Doubtless this has been covered previously, but I'm lousy with this search thing...
Scenario... single mom with 13 month child. Fearful from a spate of home invasions in the area (several fatal) she wants to arm herself.
All door entries are on one end of the house, the first bedroom down the hall is accessible through windows. The rear two bedrooms are inaccessible from outside due to window height.
Part one - Arms
I've explained to her that one-shot stops are largely myth or luck, with the possible exception of a shotgun. I've gone through the pros and cons of pump/semi-auto/DB. I'm leaning a bit toward a Stoeger coach gun because I'm concerned about her working the actions under stress, but would love other opinions.
However, there's a more than likely chance that if worse come to worse, this young mother may need to navigate to the safety of the rear bedrooms with child in hand, so perhaps the shotgun is too cumbersome to wield. If so, then I'm inclined toward a simple .38 spcl revolver for the same reasons as my choice in shotgun... simplicity of function under stress. Opinions?
Part two - Defensive posture
I had one invasion attempt in a similarly configured house. I put the women in the rearmost bedroom and stationed myself on the floor where I could see the front bedroom window and down the hall, which covered the only two entry points. Fortunately, a warning of being armed deterred the invader and all ended well. However, I'm not sure how to advise this young lady about the kid. We certainly want the child completely out of harms way if gunfire is exchanged, but what is her best choice with the child? Put him in one of the bedrooms and her stand guard just outside, or the two of them barricade together in one room? I'm a little skeptical of both being together should shots be necessary, but I also don't like the idea of not having the child close enough to control.
What think ye?
As always, your wise counsel is appreciated!
Scenario... single mom with 13 month child. Fearful from a spate of home invasions in the area (several fatal) she wants to arm herself.
All door entries are on one end of the house, the first bedroom down the hall is accessible through windows. The rear two bedrooms are inaccessible from outside due to window height.
Part one - Arms
I've explained to her that one-shot stops are largely myth or luck, with the possible exception of a shotgun. I've gone through the pros and cons of pump/semi-auto/DB. I'm leaning a bit toward a Stoeger coach gun because I'm concerned about her working the actions under stress, but would love other opinions.
However, there's a more than likely chance that if worse come to worse, this young mother may need to navigate to the safety of the rear bedrooms with child in hand, so perhaps the shotgun is too cumbersome to wield. If so, then I'm inclined toward a simple .38 spcl revolver for the same reasons as my choice in shotgun... simplicity of function under stress. Opinions?
Part two - Defensive posture
I had one invasion attempt in a similarly configured house. I put the women in the rearmost bedroom and stationed myself on the floor where I could see the front bedroom window and down the hall, which covered the only two entry points. Fortunately, a warning of being armed deterred the invader and all ended well. However, I'm not sure how to advise this young lady about the kid. We certainly want the child completely out of harms way if gunfire is exchanged, but what is her best choice with the child? Put him in one of the bedrooms and her stand guard just outside, or the two of them barricade together in one room? I'm a little skeptical of both being together should shots be necessary, but I also don't like the idea of not having the child close enough to control.
What think ye?
As always, your wise counsel is appreciated!