Defending your home.

[CharlesHarris]

Wooden frame buildings and single cinder block walls offer little protection from 5.56-mm rounds.

The following common barriers in urban areas stop a 5.56-mm round fired at less than 50 meters:

One thickness of well-packed sandbags.

A 2-inch concrete wall (nonreinforced).

A 55-gallon drum filled with water or sand.

A small ammunition can filled with sand.

A cinder block filled with sand (block will probably shatter).

A plate glass windowpane at a 45-degree angle (glass fragments may be thrown behind the glass).

A brick veneer.

A car body (5.56-mm rounds penetrate but may not always exit).

Although most structural materials repel single 5.56-mm rounds, continued and concentrated firing can breach typical urban structures. The best method for breaching a masonry wall is by firing short bursts (three to five rounds) in a U-shaped pattern. The distance from the gunner to the wall should be minimized for best results—ranges as close as 25 meters are relatively safe from ricochet. Ballistic eye protection, protective vest, and helmet should be worn.

Ball ammunition and armor-piercing rounds produce almost the same results, but armor-piercing rounds are more likely to fly back at the shooter. The 5.56-mm round can be used to create either a loophole (about 7 inches in diameter) or a breach hole (large enough for a man to enter). When used against reinforced concrete, 5.56-mm rounds cannot cut the reinforcing bars.

Barriers that offer protection against 5.56-mm rounds are also effective against 7.62-mm rounds with some exceptions. The 7.62-mm round can penetrate a windowpane at a 45-degree obliquity, a hollow cinder block, or both sides of a car body. It can also easily penetrate wooden frame buildings. Continued, concentrated gun fire can breach most typical urban walls except for thick reinforced concrete structures or dense natural stone walls. Internal walls, partitions, plaster, floors, ceilings, common office furniture, home appliances, and bedding can be easily penetrated by both 7.62-mm rounds