Rifle vs. Shotgun for Defense in the Event of Civil Unrest

On an email discussion list the relative merits of shotguns vs. AR15s came up in the context of defensing yourself in a riot. Another member offered the opinion that Kyle Rittenhouse would been better served with a semiauto shotgun or even a side by side (SxS).

This is an edited version of my reply:

An AR15 or other semiauto rifle is an ideal choice for protecting oneself in a riot. As demonstrated by Kyle Rittenhouse, 5.56mm at close range is devastating, while offering light recoil and the ability to carry a lot of ammo while not weighing much.

A SxS shotgun is better than a sharp stick but when confronted with multiple attackers I don’t want to have to reload after only two shots. KR actually fired at 4 different individuals, all at bad breath range.

Something that needs to be noted is that these Antifa guys pressed the attack even after watching one of their buddies get killed. The old saw that a group of criminals will disperse after you drop one or two cannot be depended upon to be true when dealing with Antifa. IMHO, they need to be regarded more like determined insurgents than as criminals.

Also note the importance of a sling for weapon retention. One of the shootees, I think Pedo Dwarf, tried to pull KR’s rifle away from him before being shot. The sling prevented that. A bayonet might also be helpful for weapon retention.

A semiauto shotgun would have worked as well for KR as the AR15, at the expensive of additional recoil and the ability to carry less ammo. Also at the expense of shorter effective range (although that would not have been a factor in this incident).

Today’s AR15s are a far cry from the M16s fielded in Vietnam with no cleaning kits and poor maintenance instructions. Especially in a relatively clean (i.e., no blowing sand or mud baths) environment like an American city, an AR15 with good ammo and magazines, and properly lubricated will function very well.

A Mini-14 or AK would serve just as well.

AAMOF, I am looking once again at my M1 Carbines because they are so light and handy.

I have a 1943 Underwood and a 1944 Rock Ola. Both have been fitted with Wolff extra power recoil springs and have been checked for function with Remington 110 grain JSPs. Gelatin tests of that load result in permanent cavities similar in size to those produced by 5.56mm M-193 ball.

The Underwood used to be my road trip gun. I had it in a replica of an M1A1 paratrooper folding stock but this week put it back into the original stock because it’s more ergonomic. It has an Ultimak rail on it, replacing the handguard. I’ve had it with a Bushnell TRS-25 but I am going to swap that for a Primary Arms micro RDS with a longer battery life, and rezero. I’m also going to add a Rogers Rail Light.

I have an Italian surplus bayonet on order for it. (grin)

USGI Carbines have gone way up in price in the past few years but from what I’ve read the current production Auto Ordnance Carbines are good. (Early production apparently had issues.) Fulton Armory Carbines are also supposed to be good to go.

Nowadays, my CZ Scorpion Micro is my road trip gun. I have a laptop backpack that fits the gun, several spare magazines, a multitool, IFAK, and an Israeli battle dressing. The CZ is fitted with a Primary Arms micro RDS with a 50,000 hour battery life, Olight weapon light, and a Magpul sling. The gun is zeroed at 25 yards; shooting a little low at 50.