Home Defense

I have my Kimber Ultra Carry II at my bedside. That's to cover Archerandshooter so he can get to his Mossberg 500 with 00 buckshot in it. Between us, we're good, I think.

And if needed I have both slugs and buckshot for my 20 gauge too.

Plus dogs, an alarm system that's monitored, and good locks and lights.

Springmom
 
Wish I had a dog....

....because early awareness is key.

For a polite, but unexpected knock on the door: XD .45 Tactical w Fed HS (13x3) and TLR-2 light/laser.

For mucho badness: The XD becomes BU; primary is my SOCOM 16 w trijicon reflex and as many 20 rounders as I can grab. Wife watches kids with Mossy 500 w xlp holosight, 5x00 plus 2 buck and 3 slug in the butt cuff....

An old cell phone for 911 and lots of G2 lights and assorted tactical junk abound.

If I'm surprised and happen to have passed out before unlocking a firearm: the closest thing to my bed is a wooden bokken (Japanese training sword). It can be left unlocked all day because my kids can barely leave welts with it, but I can f someone up. I can reach the bedroom door and window by rolling off the bed in the appropriate direction. Don't need ambient light, glasses, manipulating a safety or chambering a round. Not the most effective choice, but that's why awareness is key....
 
I live in an upstairs condo (easy to fortify against zombie infestation - my primary concern - just throw furniture down the stairs). Seriously, unless someone swings through my patio doors tacticool style they have to come up 16 steps with a turn in the middle. My front door is reinforced - not a vault door, but someone would have to make a lot of noise to get in. This should buy me enough time to meet them at the turn of the stairs with my Mossberg 500 / 00buck. 2X6 wall behind him, 60 yards of nothing behind that. I'll admit I'm a heavy sleeper - if I'm not on top of it that quickly, then I barricade in the bedroom. See Hallucinator's scenario from there...
 
For me, a rifle is out of the question as I live in a subdivision with close neighbors. My setup is: Kimber Eclipse Custom II and flashlight on my side of the bed, snubby .38 and light on the wife's, and 870 with 3" 00 buck(soon to be #1 buck due to less risk of overpenetration.) I have kids in the house, so holing up in the bedroom is not an option. Our plan of action is the wife calls 911 and readies herself with the .38 while I secure the boys and despense any nessecary a$$kicking.
 
I've cleared my house many times...sometimes because of strange noises and paranoia, and sometimes just for practice (yes, I'm a little paranoid and perhaps a little weird too).
And I have come to the conclusion that I prefer a handgun over a long-gun for the task.
I just need a free hand to open doors and move curtains and such, and there are too many tight turns and doors that make a long-gun cumbersome.
 
second that. i've cleared my house acouple times b/c the wife heard a niose upstairs ( like someone is going to use an extension ladder to break in). it i s a tight stair case and i would prefer to have my handgun in one hand a ligth in the other, so i can draw fire away from me and to the light (held away from my body old FBI style). plus I am always concerned that someone might break in via the girls bedroom window, in which case i don't want to go blazing in w/ my moss 500 loaded w/ #1.
 
If you "do" use a carbine or shotgun for self-defense, maybe you can choose a good two point sling to make it more handy. That way you can keep a hand on the grip (with finger off the trigger, natch) while you keep a hand free to open doors, etc..

The houses we've lived in since having kids have almost always needed a clearing in the case of strange noises, etc. And I'm not going to call 911 every time the screen door comes loose, or whatnot.

Heck, if we're coming back from somewhere, I'll do a quick walkthrough of our house "just in case".
 
For a while I had my Mossberg 500 with Knoxx SpecOps sitting in the corner. After watching my friend try to operate the slide at the range, I decided to swap it out for the short barrel Saiga x39 with softpoint ammo.

Point, pull the trigger. No slide racking.
 
Having spent 19 months in Viet Nam, the last 7 months I was a sniper with the 173D Airborne Brigade, and having been a police sniper and MFI (Master Firearms Instructor) I've learned and studied many aspects involving firearms. Here's what I see applicable to home defense:

1. ANY shot that you make can go completely through a target and strike something else beyond the target. In my state, the local troopers are told that EVERY bullet that they fire is a potential one million dollar lawsuit. When possible, PRE-PLAN your shots so that you if your bullet does happen to go all the way through your target that it'll strike a good backstop, like a brick wall or mound of earth, of some sort. In other words, pick your ground for the fight that works to your advantage like the ancient Spartans did at Thermopylae. Fight smart.

