Have you ever used your sidearm in self defense?

[SaxonPig]

Several times, all between 30-35 years ago. Not necessarily in chronological order. Yes, some of my actions were very stupid. I was young and stupid at the time.

1. Guy took a swing at me outside a bar one night. His sucker punch just missed my chin and I knocked him down with a strike to the chest. He told me that I had better have a gun next time he saw me because he intended to kill me. I pulled out my 1911 and showed it to him. He nearly fainted.

2. Working in convenience store. Guy shoplifts beer and I chase him out to parking lot where his three buddies are waiting with the car. I fire warning shot into air (same 1911) and buddies drive off leaving him to run after the car. He dropped all the beer.

3. Try to break up fight in bar where I worked. Standing between the two morons to keep them apart one moron pulls a large knife. I grab 1911 in waistband (yes, same one) but don't let him see it. One step and he dies. He backed off.

4. Run off the road at 2 am by some lunatic on a lonely highway. Step out of car with S&W Model 29 in hand behind my leg. Nutcase gets out of car waving tire iron and screaming obscenities. I give him three steps and he dies. He took two and backed off. He'll never know how close he came.

5. Minding own business in strip bar. Two guys sit down on either side and start harassing me with insults and threats of violence. One showed me a snubby revolver in boot top. To this day I have no idea why they picked me. Got up and left. Went home and retrieved S&W Model 39. Don't know what happened to the 1911 on this one. Went back and sat across from idiots with gun in hand hidden under jacket draped over arm. They could see muzzle poking out from where they sat and eyes got very big. Told him to go for his piece. They both passed bricks... big square ones... before slowly rising and departing.

6. Back in convenience store late one night, armed robber confronts me armed with a 22 revolver. I put four rounds into him from the 1911 and cancel his ticket. Cops very grateful as guy was high on their list of dangerous perps they wanted to nail.

I may be forgetting one or two incidents at this point. All of this was a long time ago. I sold the 39 and the 29 was stolen in 1985. Replaced both of them eventually. I still have the 1911. This one.

 

[Carl]

SaxonPig,

Number 1, 2, and 5 seemed quite unnecessary, especially number 5 where you returned to where they are. Were you hoping to shoot someone?

 

[Kindrox]

Yes, some of my actions were very stupid. I was young and stupid at the time.

I think Saxon is aware that some actions were unnecessary.

 

[SaxonPig]

Going back to the bar to confront the two guys who hassled me was just plain crazy. Yes, I think I did want to shoot those boys. At the time I was really hoping they'd be stupid enough to go for their guns while I had them covered. People who have known me a long time marvel that I survived my youth and never wound up in prison. Any illegal acts described above have long since seen the statute of limitations lapse.

 

[SaxonPig]

I just recalled another time I pulled a gun on a man. While hiking in the mountains I saw some yahoo retrieve a scoped rifle from his camper and start drawing a bead on a golden eagle. This was not only dumb but a violation of federal law for shooting at an endangered species (I assume he intended to shoot). I drew my 6" Colt 357 and leveled it at him. He looked at me out the corner of his eye and I assured him that if he shot at the eagle I would shoot him. He slowly stepped back to the camper, put the rifle away and drove off.

 

[rainbowbob]

I assured him that if he shot at the eagle I would shoot him.

Yeeeiiikes! I realize you're recounting stories of youthful indescretions...but you were gonna shoot a guy over a bird??!!

 

[Rager]

Rainbowbob, I think I mighta just shot the ignorant bastard. I'm kidding but that is the first thought I had.

 

[4Freedom]

Is it legal to shoot an animal poacher? I know somebody needs to protect endangered species from these Pieces of Sh*@.. But, I wonder what the legality would be of putting a bullet in his head when he was not a threat to yourself? Would this be any different than shooting a man you see stealing from a store or committing any other type of criminal offense, that is non-threatening?

. Back in convenience store late one night, armed robber confronts me armed with a 22 revolver. I put four rounds into him from the 1911 and cancel his ticket. Cops very grateful as guy was high on their list of dangerous perps they wanted to nail.

WOW.. What an experience, can you go into this one a little bit more? How did you manage to pull your gun out fast enough and not get yourself shot? What tactics did you use to confuse him?

