I'm planning on commissioning as a reserve officer, and going for my Ph.D. I'm not really giving up on teaching- I'm giving up on teaching at an artificially constrained level, for poor pay, to
80% repeat students. But thanks for the encouragement.
Back to the topic: it's legal to hunt hogs in Georgia at night, and I've tried (learned a lesson about good flashlight and batteries, too!
). It doesn't take long to figure out it's hard to move and hold a light securely along the bore of a shotgun!
The "slide racking" thing is problematic. Sure, it can and perhaps may scare away a threat. Hell, many years...um, about 13, I guess- ago, I was walking with my first wife in a campground. We worked third shift, and it was about two in the morning, or a little later. We weren't loud, but I guess we were loud enough. We heard the sound of an SKS bolt slamming shut in a nearby tent.
We decided it was time to go back to our camper.
The problem is, the few who definitely will not be frightened away by that sound,
are the ones against whom every advantage is needed. I don't like giving away my position, and I don't like giving away that I'm armed. Hell, if I can't help it, I don't want a home invader knowing I'm awake.
Georgia has a castle doctrine. If someone who does not live in the house enters by force, he can be shot. Period. Not only that, but if anyone is injured by a defender during the commission of a felony, the defender cannot be sued.
This certainly makes things easier for Georgians, but
every state allows defense to protect life if the defender cannot retreat.
Now, Steve has been accused of being an internet tough guy. I like Steve, but I do understand how his verbiage could be taken that way. The thing is, the folks who believe the resounding clash of their pump "shotties" (
) will magically banish evil are the folk I consider internet tough guys. Relying on "intimidation factor" just seems amazingly short-sighted (that's code for "dumb as rocks"). It's like relying on pain compliance techniques to stop a threat. It may work.
*May*. Ultimately, there are only three ways to reliably stop a machine. These are
Structural failure ("stuff be broken");
Hydraulic failure ("stuff be punctured");
Electrical failure ("no go-juice").
This is true whether you are trying to stop a threat with bare hands or an Apache attack helicopter.
I understand cruiser ready carry. If I don't have a weapon on-body, I have often kept it cruiser ready. Ostentatiously charging the weapon has not and will never be a part of my defense strategy, though. In the case of a home invasion threat, if I had a slide-action, I might actually wait to charge it until I was about to fire.
As a home defender, I have no obligation to use verbal challenge. There is some small possibility I may use it, but only if the invader can be clearly seen to have nothing in his hands. If I feel threatened, I will engage. If he tries to run, I'll let him go, unless he's covered with the blood of my family. In that case, he appears to have committed a felony and still be a public danger, and he won't escape if I can help it.
Wow, this is a long post. I should go to bed.
John
