Defending the Occupied Home

[The Night Rider]

As near as I can tell this discussion is broken down into two key components

1. Keep the bad guys out of your house in the first place.

2. What to do when they get in.

We go over this topic again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

There have been four discussions on variations of this topic since August 17th. Most of them are still active.

How many different times are we going to go around this mountain?

 

[Bill_in_TR]

It will continue to be brought up repeatedly forever just as the vast majority of these types of topics do on internet forums. This is nothing new or surprising. If you don't have any further interest just ignore it. Nothing to get upset about.

 

[Kleanbore]

As near as I can tell this discussion is broken down into two key components

1. Keep the bad guys out of your house in the first place.

2. What to do when they get in.

Good analysis.

We go over this topic again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

There have been four discussions on variations of this topic since August 17th. Most of them are still active.

The subject is important here. The topics vary.

There have been four discussions on variations of this topic since August 17th. Most of them are still active.

Different topics. One was about the best weapon. Another was about where to keep it. Another was about whether one can get to it. Another was more general.

This one was scripted in a manner intended to be useful for to different people, non-THR folks, including tthose who are reluctant to have a gun in the house. We shared it here.

How many different times are we going to go around this mountain?

As long as we continue to address strategies, tacitcs, and training for personal defense.

 

[Gun-Reck]

No one is telling anyone how to live their lives.

That is simply learned advice regarding the facts of life.

One can, of course, choose to learn them himself, the hard way.

Benjamin Franklin - had a very good quote regarding Liberty and Safety.

 

[Kleanbore]

Benjamin Franklin - had a very good quote regarding Liberty and Safety.

It is completely irrelevant to the use of deadly force for the protection of personal property.

Those who do not understand that risk their liberty.

 

[Gun-Reck]

It is completely irrelevant to the use of deadly force for the protection of personal property.

Those who do not understand that risk their liberty.

Communists - give up their property.

Americans have a different take on it, it's called the Castle Doctrine.

Force can be used to protect property, deadly force to protect person.

Seems like an American should be ready and willing to use both.

Maybe our Society is in the mess it's in because too many Americans have been conned into trading.

 

[Kleanbore]

Communists - give up their property.

Communists take people's property.

Americans have a different take on it, it's called the Castle Doctrine.

Castle doctrine has absolutely nothing to do with the protection of poperty.

Maybe our Society is in the mess it's in because too many Americans have been conned into trading.

Off topic.

Have you read and tried to understand the two linked articles?

 

[Jim Watson]

We have laws and pious platitudes that one may not reasonably use deadly force to defend property, only oneself against imminent death or disability... if you can prove it.
But I think attitudes are hardening against all criminals even the economics motivated ones.

 

[Ranger99]

No other person is fit or able to judge
me as to whether or not that I feel
that I'm in fear of my life

We as a nation have gotten to where
we enable and make excuses for those
who won't follow the agreed upon laws
of a civilized society

 

[Kleanbore]

No other person is fit or able to judge
me as to whether or not that I feel
that I'm in fear of my life

I understand that, but the way things work, and have worked for centuries, others will be charged with deciding what you had reason to believe.

We as a nation have gotten to where
we enable and make excuses for those
who won't follow the agreed upon laws
of a civilized society

Off topic.

 

[shafter]

Middle of the night, and someone enters my home, not sure I am looking for a weapon before I decide what to do. I would be in fear of my life and those of my family if I found a stranger in my house in the middle of the night, and would act accordingly.

A jury is going to be deciding if that fear for your life is reasonable. That's why I strongly recommend weapon mounted lights so I can get a positive identification before shooting. Nowadays I'd hate to have my fate in the hands of a jury for shooting an unarmed person.

I'd especially hate to have a jury wondering why I ambushed an unarmed person and shot them in the back regardless of it being in my own home in the middle of the night.

 

[Balrog]

A jury is going to be deciding if that fear for your life is reasonable. That's why I strongly recommend weapon mounted lights so I can get a positive identification before shooting. Nowadays I'd hate to have my fate in the hands of a jury for shooting an unarmed person.

I'd especially hate to have a jury wondering why I ambushed an unarmed person and shot them in the back regardless of it being in my own home in the middle of the night.

Oh, I am not in favor of shooting unidentified targets, nor people in the back. How did you get that out of my post?

 

[shafter]

Oh, I am not in favor of shooting unidentified targets, nor people in the back. How did you get that out of my post?

That wasn't specific to your post. It was mentioned somewhere else in discussion so I addressed my thoughts on it. Wasn't an attack on you.

 

[Atavar]

Ok, prime your flame throwers…
When did this country get so wussified that I am now supposed to feel guilty for protecting my own property? The anti’s have made a huge victory by insidiously worming their way of thinking into even such august groups as this. They are ever molding your way of thinking to their isms through virtue of political correctness.
I didn’t give up my lunch money as a kid and I am not going to kowtow to thugs now.
Oh, guess what, I’m still alive and at liberty.

