Self-defense

[m3racer]

I'm seriously thinking about getting a hand gun for home and self-defense. What do you guys think? I must admit I was very leery about guns for obvious reasons. However, after learning how to fire one I think its a smart thing to have as long as you're responsible with it. I plan on taking gun lessons. My friend was a home invasion victim at gunpoint!!! Luckily he and his family were ok but he now has a 9mm hand gun. What do you guys think?

[zakity]

Well, I fully believe in being able to defend yourself.

Have you looked into getting your CWP (concealed weapon's permit)?

[m3racer]

I do plan on getting a CCW license. I think the majority of negative views on handguns comes from people who are ignorant about firearms. I admit I was one of them until recently. Purchasing a handgun is a big deal IMO. If you're not willing to practice with it regularly than don't get one. Unfortunately people don't know what to do during a stressful situation because they have not prepared it.

[sounderella]

I don't really like guns but I feel they're important to have. We have one in the house. However, my husband wants me to start carrying one in my purse. I know how to handle a gun but I'm always thinking the worse that could happen. The jury is still out on that one but I totally support protecting yourself. Surprisingly enough, there's actually a city here in GA that requires you to have a gun in your house and their county has a very low crime rate so there ya go.

[disneysteve]

I think its a smart thing to have as long as you're responsible with it.

I think the problem is that if you are truly responsible with it, it will not meet the need of self-defense. To me, being responsible means keeping it unloaded and locked up in a secure safe where nobody but you can access it. Of course, it may not do you any good there in an emergency.

If you keep it loaded in your bedside table, then you aren't being responsible with it IMO.

[gackle]

I've got two guns in the house and fully believe in them as long as the owners are responsible with them. I think Steve's definition of irresponsible is really dependant upon your situation. If you've got kids in the house, then yes, a loaded gun in the bedside table is not responsible.

I think the operative saying in your case is "it's people that kill people, not guns." As long as your trained and confident with your gun then you should be okay.

The one gun that I don't have and would like to have is a shotgun. I've heard numerous times that the cocking of a loaded shotgun in the dark of the night is enough to make an intruder soil his underwear.

[sweeps]

I'm with Steve. With 2 young children in the house, I think there is a greater risk of one of them (or another child that may be visiting) finding the gun and accidentally discharging it than me actually needing it for self-defense. I'll stick with my trusty baseball bat.

[Broken Arrow]

Ooooh, you just stepped into my old stomping ground, my friend.

Actually, that kind of question comes up a lot in self-defense forums.... Usually comes up when someone is or knows someone who is involved in an incident that rattled their sense of safety....

But there's nothing wrong with that, as it is a perfectly normal human reaction.

However, a gun won't help you.

At least, not initially. You can't rely on any external devices to provide you safety.

However, you did say the magic word, "Training". That may be the most important factor; to become more informed, aware, prepared, and ultimately trained. The human factor.

Otherwise, simply having a gun will not make you any safer than simply having a car can make you any more mobile. Both require human skill and training before these tools can become of any effective use to you.

In fact, a lot of extremely well-trained self-defense gurus out there don't even carry guns. Or knives. They are so well-trained that they can typically improvise. Well, that and it may be due to legal limitations....

But I'm starting to get off on a tangent. Securing a home does not require weaponry. In fact, the most important tool you'll need is a cellphone, and possibly a flashlight. After that, it's just a series of planning and preparation for contingencies, follow good safety procedures and habits, and ultimately to ingrain safety into your psyche.

However, if you do decide that a firearm is something you wish to pursue, I would treat it like a car. Be sure to know your laws first. Be sure to get basic firearms training first, which emphasizes firearm safety. You can do all that before you even own a firearm. In fact, it's what I personally recommend as the ideal way for people to start out.

After that, like a car, then you are "certified" to handle a firearm on your own.

One last food for thought: Although I've owned several firearms in the past (and have even built my own AR rifle), I currently don't own nor am I relying on firearms to secure my home. And yes, I sleep pretty soundly at night.

[ithaca]

My friend was a home invasion victim at gunpoint!!! Luckily he and his family were ok but he now has a 9mm hand gun. What do you guys think?

Kind of makes you wonder if everything still would have turned out fine for your friend if he had a gun at the time. Thieves with guns don't respond too well to homeowners with guns.

[AmbitiousSaver]

I think the problem is that if you are truly responsible with it, it will not meet the need of self-defense. To me, being responsible means keeping it unloaded and locked up in a secure safe where nobody but you can access it. Of course, it may not do you any good there in an emergency.

If you keep it loaded in your bedside table, then you aren't being responsible with it IMO.

These are similar to my thoughts.

As the daughter of a cop... I grew up with a gun in the house. BUT it was locked in its case locked in a closet and the master bedroom could be locked. It wouldn't have served its purpose very well if we were suddenly robbed because although my Dad was quick, he wasn't that quick.

