Thinking about Firearms for Home Defense

[film495]

I have a small flashlight in my closet and next to it is a can of mace. There is a club and the can of mace, I've shown my wife where they are and hope she never needs them. I've tried a few times to show her how to shoot, but here interest is limited, can't rack a slide, trigger is too hard to pull, gun is too heavy, you name it - so, hope the club and mace works out for her if it ever comes to it.

 

[LNK]

I have a small flashlight in my closet and next to it is a can of mace. There is a club and the can of mace, I've shown my wife where they are and hope she never needs them. I've tried a few times to show her how to shoot, but here interest is limited, can't rack a slide, trigger is too hard to pull, gun is too heavy, you name it - so, hope the club and mace works out for her if it ever comes to it.

Is the mace heavy? And are there spikes on the business end? Just kidding!

 

[Anchorite]

Lol I’m a racetrack veterinarian most of my clients are great ppl who eithier respect my boundaries or just stop by to ask a question- however gambling and cash always attracts a certain element and since ppl assume I’m rich and know I have controlled substances I’ve had a couple interactions over the years- less so since I’ve moved
The only time I had to point a gun at someone was when they were banging on the door of my camper yelling cmon doc! Give me some money! ( it was 3am)

I can relate. As a lawyer, clients always like to run you down. And anyone who is smart enough to research property tax records can find you ....

I also rely on dogs as an alarm system.

 

[bdickens]

Lol I’m a racetrack veterinarian most of my clients are great ppl who eithier respect my boundaries or just stop by to ask a question- however gambling and cash always attracts a certain element and since ppl assume I’m rich and know I have controlled substances I’ve had a couple interactions over the years- less so since I’ve moved
The only time I had to point a gun at someone was when they were banging on the door of my camper yelling cmon doc! Give me some money! ( it was 3am)

Makes sense.

A lot of people think some professions pay way more than they do.

 

[Koroner]

I can relate. As a lawyer, clients always like to run you down. And anyone who is smart enough to research property tax records can find you ....

Anyone who is smart enough to be a lawyer knows how to bury an LLC into another and hide his property (or should have been smart enough to do it from the getgo). Sorry, just sayin.
I figure that if a gun comes out that I have already made at least one big mistake, maybe several.

 

[Anchorite]

Anyone who is smart enough to be a lawyer knows how to bury an LLC into another and hide his property (or should have been smart enough to do it from the getgo). Sorry, just sayin.
I figure that if a gun comes out that I have already made at least one big mistake, maybe several.

Well sure. But an LLC is paperwork trail .... better still, one can use a trust.....a trust doesn’t trigger the paper trail an LLC does ...... and the less paper, the better. You might be surprised what data can be drug up these days on individuals ..... but in the end, even the most determined can track someone down. As a lawyer, just sayin.

 

[Kleanbore]

There are any number of reasons that can lead to someone being victimized at home.

Some of them may well be worthy of consideration in the risk management process.

I can't see very many of them entering into how to protect and defend once the home is targeted.

 

[Hangingrock]

I am not part of the "Fortress America Movement". We have taken adequate preventative measures to secure the residence, thus our personal safety also.

 

[John Joseph]

Why Home Defense?
A home can go up in a conflagration. No firearm can stop that.
It's the people inside the home ---your family---that need protection from criminals.
Good locks, a dog, an alarm. lighting, barriers and landscaping can deter many criminals.
A .38, 9mm, .45 or 12 should deter the rest.

 

[Kleanbore]

It's the people inside the home ---your family---that need protection from criminals.

"Home defense" is a common expression that refers to self defense within the home.

Good locks, a dog, an alarm. lighting, barriers and landscaping can deter many criminals.

Yes.

A .38, 9mm, .45 or 12 should deter the rest.

How?

Getting to the answer of that question is what this thread is about.

 

[Jeff White]

How?

Getting to the answer of that question is what this thread is about.

It's really simple.....you keep a defensive weapon on your person or right at hand all the time you are in your home. I'm not a fan of stashing guns at various places in your home. The other option is to harden your home to the point that you will have enough time to retrieve your weapon if someone attempts to break in. You have to lock yourself down every time you or anyone in the family is at home and that's not always convenient. Good security is inconvenient at best and a royal PITA at worst. The hard part is coming up with measures that fit your lifestyle and don't require you to alter it too much.

 

[Kleanbore]

It's really simple.....you keep a defensive weapon on your person or right at hand all the time you are in your home.

I came to that exact conclusion around a decade ago.

 

[LNK]

I came to that exact conclusion around a decade ago.

Yup, gun goes on same time as my pants. Same thing every day. I also have guns stashed all over the house. The dogs never play with them.

 

[Meeks36]

I carry my pocket 380 when at home. Also keep a can of bear spray on top of the fridge. I used three inch screws to harden all doors. 75lb Chow/Sheppard mix. Motion detection lights. Thought my kids how to use the bear spray. Teaching them to shoot. My son has the combo to my safe. I trust him my daughter not so much. She has a temper. I keep his Wrangler loaded with CCI stinger's. In the safe and a additional big can of pepper spray on top of safe. And I pray we never have to find out how good our plan of action is. And most important of all they were taught to never open the door!

