i got robbed!

[Hoosier]

Thanks for your concerns. I fully agree with your point.... Maybe, that is the reason why I don't get the gun inside home yet......

I have been in the military several years and I think I know the gun pretty much thanks to the special training during the service. My training made me to be ready to shoot any targets including the human without the second thought. That might be another reason why I don't keep the gun, too.

BTW, where were all accidents happened? in TX?

It sounds like you lived in the old Harlem, NY....

There are a few things you need to consider before you rush off to buy a gun for home defense. First, can you really pull the trigger? Don't think for a second that shooting someone in the leg or just wounding them is an option. Shootings are very stressful and I don't care how good a shot you are, you must be willing to shoot center mass. Are you really prepared to take another persons life? If you are then you must choose an appropriate weapon with which to defend yourself. A handgun for instance is about the worst choice you could make for a home defense weapon. Get a shotgun and load it with 00 buck if you want a home defense weapon. The other thing you need to consider is who will have access to that gun? Small children and firearms do NOT mix. If you have small children around the house you need to consider how long it will take to get that gun lock off and how quickly you can load it. If you take an honest assessment I think you'll find keeping a gun unloaded and locked will simply take you too long to get the gun ready for action. There are also legal implications when defending property or even your own life with deadly force that you need to investigate.

By now many are probably thinking I'm anti-gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hold a CHL (Concealed Handgun License) and carry regularly. I have had to pull my handgun on 3 occassions, fortunately on all 3 occasions the other party thought better of their actions after they realized if they continued it might cost them their life. I've had to pull my handgun when 4 people tried to jump me in a parking lot, when I came home and found someone in my apartment trying to rob me, and when someone posing as a door to door salesman tried to force their way into my apartment. I've also had to get my shotgun out when someone was trying to kick down my front door. There's just something about pumping a 12 guage shotgun that seems to get some attention, they promptly left. I also had my car broken into twice, all of this within 1 year. Fortunately I no longer live in that area as I am making more money now and can afford to live in a nicer neighborhood. Some probably think I'm some sort of John Wayne but I'm not. I would rather someone take my personal belongings than have to take their life. If however I feel my life is in danger, I will respond with deadly force.

get yourself a webcam - set it up to record and IF the ***** come back in a months time (after you get all new stuff) you got them

What surveilance SW are you using with a webcam? Any recommendation?

 

[FredT]

A handgun for instance is about the worst choice you could make for a home defense weapon. Get a shotgun and load it with 00 buck if you want a home defense weapon. The other thing you need to consider is who will have access to that gun? Small children and firearms do NOT mix. If you have small children around the house you need to consider how long it will take to get that gun lock off and how quickly you can load it. If you take an honest assessment I think you'll find keeping a gun unloaded and locked will simply take you too long to get the gun ready for action. There are also legal implications when defending property or even your own life with deadly force that you need to investigate.

The better answer for home defense is to load with #7-1/2 lead bird shot. It will not shoot through 2 layers of sheet rock with enough energy to cause a serious wound, thus saving family members on the other side of the wall. At defensive distances bird shot hits like a slug and causes a wound VERY difficult to repair, especially if the liver is involved.. The solution to small kids and guns is planing and/or training. There are simple "safe" measures that can be taken with a firearm with a loaded magazine, but unloaded chamber. We always kept loaded weapons hammer down on an empty chamber. The gun has to be racked to load a round and cock it before it will fire. Something as simple a a heavy rubber band on the gun YOU can instantly remove but the kids lack the strength to move works well. The pistols had trigger pulls adjusted to harder than the kids could pull until they were old enough to teach firearms safety. Both my kids were shooting well by the time they were 6. As far as the kids were concerned there was never an "unloaded" gun in the house, and several had rounds in the magazine. Never had a problem with firearm safety at all.

BTW Watching my 12 year old daughter verbally shred the arse of a retired Marine officer for an unsafe act on a firing range warmed my heart, even more so because the officer took it because he KNEW she was right.

