Buying a Gun for Home Protection

SVreX wrote: No one seems to have asked the obvious question: Are you prepared to kill someone? If not, don't have a gun, because an intruder might be prepared to do just that.

Well, the other obvious question is "Are you prepared to die a victim?"

I hate to be dramatic given the rest of this thread's penchant for it but... it comes down to having the right tool for the job. If that tool is a bat, a machete, a war hammer, a gun or a ninja-like fighting skill... the OP wants some comfort that he is prepared to deal with some invasion threat.

A weapon of any kind needs training to be effective but a firearm is certainly one of the top contenders for "effective" against intruders.

Who here does not understand the need for the correct tool for a particular job? (in this case it really might be the machete...). We have psychiatrists for dealing with what happens after your family is safe and you have cleaned the chainsaw. There is only a moral dilemma if you win.

k, the gun crowd has had a pretty good say here

guns out the question for whatever reason, what are the alternative responses to a home invasion/ break in?

joey48442 wrote: Are you being sarcastic? Or did youiss the first three pages;) Joey

I think it's a stream of thought post, he's just trying to think about what to do to that soldier in the other thread

To play devil's advocate, I think a lot of people are asking the question: "Do you really feel like you need home protection? Or are you just using 'home protection' as an excuse to get a gun?"

If you just want a gun for the sake of having a gun, and would like it to be useful for a home defense scenario, great. Get one. Learn how to use it, and enjoy it.

If the concern really is home defense, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You're better off preventing/dissuading an invader than having the best gun in the world to stop them once they're in. There are much more effective methods for that. That doesn't mean don't buy a gun. It means you should first look into getting a dog, bars, safety door, and/or improved lighting. Or better yet, remove yourself from the situation you feel unsafe in.

The safest car in a crash is the one that's able to maneuver around it.

bravenrace wrote: So nobody should buy a gun for home protection?

That's not what I said at all.

If you are living in an area that you should not be living, and are thinking of buying a gun on the rationalization that it will now make you safe, that is a fools move.

If on the other hand you know how to be safe when unarmed, and are simply chosing to suplement yourself with a gun, go for it.

If it's all too confusing, go read Heinleins "Tunnel in the Sky".

Add me to the "not a fan of the Taurus Judge" club. A .410 pistol is great for impressing people who don't know much about guns, but a .410 is a pretty anemic round. You'd be better firing a .45LC from the same weapon.

My two cents: whatever you get, put a light and night sights on it so you can see what you're shooting at. Use appropriate self defense ammo, not whatever you find at Walmart. Test enough of this ammo in your weapon to make sure it goes bang every time you pull the trigger.

A good pump shotgun like a Mossy 500 or Remington 870 is always going to be a good, reliable choice, but it's not the only one. My home defense weapon is an AR15 loaded w/Hornady's 5.56mm 75 grain TAP load.

The whole paintball gun w/marble idea makes me really nervous. What if you have to confront someone who has a real gun?

Salanis wrote: To play devil's advocate, I think a lot of people are asking the question: "Do you really feel like you need home protection? Or are you just using 'home protection' as an excuse to get a gun?" If you just want a gun for the sake of having a gun, and would like it to be useful for a home defense scenario, great. Get one. Learn how to use it, and enjoy it. If the concern really is home defense, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. You're better off preventing/dissuading an invader than having the best gun in the world to stop them once they're in. There are much more effective methods for that. That doesn't mean don't buy a gun. It means you should first look into getting a dog, bars, safety door, and/or improved lighting. Or better yet, remove yourself from the situation you feel unsafe in. The safest car in a crash is the one that's able to maneuver around it.

Also recommend you take a karate summer camp. It worked for me. My super saiyan situational awareness and reflexes have time and time again let me move between my wheelchair bound mother-in-law and a threatening bum on the street. Hell, I don't even need a gun!

Thanks for the information, at least to those who stuck to actually answering the question I asked instead of lecturing me like I'm an idiot. Listen guys, I know you all mean well, but I'm a fairly smart guy. I really don't need people to make assumptions about me when they don't know me at all. To tell me that I won't be able to use a gun if I needed to is insanely stupid. I'm 50 years old. I've never owned a gun. I wouldn't be thinking about it now if I wasn't serious about it. You don't have to be concerned with why I want it, where I live, whether I have a security system or not, etc... I just asked for recommendations on what to buy. Thanks to those that answered that question.

In reply to bravenrace:

you'll shoot yer eye out!

In reply to Strizzo:

That's entirely possible. But then again that's my responsiblity, right?

Osterkraut wrote:

BoostedBrandon wrote: He was worried about buying a semi-auto handgun because of the risk that it may jam.