2. The over all best tool for home defense and unexpected nighttime social events is a good shotgun of some sort. Use birdshot inside the house, 00 buck for close range outside up to about 15 yards and a slug round beyond 15 yards. Next would be a decent rifle of some sort. A handgun is ALWAYS used as a back-up tool when your shoulder mounted weapon suddenly does not work. After the handgun you should have a decent knife to use. The handgun is a weak sister and always has been. Police studies show that about 70% of all people who get shot with handguns survive. In addition, shotguns deliver devestating power on to a target with each shot and rifles deliver bullets that move at 2 or 3 times the speed (more power) than bullets fired from handguns. Rifles also give a shooter more accuracy in shot placement than most pistols will give. Red dot scopes and scopes with illuminated recticles increase your speed of accquisition to a target, your accuracy and effectiveness so use them.

3. Practice. Practice. Practice. The more you practice the more proficient you become with your firearms. It doesn't hurt to videotape or document your shooting abilities, training and practices. Keep such documentation and tapes filed away so that IF something does occur then you can let your attorney see them and decide how he wants to use them. Also learn to smoothly transition back and forth from firearm (shotgun/rifle) to another firearm (pistol) and back again.

4. Check out what your local laws say about use of force, use of deadly force, self defense and use of firearms where you live. Make sure that the information that you have is updated or current and at least every other year you re-check what your local laws say about force, deadly force and self defense.

5. Have your attorney's phone number on your speed dial in case something happens. Also know what, if possible, your attorney would and would not like for you to do in case of an incident. If in doubt, do NOT give ANY statements to anybody without YOUR attorney present. Just shut up and request your attorney when any official talks to you.

6. Have a plan then have at least 2 back-up plans. Same thing for firearms when possible. Document your plans and label the documents as "Defensive Plans for Home" or "Family Defense Plans at Home." Stress defensive as your intent in your plans and actions.

7. Remember to use time and distance as your allies. The longer you hold an aggressor/attacker at bay the more the tide turns against him. They also know this and will sometimes flee after a few minutes of resistance. The more that you use distance to keep the bad guys away from you, the easier it is for you to counter anything that he does. Distance equals time to react.

8. Shoot, move and reload. When you shoot you give yourself or your position away. When you shoot try to make some form of movement, even if it means just lowering your height, to offset your exposure when shooting. Also reload as often as you can and keep your firearms topped off when you can.

9. Believe in yourself. Have the mindset that you will survive no matter what. Gunfights are not about "winning." A real gunfight is not a game nor a sport. Gunfights are what you survive.
 
Birdshot is NOT a good self-defense round. Read some of the tests in here for what birdshot is capable of doing:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm

Bottom line: birdshot, even at near contact range, will make a large and gory, but extremely shallow wound, without sufficient penetration to actually stop a bad guy.

Any round that is capable of reliably stopping an assailant, is capable of overpenetration. I have a buddy who took 3 rounds of 12 ga. #7 shot at close to contact range. BG ran away, buddy walked over to the phone, called 911 and then sat down to wait for the ambulance.

Otherwise, the above post is sound.
 
The nightstand has a handgun: 38 spec, .380, 9mm, .45ACP (most often). It is primarily to use "checking out" suspicious OUTSIDE sounds.

It's secondary mission is to accompany me to whatever door unknowns may come to. So far, . . . all unknowns coming after dark have been friendly unknowns, . . . hope it stays that way, . . . but my handgun goes with me anyway.:D

It's third mission is to assist me in safe passage to my Beretta 12 ga that has 3 ea #4 buc, 2ea 00 buck, and 2ea slugs, . . . with 5 more 00 in a side saddle. Its a semi auto that hurts both ends, . . . shooter and shootee, . . . but the shootee will have to be ducking 92 projectiles coming his/her way during the first 7 rounds, . . . 45 more as soon as I can reload them and start in again on the trigger.

