Every home needs to be able of being defended, even those of us in states that heavily restrict our freedoms.

Wait, is this not the California state flag?

While many California home-owners choose shotguns, pistols, or other means of defense – I’m of the opinion that the AR-15, even in a CA legal configuration, is the best firearm for my home defense.

With that in mind, I present my California Legal Home Defense AR-15 Carbine.

California Home Defense AR-15

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Specs

Wait, Is That Legal?

Yes – as I understand California law, my rifle is legal in every way. This is a “Featureless” build so I have a fixed stock, no pistol grip, no flash hider, and no forward vertical grip.

I do have a 30-round magazine, something that not everyone will be allowed to have in CA, because I bought mine during Freedom Week as it has come to be known as.

Live cam of California shooting ranges, May 30th, 2019.

Because this rifle is featureless, it does not become an “Assault Weapon” per CA law even with a 30-round magazine.

How Does It Shoot?

Flawlessly.

After several thousand rounds, I’ve never had a failure or malfunction of any kind and across a huge range of ammo, but mostly using Wolf Gold .223.

It is also very accurate…for being a 14.5″ carbine with a red dot.

(L to R) Wolf Gold 55gr, Federal Gold Medal 77gr, Federal Gold Medal 69gr at 50-yards shooting supported with a 2 MOA red dot

I have it zeroed for 25/225-yards. Meaning, it is zeroed for 25-yards but due to the trajectory of the bullet, it is also zeroed at 225-yards.

I like this style of zero since it makes for a solid middle-ground for short-range shooting.

A yard from the muzzle my rifle shoots 1.5-inches low and at 50-yards it shoots 1.18-inches high. From zero-yards to 250-yards I’m never more than 3-inches plus or minus from my point of aim.

And that is good enough for minute of bad guy.

CA HD AR-15 Build List

This is a build that has been refined over several years, as I grew as a shooter and more proficient with the AR-15 my goals and how I met those goals changed.

What I want from an HD rifle is reliability, zero fussing with to deploy, easy and intuitive to manipulate, compact, and lightweight.

Coming in at 6.2lbs with the sling, white light, red dot, and foregrip – I believe I have achieved each of those goals and navigated the troubled waters of California law.

Upper

Aero Precision is one of our go-to brands because of their quality and their price.

Aero Precision Slick Side Upper

I went with a slick side upper because I really don’t believe the forward assist adds anything of value to an AR-15 and I like the weight savings, minor as they are.

Plus, having better Ambi access to the charging handle helps when using a CA featureless grip.

The ATLAS S-ONE is one of my favorite handguards because it is really easy to install, slim, lightweight, and has all of the attachment points that I need.

I went with the 12″ model so that covers as much of the barrel as possible and gives me a lot of room to grip.

Faxon 14.5″ with a pinned and welded slim muzzle brake is an awesome barrel and I love it. This one is pencil profile, but they also come in Gunner.

Just some of the Faxon Barrels we’ve reviewed!

The extreme lightweight of the barrel plus it being as short as legally possible in CA makes for a very smooth and quick to maneuver rifle even indoors.

We have a complete review of this barrel that I highly recommend taking a look at!

I’ve used Brownells BCGs in several builds now and they have run flawlessly. Furthermore, I haven’t seen really anyone say anything bad about them online so far.

This plus the several thousand rounds I’ve shot with them give me confidence in their build quality.

Brownells TiN BCG 120 at Brownells Prices accurate at time of writing View Details 120 at Brownells Prices accurate at time of writing

The TiN coating was on sale and I thought it looked good, I do take this rifle to the range often so some style points are nice.

We reviewed a bunch of charging handles before, but this is still my favorite. Easy, smooth, decent price. My kind of product!

CA HD AR Raptor Charging Handle

While normally an Ambi charging handle isn’t critical to a build – if you’re using a fin grip of any kind then it becomes much more important. I highly recommend using one!

Lower

Aero M4E1 because it’s clean looking, works, and was a good price. The flared magwell is also a decent feature to have, even though it is outrageously unlikely that I would need to speed reload this weapon.

Still, if you can get it – why not?

Normally, the trigger is the first thing I upgrade about a rifle. But this time I actually choose to use a mil-spec trigger made by ALG.

Since this is an HD rifle, I don’t need ultra-high precision, nor do I need ultra-fast follow-up shots. I do need reliable.

