I'm going to ignore that "most liberals" comment.

The Garand is a fine weapon. I own one. But it's a long-distance weapon unless you intend to use it as a club. Whatever conflict you and I are about to confront requires something in the close combat role.

If you insist on the long-range potential of the M1, but want something with less opportunity to bite your thumb, I suggest the M-14. It was what I was trained on and it is a beautiful rifle, phased out only because it tends to ride up on full auto. But in single shot or three-round bursts, the 14 is a great weapon. It's what I would grab in a heartbeat.

Still, in today's urban environment, you're looking at a carbine, perhaps. In that case, I'd suggest the H&K MP5. Comes in a variety of permutations, folding stock, banana clip, etc. It is a sweet weapon, one of the finest I've fired. Throws 9s like grandma threw chicken feed, but with more accuracy. No offense to grandma.

But, as one of my instructors said, "For home defense, nothing beats a Remington or Mossberg pump." He racked the shotgun. "That there," he said, "is the barking dog of firearms."

So, I have a Remington, an M1, my GI Colt .45 (because I am seriously old school) and a Browning .22 for close in and desperate work.

Stick with the classics, Bob. Cary, where you live, is about as safe as Disneyland.

But you'll absorb some firearm history, at the least.

>>"one being a 5.56 Garand"

Isn't that what the Mini-14 is? A 5.56mm (.223) verion of the M-14 rifle, which itself was the Garand with a bigger mag?

There is an M1 like you describe made by Beretta called the BM59. I had one and it is about a foot shorter than the M1 and it was a 308 NATO. It was built under license for the Italian army. Mine had a bipod and it was my boat gun in Fl. during the boat drug hijacking days.

Terrenoire? Gross. Why would anyone believe anything you say? Ugh.

CY, I've always liked bulpup style weapons, but I think it's only because they're a little weird with the magazine placement. It seems a bit overly complicated.

For example, the brass has to travel something like 18 inches inside the weapon, before it's ejected. That seems like a good way for the cycle to get mucked up. Instead of firing it and getting it out, an even more goofy design would be to have a crazy stray ejector tube.

Also their own site said this (caps by me):

"No open sights are provided, ALLOWING the user to select from the very best new optics and sight systems available."

Oh, they *allow* the user to use optics? Good. Good. Maybe they could sell a weapon with rail mounted iron sights? I dunno. So you can go to the range right away, or in case you don't feel like shelling out big bucks for the very best new optics.

My wishlist would be for someone to chamber an AR-15 or similar rifle in 6.5x45 and, yes I would jump all over the Ruger SR in 6.5x45. Seems like it would be very simple to tool for - the only change would be the barrel. IMO, would be the ultimate survival rifle, good for personal defense and taking game up to small deer.

I've been tempted to try it myself with a 6.5TCU chambered AR barrel, but I wonder if the "Improved" shoulder design would be a good idea in an autoloader. I may have to bite the bullet and order an SSK 6.5MPC upper, but that's a bit pricey.

A bullpup shottie would definitely be easier to manage inside a house, but I wonder if it's mean looks wouldn't be off-putting to a typical non-gun person. Such a gun is meant for only one thing: self-defense, and that's a mighty big hill for some people's psyche to climb.

Something like a Mossberg Bantam in 20 gauge might be less intimidating, as the argument can be made that it's a sporting gun. Lots of Hollywood celebrities and sports stars shoot clays, so it's a good entry-level gun as well as an effective home defense gun.

diogenes -
I have a friend who builds 6.5X45 uppers for AR's. Drop me a note if you want his number.

I save several firearms, but chose my 12 GA Pump Riot gun for general house protection. It stays loaded with 00 Buck. It also holds 10 rounds.

My backup is my Colt MKIV Series 70 .45 ACP That I bought new, as soon as I got back from Vietnam. I instinctively shoot well with it after almost 40 years of practice.

My other guns include an AR, but that is last resort. My other guns are for pure fun.

I'd love to see a "Baby Garand" in 5.56. Ruger could use a variation on the Mini-14 receiver, and do an 8-10 round enbloc clip (or a flush 8-10 round box magazine to keep the "classic" profile). Don't like the idea of the Picatinny segment-if you're going to call it a Garand, it ought to look like one.

The answer to the 'punishing' shotgun recoil would be to have available catridges that do not have the same powder charge as a hunting round. Buckshot for the 20' to 30' range, perhaps.

Ahh the shotgun. Let me count the ways.

Anyway. Yeah it is a great home defense firearm. But if you guys forget everything else I have ever said, remember this. Do not load it with anything less than #4 buck. Anything less will lack the velocity at 3 yd to reliably penetrate to vital organs. Yes you will get a mean looking shallow wound with bird shot, and that will likely turn away the normal intruder. But guys that are hopped up on something will not likely be stopped.

00 buck will sure do the trick. But it can have the tendency to over penetrate.

There is a 5.56 version of the Garand, it's the Ruger Mini-14. Of course it is based on the M-14 which is a magazine version of the M-1.

After reading I thought I should add....

Mossberg makes a home defense shotgun, the HS410, mode for home defense and women in mind. It has a number of features that make it very well suited to the roll. I know "410" , that couldn't be very useful?, but at close range it is as powerful as a rifle and easier to control than a pistol. The sound of the bolt is also universal for "Behave yourself!" They can be hard to find sometimes.

And I see that this has already been mentioned.
In classic rifles in 5.56 or .223, Ruger's mini-14, It is called the mini-14 because it is basically a scaled down M-14.

All you guys are just playing around.
Get serious, belt fed LAWS rocket. Now thats gonna wake up the neighbors. It will be easy to find the bad guys if you miss. A trail of odorous body fluids will lead you right to them. hahaha!!!

The wife and I both have Glock 17s. As easy to operate a revolver but with a whole lot more ammo.

capt26thga - a little hard on the plaster, perhaps?

I know this comment is a little late in the game, but the HD shotgun you've described was eerily similar to what a freind of mine once described.

Heres the kicker: He's a Marine veteran of the retaking of Fallujah. He had mentioned being dissatisfied with the M16A4 for urban combat, and I asked him what he thought the ideal tool for the scenario would be. His reply was a box magazine fed bullpup 20 Gauge shotgun with a smoothbore barrel.