Quoted: just my 2 cents... Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. This is not the movies - vests good for nothing but to carry extra gear distances and hold armor. We all know that most body shots by small rifle and handguns will not stop an attacker in his tracks if he is seriously motivated- Nothing stops a man within 30' range (home invasion) as fast as a shotgun - #4 shot, 00Buck, 000 Buck- whatever - Think about what your trying to do- Stop the man/men as fast as you can. I use my handgun as a def. weapon near the bed in order to travel to my loaded shotgun (old 590 with side saddle and speedfed stock) A Damn mossberg 500 with 8 round tube mag. sell for approx. $230.00 - just my take on the topic. + if you ever shot the perp -later in court how would you feel when the DA made you don the vest in front of the whole court room and the jury???

Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.

While I may feel the Glocks with 33rd mags are not appropriate for HD, a shotgun certainly is not.
A rifle has always been, and will always be, king of self defense, at any range.
A rifle simply cannot be beat.

Quoted: just my 2 cents... Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. [snip] just my take on the topic. + if you ever shot the perp -later in court how would you feel when the DA made you don the vest in front of the whole court room and the jury???

People prefer different weapons for HD. Many do like a shotgun with 00. My preference is the AR15.

I could be wrong but I do not think anyone could make someone wear the vest or hold an AR15 in court. When my life is on the line once home invasion has occurred the court is not my concern, my life is. From talking with LE and lawyers, in SC once home invasion has occurred then it is considered a self-defense situation.

Quoted: Quoted: just my 2 cents... Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. [snip] just my take on the topic. + if you ever shot the perp -later in court how would you feel when the DA made you don the vest in front of the whole court room and the jury??? People prefer different weapons for HD. Many do like a shotgun with 00. My preference is the AR15. I could be wrong but I do not think anyone could make someone wear the vest or hold an AR15 in court. When my life is on the line once home invasion has occurred the court is not my concern, my life is. From talking with LE and lawyers, in SC once home invasion has occurred then it is considered a self-defense situation.

You are correct.
People always say stupid shit like "well if you have to go to court"
If it was a good shoot, it will be a good shoot, no matter if you used an Elmer Fudd 12 gauge, or a fully-automatic MP5 and a silencer and NVGs.

good shoot=good shoot no matter what weapon is used.

Quoted: Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. Quoted: Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. While I may feel the Glocks with 33rd mags are not appropriate for HD, a shotgun certainly is not. A rifle has always been, and will always be, king of self defense, at any range. A rifle simply cannot be beat.

Your telling me that you belive a single shot from a 16" AR15  is ?MORE? powerfull for pure stoping Force as a single shot 0f 00Buck-
All things equal - Square shot to the chest within 10yd range???
I say one shot because that may be all you have time for as your being rushed by one man or MORE with edge weapons or something worse.
Please if you belive the size .223  bullet will do more damage and stop a man in his tracks than  00Buck
please edjucate me on how.

The line about court room and DA making good guy look like the shitbag was put in because i have been there for "felony assualt" (through much bullshit was found to be justified).

The "Uber-Assualt Rifle"gun or "Tactical SWAT"vest may not convict you but it will at the least make the storm that much worse when your involved in somthing like a shooting or assualt.

The "one shot stopping power" issue is in question. Are there good studies comparing a shotgun and an AR15? I would guess that they are fairly equal and very high. The advantage to me of the AR15 is that multiple rounds can be fired much more quickly and more can be fired.

Was your legal battle a situation where you were in your home and people had broken into it? It also depends on the State and area. In SC BGs breaking into the home of someone with no criminal record do not have much standing. Next time I get a chance I will ask LE and lawyers what the status is here now.

