PERSONAL DEFENSE
Unlikely Home Defense Guns
Sometimes a perfectly good choice is right under your nose.
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Notwithstanding its increased collectibility with the closing of Winchester's New Haven factory, when most of us see a Model 94 carbine, we think of America's most popular deer rifle. And yet, G&A's Col. Jeff Cooper has called this 61?2-pound carbine one of the world's most practical self-defense weapons.
Actually, both viewpoints are correct, and point out the fact that folks searching for a home defense firearm may already own the ideal gun without even realizing it. For many of us, that perfect last-ditch insurance policy might literally be right under our very roof and, for me, the Winchester 94 is a prime example.
Being the first big-bore hunting rifle I ever owned, I had always considered the little "thutty-thutty" a close-range brush-buster for medium-size game such as javelina and deer--the perfect camp and saddle gun, nothing more. But that all changed one week, when my friend the late Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors invited my wife and me up to watch over his ranch in Tehachapi while he was on location filming a movie.
"You'd better bring a rifle," Chuck said over the phone. "There's been a lot of bear sighted around here lately, and I'm worried about the horses."
You never really knew when Chuck was kidding, but I decided, why take a chance? I slipped my Model 94 into a gun case along with a box of Federal 170-grain Hi-Shok softpoints. As it turned out, when my wife and I arrived we learned there had been a black bear break-in at a neighboring ranch. Although I didn't encounter any bruins during my week-long stay, there were a couple of nocturnal disturbances out by the barn. It was a comfort to have my old pre-'64 .30-30 in hand as I went out to investigate, and I ended up keeping the carbine under the bed at the ranch, rather than leaning it in a corner of the room.
The Winchester's compact 20-inch barrel, slim receiver, and light weight made it quick and easy to grab. It's easy to see why, with over 7 million produced, this little carbine has remained so popular over the years. But I no longer think of it as just a deer rifle.
Like gun guru Cooper, I have come to realize that the Model 94's fast-handling, jam-free attributes are just as applicable for home defense as they are for hunting.
However, in an urban or suburban setting (as opposed to cabin or farm) I don't recommend the traditional .30-30 configuration. Here I prefer the more compact 16 1/4-inch barreled Model 94 Trapper chambered in .45 Colt or the .44 Magnum stoked with .44 Specials. The lower velocity pistol rounds have less chance of penetrating walls.
For these same reasons, Marlin's 20-inch barreled 1894 carbine in 44 Magnum/.44 Special and its 18 1/2-inch barreled 1894C in .357 Magnum/.38 Special would be equally good choices for home defense, as would any of the replica 1866 and 1873 lever action .44-40 or .45 Colt-chambered carbines with their 20-inch barrels or the 16-inch versions.
I would not, however, recommend the replica 1860 Henry rifle or carbine for home defense. It's not that they aren't capable of doing the job, but as much as I admire the physical appearance and historical attributes of the Henry, the exposed loading tab on the bottom of the open magazine tube is prone to hang up on objects should the gun be grabbed in a hurry--as most home protection guns are. But then, that was one of the reasons Oliver Winchester brought out his "Improved Henry" Model 1866 and subsequent lever actions.
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