Defending your home, how far would you go?

[turbo]

I have a loaded (Duh! Unloaded would be idiotic!) Glock Model 20 in 10mm Auto and a P38 in 9mm Luger. They are always handy (though in discrete locations) and they are both double-action semi-automatic pistols. We live too far away from any reasonable police response. "I'm sorry Mr. Home Invader! Would you please cool it for at least 20-30 minutes until a trooper or a county deputy arrives?"

I don't know a single person on this rural road that isn't impressively armed - not just out of paranoia, but because we all like to hunt and/or shoot, and guns are ingrained in our culture. Like lots of rural locations, we have problems with opiate-addicts and meth-heads. They usually hit targets of opportunity in towns, though. Hitting rural homes will eventually earn them a one-way ticket to the morgue.

 

[baywax]

I guess different communities deal with intrusion etc... in different ways. Some times they lose a hand other times they have a shotgun to deal with. In other cases they are protected by law and sent to the spa to be reintegrated into society. You might have seen the Michael Moore clip where his camera crew walks into a woman's home in Toronto, Canada, and the door is unlocked and they walk in with lights and everything and she says "hi"... like it was open house or something. That was a different community. If it happened in Fort Worth the whole camera crew would be dead in the news.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I'm personally somewhat afraid of guns. A friend of mine has expressed a desire to take me shooting and I think it would probably even be a good idea if not for his opinion that I ought to try for a job as an armed guard (figure I'm more likely to be shot that way).

I'm not sure why people in places like England don't realize that its far easier to be anti-gun when you are on a densely populated island where it is harder to get arms and you are much more likely to have have people around to help you if/when someone attempts to victimize you.

 

[WhoWee]

I'm personally somewhat afraid of guns. A friend of mine has expressed a desire to take me shooting and I think it would probably even be a good idea if not for his opinion that I ought to try for a job as an armed guard (figure I'm more likely to be shot that way).

I'm not sure why people in places like England don't realize that its far easier to be anti-gun when you are on a densely populated island where it is harder to get arms and you are much more likely to have have people around to help you if/when someone attempts to victimize you.

I posted this earlier, "I don't think anyone really knows what they will do until they are confronted with the reality of the situation."

To add to that statement, you should never (touch/grasp/bare/wield/display) any weapon that you are not 1.) trained and competent to use, and 2.) are prepared to use. Otherwise, that weapon might aggravate the situation or ultimately be used against you.

Personally, I have separate strategies for home, car and work. In the past when I owned retail businesses that handled cash, I kept a loaded hand gun hidden in the safe (on a shelf accessed from the rear and not visible to the front), and a shotgun hung near the office door, usually out of site under a shelf.

Both firearms were intended for desperate situations only. The probability of being shot BEFORE the safe is opened is less than after it is opened. The shotgun was for defense of hostage situations - it's quite common to herd all of the employees into a back storeroom.

As for home strategies, it depends upon location. When I lived on a farm, with a tree-lined 1/2 mile lane leading back to the house, there were guns in every strategic location in the house and in certain out-buildings. We always had a big dog in the house and several dogs outside as well.

In the large metro suburbs, guns were stored without ammunition in a safe place. In the city, guns were not allowed. Now I live in a small rural community between 2 large metro areas.

I currently keep an automatic (with the clip removed and separated) in my bedroom. The kids are not aware of it's presence. The locations are quite concealed but easily accessed by me. My wife and I agreed not to have a gun in this house a long time ago, but she changed her mind after an incident with a raccoon about a year ago.

Every situation is different. I have in the past and will continue to react to each situation individually. However, I will never carry a gun unless I'm prepared to use it.

 

[Sorry!]

I think given the situation of the OP I would confront the intruder. I would ask them nicely to leave my house and if that request wasn't listened to I would use any means necessary to take them down. If they fought back it would only hurt for them even more, unless of course they are also trained in MMA or another martial arts. I don't think I would hesitate to use a weapon including a gun either. If I felt like this person or these people were an immediate danger to my family I wouldn't hesitate for even a second to go into the 'excessive force' category. Regardless of the outcome I FELT my family was in danger and they are OK in the end its all gravy.