Rifles and shotguns. Better penetration and stopping power. Most rifle rounds can penetrate common body armors, and a 12ga shotgun with slugs can make someone wearing kevlar wish they hadn’t been. The minor amount of maneuverability you lose from carrying a ‘long gun’ is more than made for by their power and efficiency.
both are chambered in 5.56, which is a very common round, so they’re cheap and easy to source, and plenty of power without having much in the way of recoil. It will penetrate most soft body armors, but level 4 kevlar, ceramic, or steel plate armors will stop it. The rounds are also boat tail, which according to some people makes it unstable once it hits a soft target meaning it won’t over penetrate, I can’t say if that’s true or not, but there’s plenty of high speed videos of 5.56 hitting ballistics gel that does show this.
A rifle in chambered in .308 would also be also be a good choice for a lot of scenarios for the same reasons as above, but most .308 rifles will be significantly heavier than 5.56 due to the size of the round, requiring everything to be larger. The larger overall size also means more powder which means more power, which means less things will stop it, but it will kick significantly harder.
Don’t count out a 12ga though, shotguns very versatile weapons with a huge variety of ammo types from birdshot to dragons breath to a slug for every situation, from less lethal to penetrators. You can even take a round of two of birdshot and some crayons and make something that can put a hole in a whole of things that birdshot shouldn’t be able to.
Rifles and shotguns. Better penetration and stopping power. Most rifle rounds can penetrate common body armors, and a 12ga shotgun with slugs can make someone wearing kevlar wish they hadn’t been. The minor amount of maneuverability you lose from carrying a ‘long gun’ is more than made for by their power and efficiency.
Gotcha. I’m looking at 12ga shotguns next, but maybe I should look at rifles…
if I could make a recommendation or two
https://ruger.com/products/mini14RanchRifle/models.html
or if you’re feeling industrious and have access to the tools and space
https://www.80-lower.com/products/forged-fire-safe-marked-80-lower-assembly/ https://www.80-lower.com/products/5-56-ar-15-rifle-kit-16-parkerized-barrel-1-8-twist-15-mlok-handguard/
both are chambered in 5.56, which is a very common round, so they’re cheap and easy to source, and plenty of power without having much in the way of recoil. It will penetrate most soft body armors, but level 4 kevlar, ceramic, or steel plate armors will stop it. The rounds are also boat tail, which according to some people makes it unstable once it hits a soft target meaning it won’t over penetrate, I can’t say if that’s true or not, but there’s plenty of high speed videos of 5.56 hitting ballistics gel that does show this.
A rifle in chambered in .308 would also be also be a good choice for a lot of scenarios for the same reasons as above, but most .308 rifles will be significantly heavier than 5.56 due to the size of the round, requiring everything to be larger. The larger overall size also means more powder which means more power, which means less things will stop it, but it will kick significantly harder.
Don’t count out a 12ga though, shotguns very versatile weapons with a huge variety of ammo types from birdshot to dragons breath to a slug for every situation, from less lethal to penetrators. You can even take a round of two of birdshot and some crayons and make something that can put a hole in a whole of things that birdshot shouldn’t be able to.
Look for a gun store/range that’s affiliated with https://www.pinkpistols.org/ or https://www.blazingsword.org/