Socom II anyone?

[gringogigante]

Hola amigos,

I was thinking about the perfect hunting/home defense rifle the other day. What would be a rifle that was powerful enough to hunt all Texas game (I'm accurate out to 300-400 yards at most) yet small enough to use for home defense if need be (i.e. can manipulate it in a hallway or small space).

The only ones I could think of were a carbine length lever action and Springfield's Socom II. I love the semi-auto nature of the Socom and am leaning towards that.....

Anyone here have one or have any thoughts?

 

[M. Sage]

AR in 6.8mm (CQB round that'll kill anything in Texas, but falls off a bit past 300 yards). AR in 6.5 Grendel (better past 300 yards, but not so much a CQB round).

Find an AK with the mounting rail on the side of it, put a low-power scope on and it's good to 400 yards or so...

I'm not a big fan of the SOCOM II... I shot one and was unimpressed by the sights and all the freaking rails. The front sight on the SOCOM II feels like it's a mile wide - when I shot it I noted that it was covering an 8" target at 50 yards.

One thing to consider if you want to use it is that without hearing protection, this thing will deafen you very quickly. The muzzle blast is ridiculous (.308 in a 16" barrel...) as is the muzzle flash (you get one good shot at night, then you're blind).

 

[Texas1911]

Unless you live out in the country a .308 is rather dicey. Even if you hit someone with the round it's going to go in and out and on it's way to whatever is behind it. A single round can easily go through most, if not all of, your house.

The muzzle report on the Socom is insanely loud, you will lose your hearing, and probably your balance if you fired it indoors. It will disorient you in a hallway for sure. On top of the night sight problem.

They are accurate, and they are easy to manipulate, but so are alot of AR15 options, and if you aren't taking long shots, the AK is a nice choice. I wouldn't put any old AK out at 400 yards, you'd have to spend a little and get a quality one for that kind of range.

 

[mmay1]

I am not sure there is a "one rifle" that fits the bill here. A lever 30-30 is the closest I can think of but it could be dicey in the house.

I have a SOCOM (not the II, I was not crazy about all the extra hardware), which I bought "just because." I think it has "home defense" applications only in the most extreme circumstances, such as a breakdown in social order. It's a bit heavy for hunting, at least for me. I had been warned to expect an extreme muzzle blast but did not actually find that to be the case. I have not fired it at night, however, and it may well be a flame thrower and the proprietary suppressor keeps me from going to something like a Vortex. It is fun to shoot and comforting to have, but for hunting and home defense...probably not.

 

[Texas1911]

Outdoors the gun is loud, but indoors it's one of the louder guns you can own. There's alot of concussive wash due to the short barrel and mostly the factory brake.

 

[M. Sage]

Outdoors the gun is loud, but indoors it's one of the louder guns you can own. There's alot of concussive wash due to the short barrel and mostly the factory brake.

Having shot one and shot next to several at an outdoor range that had covered firing areas, I can tell you that the earlier comment about possibly losing your balance due to the concussion isn't too far from the mark. You very well might lose equilibrium.

At least you won't need flash-bangs.