 

[SaxonPig]

Just after handing over the cash with my left hand (my right hand had already grasped the pistol stashed behind the magazine rack at the register) a car pulled up in front of the store. The criminal lowered his gun hand to conceal the gun from view as he turned his head to look at the car. I took that opportunity to put three rounds in his chest and a fourth in his kidney as he bolted out the door. He ran about 100 feet and collapsed. The people in the car were pretty freaked out, let me tell you. I was really afraid the guy might start shooting me and all those other witnesses.

Like I said, the cops pretty much lined up to shake my hand. The dead guy had committed numerous armed robberies and had become increasingly violent, sending his last victim to the hospital after pistol-whipping him in the face. Cops said it was only a matter of time before he killed a victim.

BTW- The dead guy's brother started calling the store threatening me for shooting his brother. I wasn't there as the store manager had fired me for violating company policy by resisting the armed robber. My former coworkers called to tell me of the threats and and I instructed them to give the idiot my home address the next time he called. I said to tell him I have something for him when he gets here. One worker called me back in a few days to say the guy had called and he had told him exactly what I said to tell him. Last we heard from him.

Whole family of cowards, I guess.

 

[4Freedom]

WOW Saxon.. Thanks for sharing this event.. Not many will share with such great detail, a dangerous standoff. For all your heroic deeds, they kick you in the teeth? That sucks .. THey should have given you a medal of honor. . You should have got at least 1 month paid vacation and some fancy bonus for saving the store and upholding its integrity. Robbers thnk twice about robbing stores where others have ended up in a morgue the next day. As far as not resisting, if you know you can kill the SOB, why not? Its unpredictable what they can do, you are at the mercy and good will of a low-life piece of garbage.

Well at least the police thanked you. Its good to get some respect from the law. Had you done this where I live, I don't know what they have done. You probably have to go fight it out in civil court.

His brother threatened you for defending your life? How sick. I think you handled it the right way. Although for me, I would have reported it to the police. It would have looked good in court that the brother threatened your life if they tried ever making a civil case against you, which is what they do these days.

 

[Reyn]

Is it legal to shoot an animal poacher? I know somebody needs to protect endangered species from these Pieces of Sh*@.. But, I wonder what the legality would be of putting a bullet in his head when he was not a threat to yourself? Would this be any different than shooting a man you see stealing from a store or committing any other type of criminal offense, that is non-threatening?

Absolutely not legal. Not legal to shoot someone just for stealing or any non life threatning situation.

 

[SaxonPig]

Guy was a criminal in the act of commiting a felony. He knew I was a witness. He had a high powered rifle in his hands. Had he shot the eagle I would have feared for my life.

 

[rainbowbob]

Had he shot the eagle I would have feared for my life.

Seriously? And you would have opened fire? Unless he was turning toward you with the weapon, you probably would have been prosecuted for murder (if there were any other witnesses).

 

[Leanwolf]

4 FREEDOM - "Is it legal to shoot an animal poacher? ... But, I wonder what the legality would be of putting a bullet in his head when he was not a threat to yourself? Would this be any different than shooting a man you see stealing from a store or committing any other type of criminal offense, that is non-threatening?"

Although somewhat off-topic, there are several issues within the above quote.

Just to gun someone down for swiping some chewing gum from the local convenience store, or killing someone who points a rifle at some protected bird/animal out in the boonies, is more than likely going to get the shooter a long time residency at the State slam.

There is in law, however, "Citizen's Arrest."

First, the Penal Code(s) in each State vary on defining "Citizen's Arrest," so I'll generalize a bit.

Generally, any citizen who witnesses a misdemeanor or felony being committed , can take that person into custody, thereby making a Citizen's Arrest. The Citizen can use whatever force is reasonable to make that "arrest." (It better damned well be "reasonable force" to a D.A. and perhaps a jury.)

If a person whom you saw committing a misdemeanor or felony resists you taking him/her into custody, you can then use whatever reasonable force necessary to complete the "Citizen's Arrest."

But -- big caveat here -- you can find yourself in either a position of being arrested by the police for using too much force, and/or being sued to the hilt by the person whom you "arrested" for false arrest, unreasonable force, etc.

(Remember, in many instances, it'll be your word against his/her.)


Citizen's Arrests are legal... but to do so is to tread in a minefield without a detector.


If anyone is interested in the legalities of Citizen's Arrest, do yourself a favor and read the Penal Code of your State regarding same.


L.W.

 

[SaxonPig]

We all have to do what we think best.

Anyone committing a felony with a rifle in his hands in my presence is in danger of being shot.

Sorry if anyone disagrees.

