At GunDigest, we independently review products. However, we may earn a commission when you purchase through links on our site. Learn More
Video: Properly Using A Defensive AR-15 From Cover
The defensive AR-15 affords many advantages if you employ the right tactics.
A popular home-defense option, the AR-15 combines ease of use with overwhelming firepower. Despite these assets, getting the most out of the carbine in a lethal-force event takes consideration – perhaps more so than with a handgun.
Some of this is due to the immobility of the AR compared to a pistol or a revolver. While certainly doable, maneuvering a long-gun through the rooms and corridors of a house or business tends to be a tricky proposition, one that requires training above and beyond simple marksmanship. Though, much of this is simplified by turning the carbine into a defensive option in the purest form. Waiting, well concealed for the threat, unleashes the full potential of the gun, one few assailants can trump.
Check Out More Gun Digest Videos:
- Should You Keep Your Defensive AR Loaded?
- Shooting From Non-Traditional Prone Positions
- Last-Ditch Defensive Gun Takeaway
- Embracing The Red Dot Advantage
Wielding a Colt 6720, renowned firearms instructor Massad Ayoob runs down the proper form and tactics to use an AR-15 in the defensive situation. Key among these, minizine exposure through cover. Narrowing the possibility of being hit by opposing fire, it also affords the armed citizen a position where he is ready to engage a threat at a moment’s notice.
Care is essential. As Ayoob demonstrates, the typical off-hand position you’d use off the firing line just doesn’t cut it behind cover. A shooter must shift his or her off-hand leg back behind them, or run the risk of exposing nearly 18-percent of their body mass. The same holds true in a kneeling position, where carelessness can expose nearly as much of the body. The carotid artery among the tender points that have the potential to stick out, it’s well worth thinking and practicing proper positioning.
If you do, you’ll rarely find yourself outgunned with an AR-15 in hand.
Next Step: Get your FREE Printable Target Pack
Enhance your shooting precision with our 62 MOA Targets, perfect for rifles and handguns. Crafted in collaboration with Storm Tactical for accuracy and versatility.
Subscribe to the Gun Digest email newsletter and get your downloadable target pack sent straight to your inbox. Stay updated with the latest firearms info in the industry.