Help me understand why people need assault rifles to protect themselves

Several reasons appear to my mind concerning use of Carbines for self defense. First off is the proper terminology for these rifles. A military grade Assault rifle fires full automatic, a civilian grade semi-auto, is known as a carbine. carbines are useful if you have a mass break in in a urban environment, here in the country that can be even worse, cell phones are notorious for failing, 911 help is a minimum of 30 minutes out, and you are on your own.
Also: hiking in the country, you encounter nasty forms of wildlife, aka "Non-human" threats, such as packs of Cyotes, some with rabies, Bob-cat, and Rattlesnakes in large numbers...frankly for me, a 30 round mag is way too small for this.
Some folks obsess over the man vs man issues exclusivly, and forget that nature can be nasty, in herself..

My reason for wanting one is 1: they're fun to shoot. 2) Ever see the movie Red Dawn? It could very well happen. I'd hate to be stuck on single shot and the enemy has a higher rate of fire. Also, like Greywolf says, Nature can be nasty. I'd hate to be out in the boonies and have a bear or something as dangerous trying to maul me. As for pistols, they don't have the same range. Sometimes you need something that can shoot further.
I would also like to add that I have problems with the term "Assault Rifle". I call them "Defense Rifles" but that's just me.

It is because I, and YOU are in the militia and at the beckoned call of the government.

Bet you didn't know that LAW THAT IS ON THE BOOKS:

www.law.cornell.edu...

(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are—
(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and

(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.


Since I am in the militia, and so are YOU, I choose to have the best weapon possible not knowing what the enemy might be.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

No one, least of you, will like my answer. The truth is that the AR-15 is a spray and pray weapon, and as it's sold in the US it isn't automatic; you can fix that with a bump stock, but...........whatever. The real reason most people buy them is because they're fun to shoot and they look cool and are easy to accessorize. You can buy a myriad of scopes and laser sight systems etc. for these weapons. Are they useful in a self-defense situation? That entirely depends on the individual's training. They're more useful than a rock or a baseball bat. Against trained offensive tacticians such as a SWAT team or the Navy Seals, probably not so much in the hand of the week end warrior.

As far as home defense against the typical crackpot druggie or druggie and his friends, it would be useful if you've done some homework and practice around your home and training. But then again............so is the old faithful 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Its really about taste and interest and hobby craft.

There are times, hiking with a 7 year old cousin, out in the backwoods of West Virginia, that the standard pistol or pump action is just not practical. An old school, m-1 carbine or a more modern mini-14 or ar-15 is much handier if you happen upon a nest of rattlers or a pack of coyotes out for lunch. Mind you, that's a rare occurance, but it still occasionally happens, and if it does , you'd be wanting the rapid rate plus capicity..

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: Thecakeisalie

No one, least of you, will like my answer. The truth is that the AR-15 is a spray and pray weapon, and as it's sold in the US it isn't automatic; you can fix that with a bump stock, but...........whatever. The real reason most people buy them is because they're fun to shoot and they look cool and are easy to accessorize. You can buy a myriad of scopes and laser sight systems etc. for these weapons. Are they useful in a self-defense situation? That entirely depends on the individual's training. They're more useful than a rock or a baseball bat. Against trained offensive tacticians such as a SWAT team or the Navy Seals, probably not so much in the hand of the week end warrior.

As far as home defense against the typical crackpot druggie or druggie and his friends, it would be useful if you've done some homework and practice around your home and training. But then again............so is the old faithful 12 gauge pump action shotgun. Its really about taste and interest and hobby craft.

"Spray and pray?" Nonsense! My former USMC primary marksmanship instructor would laugh at that suggestion. The AR platform is one of the more accurate rifles out there and are used in service rifle completions every year. Qualifications in the Marines included a 500 yard iron site course. That "spray and pray" nonsense is just as silly as the "thing that goes up" barrel shroud.

Have you been paying attention to what is going on around the world?

Why do we need our guns

Listen -
1)The only reason Japan did not attack the homeland back in the day according to the Japaneses Commanding General was because they knew behind every door in America there was a GUN.

2) Based on what we are seeing thousands of U.N. trucks are staging around the U.S. have you asked your self WHY?

3) Being a Vet I do not plan on being out matched by anyone foreign and domestic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4) Our Second Amendment rights have you read your Constitution

Besides if SHTF who do you think will be the first person you see the cops or your neighbors?

God Bless

a reply to: TonyS

Tony, the .223 center fire ".22" is an extremely accurate round.

There are two large components involved in the accuracy of a weapon. 1. The human shooter and 2. the firearm.

At 500 yards, 99,999 firearms out of 100,000 are more accurate than the shooter.

An AR-15 will consistently hit within a five inch bull at 500 yards.

I believe the government may at one point break down to the point people in some areas are left to protect themselves.

I know many veterans will band tougher to do what they have to patrol there towns and rural areas.