Neo1, check out this site for a comparison between HG, shotgun, rifle ballistic potentials. With pics!

www.theboxotruth.com

Thanks for the site. Interesting results. This was a good page:

www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot14.htm

Lessons learned: 1. Contrary to what we have been told, XM-193 does not seem to "fragment" when shot into drywall walls. After we were through for the day, we even shot several more rounds of XM-193 into the walls to see if we could get one to fragment. They did not. It is clear that they were tumbling and deviating from the flight path, but they were still penetrating the walls. Now, before anyone says it, No, I do not know how much damage they would do to someone after the 4th wall. But they would do some damage as they were still penetrating. 2. Remington 55 grain JSP and Frangible 5.56 also penetrated all 4 walls. So did the .30 Carbine. When shooting rifles, walls are concealment, not cover. 3. 00 Buck penetrates 4 walls with ease. It is a great "Stopping" round, but there is a price to pay. Until someone invents a "Phaser" like on Star Trek, anything that will stop a bad guy, will also penetrate several walls. 4. Birdshot does not excessively penetrate drywall walls. But it does not penetrate deeply enough to reach a bad guy's vital organs. Birdshot makes a nasty but shallow wound. It is not a good Stopper. Use Birdshot for little birds. Use 00 Buckshot for bad guys.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: just my 2 cents... Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. [snip] just my take on the topic. + if you ever shot the perp -later in court how would you feel when the DA made you don the vest in front of the whole court room and the jury??? People prefer different weapons for HD. Many do like a shotgun with 00. My preference is the AR15. I could be wrong but I do not think anyone could make someone wear the vest or hold an AR15 in court. When my life is on the line once home invasion has occurred the court is not my concern, my life is. From talking with LE and lawyers, in SC once home invasion has occurred then it is considered a self-defense situation. You are correct. People always say stupid shit like "well if you have to go to court" If it was a good shoot, it will be a good shoot, no matter if you used an Elmer Fudd 12 gauge, or a fully-automatic MP5 and a silencer and NVGs. good shoot=good shoot no matter what weapon is used.

Not true.  I agree that a rifle is best for home defense, but the weapon used absolutely can have an effect on the perception of the cops & DA.  Whether you use grampa's double bbl 12 ga or a M16 with a can could affect a DA's decision to prosecute in certain areas.  You might be vindicated in court, but that doesn't mean your life won't be hell for years.  I don't see this as a primary deciding factor in choosing a weapon, but one shouldn't pretend that the difference doesn't exist.

Two useful links from another thread:

ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=448018

www.home-invasion.com/

Quoted: I think home invasion is a rare event and hopefully will never occur. In upgrading a home invasion scenario from a single person to a small gang I have considered it in whole. The vest is a small but important aspect. I am not discussing all aspects of what I have done but simply the vest. I thank everyone for all of the suggestions and help. This site is so helpful for the depth and breath of information and ideas.

They are increasing. some of the reasons is

1. usually the alarm if there is one is turned off.
2. Fear factor
3. They can get you to show them where everything is... see above.
4. Wallets, and purse there.

While I do not have a vest set up for home invasion, I do keep my pistol in my pocket, or on the table next to my chair, or bed.

My opinions ... for what they're worth...

I realize the original question was about vests, but aside from the "tactical" issues, a load bearing vest is a horrible idea for anyone with a lower back injury.  A chest rig is probably an even worse idea, since they make you more "front heavy."

If you want soft body armor, get just a vest.  You'll get some protection, not that much added weight, and it will be distributed front and back.

As others have mentioned, the long Glock mags are not a great idea for reloads.  I don't see a problem with having one in the gun on your nightstand, but for reloads they're going to be too slow.  Your most likely need for a reload will be to fix a malfunction, not to feed more ammunition, so you need to be able to get your weapon operating ASAP.

If you want something you can don quickly that will carry some gear, get a good duty or military type load bearing belt.  The versions with padding are exceptionally nice.  Add a couple of mag carriers and a good holster (with the mags and your pistol in them, of course) and you're good to go.  You'll be able to get it "on" at least as fast as you could a vest and it will be far kinder to your lower back.  You could also add a flashlight and your cell phone to the belt, and you'd be good to go if you have to move from one location to another in your home.

Another thing is that if your back is bad, a shotgun is also not a great idea.   If you can tolerate shooting a shotgun for any kind of practice, you're probably not that bad.  If you are in a bad way, that kind of stress is not good.  The AR (since you have one) is a much better idea, more versatile (for defensive use), etc.  You'll probably want to keep a set of electronic hearing protectors with your rifle though.  If you have time to get the rifle, you have time to get the earmuffs.

