For home defense, my 'ready long guns' are a Winchester '94 in .44 magnum, and a 12 gauge side-by-side with shortened barrels. The Winchester is loaded with 240 grain .44 specials, the shotgun with 00 buck. The plan is to go with the shotgun first, and the Winchester if there is anything left to shoot after the shotgun clears the hallway. However, in a real emergency I would grab whatever was closest to me at the time.
Ruger 10/22 with a drum clip.
Filled with Yellow Jackets.
You can carry tons of ammo in your pocket, throw a gazillion rounds in any direction out to 100 yards.
Yellow Jackets (hypervelocity) can kill. OTH, you need not kill. Bad guys on the receiving end only know that a lot of "stuff" is buzzing around their heads like mad bees.
They leave and never come back.
I assume the car you wish to protect is not garaged. Rather than an expensive rifle why not try a cheap car. With an M1 you run the risk of reaching a bit to far.
I purchased a Garand through CMP...the price was reasonable, the weapon is wonderfully designed, and...it is a piece of history!
I am no real shooter, my eyesight bites, but even I can get an occassional bullseye at 100 yards with my Garand (I know, but...that's good for ME!)
Did you know that when Robert Goddard was in college he blew up the Physics Lab with one of his rocket motor experiments? Did you know that von Braun credited Goddard with helping in the development of the V-2 because Goddard was unrecognized in the US but feervently read by the German Rocket Society.
Springfield Armory SOCOM M1A.
"Auto defense", as in to defend against car burners or to have in a car? In a car an M-4 variant works really well.
I own a mini thirty. The thing is an absolute piece of crap. It literally jams at least every other round fired. I hate it. It's not bad as far as accuracy, I can hit a 18x12 target at about 100 yards, but the jamming problem more than nullifies any accuracy it has.
I have quite a few guns but none of the military type. I was thinking, with all this mess going on in France, if I should maybe look into more firepower. Do any of you think that this French problem will up gun sales here in the US? I think besides a good handgun the best weapon for the home would be a pump shotgun with some heavy ammo (trench gun type).
Let me begin by saying that I LOVE the M-14 (I've got a Federal Ord "knock-off," couldn't afford an M-1A) and I've got both a CAR-15 and a Mini-14. All are fun to shoot, and as I'm sure that someone will say, the M-14 allows you to "reach out and touch someone."
But I wonder if any of these would really be good for home defense. I mean, the M-14 is great, but it's a "real" battle rifle, and it's pretty big and heavy. The mini-14 and AR15 are both a lot handier, but I'm not 100% sure about .223.
I was thinking that a better home defense rifle might be a carbine in either semi-auto or lever action. Frankly, I don't have either. But maybe something like a Ruger .44 Mag carbine, or a Marlin lever action, in either .44Mag, or .30-30 Winchester.
Plus, both make terrific deer rifles.
Just a thought.
Mark
I don't know your locale, but shooting vandals could get you someplace you don't want to go...
I'd personally love to pop a few taggers, for instance, but I know I'd end up in the slammer.
I would vote for either a good AR-15 (I have a rock river arms myself) or one of the AK knockoffs.
As for the AK, I have a WASR-10 that takes hi-cap mags (Some of the older ones do not) and it has been 100% reliable. If you DO go the WASR route make sure you give the weapon a good looking over, check for canted sites (front site not lined up correctly when looking down the front of the weapon) and make sure to check the gas system as well. Ask if you can take it down (Or ask the shop to show you how it comes apart) and check the parts as well.
They can be great low cost weapons and I would take one any day over a mini-30.
Always consider you may have to 'borrow' some ammo from your enemy, which could be wearing Powder Blue helmets (if not certainly be holding Powder Blue hearts).
And don't forgot an extra couple of longarms and sidearms for the guy in your neighborhood that didn't pre-plan or manages to 'lose' his.
If you want a cheap, light, reliable, general purpose rifle, you can't go wrong with a 30-30 carbine with iron sights. No ka-ching but still, the lever action produces a very satisfying sound. My Winchester model 94 is old, and a little rusty from years of abuse. I clean it every 5 years or so, whether it needs it or not and it always shoots dead on accurate. It just doesn't need to be pampered. LIConFem's recommendation of a 12 ga. is good too. You could purchase a 30-30 and the 12 ga. for a fraction of what some of the other rifles being suggested cost. I think I paid $80 bucks for mine. With such a combination, any fool can drop anything within a hundred yards, day or night.
AR15 chambered in .45acp and a Kimber 1911 Ultra. Both reliable and as you can see, accurate to 30 yards. The .223 upper I have is accurate to 300 yards.M1A or M14 by Springfield Armory. The 'ka-ching' states loudly..."I'm out". M1A is 308. M1 is 30-06. Both nice cartridges.