 

[Anchorite]

I came to that exact conclusion around a decade ago.

As did I. Everything is a compromise.

 

[JTHunter]

Is it your plan to defend yourself on the occasion of a criminal entry that might occur when you happen to be in the bedroom, or can you get to that rack in a few seconds from wherever you happen to be at the time?

That would really be necessary. I have a "special light" aimed down the hallway away from the bedroom that would give me a couple of seconds warning. I roll out of bed on the far side from the door and grab the shotty as it has 2 - 3" shells (OO & #4 Buck) and both barrels can be fired at the same time. The .357 in its holster hangs low and I can reach it without exposing more than my arm. I have handguns secreted in various hideaways around the house and a 14" long by 2.5" wide chef's knife in the kitchen. A friend of mine has an old butcher's cleaver with a rectangular blade that is about 7" from edge to back, about 10" of slightly curved edge with an 18" long handle. I would love to get that from him and hang it on my kitchen wall.

 

[JTHunter]

Why Home Defense?
A home can go up in a conflagration. No firearm can stop that.

That is why I have an extinguisher on the kitchen floor next to the trashcan and the oven, another on the wall behind the washer and dryer (in an alcove in the kitchen), another in my bedroom, two more in a 30 x 50 polebarn, and one more in the workroom built inside the polebarn. All of these extinguishers are "multi-class" (A, B, & C) as you never know what might start first.
I'm an old Boy Scout (stress the "old") and I take the "Be prepared" admonition to heart. If you plan for the worst, yet hope for the best, you should be OK.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I have handguns secreted in various hideaways around the house and a 14" long by 2.5" wide chef's knife in the kitchen.

All of which an experienced burglar could probably find in about 5 minutes

 

[JTHunter]

All of which an experienced burglar could probably find in about 5 minutes

Why would a burglar be interested in a chef's knife? The guns I can understand but there are easier (and faster) guns to steal than the ones hidden in the house.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

I have a few chef knives worth more than several of my guns! Although I doubt a burglar would know that by looking at them.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Why would a burglar be interested in a chef's knife? The guns I can understand but there are easier (and faster) guns to steal than the ones hidden in the house.

The guns are what I was talking about and while I am sure there are easier guns to steal than the ones in your house my point was that if you think those guns are hidden from a burglar, they're not.

I would guess that you are far more likely to lose those guns in a burglary then you are to need them to defend your home.

 

[scaatylobo]

Something to consider: Embracing technology to make your life easier can with the right setup make your home easier to defend. We, like many homes have our home integrated with smart devices. One of those is an Alexa 8" touchscreen in the bedroom. We can use it to control every light in the house, watch all the video cameras in and around the house and listen in through any of the other devices in the house. You can also set up custom command controls, like a panic command that will cause the house to perform certain functions like turn on all the lights to their brightest and call the police.

Or, if you are crazy, you have it turn all the lights in your house red, announce "Shooter Ready", play the shot timer beep then start playing "Let the bodies hit the floor" through all of your speakers...

Kidding on that last one. That's lawyer bait.

Anywho, the point is that a good defensive plan should incorporate every possible advantage. No one who ever won a life and death fight ever complained because the odds had been stacked too far in their favor.

LOVE that "plan",but I was thinking about " Who Let The Dogs Out".
As my musical,or the theme to SWAT.the boob tube show.,then again the "Bad Boys,Bad Boys" tune might be apprapo.

 

[bdickens]

All of which an experienced burglar could probably find in about 5 minutes

And an inexperienced one in just a little bit longer.

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

I have a small flashlight in my closet and next to it is a can of mace. There is a club and the can of mace, I've shown my wife where they are and hope she never needs them. I've tried a few times to show her how to shoot, but here interest is limited, can't rack a slide, trigger is too hard to pull, gun is too heavy, you name it - so, hope the club and mace works out for her if it ever comes to it.

Here you go for her; my home-defense gun. Light weight, easy to chamber a round, light trigger pull, and easy to aim. Bayonet optional.

 

[Alex Clayton]

All guns are worthless if they are inaccessible. Just like a life jacket on shore is worthless to a person drowning in a lake, or an unused seat belt during a car wreck. I think anyone with even a little bit of smarts can agree to that. If someone chooses to kick in a door or window and enter your house, the victim(s) will not have a choice of when this happens or where they will be located in the house at that time. The solutions to that in my house involve 2 elements- 1- realistic scenario-based training, and 2- insuring multiple firearms in multiple locations are accessible to the occupants of the home.

YES!!!!
I have always stressed this with the Wife. We keep a gun in different parts of the home. When kids were still at home Gun boxes were used. Now no longer needed. Now and then I will ask her when we are in some part of the house, "where is the gun?" Make sure she remembers. We have a 2 story home. 2 gun safes are on the 1st floor. So I make sure there are guns upstairs so if we are up stairs and some come in we are not trapped with no gun.