If you get a level IIIA vest with Molle attachments, then you can attach,

Spec Ops M9 Double mag Pouch with 2 G17 Mags
Spec Ops M2 Double 30 Rnd Mag Pouch, 2 AR Mags, with Magpul Followers and Ranger Plates.
Spec Ops Multi Light Sheath for M3 Combat Light
Spec Ops M2 Sheath for extra Set of Glasses.
Your preferred Pistol Carrier, mine is a Vapor Drop Leg

You are set.

Don't for get the 3.5 connector, Night Sights, Extended Slide Release (Can jam in a mag and have the slide go forward WITHOUT futzing around pulling the slide back) for the Glock.

This is my setup.

Now I just need to pick a suppressor for the AR.

The IIIA Helmet with Mini14 NVG, are sitting on a table nearby just in case!

If you want armor and don’t mind paying a bit for it, this is best body armor out there
pinnacle armor
Some of the hard armor can stop a 7.62x54Rmm armor piercing round (that’s a Dragunov SVD armor piercing round)

Not that someone is going to brake into you house and shoot you with a Dragunov

Are there any vests that work when you are in prone or carrying a rucksack?

Quoted: Quoted: I think home invasion is a rare event and hopefully will never occur. In upgrading a home invasion scenario from a single person to a small gang I have considered it in whole. The vest is a small but important aspect. I am not discussing all aspects of what I have done but simply the vest. I thank everyone for all of the suggestions and help. This site is so helpful for the depth and breath of information and ideas. They are increasing. some of the reasons is 1. usually the alarm if there is one is turned off. 2. Fear factor 3. They can get you to show them where everything is... see above. 4. Wallets, and purse there. While I do not have a vest set up for home invasion, I do keep my pistol in my pocket, or on the table next to my chair, or bed.

Yup, home invasions are increasing here.

Some guy actually did four in one a short time span about a month ago, locally.

I ended up ordering the first vest listed above. I removed the belt and extra mag holder to decrease weight and bulk. I really do prefer the 33 rd Glock mags for HD. The vest nicely holds my Glock 17 BU gun, 2 extra AR15 mags, and two extra Glock 33 rd mags in the other two large mag pouches. The 33 rd mag in the Glock 17 does not seem to be in the way either. It is a fast and easy way to carry a BU gun and extra mags. Will probably add a flashlight.

Quoted: Quoted: just my 2 cents... Home Invasion is best dealt with by shotgun- its that simple. This is not the movies - vests good for nothing but to carry extra gear distances and hold armor. We all know that most body shots by small rifle and handguns will not stop an attacker in his tracks if he is seriously motivated- Nothing stops a man within 30' range (home invasion) as fast as a shotgun - #4 shot, 00Buck, 000 Buck- whatever - Think about what your trying to do- Stop the man/men as fast as you can. I use my handgun as a def. weapon near the bed in order to travel to my loaded shotgun (old 590 with side saddle and speedfed stock) A Damn mossberg 500 with 8 round tube mag. sell for approx. $230.00 - just my take on the topic. + if you ever shot the perp -later in court how would you feel when the DA made you don the vest in front of the whole court room and the jury??? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. While I may feel the Glocks with 33rd mags are not appropriate for HD, a shotgun certainly is not. A rifle has always been, and will always be, king of self defense, at any range. A rifle simply cannot be beat.

Wow, with an informed oppinion like yours were does one start?

I will take a shot from your Glock 17 if you take a 2 3/4 load of magnum 00 Buck to the chest...

For close in, a shotgun with 00 buck is a force that just can not be underestimated....

I wonder if you ever hunted and shot anything?  Did you ever see how quick a dear drops when hit with 00 buck?  Then, ever hit a deer with a 9mm out of your Glock?  has anybody ever shoot a deer with a 9mm Glock and have it drop in its tracks?  I have dropped plenty of deer in their tracks with OO Buck and a person is not as tough as a deer...

I am not going to get into rifle vs shotgun as I think that is personal choice but to argue that any pistol stops as well as a 12-gauge shotgun is just nuts!

I think he was saying that he doesn't think the Glock was appropriate either....

While I may feel the Glocks with 33rd mags are not appropriate for HD, a shotgun certainly is not.

Personally, I would just use the escape hatch in my bedroom that leads to the neighbors back yard, hop in my Humvee, dial up the sat-phone and nuke the house from orbit....it's the only way to be sure.