK with a decent can will clear any room in your house (mansions excluded ) and still allow you fighting room for SD/HD purposes. Much beyond that distance will give you potential legal issues. I personally don’t think it will make the perp any ‘less stopped”.
) and still allow you fighting room for SD/HD purposes. Much beyond that distance will give you potential legal issues. I personally don’t think it will make the perp any ‘less stopped”.