 

[Jeff White]

The anti’s have made a huge victory by insidiously worming their way of thinking into even such august groups as this. They are ever molding your way of thinking to their isms through virtue of political correctness.

This is NOT, I repeat NOT about political correctness. It is 100% about the LAW and the COURTS. There is no sense in wasting electrons complaining about the very real current state of the law and the courts.

You don’t have to like the current state of affairs. You do have to live with it. We all do.

 

[Atavar]

Let me put it this way, after being harassed by a kid downtown and calling 911 the cop pulled the kid aside and I heard the cop say “You do NOT want to mess with that dude. “
BTW, if you ever call 911 making the statement “I am armed” gets you a much quicker response.

 

[Navy87Guy]

FWIW, I like the “Repel Boarders” title!

We just had a similar discussion on another board. I agree with all of the points in the article about staying away from the problem (i.e., the door). We have a 2-story, 200-yr old farmhouse. There is nothing “secure” about it. If someone breaks the door and we are downstairs, my wife and adult (autistic) daughter will head upstairs (the path is out of sight of the door) and call 911. I have a quick access safe that I can open in less than 5 seconds (I practice with a timer to add at least a little “stress”). I will cover my retreat upstairs to my shotguns and cover position.

If we are upstairs, my wife will go to my daughter’s room and I will take a position covering the stairs. They are straight (and relatively steep) and I can provide good coverage without having to expose myself. I have two semi-auto 12 gauges with about 50 rds of ammo loaded in the magazines, so I should be able to hold out until the police arrive.

If time permits, I’ll activate the siren on my exterior cameras to let the intruders know they have been detected (although an expressive burglar may not care), especially if I hear noise downstairs and they haven’t tried to access the second floor. In no case will I go downstairs and try to “clear” the house. My only purpose is to keep my family (and myself) safe until the threat has left (or been eliminated).

 

[Balrog]

The question of where to begin defending against invaders would seem to me to depend on the layout of your house. I can see how for some floorplans, defending at the front door may not be the best option. I have a long fairly narrow foyer. If someone breaches the front door, they have no alternative but to advance through the foyer to get into the rest of the house. It basically is a bottleneck. This makes this point the easiest point to defend.

 

[bearcreek]

1. The entirety of the contents of your house is not of such value that you would want to defend them in the gravest extreme, if it were to come to that. Some blowhards may contend otherwise, but anyone who has ever actually taken a life knows that I am right.

This is an interesting take. Of the folks I know who have taken lives, I can't think of any, off hand, who value the life of a violent criminal over the material contents of their home. Plenty of them are aware of the legal issues at play, but that's why they might choose the criminal, depending on the circumstances, not because they think he has any value.

 

[Jim Watson]

If I have that official government approved reasonable concern that it is a VIOLENT criminal, it is not my possessions I am worried about.

 

[jmorris]

As near as I can tell this discussion is broken down into two key components

1. Keep the bad guys out of your house in the first place.

2. What to do when they get in.

We go over this topic again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again.

There have been four discussions on variations of this topic since August 17th. Most of them are still active.

How many different times are we going to go around this mountain?

You just need to spread yourself around a little. Move around a little and read ”what press?”, “new AR ‘build’” and “what bolt action“ threads we have new this week.

A couple weeks ago someone chimed in with a “I’ve seen that photo a dozen times this week.” That’s because the same question was asked over and over. Good answers don’t change much.

 

[theotherwaldo]

This thread's title sucks.
I'm not interested in "Defending the Occupied Home".
I'd be defending myself and my family from an obvious violent threat.

 

[Kleanbore]

I'm not interested in "Defending the Occupied Home".
I'd be defending myself and my family from an obvious violent threat.

That latter is what it is about, as Tom Givens explains very well in his two articles entitled....."Home Defense".

 

[theotherwaldo]

That latter is what it is about, as Tom Givens explains very well in his two articles entitled....."Home Defense".

Y'all keep arguing about the ethics of defending property.
I've lost all or most of my possessions over and over.
No big deal, I always found more possessions.
I've just about run out of family members - and I don't think that I'm going to get any more of them.

Anyway, I don't want to wind up in court over defending a bunch of stuff.
Defending people, that's another thing... .

 

[The Night Rider]

This thread's title sucks.
I'm not interested in "Defending the Occupied Home".
I'd be defending myself and my family from an obvious violent threat.

I don't think the thread title sucks at all. I don't think this is a discussion about defending property. If you come into my home while I'm here I have the right to assume that you are a threat to my life.

Every time this discussion comes up I essentially say the same thing and I'm going to say it now too.

The majority of home invasion robberies that I read about, the robbers either walked right through an unlocked door or the homeowner opened up their front door without being absolutely certain who was on the other side of it.

If you manage that problem, the odds are you won't have to ever defend your occupied home.

I will also say that if you go to that much effort to get into my house again I have the right to assume that you're a deadly threat