Ayoob Talks About AR15s And Home Invasions

With the recent revelation by the National Shooting Sports Foundation that the Modern Sporting Rifle is a common use firearm totaling nearly 50% of rifle sales, TGM reached out to Massad Ayoob, renowned firearms trainer and Interim President of the Second Amendment Foundation for his thoughts on AR-15s and home invasions.

When it comes to magazine capacity limits, Ayoob thinks they are foolish, and put the homeowner at a distinct disadvantage.

“Sure, the home invader is the actor,” he observed, “and the defender is the reactor and is generally caught by surprise. The invader can carry all the guns he wants, all the ammunition he wants, and bring all the armed friends that he wants. The home defender is likely to be acting alone, barely have time to grab the gun, and is certainly not going to have time to throw on a bandolier of ammunition.

“Capacity is certainly a relevant advantage,” he continued. “Another advantage of the AR-15 is that it is so easy to shoot well, and if you have the telescoping stock, it will fit any member of the household who is authorized to use it.

“People tend to think of the rifle the same way they do a pistol,” Ayoob added. “Your pistol is your personal weapon, it’s like your clothing, nobody wears it but you, kind of like a police officer’s issued service pistol. The point of a home defense weapon is that it tends to be a pool weapon, it’s like the issued shotgun in a patrol car, and in a given day 3 different sizes of officers might have to access it. If you have a 6-foot husband and a 5-foot wife, with the AR-15 rifle and a telescoping stock it adapts in an instant to the user.”

Ayoob also said the AR has relatively light recoil and is a very intimidating weapon to face.

“Generally in most armed citizen situations when the bad guy sees the gun, he turns and runs,” he stated. “Now if we are hoping for intimidation so there is no bloodshed on either side. If the AR-15 the gun that for 2 generations has made politicians, newspaper publishers, and media moguls wet their pants, hopefully, it will be that much more intimidating to the offender, and therefore that much more likely to end without bloodshed.”

Ayoob offered some advice about preventive measures against a home invasion before someone tries to break in. Always start with a hardened perimeter, he advised. Solid doors in solid door frames help, with really good locks. Today it’s inexpensive to have intercoms and closed-circuit TV so the homeowner can see who and what is outside. A lot of home invasions start with a knock on the door, he noted. And any member of the household now, without having to open the door, can check the closed-circuit TV and see who is actually out there.

Ayoob is a prolific author on self-defense topics, is a prominent handgun competitor, a preeminent trainer in self-defense, and is the founder of the Massad Ayoob Group as well as the Interim President of the Second Amendment Foundation.