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The only trouble with a shotgun is that in the heat of the moment when you're racking back the slide & firing, is that you need to be aware of what you have hanging on your walls. I highly doubt that an insurance company is going to be sympathetic to a spray of 00 buck through your Thomas Kincade. So aim low with your first shot, then blast away when they're on the floor & away from the art work.
Last edited by Barkingowl; 08-11-2008 at 11:03 AM..
Stan, I agree about the small calibres...almost a complete waste of time. Shot placement is everything.
Regarding cops and their recommendations though, they're not the pros when it comes to that, or a lot of other stuff. Look at how many of them eschew any sort of empty hand training believing because they have a sidearm they're good to go. (The Tueller drill proved that line of thought to be wrong and yet many still insist because they carry a gun "I don't need none of that hop socky s**t.)
Lots of them are unaware that a wet bullet resistant vest doesn't stop much at all.
Stuff gets handed down from old cops to young cops and a lot of it is not up to date.
I daresay a cop going into a house to clear it would be happy with a shotgun but by that time he's not worried about backdrop, kids in the house or much else except slotting the bad guy asap and he has backup with him to take care of anyone grabbing his weapon as he's moving. Completely different scenario than the one posed by the original poster.
My thinking is the hand gun is for quick access, middle of the night awakenings, etc. The shotgun is for emergencies where there is time to prepare...natural disaster, terrorist attack/invasion, etc. Mainly because it is nearly impossible to keep a shotgun in ready-to-go condition, secured, and hidden/concealed. That is, without going to extreme measures (i.e. building quick access vaults in the walls), which then makes me feel a little paranoid!
My thinking is the hand gun is for quick access, middle of the night awakenings, etc. The shotgun is for emergencies where there is time to prepare...natural disaster, terrorist attack/invasion, etc. Mainly because it is nearly impossible to keep a shotgun in ready-to-go condition, secured, and hidden/concealed. That is, without going to extreme measures (i.e. building quick access vaults in the walls), which then makes me feel a little paranoid!
My wife used to be afraid of my guns. She saw no need for them. Until our friend's home was broken into by a black gang who thought their home was someone's else's... they were home and asleep... them and their six kids. Luckily, they weren't too stupid, they heard the warning shot from the husband and got out quick. But if there had been no firearm, it would have been horrible for all, including the future impact on those kids' lives.
After that, my wife came to me and asked me to train her how to use it so she would not be afraid of it anymore. Oh yeah baby It is either in her purse or under her pillow now.
Ironic that the media never talks about crimes prevented because the home was protected...
The shotgun is for emergencies where there is time to prepare...natural disaster, terrorist attack/invasion, etc. Mainly because it is nearly impossible to keep a shotgun in ready-to-go condition, secured, and hidden/concealed.
It all depends on your situation. If you don't have kids or parties where kids would be present and roaming unsupervised you can have them loaded, racked and you just have to grab it and throw the safety. If a family had kids who like to get into everything and had parties all the time you would have to get a locking storage rack or a trigger lock. I have a friend who is a gun dealer and had a loaded belt fed tripod mounted machine gun in his living room without incident. In some homes, a gun no matter where its located or secured may not be a good idea
No gun, tactics, safety procedures are 1 size fits all. Like Ninor said, whether you decide to use a shotgun, 38 revolver, or a ninja sword, make sure everyone is comfortable with it and practice it so it will be like second nature and there won't be as much of a sense of panic.
Well...now that you mention a ninja sword. I do have a Katana. Not one of these "for show" Katanas you can get in a magazine. I have a hand forged Katana made for cutting. I also know how to use it, as I used to teach martial arts.
Currently, a sword is my weapon for checking the house. Of course, against an unarmed guy, it's scary as hell. If the guy who broke in has a gun though, well gun beats sword in almost all scenarios, outside of an action movie.
Don't be so quick to discount the sword. A kill zone for a knife is something like 21 or 22 feet (meaning the distance that a knife is lethal before you could actually get a shot off and disable the assailant is 21-22'). Add 2.5' to that knife to get the Katana and you've got a helluva kill zone. Not to mention, you'd be the biggest bad ass in the world for a few minutes if you ever did "disable" an attacker with a friggin sword! Now if you can cling to ceilings and drop down behind them silently, that would be icing on the cake.
Maybe I'll have my home invaded before I get a chance to get a gun, and I'll successfully defend my house with the sword. Of course, then I'd have some guy suing me, complaining that his hands had been cut off and now he can't hold a job because of it. Well, he wouldn't be able to hold anything really. Ha! No seriously though, like he could hold a job if he still had both hands.
Maybe I'll have my home invaded before I get a chance to get a gun, and I'll successfully defend my house with the sword. Of course, then I'd have some guy suing me, complaining that his hands had been cut off and now he can't hold a job because of it. Well, he wouldn't be able to hold anything really. Ha! No seriously though, like he could hold a job if he still had both hands.
Well, you could cut off his head! He could do "Mary, Queen of Scots" impressions!
Not wishing to be pedantic but the 21 foot rule is based on the gun bearer having the weapon holstered and the knife guy has his weapon drawn. Assuming the bad guy has a gun you can bet he'd be carrying it in which case our man is right, gun beats sword.
Also, a katana is hard to wield inside a house which is why samurai used to leave it outside (etiquette required them to) and toted their wakazashi and tanto inside. If you really do want to skewer them a machete is a great length for close quarters.
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It is either in her purse or under her pillow now.
