Starting with the premise that you have considered other alternatives and have decided a rifle fits your needs as a home defensive weapon let us take a look at what might be available to you. The rifle has a lot to offer in the way of home defense. Modern semi-automatic rifles enjoy a large capacity feeding device, reliability, and sufficient accuracy. When I am asked about choosing a rifle for home defense, my typical response is to consider an AR-15 patterned rifle from a well-respected manufacture such as Colt, BCM, Smith and Wesson, or Daniel Defense. There are many other companies producing America’s favorite rifle, many of which make an excellent product. Such a rifle should be equipped with a sighting device equal to your perceived needs. If your plan is to use the rifle primarily as a tool for indoor defense, a simple red dot type optic will serve you well. If you want the ability to see, discern, and engage targets at further distances, then consider a variable power scope that starts on the low end, or at 1 power, Finally, I would strongly encourage attaching a flashlight to the rifle. Being able to discriminate targets, in low light is crucial. With a rifle, manipulating the light with one hand and employing the firearm with another hand is needlessly complicated. Attaching the light to the rifle, eliminates this complication.

As for caliber, the 5.56 millimeter is fine for most defensive purposes. The round has proven itself globally, despite the occasional outlier report of ineffectiveness, a properly placed 5.56 mm round will do the job. And if follow up shots are needed to address the threat, you should have sufficient ammunition in your magazine. There is an abundance of choices available to the consumer that are designed to fit the needs of the self defense shooter in this round.

Having said all that, take a moment to note that I am writing this as a member of California Tactical Academy (CTA). California labors under some very misguided, and draconian firearms laws, not the least of which makes the AR-15 pattern rifle unavailable in its current form. However, capitalism being what it is, the market has responded with some suitable alternatives. If you want something that looks less like an AR-15, but still uses a magazine for easy reloading, then the Ruger Mini-14 is an excellent choice. The Mini-14 is robust, uses the 5.56 mm round, is magazine fed, and in it’s most current form, demonstrates suitable accuracy. The Mini-14 also can be equipped with an optic, mounted directly to the receiver. And if you want something that launches a larger bullet, Ruger also makes the Mini-30. The Mini-30 is visually similar to the Mini-14 however it will use the readily available 7.62 X 39 round. There are some reports of the Mini-30 being finicky about using cheap, steel cased surplus ammunition so caveat emptor.

In the case where you want an AR-15 design, that is legal to own in California, there is the “featureless” alternative. This is a rifle manufactured using standard AR-15 designs and common components, but removes the features deemed dangerous by California legislatures. Typically, the featureless rifle will have a stock with no pistol grip. The muzzle will employ a brake, not a flash suppressor and the stock will be fixed. Other items, such as a grenade launcher, forward pistol grip, and thumbhole stocks are also absent on featureless rifles.

If you decide to purchase a featureless rifle, there are a growing number of choices. I’m certain many will perform to standard, however I cannot recommend any particular brand at this time, since so many rifles are currently entering the market. Whatever you decide to buy, bring it to our one-day class to ensure it will function as expected, and get familiar with it. We will see you at the range!

About the writer

27 years experience as law enforcement officer. 19 years SWAT including sniper, assaulter, team sergeant.
FBI certified firearm instructor. MP5 and Sub Machine gun instructor. Defensive tactics instructor. Police Academy instructor.
13 years US Army with multiple overseas deployments. Airborne, SOTIC, PSD, SRT, small arms armorer, various other military schools.
Faculty member, California State University, Northridge. Faculty member, Ventura College.
Hobbies include outdoor sports, hunting, competitive shooting.