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Hopefully, you never experience this situation .. but if does happen what would you do...?
It could happen at any time of day or night these days, so how well are you prepared for this unfortunate intrusion in your life..? I got to thinking about how I would handle this myself. Me being a male, I would just go for one of my handguns I have hidden. But then I really got to thinking .. how would my wife handle the situation if she was alone in our home.
Yes, my wife is trained on every firearm in our house and is a very good shot. Yeah all those good shots are only at the range with no pressure or threat. It takes time to retrieve a handgun, aim and shoot with accuracy when being threatened. It could be only seconds for you to react and the handgun may not be the weapon of choice at first.
I'm thinking that either mace or pepper spray would be a great 1st line defense. Kept in a easably accessible location this spray could be used to distract (or disable) the intruder enough to retrieve a handgun. Once the intruder is disabled and you have a loaded handgun pointed at the individual, what is your next move..? Yell, shoot, call 911 or what, I'll leave that up to you.
My point is to use mace or pepper spray as a 1st line of defense to stay the intruder off guard to give time for retrieval of firearm that is nearby.
Hate to tell you, but Mace or pepper spray in an enclosed area is a HORRIBLE idea. You'll only end up dusting yourself. Furthermore, Mace or pepper spray require you to be up close and personal with your unwanted guest right off the bat, if that's your first line of defense.
>security system
>good doors+frames+solid locks, good locks on windows
>dogs that bark
>Firearm of some sort if you want, if you're not the gun type, a TASER works just fine.
>whatever else you've got handy to defend yourself with. 911 fits in here somewhere, if you're lucky enough to live in an area where police response is timely and they respond appropriately to what's going on.
hate to tell you, but mace or pepper spray in an enclosed area is a horrible idea. You'll only end up dusting yourself. Furthermore, mace or pepper spray require you to be up close and personal with your unwanted guest right off the bat, if that's your first line of defense.
>security system
>good doors+frames+solid locks, good locks on windows
>dogs that bark
>firearm of some sort if you want, if you're not the gun type, a taser works just fine.
>whatever else you've got handy to defend yourself with. 911 fits in here somewhere, if you're lucky enough to live in an area where police response is timely and they respond appropriately to what's going on.
In your home, a firearm is a better choice. The perp is in your house. That's grounds to take it to another level right off the bat. Pepper spray is for unarmed assaults pretty much. They may aid you to keep control of your weapon as would a knife though. People laugh at the idea. It could very well happen. I knew a few security guards who never carried one in the chamber of their GLOCK 17s while working Mexican dances. The Walther PPK/S in the Galco SS2 and the NAA micro .22 Mag revolvers in their pockets were ready to go. The thought behind the GLOCK not having one in the chamber was one more step to slow someone down if they grabbed it out of the holster from behind. If [Mod cut] They did a lot of stupid stuff. Finding a switchblade in their pockets with a broken off tip from a recent burglery (slipped the jam and pried) as well as dried blood in the blade guard was not uncommon. Holy **** Batman was this knife was used in a break- in and a stabbing at some point in time?!?! You lost it now in the pat down sucker! That pepper spray or knife works wonders to get someone off after they took your back from behind. You start slashing and gashing their arm, and blood starts squirting out, they should let go... It helps keep control of your weapon.
Last edited by ElkHunter; 03-27-2012 at 11:48 PM..
Reason: Inappropriate racist comments.
I've had some experience with home break-ins. Investigating them, after the fact, when I worked as a State Police Trooper, and 31 years experience owning an alarm company and alarm monitoring business. At my home I have outside motion detectors that warn me before anyone gets close to my house, all sides are protected. Also the front, back and sides of our home are equipped with Closed Circuit TV Camera's that are monitored by our 60" Flat Screen TV. A click of the remote switches from a TV program to a camera and a different remote picks which camera we want to watch. All of our neighbors know I have these camera's and anytime they have trouble, they ask me if I saw any particular cars on the street. Deer wake me up at certain times of the year, but I'd rather it be a deer instead of and intruder. I have firearms in my home. I usually pack a Kimber Ultra Carry in a Crossbreed holster, I always have a 380 in a rear pocket unless I'm wearing sweat pants and sweat shirt just before I go to bed. We have several handguns planted in our home and two short barreled shotguns. My wife once made the statement "I don't think I could shoot someone", so I told her I wasn't going to waste time trying to teach her how to shoot. She has her own handguns that are kept in her lingerie draw, and they are loaded. She knows how to shoot her handguns, but I question whether or not she could do it, even to save her own life. I have pepper spray in my vehicles, but I would never attempt to use it against someone breaking into my home. If someone is breaking into my home I want to stop them, not make them angry. They have no business in my home, they need to be responsible for their own actions, and be prepared for the consequences.
My two dogs warn me of anything that's unusual or suspicious. Since they sleep right next to me I'll awaken instantly. They both bark even more if anyone walks up to my front porch. During the day I leave the gate open for deliveries but close it at night. No one is supposed to be here.
Wyoming law prohibits any criminal or civil action against a householder for any actions against an intruder. I don't care if my life is endangered; I'll shoot. Even if it's just an experiment in terminal ballistics no one can call me to account for it.
Kill without joy; kill without sorrow. It's just a task.
I am not sure why it would take more time to retrieve spray vs. a firearm. But, like others have said, for various reasons, mace is not a good idea: 1.) It may be ineffective, 2.) Even if effective, it may take too long to disable the suspect, 3.) Obviously, not good in an enclosed space.
But, your concern seems to be on having time to prepare, and with that comes warning systems. The best will be a dog. My dog will bark like crazy with his excellent hearing and senses when a human approaches the house (and will probably lick the intruders face if he comes in, but that gives you the time you need to grab a handgun, or more likely the intruder will be scared away).
Once he's through that, he gets to meet either the 12 gauge kept in my office, or one of the .45's placed around the house.
99% of the time, none of it is needed - but if it is, it's ALWAYS at hand - and a LOT more reliable (IMO) than any can of spray that could lose its' charge from sittin' around unused.
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You lost it now in the pat down sucker!
That pepper spray or knife works wonders to get someone off after they took your back from behind. You start slashing and gashing their arm, and blood starts squirting out, they should let go...