And I chose to have a heavier trigger than I normally like so that I have some extra margin of error in trigger pull. A milspec trigger is very unlikely to be bumped or brushed and have it go off, even when adrenaline is pumping.

I picked the ALG QMS because while it is milspec, 6.5-ish lb pull, and honed to remove grittiness or crunch. If you want to a step up in quality though, ALG also makes a Nickle Boron and Teflon coated version called the ACT.

Tested AR-15 Triggers

If you want an even better trigger, you should read through our Best AR-15 Triggers article. We tested a huge range of triggers and have some really important findings to share!

Strike Industries featureless grip is the one I like best, the thumb shelf is nice, and the extra texture on the side and top help me get a secure grip.

CA HD AR Strike Industry Megafin

I would rather have a real pistol grip, but California gotta California.

You can check out more grips in our Best Featureless Grips article.

A Few of Our Featureless Rifles

MFT won me over because they have a CA compliant version of their stock that comes with a roll pin you can install to lock the stock in place. Very handy and well made!

Plus, it’s lightweight and feels good in my shoulder.

Honestly, this was 60% because I saw it and I wanted it and 40% because I thought it might be nice to have.

One of the main deficiencies of using a grip like the Megafin is that you radically reduce the amount of control you have over the firearm while holding in one-handed, such as during a reload.

Using my trigger finger to help grip the rifle a little tighter makes reloading easier while the Ambi mag release can be used using only my left hand.

That was my rationalization at least, I’m happy to say that it actually works out well and I’m glad I did it. I wouldn’t call it critical, but it is handy and adds a little extra to the rifle.

This is a critical part of the build. Another downside of the SI Megafin is that it doesn’t play well with most safeties. Sure, a standard one can be used – but then you have no way of manipulating it with your shooting hand.

This is where the Hex Safety is needed. Used in the 45-degree throw position, you can use your firing hand thumb to flick it off and on.

There are other safeties that work or ways you can make them work, but this is what I find nicest.

Accessories

These are totally optional and very user-dependent. But they are what works for me.

We highly recommend that every HD AR have at least three things – no matter what flavor you get them in.

White Light

Sling

Red dot

I like Holosun optics – they are durable and well made.

The Shake Awake feature has never failed me and saves a lot in terms of battery life.

50,000-hour battery life is outstanding, but what I like most is the reticle. The donut and dot gives me a nice large circle that I can look for quickly while also having a fine dot just in case.

In all this gives me a red dot that delivers what I want most out of a red dot, plus some features that are just really nice to have.

Holosun reticle

There are other red dots that fulfill these goals, like the Sig Sauer Romeo5, but the real deciding factor for me was Holosun’s donut and dot reticle.

I really dig how bright it is and it comes with two light modes, always on and hold on.

CA HD AR White Light

Being able to choose if I want my light to stay on or if I want it only to turn on while I hold the switch is a nice feature to have.

Not to mention, it fits well on the rifle and the switch to turn it on is easy to locate with how I hold my rifle.

We’ve covered the VTAC sling before and we looked it at on our YouTube channel!

This, however, is the 5.11 VTAC sling. But… I have no idea what the difference is between the VTAC and the VTAC made by 5.11.

Either way, it’s awesome. It adjusts quickly, stays secure, feels great, and has become my default sling on all of my rifles.

And, like John found if you watch the video, I too decided on threading my sling through my MFT buttstock, rather than use the QD attachment. I can confirm that this method is far better.

Since this is a featureless rifle, I can’t have what I really want – a vertical foregrip. What I primarily wanted was something to index off of even in the dark or when I’m not thinking right.

Something that I can feel and know that my hand is in the right place each and every time.

Strike Industries LINK 35 at Optics Planet Prices accurate at time of writing View Details 35 at Optics Planet Prices accurate at time of writing

The SI Link does that for me. I know how my hand should fit in it and when fit right, my hand is in the perfect place to control the rifle, work my light, and won’t get burned by anything.

Parting Shots

This is my rifle. What works for me, might not work for you. But if you’re in California or any other restricted state this should give you a good idea to start with.

The AR-15 is the greatest defensive rifle currently on the market, just because our state’s laws might suck doesn’t mean we should ignore one of the best options.

How do you have your HD AR set up? Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments! Stock up on training and defensive ammo, take a look at the Best AR-15 .223/5.56 Ammo!