Okay, so it’* not a toy. But I finally "pulled the trigger" (pun intended) on exercising my 2nd Amendment rights this weekend. I purchased my first gun. Part of my justification was that I want a home defense weapon that is a little intimidating (as I'm moving to a somewhat rougher neighborhood in the next week). I also just plain wanted to learn to shoot and own my own rifle. Anywho, I bought a WASR10 with 2-30rd mags. Here she is after I tore it apart and cleaned all the damn cosmo off it.


I need to refinish the stock and foregrips as they look like poo, but it was in decent shape otherwise. I am on my way down to pick up some ammo so I can hopefully get some practice down at the range in the next few days.

I wanted to buy a nice semi-auto handgun, but there is only one shop in town that carries handguns. Although they have a good assortment, they ask list for most of them. So I'll have to wait on getting one until I save up some money and find another place to buy one.

Moving to a rougher neighborhood puts you in a better position to get that stolen. It was also a VERY poor choice for home defense.

Intimidating looking is going to get you in trouble too. If you pull it out, you better be ready to pull the trigger instead of waving it around and jacking a round in the chamber.

The proper choice of home defense firearm would have been a .45 Auto handgun. They are VERY highly rated for one-shot stops, and don't penetrate more than one or two walls at the most.

The higher velocity and relatively small caliber you chose will travel through your neighbor'* house.

Proper ammo selection should also be researched for LEGAL reasons to prevent you from getting into hot water should have to use it. Unfortunately, your choice of defense weapons can HANG you in court regardless of how 'right' you were. Ammo selection is also a big factor. You are far less likely to be prosecuted or sued if you use a simple semi-auto handgun instead of assault or assault-lookalike weapon.

Yeah, perhaps I didn't word that totally correct. Home defense was part of my justification of buying it (my excuse for splurging, as all I really intend to use it for is target practice; also, the neighborhood isn't that bad, but its just not as quiet as it is here with my parents.) I still plan to buy a handgun, as it is a much better choice for defense (can't be easily taken and the lower velocity bullets can stop on impact as you stated.) My friends that I will be living with have both a few shotguns and a 9mm Beretta- both better tools for the job. I realize that the AK47 makes people think "assault rifle," but I guess I'll have to live with that. I don't plan on taking it out it'* case unless she'* being cleaned or shot. So my neighbors should never have to see it. Also, I'm going to use only hollow points as they should be the best at stopping upon impact, if my understanding is correct- please correct me if I'm wrong.

I do appreciate your input. Sounds like a .45 is the way to go when I find the right pistol.

I hope this home that your moving to doesnt have any kids living in it. I think as long as you use your head youll be ok.

No kids, just a few friends renting a house. I have a trigger lock on it and a lock through the receiver (correct term?) to prevent anyone from trying to insert a magazine.

A dog in the house is worth 10 locked away guns.
Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

I tend to beleive that it would take WAY too long to actually put a gun to use to make it worthwhile for home defense. If you were broken into in the middle of the night you'd have to wake up, realize that noise that woke you really is an intruder, find your gun in the dark, find your keys to unlock the trigger, find the bullets and/or load it...do you stop to put some pants on before heading oout with your gun?
A good dog would have sent the intruder packing long before you even got out of bed.

Speak of the devil. There will be 2 dogs residing there as well. One is a well trained black lab and the other is an Australlian shepherd mix. So I really shouldn't have to worry about touching my gun at home unless WWIII hits the midwest.

There ya go!

9mm is a very poor choice for defense except in winter when most 'targets' will be wearing heavier clothing. The 9mm high velocity tends to over-penetrate and leave the target before it fully transfers it'* energy.

When choosing ammo for defense, pay attention to the name. Don't go with 'Golden Saber", Gold Dot sounds 'milder'. Seriously. Choose a good-performing ammo with a 'mild' name.

Never use handloads. It can be twisted in court to state that you loaded them specifically to KILL. Your goal in defense is not to kill or maim. It'* to STOP the attacker. I suggest STRONGLY that if you're going to own a firearm for even the remote possibility of defense, that you take a class. You need to know what you can and cannot do, and how to act AFTER the shooting. Your own freedom could depend on it, even if you were an intended victim.

Nice Romanian there. That'* about the best actual AK you can get, the Galil and Valmet can't really be called AKs anymore. Hit www.aimsurplus.com for ammo, they have mil-surp stuff for about the cheapest you can find. Good company too.
For a real self defense, think .45 like Will said. I have a Springfield XD Tactical in .45ACP:
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About the same price as a Glock, and in my opinion, a better pistol. 13+1 rounds, great grips, cleaning is a breeze, and I usually make a ragged 2inch circle at 15 yards. Not the most concealable piece in the world though.
My other self defense pieces:
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The rifle is an early model M44 Mosin Nagant. 5 rounds of steel-core 180gr. 7.62x54R, the bayonet is 12 inches long, and the entire rifle is possibly the best blunt instrument in the history of head contusions.
The other is Rover, a 2 year old cat. When people knock on the door, he hides in the cabinet where the cat food is.