PS: The stealing gum example is ridiculous. Stealing 25 cents worth of gun isn't a felony. Now, if you steal gum with a rifle in your hands, that becomes armed robbery and a violent crime. I have no use for violent criminals.

Yeah, right, like I'm going to yell "citizen's arrest" at a guy with a RIFLE IN HIS HANDS. Some of you seem to be missing the RIFLE IN HIS HANDS part.

 

[Proud Boer]

#1
Proud Boer
New Member



Join Date: 03-05-09
Posts: 3 Actual Shootout against armed killers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those of us who enjoy firearms in general and handguns in particular usually spend a lot of time practicing for the day we need to defend our loved ones and ourselves against attack. I am one of those individuals who have been fascinated by firearms and shooting since 10 years old, starting with my first BB gun. Since 1983 I've been a regular pistol and revolver shooter, competing over the years in Cowboy Action Shooting, Defensive Pistol Shooting as well as Practical Pistol Shooting.

Cowboys, Boers and the history of the rugged individuals who have invented our great modern world, have always interested me. In South Africa violent crime is high and therefore I am grateful for my mindset of self-reliance as I now live in the heart of the current day "wild west".

On the 8th of May 2008, I faced off a gang of three armed goblins who in the weeks preceding my attack, had robbed and killed numerous victims. These scumbags attacked me in front of my wife and daughter in the drive of my house at 20h00. I had just returned from a formal business function to launch the head office of a new dental insurance in Cape Town and was wearing a tuxedo and therefore only carrying single action .22 Magnum N.A.A. revolver. They wanted my house keys as well as the keys to my new Mercedes Benz SUV which I was driving. With their firearms pointed at me, I drew mine (thank God for years of practice), and shot the apparent leader of that gang in the chest - he screamed like a stuck pig and staggered backwards. The first thing I did was run for cover. As the other two were only about 20 feet away from me, bullets rained down on me as I hid momentarily behind a tree in my drive. In this exchange I was hit in the left arm (but actually felt nothing) and I returned fire hitting the first one of the two remaining goblins in the groin. He ran away to the getaway car standing in the road, shouting and crying and shooting into the air like a drunk Mexican officer during the Battle of the Alamo. There was one left besides the one who I shot first still staggering around. I gave him another round to the chest and he disappeared to the getaway vehicle, fatally wounded as I was to find out in the days that followed. The last one had to run past me to get out of my drive and being the coward that these scum normally are, couldn't quite muster the courage. As I pointed my revolver and fired at him, the revolver blew up in my hand and I had no choice but to take him on bare handed. I smacked him to the ground by punching him in the face as the fact that I was now unarmed seemed to give him some courage. As he fell, he pulled off a shot and hit me in the right arm. He then turned and ran as he realised I was ready to fight to the death and he wasn't feeling well with a smashed nose.

My wife, at this stage, had taken my .45 A.C.P. out and passed it to me through the window, giving me clear instructions to finish them off. They got away only with my bullets in them and in pain and I was lucky enough to win the fight.

What did I learn from this?

1. Always carry a gun no matter how small it may be. Even when the last thing you expect is to be attacked, don't let your logic of statistical probability of not being in mortal danger lull you into a false sense of security.

2. Remember that in a gun fight - cover is king!

3. Practice regularly to allow for the advantage of competent surprise,
AND
most importantly, if you want to win a gun fight, the most important factor is resolve and commitment. You have to have the inner courage to decide in a split second that you are going to win the fight irrespective of the consequences and then carry out that plan with determination and courage that surprises and stuns your "would be" attackers.

I hope that the above sheds some light and gives some valuable insight into a real life gun fight. I would like to hear from others on this forum who have experienced the same or similar situations.

Proud Boer.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_i...lick_id=13&sf=

 

[Claude Clay]

retrieve a scoped rifle from his camper and start drawing a bead

incredibly presumptuous of you--never occurred to you he was using the scope on the rifle to observe the eagle? i have often done this when afield--never at a human of course. had it been me in that field with you pointing a gun at me i would have left also; gone to the nearest police man and sworn out a complaint against you. thats what i think i would have done 30 years ago. today, i would kneel and give you the opportunity at rifle point to disarm or demise.
"" Anyone committing a felony with a rifle in his hands in my presence is in danger of being shot."" a felony only after he shoots.
i hope you are seeing a difference between looking and shooting.

 

[rondog]

Proud Boer----

Good story, thanks for sharing! I hope you ALSO learned that the N.A.A revolver is a p.o.s., and you never buy another one!