Was this in 1902?

even a well tuned race gun can stovepipe if you limpwrist it

In reply to bravenrace:

seeing as how your little guy there seems to have already done something to one eye, you might take a bit more care whith the only one you have left, no?

In reply to Strizzo:

Huh?

i guess i'll actually contribute since i wasn't around for the trolling earlier... i have a glock 19 9mm that typically stays in the nightstand, the rest of the guns are locked in the gun cabinet upstairs, one mag of .22lr for the 10/22 and another one or two of 5.56 for the AR15 stay loaded, the rest are just used for range days. if there is a higher likelyhood of criminal mischeif (long weekends, spring break, tue/wed. before thanksgiving and the last day of school, fall or spring are usually when kids are wandering about looking for things to tear up in my experience) i'll bring down the AR and put it in the closet near my side of the bed.

there is a ghetto apt. complex across and down the street from me, my unit is an end unit and several times i've heard people coming from that direction climb my wall, up on the roof and over the back to the driveway and hop in a waiting vehicle, so i'm not actually as kooky as it seems, i promise.

whatever you get, practice, practice, practice

But still, huh? Little guy? waddyatalkinabout?

In reply to bravenrace:

this guy seems to have an eye out ->

i know he's supposed to be winking, btw.

fasted58 wrote: k, the gun crowd has had a pretty good say here guns out the question for whatever reason, what are the alternative responses to a home invasion/ break in?

Baseball bat, knife, machette, hairbrush? Honestly, in a situation like that, fight or flight takes over. Not to say I'm an expert or that I've ever been in a situation like that. There is also the fact that in a home invasion, you are likely up against multiple intruders who are heavily armed (hence invasion). The BEST thing to do, in my humble opinion, is get yourself out of the house, or in a safe baricaded place and call for reinforcements (police, neighbors, fire department, national guard). If you have a revolver and only have 6 shots and you're against 7 guys, your chances aren't that great. Hell, if you're against 7 guys with any weapon in a home invasion, most likely your chances aren't that good.

The OP is asking for advice and this thread has turned into a lot of bashing and pro vs anti gun stuff. Hopefully the OP can sift through the crap and gather information relevant to his interests.

Hotlink:

Wait, wrong thread...

Find one you like, try it out. Lock it up. Owning a gun is a big responsibility, and not the end-all-be-all of having a safe home, but since criminals are often armed, I choose to be as well.

All that aside, THR is a great forum, they (we...) can point you in the direction of lots of great choices if you have detailed questions.

Personally, my nightstand gun is a Beretta 9mm. It plays backup to a well-lit, alarmed house with a roaming dog and locked doors and windows- if I ever have to use it for its intended purpose, the person on the other end will have a horrible day. So will I. :(

So that's the what, the why is because it was cheap (ugly from holster wear but internally perfect police trade in, $250 with 4 magazines), shoots cheap ammunition (9mm FMJ is generally the cheapest centerfire handgun ammunition), accurate enough (paper plate at 10 yards), good capacity (15 rounds) and easy to secure.

fasted58 wrote: k, the gun crowd has had a pretty good say here guns out the question for whatever reason, what are the alternative responses to a home invasion/ break in?

3-4cell maglight has many purposes, i've grabbed my rock hammer out of the garage when the house alarm was going off when was coming home (cops were on their way as well)

Strizzo wrote: In reply to bravenrace: this guy seems to have an eye out -> i know he's supposed to be winking, btw.

See this here head of mine? Pretty thick. In fact, shooting it accidentally may not have the expected results.

bravenrace wrote: I really don't need people to make assumptions about me when they don't know me at all..

Sir, you do realize that this internet, don't you?

In reply to Salanis:

See my post above yours.....

boom! ..... headshot?

Conquest351 wrote: Baseball bat, knife, machette, hairbrush? Honestly, in a situation like that, fight or flight takes over. Not to say I'm an expert or that I've ever been in a situation like that. There is also the fact that in a home invasion, you are likely up against multiple intruders who are heavily armed (hence invasion). The BEST thing to do, in my humble opinion, is get yourself out of the house, or in a safe baricaded place and call for reinforcements (police, neighbors, fire department, national guard). If you have a revolver and only have 6 shots and you're against 7 guys, your chances aren't that great. Hell, if you're against 7 guys with any weapon in a home invasion, most likely your chances aren't that good.

This guy did just that....got HIMSELF out of the house and called the police. While waiting outside his wife and two daughters were sexually assaulted then murdered. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/07/nyregion/07slay.html

I'd much rather fight, and die trying if that happens, than live with running away and not doing a thing.

Strizzo wrote:

Osterkraut wrote:

BoostedBrandon wrote: He was worried about buying a semi-auto handgun because of the risk that it may jam.

Was this in 1902?

even a well tuned race gun can stovepipe if you limpwrist it

And revolvers can be extremely sensitive to timing issues.