When we moved to San Diego, I had my Dad send me a "motion sensor alarm" from Radio shack and I put that on the front door of our apartment (he did that to my sister and I when he noticed we were coming home at late hours of the night and he didn't want to stay up all night waiting for us... he even super glued the switch so we couldn't turn it off).

The motion sensor he bought us, you had to input a code otherwise the alarm would go off.

We have ADT here now that we own a place and it really helps my piece of mind when my husband is out on training missions. The alarm is really loud too, and our neighbor is a police officer... so I hold more faith in alarm systems than I do in guns.

A big dog wouldn't hurt either. I love Dobermans, but don't personally have one since we're novice dog owners and I've heard that they can easily become a handful if not trained properly.

Thats just my take though. I don't have anything against guns, but whenever I play the situation out in my head... I don't think I could get to one in time for it to be effective protection.

[AmbitiousSaver]

I think the operative saying in your case is "it's people that kill people, not guns." As long as your trained and confident with your gun then you should be okay.

This quote reminds me of a comedian I once saw who said "If guns kill then pencils cause bad spelling" A gun is just a tool, its the user that determines the outcome.

But I do highly recommend self defense courses too. My Dad was a karate instructor in addition to being a police officer so growing up I had a vague familiarity with those methods & my DH is, although in the medical field, he is still in the Navy and has been with the Marines and Special Warfare communities so he's had to take a few courses in hand to hand combat and disarmament. Plus those guys are big on continuously learning stuff like that so it seems like every other week he comes home excited about some new move he learned.

[maat55]

I'm seriously thinking about getting a hand gun for home and self-defense. What do you guys think? I must admit I was very leery about guns for obvious reasons. However, after learning how to fire one I think its a smart thing to have as long as you're responsible with it. I plan on taking gun lessons. My friend was a home invasion victim at gunpoint!!! Luckily he and his family were ok but he now has a 9mm hand gun. What do you guys think?

I can't imagine not having one. Guess who wins when take a stick to a gun fight. If your home is being invaded, a gun is your only sure equalizer.

[disneysteve]

Kind of makes you wonder if everything still would have turned out fine for your friend if he had a gun at the time. Thieves with guns don't respond too well to homeowners with guns.

I can't imagine not having one. Guess who wins when take a stick to a gun fight. If your home is being invaded, a gun is your only sure equalizer.

This raises another of my concerns. Does a gun actually help? If you are attacked and you are armed and the attacker isn't, drawing your gun might help. Or it might result in a struggle with the attacker where you are at risk of being shot with your own weapon.

If you are both armed, it becomes a speed contest. Who can draw and fire faster? Since the attacker came in prepared and you were caught by surprise, there is a reasonable chance that the attacker will win the race. As in the original post, had the victim had a gun, would the attacker have responded the same way and left without using his gun or would he have shot the victim to avoid being shot himself.

[Broken Arrow]

There's alot of entrenched beliefs and debate surrounding the controversy of who would win if who was armed with what. Not only is it largely just theorizing, but the truth is, we're sort of barking up the wrong tree....

Questions like that is sort of like debating which budget system is better. In the end, the most significant factor isn't what tools you have or use, but rather, the general skill level of the user. A frugal person will do well financially, regardless of what budget system he or she uses, just as a self-defense individual will do fine regardless of what he or she is armed with (or not at all).

Really, the most significant factor is Mindset, followed by Awareness, followed by Preparation and Training. When you think about it, it's pretty much true with just about anything in life, and self-defense is no exception.

(I just re-read what I wrote, and wow, I sound harsh. Sorry if the tone came out wrong. It wasn't intentional.)

[zakity]

Unfortunately people don't know what to do during a stressful situation because they have not prepared it.

Exactly, if you are going to own and carry a gun, you need to know the laws and what you are allowed and not allowed to do.


As for children and guns, we started gun education at 18 months and we have drilled it into them ever since. We never did the "don't touch" thing. We did the "pretend it is loaded unless the gun is in pieces". Now, I would trust my children with guns more than I would most adults. They go shooting (at targets) with Dad. The oldest is actually a really good shot.

Actually, we asked the boys what they would do if someone broke in the house and they were home alone. They said that they would run in our bedroom, lock the door, and hand the gun to the oldest. I asked them if they would actually shoot someone and they said that they would.

Side note: We live in a rural county. We are near a town, but not actually in it. The Oregonian (major Portland paper) actually advertised on the front page that this county does not have sheriffs on duty between 10 pm and 10 am. If someone is breaking into your house, they won't come. Most of the people who live in the county own guns because of this.

Well, because of that and because of things like bears and mountain lions and such. Nothing worse than working out in your woods, minding your own business, and being attacked and eaten because some predator thought you looked tasty.