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I agree with Steve. If they break into your house, you have the upperhand at the beginning, being that you know where they are, but they might not know where you are.
And you may be surprised by how many people practice shooting on a regular basis. Criminals with guns aren't necessarily the best shooters. And you have the ability to practice in your house, taking cover and getting to a position with a tactical advantage (top of stairs for example). Have someone set a random alarm in the middle of the night and you can practice grabbing your gun, loading it or taking it off safe even in total darkness. Run drills like you should with firedrills until you don't panic, until it doesn't become confusing and scary. My wife knows that if she hears noises or the home alarm goes off, grab the shotgun, take it off safe, take cover behind the bed and aim at the door. If someone comes through, they will have to find you, aim and shoot and she just has to pull the trigger.
You don't necessarily have to go clear the house, but you should run drills like you would for a fire, or tornado.
Like Steve says, get tritium night sights and you can aim and shoot in complete darkness
When I lived in the midwest, no one I knew had any type of firearm - even folks who had been in the military (hubby was an officer/Army and so was my best friend's husband/retired Air Force). But no one had firearms. No one felt they needed them. We had unbelievable response f/ the police department. They were there literally in 3 minutes.
The first time we had an incident here was three weeks after we moved in about 11 pm . . and we called 911 TWO TIMES - the first time, after no one had arrived in over 40 minutes! Some guy was banging on our door, yelling and demanding we let his girlfriend come out. What if he had started shooting? We had no idea police would take an hour to arrive!
So needless to say . . . we have firearms now.
But like I said - never had a firearm in the house all those years. We just didn't feel we needed it.
I wouldn't totally discredit the story. Because these types do whacky things, this we all know. I can tell you that *typically* these thugs do NOT work or travel alone. You have at least 2 together if not more. The tell tale sign would be if she reported it to the police? Do you know if she did? It doesn't make sense to me why she couldn't get the tag number but she and her friend should have been able to at least get a good description of the vehicle and report it. She could also share with others in the area, so that they are aware.
As far as owning a gun? I won't get on that bandwagon, I would encourage you to visit Hyatt gun shop. Walk around, talk to some people, listen to some stories. You will change your tune.
(I recommend Hyatt's only because that is easy to get to)
I'm not going to get into this discussion again ( I think Steve and I have gone there before) but I can you a personal example in my immediate family where 2 people were killed by intruders with their own weapons. I also wish there were trustworthy stats out there. I just believe there rae more accidents and mistakes when people keep guns in their homes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Metallisteve
While I don't have links to statistical data (and admittedly relying on you to *trust me ), I can go off of memory of incidents involving armed home owners vs. un-armed. Rarely do you hear of a burglary or home invasion that ended in tragedy (i.e. the innocent home owners being brutally or lethally harmed) when the owner is armed. You ALWAYS hear of the situation ending unfavorably (either bodily harm or death, or the lesser situation of the thieves walking away with your hard earned "stuff") when the owner is unarmed.
As far as the end of your paragraph goes (about them being a better shot and you being at a disadvantage)...I mean this in a civil manner: you couldn't be more wrong. The VAST majority of the trash out there that would commit the type of crime we're talking about are nothing more than posers when it comes to weapons--meaning that they only "look good" with their weapon and hardly ever know how to effectively use it. As an honest, law abiding citizen, you have the advantage of being able to casually train and become relatively effective with your weapon--that is, you can go take a formal training class, go practice at the range every few months...heck, even just reading a few articles on suggestions for defending yourself in these situations can put you at the advantage. unfortunately, these activities are deemed as radical or extremist by today's culture and a "normal" person wouldn't be caught dead in a gun range for fear of being labeled a red neck or gun extremist! My point is, you'll never find a secret gang training range where they practice shooting at targets...and contrary to movies and TV show's depiction, they don't engage in anything near a real "battle" to become trained "on the job." Most don't even know how to hold a gun the right way (think the classic gang member sideways grip).
As far as your eyes adjusting and their's not...you've got it backwards. They are the one's coming in from the outside where there are car headlights, street lamps, your front porch light...shoot, even a hallway night light can throw a person't night vision off. You, on the other hand, have had your eyes closed (blackness) for hours. The only really tough thing for the homeowner to do is quickly assess what is going on and who is in your house! Most modern handguns come with "High Vis" sights that are painted with glow in the dark paint or some highly contrasting color (white on black). Some even have a tiny piece of low-emitting radioactive material to permanently glow. Still, even without these aides, just hitting the range a good number of times and becoming familiar with your weapon will allow you to almost be able to point and shoot without seeing the end of the barrel. This works just fine in close quarters (i.e. your house).
