Sat night a week ago someone came into our new home and robbed the house (we did not know they were ever in the house). The home has an alarm system (we just moved in and had not had it turned on). The rear door was unlocked (duh). Our neighbor was also robbed (they were home also) and a car was stolen from another neighbors home (also went into the house to get the keys to their Q7).
From my house they stole the computers (laptops on a table), car keys, iPod and a 12qt pan…yes…a pan. From my neighbors they took wallet, purse, wedding rings, and keys. From the third house they took keys…and the car (their Audi was better than my Audi).
I am thinking about a .20g shot gun with a laser spot sight (it is only $35 and kinda cool for the laser spot). I want a US made gun and have flipped back and forth from a 6 revolver and the shot gun. Tracy is all of 105lbs and I want her to be able to handle what ever I get if the need was to god forbid ever arise. Hand guns sorta make me feel that they are more apt to miss and “get lost” and on and on…
Alarm company is working this week. The house is VERY quiet and someone could break in and we would not hear a thing from the bedroom but motion and door breaks will indicate into the bedroom to make us aware.
I’d recommend either a Mossberg 500 or a Remington 870, preferably in 12 GA, though 20 would work. 20 would definitely be easier to handle, but if I’m going to shoot somebody, I’d rather have the stopping power of a 12 gauge on my side.
I’d stay away from a revolver, as a shotgun is easier to learn to shoot competently, and has provides a lot larger margin for error.
Mossberg makes a nice 20g pump, im sure remington does as well. both made in the USA.
Revolvers are nice because they have heavier trigger pulls and they are not under tension sitting around, so in theory, you could have a revolver loaded up, in your drawer and not touch it for 10 years and it would still work fine. for a revolver, I would get a Ruger gp100 in 357 mag…that will put a hole through a perp.
you could also check out a Taurus Judge, thats a shotgun revolver…pretty cool, my dad has 2 of them, they are cool and you can get 000 buck shot for it.
or a good 1911 45 caliber pistol is hard to argue with.
9mm wont typically over penetrate (if you are worried about shooting your neighbors).
if you are new to guns and get a pistol, I would get a sig sauer or something with a de-cocking lever, or at least a safety. Glocks really have a safety so they can be sketchy for beginners.
Ditto all of that. A 20 is fine with #4 buckshot (folks will argue this).
Take Tracy (is that right) out to a range and let a pro teach her as hasbands do a crappy job usually and wives end up hating things. She might really have fun and get to shoot clays.
You certainly should also, more fun than a human should have.
I have a remington 870p with 000 buckshot, on the stock there is a place for 5 more rounds so 11 total. it has a surefire flashlight mounted to it.
it is totally awesome.
I also have a 4th gen glock 17 with night sights
those are my 2 home protection guns. I have others but they might not be so good for where I live. my 10mm glock 29 would almost certainly go through the wall and into a neighbors house. I have a Sig Sauer p229…but I wouldnt dare shoot somebody with it, as far as I know, if you cap somebody, even if it is justified, you pretty much lose the gun. I would rather lsoe a 500 dollar glock or a 400 dollar shotty than a 1200 dollar sig. I got a .357 yesterday, but again, overpowered for track housing.
So what is the scenario you imagine that the gun helps you?
As part of the thread on Memphis in May on the main forum it was mentioned that if an assailant with a knife is within 15 feet of you, you don’t even have time to pull the gun. Are you thinking an armed robber breaks in, in the middle of the night, the alarm goes off alerting you to load your weapon (or do you keep it loaded beside the bed?). The alarm itself is not enough to stop the intruder and he or she continues towards your bedroom, but slowly enough that you can load, aim and fire in their general direction.
I would think that a video monitoring system with security lights and signage making it obvious that anyone walking up to the house would be videotaped would be the most effective deterrent. Sounds like one individual is working an area of new construction and once on camera will be easy to ID.
Serious question though - walk me through the scenario where you having the gun is better/less dangerous for you than not having it.
That is exactly what the police said. To NOT buy an automatic shot gun as the sound of a shot gun putting a shell into the barrel is an international sound for “get the fuck out of my house” (that entire sentence is just about an exact quote).
As for dog - we have a dog, she would hide long before she would protect - let alone alert. Plus, the entire home is stone - very very silent. Someone could easily slide open the back door and get to the kitchen table (where everything stolen was) and get out of house very silently. There is not a creak anywhere in the floor.
I found out that it takes 6-8 weeks to even get a FOID card in Illinois. Only Illinois and Guam require one I guess…got to love it.
Training is far more important a consideration than what gun you get. It sounds as if neither one of you is experienced with guns, so attend a real training course. There are a lot of good courses and facilities around, so find one in your area and go. And take it seriously, learn what they are teaching. Mindset to use a gun is just as important, maybe more so, than the skill to do it safely and effectively.
The limitation with a shotgun is its size, which can make manipulation in the tight confines of a hallway, bathroom etc more difficult. Also, even a 20 gauge, has a relatively powerful recoil. Handguns are easier to manipulate and store, but arguably more difficult to shoot accurately (see “training”, above). You lose power, but I think that is overrated. Anything 9mm with good ammo is powerful enough.
I have shotguns and rifles in the arsenal, and I carry guns at works (Glocks … 2 of them … exclusively), but my nightstand gun is a 9mm Sig.
Did I mention the necessity for training? Buying a gun for home protection, but not learning to use, store and handle it, is a recipe for tragedy.
“Serious question though - walk me through the scenario where you having the gun is better/less dangerous for you than not having it.” I live by myself. so take this for what its worth. scenario. I wake up in the middle of the night because I hear a loud noise in my house…I hear somebody walking up the stairs (that plastic shit that protects carpet makes noise). I grab my loaded/chambered glock from my night stand (it lives in a safe during the day). Some hopped up meth head comes around the corner…I put 3 rounds of Hornady critical defense hollowpoints into his chest cavity… or read the numerous stories where simply having a gun difused a very dangerous situation, read the book “thank god I had a gun” Its like this, some people dont “believe” in guns, this is fine with me. The problem I have is that these people who decide not to have guns themselves seem to think that nobody should have them. If you dont want to protect yourself with a gun, then dont, fine with me. but this whole knife from 15 feet away is bullshit and regardless of how effective a gun would be in that situation, id rather have one and take my chances than not.
Door opens, alarm beeps in bedroom (keypad is there in the bedroom as well as at the lower side door). Gun would be kept loaded in the bedroom but in the closet in a finger print safe that is also being installed. At a minimum the closet is a “Safe Room” (the walls are all stone) until such time that the police arrive. But, if we chose to secure our own property it is 20’ to the stairs from the bedroom, from there the open stair case looks over the living room. It is easily another 40’ to the dining area where the items were stolen from. If someone is brazen enough to check to see if a homes door is unlocked in the night - let alone go into a home while there are people home we can not assume what they are and are not willing to do. If I hear a neighbor scream (not probable due to the construction of our home being all stone) I would also have the ability to assist them.
I could in the past never justify a gun in my home and never thought I would need anything more than a baseball bat, bike pump or broom for protection. When a person (or persons) come into your home (as well as your neighbors for that matter) while you are unaware in bed - that just changes the equation a bit.
And yes…if I found someone in the house I would kill them. I would not say stop, who are you, or get out. I would kill them.