As I pointed my revolver and fired at him, the revolver blew up in my hand and I had no choice but to take him on bare handed.

 

[P90Puma]

Great thread, unfortunately you cannot carry up here and the one time I had a handgun shoved in my face, I couldn't do anything about it.

Had I been carrying, I think the outcome would be the same based on the situation but you can't help but think of other situations like these and wish you could carry.

 

[catspa]

Hey, all.

First post, after reading the entire thread. Thank you to those who shared personal details, as I read your posts I was forming the mental picture of your situations and thought about some things I perhaps hadn't considered before.

Like some previous posters, I worked night shift at a convenience store/gas station/deli in a questionable district during college. It was great because after about 2:30am there were no customers and I could study undisturbed until about 5:30 or 6. Due to a temporary lapse of sanity, I didn't take a gun to work, but I kept my 28oz framing hammer under the counter in case of trouble (I worked construction in the summers).

Early one morning a dude with a pockmarked face came in the store and just walked around looking at things for a few minutes. Just when I was thinking this is kinda weird, he gets a sixer of beer and walks up to the checkstand. I relaxed and went behind the counter just as he pulled a pistol and stuffed it up in my face, and said, "Come out here and lay down on the floor." So I did, and he went behind the counter and cleaned out the till and the reserve money and about 50 bucks worth of cigarettes in less than 30 seconds, obviously he had inside info.

Anyway, I just knew he was gonna kill me when he left, because he wasn't wearing a mask and why leave a witness? But he came out from the counter and said, "If you get up before 5 minutes, I'll run back in here and kill you." I thought, Yeah right, you'll be long gone as fast as your legs can carry you. So I waited for about 15 minutes, just in case, and then staggered to lock the door and call 911. Then I called the manager and told her about it.

When the cops got there, it was pretty obvious that I had pissed myself. The canine cop was pretty cool, he said, "Don't worry about it, happens all the time" and another officer took down the particulars. After a while the manager got there and I told her I'd just as soon not be there the next night when it occurs to him to rub out the only witness. So she paid me up and I took my framing hammer and went home, but didn't sleep good for about a week.

Regarding the carrying of an unloaded gun: many years ago, a co-worker showed me a used Charter Arms .38 snub he had just bought for his wife to carry. She was a nurse at a downtown Seattle hospital and another nurse had been assaulted in a parking area the week before.

I looked it over and said, "Great! What does she use for duty rounds?" He said, startled, "Oh, she dislikes guns, she's just going to carry it empty to scare an attacker."

My blood turned cold, and I begged him not to let her do that. "Look here, from the front. Any criminal can see it's empty by looking in the holes. And then he's gonna take it away and beat her with it, probly rape her, and then he's gonna go out and commit more crimes with her gun. Bad deal." I told him I would teach her to shoot, but only if she settled in her mind that she could do what was needed in an emergency.

He talked it over with her and she wanted no part of shooting or having it loaded, and he told me, "Total waste of 100 bucks." I gave him a Franklin for it right there, and I'm convinced I did them both a good deed.

Parker

 

[akodo]

"Total waste of 100 bucks." I gave him a Franklin for it right there, and I'm convinced I did them both a good deed.

It was a good deed.

 

[ZABodie]

Greetings to all you fine folk (and others ;-) ) in this forum.
More about me and my experiences later I suppose.
Had a link to this thread mailed to the LEO site I am a member and moderator of and, after reading a specific reply felt compelled to post:

The post by Proud Boer is factual.
I work in the South African Police and the area he resides in (Constantia) is served by three (3) Police Stations (Kirstenhof, Diep River and Wynberg).

All three stations responded to this incident at the time.

I think that before people start making comments of FAKE and UNTRUE they should make an effort to verify the story first.

Another poster wanted to know if Kel-tec's were available here (South Africa) // depends on if somebody imports it - if the motivation is sufficiently well prepared it used to be that one could have any weapon licensed - not so anymore with extremely restrictive legislation introduced to support the ideals of the Gun Free Society. This has had the effect of ensuring that the number of armed, law-abiding citizens is reduced very quickly and the number of illegally armed goblins increasing exponentially.

I shall post again pretty soon.

Regards.


Bodie.

 

[GaSheepDog]

Hello all, joined a few months ago but I've had so much going on in my life I kind of forgot about the site until now. I'd like to share my story also and welcome any feedback, public or PM.