The only reason I'm ranting about this is because you made a thread about a classic example where if the person had a weapon in them, they'd likely have been much more calm in control of the situation. I'm not saying they would have waved the gun around like a lunatic, but they would have been able to make a better decision on how to handle things. Let's face it, cutting across 4 lanes of traffic is not the brightest thing in the world to do. Calling the cops, driving by rowded places, or anything else would have been a little more intelligent.
I'm not going to get into this discussion again ( I think Steve and I have gone there before) but I can you a personal example in my immediate family where 2 people were killed by intruders with their own weapons. I also wish there were trustworthy stats out there. I just believe there rae more accidents and mistakes when people keep guns in their homes.
baybrook, I have not heard your story personally and will not ask that you repeat it as I am sure that it is very painful. However, I have heard of this happening time & time again in Chicago and that is why I am vehemently against guns. I agree with you completely.
Yes, I have very loud, potentially vicious dogs, and carry pepper spray.
I wouldn't totally discredit the story. Because these types do whacky things, this we all know. I can tell you that *typically* these thugs do NOT work or travel alone. You have at least 2 together if not more. The tell tale sign would be if she reported it to the police? Do you know if she did? It doesn't make sense to me why she couldn't get the tag number but she and her friend should have been able to at least get a good description of the vehicle and report it. She could also share with others in the area, so that they are aware.
As far as owning a gun? I won't get on that bandwagon, I would encourage you to visit Hyatt gun shop. Walk around, talk to some people, listen to some stories. You will change your tune.
(I recommend Hyatt's only because that is easy to get to)
Don't know if she reported it-hasn't replied to my email.
Interestingly-I also email someone else from the same forum who has been really helpful.She has a son in the same school that our son will be attending from next week and as DH and son are both out there now they are all going to meet up(I am still in England).Last night I asked her if she had met the girl that told me the tale,(didn't say anything else in case they were best buddies!) and she said that she wasn't sure, but thought from the info I gave her, she might be the one that had a crazy neighbour who brought home a World war 1 bomb he found on the beach.
I hear ringing in my ears.
You may have guessed that as much as possible I like to make decisions (especially about major things) based on solid facts and this is why I am having trouble with with this gun palaver.It's probably why I posted the tale on here as well, although at the time I wasn't consciously aware of it.
I've been down this road before as well(guns/anti-guns). To each his own, but I'am well trained in personnel protection and gun handling. Can I still get hurt or killed in a fight, absolutely. But, I'd rather be prepared, then to succumb to an evil doer. If you have no weapon and the bad guys have real bad intentions, you have zero chance of survival. If you have a weapon, you have a chance to survive.
I too, know of people who had acts of violence committed to them(rape and murder). If they were armed, they would have had a chance to stop the attack and they would have survived. Without a tool of survival, they had no chance to survive. The old "do what they say and no one will get hurt", does not always apply.
To each his own.
I've been down this road before as well(guns/anti-guns). To each his own, but I'am well trained in personnel protection and gun handling. Can I still get hurt or killed in a fight, absolutely. But, I'd rather be prepared, then to succumb to an evil doer. If you have no weapon and the bad guys have real bad intentions, you have zero chance of survival. If you have a weapon, you have a chance to survive.
I too, know of people who had acts of violence committed to them(rape and murder). If they were armed, they would have had a chance to stop the attack and they would have survived. Without a tool of survival, they had no chance to survive. The old "do what they say and no one will get hurt", does not always apply.
To each his own.
Susan, they make these stickers that look like bullet holes that people put on their cars. Is she sure it wasn't just a few of those?
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), I can go off of memory of incidents involving armed home owners vs. un-armed. Rarely do you hear of a burglary or home invasion that ended in tragedy (i.e. the innocent home owners being brutally or lethally harmed) when the owner is armed. You ALWAYS hear of the situation ending unfavorably (either bodily harm or death, or the lesser situation of the thieves walking away with your hard earned "stuff") when the owner is unarmed.
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