mct601: and yes, the AR-15 is a horrible home defense. it will over penetrate and threaten anything in the surrounding area whether it be your family or your neighbors. my choice would definitely be a shotgun. and people prefer different guns to hunt with, in places where the deer are smaller- a .223 can get the job done. here in MS with our whitetail, it doesn't work.
Krypsyn: Ahh, yeah, you did say you had a 6.8 AR-15, right? My friend in question has a 5.56. so switching to a .223 hunting rifle rifle is pretty much apples/apples. He does have a 6.8mm upper, I think, he just hasn't gotten around to buying the lower (he got the 5.56 on special, so he is sated for now).
.223, the 6.8SPC was too expensive for me to buy at the time. when I do go bigger, I'm going 6.5 Grendel or dishing out the cash for a .308. and forget Hydra-Shoks, as mean as they are go with Remington Golden Sabres. the Sabres have a little more "oomph" to them than the Shoks.
mct601: Snippity snip long post here.
tb87670: I will agree that an AR-15 isn't good for home defense either. I will have to say though that buckshot will go through any common house unless it's made of concrete. I personally am not worried about overpenetration because hollow points don't seem to go too far through material. Also along with the pistols my brother has the police issue micro-flashlights that are brighter than spotlights and have a strobe button on them, that blinds me and anyone I tried it on so bad you will fall over yourself if you look at it in the dark. That's as good as a gun for me so I can beat the SOB with an axehandle after he's immobilized ;)
people don't realize just how powerful those lights are. they're not really made with the intention of illuminating an area- they're made to knock someone on their rear lol. I got flashed by a weak tactical light at a gunshow and I had a black dot in the middle of my eyesight for damn near the rest of the day. hollowpoints are definitely the best way to go though.