FT

 

[ShallowDiverDave]

yeah i got done talking to my parents and they said they got around 10k worth of stuff from they're room alone! i know they got around 1k from my room and they also got some stuff from two of my other brothers too. yeah it sucked the cops didnt come for a good hour! the stuff being stolen doesnt bother me as much as not feeling safe in my own home like justleesa said. it was kind of scary cause my gf was with me, i grabbed a knife from my room and told her to stay close as we walked out. it was like something out of an action movie.

When I was in highschool, I got home from school to see my basement door kicked down, they didnt find most of the goodies but still left a mess. I too grabbed a knife and walked around the house, but I clearly wasnt thinking straight at the time. The violation that I experienced that day is still with me. Good luck, things will get better bro.

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

The better answer for home defense is to load with #7-1/2 lead bird shot. It will not shoot through 2 layers of sheet rock with enough energy to cause a serious wound, thus saving family members on the other side of the wall. At defensive distances bird shot hits like a slug and causes a wound VERY difficult to repair, especially if the liver is involved.. The solution to small kids and guns is planing and/or training. There are simple "safe" measures that can be taken with a firearm with a loaded magazine, but unloaded chamber. We always kept loaded weapons hammer down on an empty chamber. The gun has to be racked to load a round and cock it before it will fire. Something as simple a a heavy rubber band on the gun YOU can instantly remove but the kids lack the strength to move works well. The pistols had trigger pulls adjusted to harder than the kids could pull until they were old enough to teach firearms safety. Both my kids were shooting well by the time they were 6. As far as the kids were concerned there was never an "unloaded" gun in the house, and several had rounds in the magazine. Never had a problem with firearm safety at all.

BTW Watching my 12 year old daughter verbally shred the arse of a retired Marine officer for an unsafe act on a firing range warmed my heart, even more so because the officer took it because he KNEW she was right.

FT

I actually do have mine loaded with birdshot because I live in an apartment and there are people literally all around me. If I lived in a brick house though, I'd probably be using buckshot. I couldn't agree more with your training and kids. Most kids play with firearms because they don't know any better and haven't been taught any better and they get curious. I've had many friends ask me to take their kids out and I always start with a lesson in firearms safety with their parents. Honestly, on the range adults scare me more than the kids. The kids after they shoot off a few rounds have a good bit of respect for the firearm and what it can do while too many adults think it is a fun toy. I was actually nearly shot on a firing range due to an idiot trying to clear a jam with trigger on the finger and gun not pointed down range. The range master came out but after I got done reeming the guy he basically told the guy, yea, what he said.

As for your method of keeping the pipe clear, that can work. I know of no 12 year olds and few 14 year olds capable of racking the slide on my glock 27. Although I'd actually trust most of my friends 12 year olds around a fully loaded weapon as I know they have been properly taught and brought up around firearms.

As for the question about where all those things happened to me, far North Dallas. I unfortunately lived off a street with a lot of drug activity. I didn't know this when I moved there or I wouldn't have moved into that apartment. The only good thing about the experience there is it opened my eyes to the world of firearms. I used to think if they'd ban and control all firearms the world would be a better place, I know better now.

 

[plot]

I'd prefer a shotgun over a handgun for home defense just becuase of the spread. Something like a 9mm won't do much to a guy unless you shoot him in the head or heart or some other precise place. Otherwise, the bullet goes on through and he keeps on coming.

Birdshot on the other hand would spread out and smack the guy pretty good, chances are it'd get him in the face, chest, etc. and he'd either go down, or the other way. Nobodies gonna keep charging in that condition.

Plus, when it's late, you're tired, someone's broken into your house... who'se aim is going to be perfect? You don't want a bunch of bullets flying through walls either.

 

[Bruce3]

yeah i was thinking when i get my own place im going to get a glock with some less than lethal rounds. i dont like doing CQB with a rifle/shotgun its a pain. i was even thinking of getting one of these http://www.taser.com/law/product_info/index.htm but then thats only good for one scumbag.

 

[RonDawg]

I've noticed a bit of talk about whether or not one should get a handgun for personal protection. I'm not going to get into that debate, as it's a purely personal choice.