I've lived in my house for 15 years. When I purchased it, I was fairly new to town and it belonged to my supervisor at the time who was moving away. One thing led to another and I bought it. It's a quite nice starter home but "on the wrong side of the tracks".

Most of my neighbors were retirees and it has always been quiet in our immediate neighborhood. Well over the last fifteen years, I've had a few neighbors move away and a few passed away. Unfortunately, their houses became rentals and that's when a lot of problems started.

What made me wake up to the fact that I needed protection was when one night about 5 years ago, I was at home watching TV. There was a knock at the front door around dark-thirty. All of my family and friends always come to my side door so I was already suspicious but I had a very protective german shepherd that was always at my side. On this night though, she was asleep in another part of the house, maybe because I had the TV volume loud.

When I cracked open the front door slightly, there were two guys on my front porch that I've never seen before. The guy right at the door (on the other side of a closed screen door), states that they need a few dollars for gas if I could spare it. I told him hell no and get out of my yard. Apparently the GSD had not heard anything yet otherwise she would have let them know they were not welcome.

Anyway, as I go to shut the door, he snatches open the screen door. It was "locked" so it made a loud noise when he opened it. THAT alerted my dog. Just as he started strong-arming the front door open, she tears around the corner coming straight at them. They do a 180 and haul ass out of the yard while I grab her collar to keep her from chasing.

It all happened so quick that I didn't even think to call the cops right away. I sat down and started processing what just happened and what COULD have just happened. I thought about calling the cops but, honestly, it was dark, I never opened the door enough to get a clear look at them so I wouldn't even be able to give a description.

To keep this post brief and on topic, flash forward to this past October. It had just got cool enough to turn the AC off and enjoy the cool night air. I'm married now and me and the missus are watching tv when we hear very loud footsteps running what sounded like down the street. Due to some recent vandalism to my company vehicle, I had installed wireless motion sensors in the yard along with some previously installed motion flood lights.

Well, right as I heard the steps, the motion alarm goes off and flood lights come on all at once. I now have two german shepherds and they've (unfortunately) become all too familiar with the next series of events: the alarm buzzes, I grab the gun that I keep in the cushion of my chair and get up. That's their cue that it's time to work. Their hair is already standing up and they're barking as I crack open the side door and clear the carport. I see light from a flashlight in my backyard so I release the dogs.

They immediately run to the backyard and have someone cornered so I run out after them. I make out shapes of two people in the one corner of my yard that the flood lights don't hit and the dogs are about 10 feet away barking like mad. I flick on the lasermax and draw while yelling "FREEZE...WHO'S IN MY BACKYARD!??!".

The next part is something that has caused quite a few nightmares since. The reply back is "it's the police....call off your dogs". I call them off and get them back in the house. I'm almost on my knees trying to lock the door. My wife is freaking out asking what's going on. I told her something very bad could have just happened.

It turns out the cops were chasing a perp who apparently went thru my yard and jumped the rear fence. Within a few minutes, the neighborhood is surrounded and a helicopter is flying over. After a few more minutes, they apparently have moved to another part of the neighborhood. Once I was certain of that, I went back out again without the dogs and cleared my basement.

When I got back inside I almost completely lost it. All I can say is the dogs provided enough of a distraction that they didn't see my pistol and that red dot center mass on one of their chests. Had they shot my dogs, I would have likely fired first before announcing my presence and I'm quite sure I would have been gunned down in my back yard. Believe me, I have completely re-thought my attack plan for the future.

Flash forward again to three events that have happened in the LAST TWO WEEKS.

The first: I am very much a dog person. My co-workers have called me "the dog whisperer" long before the show was on tv. I encounter customer's dogs all the time on my job and I just have a way with them somehow. Well, I awoke one night to my neighbors dog giving an alert and peeped out of my bedroom window so see a shadowy figure standing at my mailbox around 1:30 am. As I'm watching this guy, I see him spin around in circles like 2-3 times like he's a friggin ballerina or something then walks about 10', stops, and does the same thing. He kept walking from one side of my property to the other doing weird stuff like that. I wake up my wife and tell her to call 911. The moon was bright so I turn OFF the motion lights to conceal me as I slip out the side door, trusty G19 with ls in hand but concealed behind my leg. The guy isn't on my property and I intended to keep it that way. I asked him what he was doing in front of my house at 1:30 and he stated that he used to live around here. I let him know that he needed to get away from my house and he did it again....spun around like 2-3 times and walked a few feet and repeated his little "dance routine" again...but he did actually make it down the street and around the corner when the cruiser showed. I holstered the pistol in my shorts pocket and advised the cop what happened and went back to bed. About thirty minutes later my bedroom window is lit up and I get up to see the cop is back. I walk out to meet him and he informs me that the guy, along with his other family members, is mentally ill and that I was lucky it was him and not his brother as this guy was pretty harmless but the brother would have tried something. I showed my CCW and patted my pocket and told him I wasn't too worried about that. We stayed out there talking about the neighborhood problems for about another 30 minutes and then I went back to bed.

