Would you use a Class 3 machine gun to defend your home?

Question

Would you use a Class 3 weapon (full auto machine gun) to defend your home from an armed intruder? If you have a full automatic M-16 purchased legally by paying the ATF transfer $300 tax and a armed intruder breaks into your home with evil intentions, would you defend yourself with it? Would the BATF take this full automatic weapon from your hands because you defended your home with it?

Answer 1

The BATF probably wouldn't give you any grief, as long as the local cops ruled the shooting a good one. But your M-16 would spend some time in a police evidence locker, until the local DA decided on the merits of the shooting.

To answer your question, yes, If I had a legal Class III Weapon, I'd use it for home defense, if I thought the proper choice.  It would not be the first gun I reached for though.  In general, I prefer handguns, lever-action carbines in pistol calibers, or pump shotguns for home defense firearms rather than full-automatic weapons.

Doc

Answer 2

Not unless the intruder was a flesh eating zombie and brought a bunch of his friends.

I think a select fire weapon would be over kill for my situation.

If someone breaks into my place with the intent to do harm to me and mine they'll be getting a buckshot shampoo.

Answer 3

Yes, I would defend myself and my family with one if I had nothing better available to use and no they wouldn't confiscate my lawfully obtained/maintained property without a legal battle and a media circus.

Answer 4

If it was the only weapon I had available, I would first kick myself in the azz for not being responsible enough to have a good home protection gun close.

And then I may consider using it, depending on where in the house my wife and kids were. If they were anywhere near or behind the intruder then I guess we would go hand to hand combat because I would not risk my family

Remember, even in states with decent gun laws such as CHL.

If you defend your self and kill the intruder you are ok, but if that same bullet or bullets (in this case) go beyond your target   and injure or kill someone else you have just broken the law and you will be held accountable

Answer 5

If that was the only weapon reasonably available, yes, but on the semi-auto setting.

Yes, BATF would take it until you were cleared, if you are lucky they will consider police possession sufficient.

A Sergent I served with in the National Guard did so once, he had sold/traded all his other guns for the M16 he used, and it STILL took him over a year to get the M16 back, even though he was never charged.

Answer 6

Only if defending it against zombies

Answer 7

I'd use a truck, a rock, a brass band or anything else I could get my hands on in an emergency to protect my family from an intruder. Would I use the class 3 if I had a better choice? no, I'd make darn sure I had a proper self defense weapon, suited for use inside a home, that would not endanger my family in another room, or a neighbor.

shoot safe

Answer 8

You really don't need such a gun.  Any short barrel shotgun, or any type of handgun will keep you and your family safe.

I personally wouldn't use a type 3.

Answer 9

I'd use what ever I have available to me at the time and judging by your multiple questions about home defence I'm starting to wonder if your paranoid or itching to shoot someone.

Remember the internet is monitored by the Fed's

Answer 10

A full auto gun is an extremely poor choice of weapon for defending your home.  The problem is where are all of those bullets going that don't stop in the bad guys rotten carcass?  Those that miss are going to go somewhere and those that penetrate his stinkin' carcass are going to go somewhere, but where?  Perhaps through the wall of your room and into the next room where a member of your family is sleeping?  Perhaps across the street and into your neighbor's house?  Instead of taking a "spray and pray" approach, you should use a handgun that is loaded with cartridges loaded with frangible bullets.  Frangible bullets such as those in Glazer ammo will not penetrate the bad guy but will come apart inside him and the pieces will go everywhere.  His insides will turn into a leaky mess.  Pretty bad for the bad guy.  If you miss, the bullet will break apart when it hits something solid and not be an over penetration problem.  The frangible bullets will not roccochet because they will break apart upon hitting a surface from which a regular bullet would roccochet.

Because the bullets are designed to break apart, they will not work in a full auto gun.  They will break apart in the gun and jam it.  They work best in a revolver.  My home defense weapon of choice is a .357 mag with Galzer bullets and a .44 mag. revolver with Glazer bullets in it.  I keep in practice with both of these guns so I am not worried about whether or not I can hit a bad guy if he comes into my house or becomes a threat to me or my family.  If you are not competent with a handgun, then by all means, use a shotgun and load it with something like #5 or #4 shot.  Either will make a bad hole in him but does not have the over penetration or roccochet problems of a rifle or handgun bullet.  Do not use buck shot or you will have possible over penetration problems.  If a load of #4 or #5 shot hits a bad guy, he is going to stop. Most gun encounters occur in under 15 feet.  At that distance, a shotgun will make a very large hole in whatever it hits.  It is an effective dererrant.

