34 Best Rifles for Home Defense

Long guns are arguably superior to pistols for home defense purposes. The added control that you get with three points of contact on a weapon provide a more stable, accurate, intuitive and familiar operation which can lead to more effective use. While shotguns provide incredible energy on target, the recoil and the low capacity might not be the best choice for less-experienced gun owners.
If you're considering a rifle for home defense, there are some things you need to consider. Houses have lots of corners and doors, and navigating through them is difficult with long firearms. Most instructors will tell you that anything over 36" long is too long to be effective. The shorter, the better. You also need to consider collateral damage. Bullets can easily go through the drywall and lumber that make up the walls of your house. If you live in an apartment, using a rifle can cause plenty of safety issues for your neighbors. Make sure you train.
We gathered a list of rifles chambered in calibers from 9mm and .45ACP up to 5.56 and 7.62x39. All of these rifles take detachable magazines and most can accept 20+ round capacities. Some of them are Short Barreled Rifles (SBR) which are federally-regulated NFA items.
Using the arrows, vote guns up or down to let us know which guns you would consider for home defense!

From $1087.15

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Ruger Mini-14

Factory New Ruger Mini-14 GB Police Specifications .223 Collapsable stock Adjustable ghost ring sight Blade front sight with side guards 16" Barrel Garand Type Safety read more

GunCritic Score

95%

User Rating

99%

#34

Best AR15 Alternatives for Competition

#10

Best Women's Rifles

#35

Best AR15 Alternatives

#51

Best Hunting Rifles

From $415.51

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Just Right Carbines Classic Gen3

Title: JRC 9 16.25 TB CLPS BLK 33 Short Description: Just Right Carbine 9mm 16.25 Inch Threaded Barrel Collapsible M4 Stock Black Finish Quad Rail Forend 33 Round Glock Magazine Detailed Description:... read more

GunCritic Score

81%

User Rating

99%

#24

Best Women's Rifles

Best Pistol Caliber Carbines

#24

Best Pistol Caliber Carbine

From $1785.00

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IWI Tavor X95

The new Tavor X95 is the next generation bullpup from IWI US, Inc. Upgrades and enhancements from the original TAVOR SAR include a new fire control pack with a 5-6 lb. trigger pull, repositioning of t... read more

GunCritic Score

99%

User Rating

99%

#19

Best Bullpups for Home Defense

#15

Best Bullpups

#24

Best AR15 Alternatives for Competition

#34

Best AR15 Alternatives

From $1447.38

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KRISS Vector Gen 2 CRB Black

Experience one of the most innovative developments in modern firearms technology with the patented KRISS Vector Platform. At the heart of each Vector is the Super V Recoil Mitigation System. This uniq... read more

GunCritic Score

93%

User Rating

99%

Best Pistol Caliber Carbines

Best 9mm Rifles

From $1354.90

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Kahr Thompson M1

Here is a .45 caliber semi-automatic version of the world's first and most famous military rifle. The Thompson M1 was used victoriously in battles throughout the world, inscribing its place for all ti... read more

GunCritic Score

100%

User Rating

99%

#30

Best Surplus and Reproduction Firearms

From $1019.15

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Kel-Tec RDB

Like no ordinary bullpup, the RDB series of rifles redefines the platform. You’ve never experienced balance or a trigger quite like this in any other design. The RDB is completely ambidextrous due to... read more

GunCritic Score

92%

User Rating

99%

#18

Best Assault Rifles

#32

Best AR15 Alternatives

#27

Best Modern Sporting Rifles

#12

Best Bullpups

From $636.68

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Kel-Tec SU-16

FAMILY: SU-16 Series MODEL: SU-16 TYPE: Rifle ACTION: Semi-Auto FINISH: Matte Blue STOCK/FRAME: Collapsible / Folding Stock STOCK/GRIPS: Tan Synthetic CALIBER/GAUGE: 223 Rem 5.56 NATO CAPACI... read more

GunCritic Score

93%

User Rating

99%

Best AR15 Alternatives

Best Modern Sporting Rifles

#10

Best AR15 Alternatives for Competition

From $524.00

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Kel-Tec Sub CQB

The 9mm SUB CQB was developed with personal defense in mind. Integrated noise suppression offers a tactical advantage while protecting the defender from decibel chaos. We highly recommend you utilize... read more

GunCritic Score

50%

User Rating

99%

#11

Best Rifles For Home Protection

#29

Best 9mm Rifles

From $1742.99

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M1 Carbine

The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and t... read more

GunCritic Score

86%

User Rating

99%

Best Surplus and Reproduction Firearms

#54

Best Pistol Caliber Carbines

#11

Best Rifles

From $3248.99

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Q LLC Honey Badger SD

The OG Honey Badger was developed at AAC by previous owner and Q Founder, Kevin Brittingham and his R&D team at the request of an elite US special operations group looking to replace their MP5-SD’s wi... read more

GunCritic Score

50%

User Rating

99%

#14

Best 300 Blackout Rifles

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