Something like a 8 point on the Richter magnitude scale earthquake in LA calif or another New Madrid earthquake

then you also have the risk of Mega-tsunamis on both east and west coasts
en.wikipedia.org...
earthquake.usgs.gov...

plus the small but there risk of a large asteroid impact anyplace in the US

a 500 to 1000 foot asteroid impact could take out the government control in a large part of the US
www.astronomycafe.net...

originally posted by: spirited75
a reply to: TonyS

Tony, the .223 center fire ".22" is an extremely accurate round.

There are two large components involved in the accuracy of a weapon. 1. The human shooter and 2. the firearm.

At 500 yards, 99,999 firearms out of 100,000 are more accurate than the shooter.

An AR-15 will consistently hit within a five inch bull at 500 yards.

Got the H-Bar AR-15 that shot clover leafs at 100 yards using 2700 FPS ammo and 4" groups at 100 YDS using 3370 FPS.

Test the mag as well to see if it matters as I was told by the MTU Gunny at Stony Pt. USMC base.

You can crown the muzzle to fix the bullet speed and weight or load the ammo to fix the rifle.

Resonances of frequency must match to achieve the tightest group.

Good shooting.

Another tip is to buy an adjustable Harris Bi-Pod that is high enough to use the sitting position because if your in tall grass you'll want to be shooting above the blades of grass and then be able to lay back down out if sight.
A good sitting position is just about as good as prone for accuracy.

Try using NuFinish car polish to lube the bore and see if it dose what my Olympic shooting buddies say.
No Snake Oil BS as many have talked about will do as they tend to cause dynamic resistance and dirty the bore with burnt powder.

It's a visual deterrent. There's a psychological difference of having a snub nosed revolver pointed at you versus a M4A1 pointed at you.

Also it is my personal belief that this is why no one has the balls to invade America on it's own soil, because 1 in 3 homes own a registered firearm, that isn't counting all the homes that could possibly have unregistered handguns.

I can assure you that if any invading army found themselves in the ghettos of the US they would be in for a hell of a surprise.

a reply to: spirited75

No argument from me; I shoot .223 all the time.

But, well.................I'm not seeing that much accuracy from the crowd at the range. But, gotta give them credit, they keep trying. A lot!

The other aspect to self / familly defence is this: what do you the individual, feel comfortable using. My wife, 5 foot 98 pound lady would not pick up my Mossin -nagant as the thing is as tall as her and way too heavy to handle, though I'd go for the hard hitting .30 caliber shell it throws. She won't think twice about picking up the .30 Caliber model 1 carbine, though....to quote my nephew, "She emptied the whole mag already???"" 90 % of choosing any firearm is what the operator thinks they can handle..

Because if warrior-like tribes merge then we want to take a greater portion of them out than they will of us.

originally posted by: TonyS
a reply to: spirited75

But, well.................I'm not seeing that much accuracy from the crowd at the range. But, gotta give them credit, they keep trying. A lot!

Not everyone's blessed with pure talent.

a reply to: waltwillis

Try using NuFinish car polish to lube the bore and see if it dose what my Olympic shooting buddies say.
No Snake Oil BS as many have talked about will do as they tend to cause dynamic resistance and dirty the bore with burnt powder.

I started using "Gun Juice" (Microlon) a couple of years ago and am thoroughly sold on it. There is a vid on you tube about how to treat the bore. Basically swab the bore with it, shoot a round, swab the bore with it, and repeat for a total of 10 times. My accuracy at 100 yards went from 4" groupings with 5 rounds to 2" groupings doing nothing else than using the Microlon. Works for me, hope it will for others.

Rock

The primary reason for the Second Amendment was not for personal defense against home invasion, it was to guarantee the ability of the American citizen to defend himself against invading enemies and tyrannical governments including his own.

That really should be the final answer to any "why" regarding firearm ownership. One need only to look at history's examples to learn that banning of privately-owned weapons is the first step of any successful tyrant... right before "ethnic cleansing" and other crimes against humanity are carried out. The founding fathers were a smart bunch of fellas.

originally posted by: Answer
The primary reason for the Second Amendment was not for personal defense against home invasion, it was to guarantee the ability of the American citizen to defend himself against invading enemies and tyrannical governments including his own.

That really should be the final answer to any "why" regarding firearm ownership. One need only to look at history's examples to learn that banning of privately-owned weapons is the first step of any successful tyrant... right before "ethnic cleansing" and other crimes against humanity are carried out. The founding fathers were a smart bunch of fellas.

AMEN!

originally posted by: InTheLight
Because if warrior-like tribes merge then we want to take a greater portion of them out than they will of us.

YES! The game of war is to win for there are no second place awards.
All is fair in love and war so it would be best to kill as many as you can in the shortest period of time as possible.
Nuke um till they glow and then shoot um in the dark...
WW3 should be the last big war.

a reply to: waltwillis


" WW3 should be the last big war."
That's what they said in 1918...
UNFORTUNATLY...