Home Defence Discussion

[LWM]

We also have places in our home where we know to go in the case of a home invasion, these are the hardest places for the bad guy to get too and the easiest place to get out when you get a chance.

[NeilSmith]

Heres a recent one :
We have been having a rash of door bell rings at night this summer. You answer the door and nobody there. So last Monday was at the shop late installing my antenna mount and got home a 8:45. As I pulled onto our street my phone rang, it was my wife. She wanted to know where I was at, someone had just rang the door and wouldnt answer her so my wife was going to call the cops but called me instead. Well there just happened to be a group of teens walking away from the house a bit. So I pulled up to them :
Me : Hey guys, yall wouldnt happen to be ringing doorbells and running off would you ?
Them : No ! We were just coming from my house. ( a lie, they dont live on our street )
Me: WEll let me tell you guys a story. It happened last week at midnight and scared my wife. She woke me and I went to the door with a pistol in my hand. If you guys hear who is doing this, tell them it aint cool. Some bad things can happen when you trespass on someone's property in the middle of the night.
Them : Ok, no problem.
Now you have to understand my neighborhood. Its a gated community with 4500 homes, middle -middle upper class. These kids have anything they want and theyre still bored and getting in trouble. If they are brave enough to come on your porch at midnight it would be nothing to reach in your car and grab your ipod or gps. Hopefully I scared them enough that they at least wont ring my bell anymore.

[Matt]

Me and my friend had a long discussion about this recently... he's in a division of Special Ops and also swears by the shot gun for basically all of the reasons mentioned in this thread (even the "sound" of the shotgun).

However, for how my house is set up and with kids, my choice is a handgun. It's a bit hard to explain but because of how my house is setup, if someone's breaking in (and im not home) my wife (who happens to be a great shot btw) knows the drill is to get the kids in my sons room at the end of the hallway, close and lock the door and dial 911. If someone comes up to the door, announce that she had a weapon and that police are on the way (FYI we're 2 miles from the police station and 1/4 mile from a fire station). If they're dumb enough to try coming though that door..... they're done. She can hit an index card with a .45 with ease from 15' away, she's not going to miss someone coming through a door from 8' away. Reason for the pistol is I want something that my wife can handle with one hand if needed (say to keep the kids at bay and cover their eyes/ears). It's also easier for us to conceal in a small locked case.

[Matt]

To add to that, i think one of the most important aspects of choosing a home defense weapon is simply choosing a weapon that you're comfortable and skilled with using. In other words, don't buy a gun of any kind for home defense and never use it.... go to the range once in a while and make sure you're familiar with it. If it sits for 6 years collecting dust and "that night" comes, you don't need the added stress of not remembering how to load it, where the safety is, the feel of the trigger, etc. In that case, you're better off throwing frying pans down the hallway (hey... they can hurt!)

[Tymac]

I sleep so darn hard I could be robbed and the robber could be eating Dorito's next to me in bed watching sportscenter while drinking my beer. They only reason I'd wake up is because I had to take a leak. Weird how pee dreams wake you up just in time.

So that's why I use Claymores, but there again it'll be the police shaking me awake to ask WTF happened.

All joking aside for average joe get a good old fashioned scattergun as my grand pappy would say. I prefer pistol. I train with it, know where it will hit just by pointing it and I don't want to find flesh a month later in my hallway light or somewhere else I forgot to look. Yuck!

Putting up motion lights and an alarm company's sign in your yard will work 89% of the time. Leave no entry point in the dark.

[Tymac]

To add to that, i think one of the most important aspects of choosing a home defense weapon is simply choosing a weapon that you're comfortable and skilled with using. In other words, don't buy a gun of any kind for home defense and never use it.... go to the range once in a while and make sure you're familiar with it. If it sits for 6 years collecting dust and "that night" comes, you don't need the added stress of not remembering how to load it, where the safety is, the feel of the trigger, etc. In that case, you're better off throwing frying pans down the hallway (hey... they can hurt!)

X2