I have previously walked through the "fields of fire" available to me, . . . and some I won't take on the chance of someone being hurt in the "background".

If I need any more firepower than this, . . . I'll probably just grab my Bible and aluminum tinfoil hat, . . . scripture for the demons and tinfoil for the zombies.

The "Plan A" though, . . . where unknowns are approaching, . . . and have a definite bent for nasty or bad, . . . my wife is in the bathroom, on the cell, with 911, . . . my cell is laying on the bed with 911 on the line, . . . we are barricaded in the bed room, . . . come on LEO's.

May God bless,
Dwight
 
I keep a shotgun for home defense, but I only go for it when I feel I have a of time. In most situations my 1911 is the easiest thing to get my hands on quickly as it's usually within hand's reach.

When I was living with my grandfather I went for the shotgun to convince someone not to steal my atv. I felt I had plenty of time. When someone tried to break into my first apartment via the sliding glass door, I grabbed my
.45.

Best overall I think I have to go with the pistol. I have a lot of narrow places in my apartment where the shotgun just wouldn't be practical.
 
Personally as a cop and a designated marksman, i have the theory that if you miss or if a round travels through a person's body, that round will go through the wall into the neighbor's house, through the crip and into the baby who is fast asleep. Let me know what you all think.
Click to expand...

Interesting theory. A lot of people probably hope their bullets don't go through crips, but that they penetrate deep and then fragment.
 
I keep a Remington 870 ready for late night social events. It's backed up by a Bushmaster .223 which is backed-up by either a Sig P-220 in .45 caliber or a Glock 22-C in .40 caliber. All of the guns are backed up by a good sheath knife.

If I engage a target inside of my house I'd use birdshot or 00 buck. A slug round if it goes outside or if I need punch.

Over the 27+ years that I was a deputy sheriff, I talked to people who had been shot with shotguns or investigated a number of shootings where a shotgun was used. As I remember things, I know that I had 14 incidents at least and probably less than 20 where a shotgun was used to shoot or kill people. Birdshot, when fired at close range and into a human torso WILL effectively kill a person. Out of all the incidents, I can remember one girl who was shot in the rear and one guy that lived through his shooting. The girl ended up with a permanent limp and the male survivor ended up with an artificial left foot. The male accidentally shot himself with a 12 gauge when he was getting it out of the truck. The blast, a close range shot, mangled the foot so that it could NOT be saved.

We know that 1 bullet out of 4 ever strikes ANYTHING at all. This information comes from a police study done in the 1970s involving several large cities. The odds against striking another person exists BUT it is not as large as some people think it is. Using a rifle for self defense, particularly for pinpoint fire, isn't a bad idea BUT I wouldn't use a rifle as a first line firearm unless I had no other option available. Shotgun first. Rifle next and a pistol third.
 
And in my 43 years of breathing air on this earth, I have yet to encounter someone who felt the need to give me their resume in order to strengthen their point who knew their head from their *sses in reference to firearms.

Especially "Deputy Sheriffs".

Bird shot is for little birds. Buck shot is for bad guys.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/
 
Whatever you use best. If you have more experience/training with a rifle (ex: military), use it. If it is with a handgun, use it. Shotgun, use it. I think that familiarity, experience, and training are more important than anything else. You will react based on those concepts.
 
Birdshot, when fired at close range and into a human torso WILL effectively kill a person.
Click to expand...
Can birdshot kill a person?
Yeah, I'm sure that it can.

Will birdshot kill a person as reliably as buckshot or a slug?
No, I don't think so.

I base my opinion on the patients that I X-ray....
I've X-rayed LOTS of patients over the years that have birdshot pellets in them (yep, they carry those pellets for the rest of their lives).
But I've X-rayed very few living patients with shotgun slugs or 00 buckshot in them.
 
The BG may be a large man with lots of fat/muscle and also wearing heavy clothing. Birdshot should not be relied upon to achieve penetration in this case.

If you do not believe me, go to http://www.theboxotruth.com/.

Birdshot is for birds, not humans.

Another point...do not choose your HD weapon based upon wall penetration.

All service caliber handguns will penetrate through multiple walls.
 
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