re: Looking to buy a home defense rifle

Anyone else make this decision simply due to corners and tight windows in their home?

Maybe my house is just small, but I don’t think I could shoulder and navigate well with a rifle inside.

I hate these threads (except for the occasional entertaining post). But I'll mention one aspect that (so far) nobody has asked the OP about -- who will you need to protect ??

if it's just you, or if it's just you and a spouse/SO, you have a much simpler defensive situation than those who have kids.

If you have young children, and if you might have to retrieve them from their bedrooms in the middle of the night, you probably need a handgun - because it's kinda hard to manipulate that pump shotgun or rifle with one hand.

No kids ?? Then I think the answer could well be a long gun -- assuming you understand that clearing your home alone is potentially suicide and thus you plan to stay in your bedroom while you protect yourself and your SO. (Yeah, I know you have some expensive stuff. But buy some insurance and let State Farm or Liberty Mutual worry about the replacement costs).

If you elect to rely on a long gun, I think the answer is still gonna be "pick the one you have practiced with the most, or plan to practice with the most." The manual of arms (loading, disengaging the safety, etc.) needs to be something you do on "autopilot. Same for shouldering the weapon and aiming it at the intruders. Your "conscious brain" needs to be focused on what you plan to use for cover, where the intruder is, how many intruders there are, which to shoot first (assuming you have to shoot), tracking the movement of the intruders, etc.

In my house the master bedroom has one entry point. If an intruder tries to breach that door, we (spouse and I) will be behind cover. We'll know exactly where he is, but he won't know where we are until he sees the muzzle flashes.

My choice isn't an AR. But if it were I'd have a suppressor on it. Permanent hearing damage is something one can probably avoid with some prior planning.

If my shots miss the intruder, I'm not worried about penetrating walls - there will be no family members downrange and the projectiles will have to penetrate a couple of brick walls to get to a neighbor's house. I'll be more focused on firing additional rounds to incapacitate the intruder.

Bottom line: I'd focus more on the number and location of dependents, and basic tactics, before getting wrapped around the axle over rifle vs. shotgun.

HK UMP conversion in .45 with 30 rd mags.

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You would have to identify the intruder so I would imagine the white light coming from either your hand or the weapon would give you away.

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Wrong

In my home there is enough background lighting for me to see who is there and whether they are armed or not. The last thing I am going to do is give them a target (light source) to shoot at.
When I announce my presence I will already have eyes on target and them in my sight picture. One false move and they won't be around to hear the gun chamber the next round. We keep our house in lockdown mode, so ANY intruder is a bad guy.

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The last thing I am going to do is give them a target (light source) to shoot at.

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This point is kind of silly. If you use your light properly, you won't be a target.