TWO DAYS LATER: I'm off work for the day and headed to pick my wife up from her job. Normally, I carry everywhere but for some reason didn't that day. When I got a few miles down the road, I thought about it had had a weird, naked feeling about leaving it but it was a quick trip. One the way back, we stop at a gas station to fill up and grab a carton of smokes. My wife buys the smokes while I pump. About the time she makes it back to me, 3 kids...maybe 10-13 years old run across the highway and run right to us. The older looking one asks if I have a dollar. My wife moves behind me. Being completely un-threatened by three munchkin thug-to-be's, I said sure I've got several dollars but he can't have one. Then I interject that maybe his mama shouldn't have blown all of her welfare money already and to get the hell away from us. Two start to walk right away but one just stands there. I'm giving him the stare down of his life and then take a step towards him. He pulls a pistol from his waistbelt and immediately drops it. THANKFULLY, the second he pulled it out, the orange tip is visible and I knew it was a toy. I run right at him but he grabs it back up and takes off down the street to catch up with is buddies and they don't stop. I didn't even carry my cell phone or I would have had them picked up. I can only imagine what would have happened if my wife had been alone (she doesn't feel comfortable carrying). When I talked to her about it later, she said she wasn't too concerned with me there plus she had OC spray in her hand already.

Which brings us to LAST NIGHT: Again, I awake to dogs barking, and I mean really going crazy, and I can't place the barks as all being my neighbors dog. I grab my shorts and the gun and walk out to investigate. HOLY CRAP, there's a pack of about 6-8 pit bulls right in front of my house. They completely caught me off guard as I had looked out the windows first for people but didn't look down expecting dogs in the yard. I think i did like 3 backflips to get back inside and called 911 yet again. The operator stated something to the effect "well there's not much we can do this time of night". I immediately told him if they didn't send someone that their switchboard was about to light up from my neighbors calling to report gunshots. I watched thru the window as the pack made its way back to the street and started down the street. I then noticed my neighbors at the end of the street apparently coming in from a late night trip and yelled at them to get inside. They saw the dogs and ran in. I was so tired from lack of sleep for two nights that I just went back to bed.

Before anyone states the obvious: yes we know we should be moving out of here and have plans to do so but I need about a year first to get things in order first. Plus, I have Georgia's Castle Doctrine on my side. Something good has come from all of the excitement - my wife now says she's ready to carry. I'm so happy she's finally taken the blinders off. To celebrate, I'm adding a Mossberg and two P3ATs (his/hers) to my growing collection.

Sorry for any typos or ramblings. Since I spent most of the day napping, I've been up late but wanted to type this out before I went to bed.

 

[rainbowbob]

I'd like to share my story also and welcome any feedback...

GASheepDog: So here's my feedback.

You recounted four incidents in which you opened the door and exposed yourself to danger unnecessarily in my opinion.

From what you have described, you exposed yourself to a couple of home invaders, set your dogs and your gun sights on police officers, confronted a madman, and had to run from a pack of pit bulls.

Why?

Why not take advantage of the protection allowed under "Georgia's Castle Doctrine" - stay in your castle behind your locked doors and...

...tell the thugs to beat it and call 911...

...call 911 about a disturbance and be told that officers are on the scene...

...call 911 about a deranged man in the street...

...call animal control and/or 911 to report the dog pack...

Of course you (and I) should be prepared to defend our castles. The lights, alarms, and dogs have alerted you to trouble - but why go out looking for it? If trouble breaks in a door or window...you do what ya gotta do from the advantage of a good defensive position (both tactically and legally).

Now here's where I admit that I've done similar things when disturbed by events in my neighborhood - but I'm learning.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I have to second rainbowbob's statements. Pick up the recent gun magazine that Massad Ayoob writes (nearly) single-handedly and give the self-defense articles a read. Indeed, it is your castle, but that doesn't make you king.

Stay inside and let the cops do their job. If anybody enters your house, all bets may be off, but we all need to use that barrier as our next to last defense.