What I do wish to bring up is in the case of residential burglary, with very few exceptions they are done when the thief believes nobody is home. The overwhelming majority of burglary victims discover the crime just like the OP did; they came home and found it broken into. In such cases, a handgun is useless, since you won't be there to apprehend, or even scare off, the criminal. You have to reconcile the fact that if you had a gun in the house at the time it was broken into, and you weren't home, now the thief has your gun too. Not a pleasant thought as you're standing out front wondering if he's still inside.

"Hot prowl" burglaries like justleesa was a victim of, while they do happen, are quite rare in the overall picture of burglaries.

TXHockeyGuy does bring up an important point though; if you can't visualize yourself pulling the trigger and taking someone's life, having a gun may make things worse for you. Remember, there have been police officers who have gotten to the point of pulling the trigger, and were not able to, and these are people who are trained to take a life if necessary to save another. If they couldn't do it, what makes you think you can?

The best defense against burglars is to discourage a burglar. Use deadbolts at all hinged exterior doors. If there is a window within 12 inches of the deadbolt, use a deadbolt that requires keys on both sides. Shut and lock your windows if you're not home; if you must leave them open for ventilation, make sure you use a device that only allows the window to be opened an inch or two. If you have a sliding glass door or sliding window, put a dowell or sawed down broomstick in the channel to prevent it from being opened. There are also devices that prevent sliding windows and doors from being lifted off the channel.

Also, don't advertise to the whole world what you've got inside your house. Shut your curtains when you're not home, so you're not tempting a thief with that shiny new plasma TV on the wall. If you bought a new computer, or other piece of expensive electronics, try to turn the box inside out so that on trash day the entire neighborhood doesn't know you're a "Dell" dude, for example.

A common point of entry in newer homes is via the attached garage. If you have one, lock the door leading from the garage to the house, and make sure that door has a working deadbolt too and that it's used. It's very easy to defeat a garage door opener; in fact tools are available to pull that emergency rope handle from the outside (firefighters have them).

Having a dog is useful, even if it's not vicious. If they bark at strangers, that could be enough to discourage a burglar, since few want any attention while they're committing their crimes. Alarms can be good, but evaluate your local police department's response time first. If it's a long time, all you'll do is annoy your neighbors. And, alarms are no substitute for the common-sense measures I've mentioned above.

 

[Bruce3]

as for the having a hand gun it would be locked up in a safe and loaded with less than lethal rounds. true in my case the scumbag(s) were long gone by the time i got there but it would be nice to know that i would have something i can use to defend myself while at a safe distance.

 

[RonDawg]

as for the having a hand gun it would be locked up in a safe and loaded with less than lethal rounds. true in my case the scumbag(s) were long gone by the time i got there but it would be nice to know that i would have something i can use to defend myself while at a safe distance.

First of all, there's no such thing as a handgun "with less than lethal rounds." Unless it's handgun firing blanks, or simunitions. And at close enough range, to the right body part, a blank can even kill. It happened to a Hollywood actor many years ago while "fooling around" on the set, who was stupid enough to put a blank-loaded handgun to his head, get the attention of his costars, then pull the trigger. While it didn't have a projectile, it did still have gunpowder, and the concussion force of that gunpowder igniting was enough to kill him.

As far as simunitions, I don't think you intended to play paintball with the burglar, now did you?

Second, a handgun with "less than lethal rounds" is about as useful as a one legged table. The point of a handgun is personal protection, meaning the ability to use it should things go that bad. As TXHockeyGuy pointed out, if you can't reconcile yourself to taking a human life, you have NO business carrying a firearm as personal protection.

In law enforcement, when we deploy "less lethal" force options, we ALWAYS have an officer standing by, ready to use the "lethal" version should the "less lethal" one fail to work, which has happened.

Third, if it's locked in a safe, if you were in justleesa's position and woke up to find a burglar in your house, could you get to it in time? Could you remember the combination under such a stressful situation?

 

[Bruce3]

im sure i can get a safe open in such a stressful situation and taking anothers life i can deal with if that person is breaking into my home. it could quickly turn into a kill or be killed senario.