Caliber Question

Joined
Oct 13, 2019
Messages
69
Location
NYC
I am not that crazy about the .556. I am looking for a gun that I won't hunt with that has good stopping power. Something between .556 and .35. Thank you
 
Not hard to get at all, not terribly expensive (about .60/round, want stopping power as OP stated or a range gun that you just want cheap ammo to put through?), grew fast in popularity, not exactly "boutique", but not 556 either, superior stopping power.
 
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Of course, opinions on calibers are like buttocks, everybody has one
grin2.gif
 
"Won't hunt" + "Good stopping power" means defensive use, right?

In a semi-auto platform, excluding 5.56, your choices include The commonly available .300BLK, 7.62x51, 7.62x39. All three come in a wide variety of platforms. All three have good stopping power.

.300BLK has the most versatility; subsonic low recoil loads and supersonic high performance (relatively) loads. Not cheap but not terrible either. I bought a bunch for under .50/round

7.62x51 is the highest performing but heaven help you if you shoot that indoors. A bit more expensive than the .300 BLK but a wide variety of excellent performance ammo available.

7.62x39 is very cheap to buy, does as well as the .300 BLK supersonic.

What kind of platform are you looking for? Rifle? Pistol? Suppressed?

Your choices in New York are somewhat limited for semi-auto. I don't even know if suppressed is an option.
 
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Maybe go lever action carbine? .357 mag is reasonably priced, with good stopping power from a rifle barrel, and I think you're allowed to own one where you are... NYC as a location makes it tough.

I'm a fan of the .45-70 for a variety of reasons, but that's above your caliber limit... still, I hope to pick up a lever action .45-70 one day.
 
Originally Posted by rrretiree7
I am not that crazy about the .556. I am looking for a gun that I won't hunt with that has good stopping power. Something between .556 and .35. Thank you


What exactly do you mean by ‘stopping power'? Against humans? Bears? Something else?

The local police carry AR15s instead of shotguns. They typically fire one round in an incident because the person they shoot stops doing whatever after the first round.

Very few people shot by the police locally with a AR15 survive being shot once.

556 with good bullets is very effective at dropping people. If I couldn't do that I'd look at 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel.

7.62x39 does work, but the poor ballistics don't help you. For example, I zero my AK at 200 yards but at 100 yards I'm roughly 4.5" high. That's enough to make you miss a headshot if you're among center mass of the head. 556 would have me about 2 inches high at 100 yards with a 200 yard zero.

BSW
 
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I'm going to go with this recommendation for caliber and platform:

M1 carbine in .30 carbine.

Historic. Collectible. Effective. Reasonable ammo piece.

And legal in your jurisdiction.
 
Seeing that you livein NYC I'm going to assume that 95% of the time a defensive encounter will occur indoors. You don't want to fire rifle rounds indoors.

Based upon that I would say

Any small caliber pistol round (.38, .357, .357 sig, .40, .44, .45). Whatever is allowed by law in NYC.

OR

Shotgun (shortest barrel allowed by law) chambered with: 00 buckshot or slugs.
 
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Lightweight rifle bullets are the least penetrating choice against common indoor building materials.

It's counterintuitive but true.

BSW
 
There "were" plastic tipped bullets for the 7.62X39. I have some that were made in Germany. Used by police for indoor work. Not what you would call a "rubber bullet", but designed to work as intended without overpenetrating walls.

Unfortunately, after many years in storage, they will no longer work the semi-auto action. They did when I first bought them. Maybe would work better in a pistol version of this weapon.
 
Unless you're planning on long-range shooting, I'd just go for 7.62x39. Ammo is plentiful and cheap, and it's accurate enough for government work.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Agree but the OP lives in NYC...

So, what can he actually buy/own?


That's the first thing you have to know. The Marlin .357 may be problematic there.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
Really? Even lever guns are prohibited?

Perhaps I should recommend a pointed stick...


I think they banned those too as ‘assault sticks' after a rash of drive by pokings.

BSW
 
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