Answer 11

NAH: my first line of defense is a few M18A1 claymore mines by the entrance ways of my house! That has always stopped em right Now! Works on zombies and werewolf's also.The clean up is a pain thou!!

Answer 12

No, ur just protecting ur family. U can't arrest somebody cause they protected their family by shooting a robber. It's called self defense. Yes, i'd use anything i had to protect my family. What would u do if someone was pointing a gun at ur brother's head? Stand there and watch? h**l no! I'd probably shoot whatever i had at them.

Answer 13

Only if there were no other more suitable weapon avalible to me.

While the other answerers state semi-correctly that an NFA weapon could technically be legally used to defend one's home, You'd face a lot of bad press and accusations by the prosecutor.

You'd be accused of obtaining the NFA weapon with the INTENT of shooting someone with it, while the BATF approved legal grounds for purchasing an NFA weapon are for the purposes of "investment, technical research, historical interest, and demonstration/competition".

The BATF doesn't approve civilian applications for the stated purpose of self-defense, and yes, you'll be asked by the BATF what you intend to do with an NFA weapon when applying for your tax stamp.

While this does not automatically mean that your NFA rights will be revoked by the BATF,  It doesn't mean they cannot revoke them if they decide to. Remember that they have earned a well-deserved reputation as "Jack-booted thugs" (to quote the JPFO), and I'd not willingly risk losing my 15,000$ investment if there was another firearm avalible for me to use.

http://www.jpfo.org

Answer 14

If that is all I have, I would use it. I don't think the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms would restrain your right to protect yourself and your family.

Answer 15

Could you use it to defend the home? Yes.

The Police will have lots of questions but you will have the Form 4 ( that's a $200 tax stamp on the document) as all the proof they need of a legal firearm. You will temporarily lose it pending the investigation. BATF will be notified because a registered machine gun was used resulting in injury or death.

Why was the machine gun used and not something else? That will definitely have the community asking why does he have that HORRIBLE THING IN HIS HOME????? So, it's a black eye on those of us who own NFA Firearms.

Answer 16

$200 stamp and yes I would.

Answer 17

NO.... The bullets that miss would sail thru walls and injure other family members, innocent bystanders outside, somebody driving by, the neighbors in the house next door..... Thats is such a bad idea all the way around...... Thats why they invented the 12 gauge shotgun....

Mossberg 500....

http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_...

Answer 18

Heck no.

#1 - "spray and pray" could injure someone in my home that I did not want to injure/kill.

#2 - Some of the rounds would end up in my neighbors houses, and could injure/kill them.

#3 - It would shoot up my own house.

And no.. your local sherriff/police would have to give you back your firearm, after no inditement and you proved you owned the firearm legally.

Answer 19

To defend my Home?

Why would you imagine that somebody wouldn't?

Is there anyone here or in your life that would seriously weigh the possibility of having his gun taken away against the rencpossibility of having his life taken away?

I  use the most effective tool in my inventory to get whatever job I need done

Why would defending my home and family be any different?

All situations are different

Maybe a full auto fits into the plan at the time, maybe it doesn't

I also don't limit myself to just one tool

What some are forgetting, especially those that say they would have no problem using another rifle, is that M16 and most other Class 3 weapons (yes they are referred to as class 3 weapons, don't believe me Google it) do not have to be used on full auto

personally if you are going to use a rifle for HD I think the select fire feature would not be bad thing

Answer 20

yes, I would use it if it was the colsest loaded firearm to me. No, the BATF won't take it away becuase you used it to protect your family. Also, it's not a "class 3." "Class 3" refers to the type of special occupational tax one pays to become a dealer of machienguns. Machineguns and otheNFA devices are more correctly referred to as "Title II firearms" (as opposed to "Title I firearms"....semi-auto rifles/pistols/shotguns, revolvers, single shots/bolt action, etc... Additionally, Title II firearms transfer on a $200 tax, not $300 (with the exception of AOWs...they transfer on a $5 tax.)