And just one more little thing that is actually fairly obvious, plant some shrubs with big ole mfer’s of prickly thorns under the windows. A random intruder probably isn’t gonna wade through those bad boys.
“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - Humphrey Bogart
First and foremost, lock all windows and doors. It seems obvious, but it’s worth repeating. A lot of rapists use the advantage of surprise to disarm their victim. If, indeed, someone was trying to break in, you may have scared him off by making noise. This is enough to make most attackers think twice. I would also shout loudly, “I"m calling the police.” and then do so. BTW, if you hear really do hear someone trying to break in, I strongly suggest breaking a window and SCREAMING. Nothing disturbs the peace in the neighborhood like the sound of shattering glass. Criminals hate getting caught and chances are he’d high-tail it out of there.
Glitch, the light will scare off most (and I must stress most) intruders because they will become visible to anyone in the vicinity. Reduce the likelyhood that someone gets into the house, and you reduce the need to have some sort of backup protection (gun, knife, howitzer, etc.).
Also, kellibelli said the biggest reason she was nervous about what was outside was that she couldn’t see anything. A light solves that, too.
I’m reluctant to suggest methods of force as ways for kellibelli to protect herself, simply because they can so easily backfire. I deal with security in my line of business, and I find most security experts suggest making your property unattractive to criminals–exterior lighting, secure doors, and other precautions. Weapons should be left to the experts.
Guy: I agree completely with the suggestion(s) to install a light and/or burglar alarm. I also do agree that in general it will scare off an intruder.
However, I disagree with your view on weapons as a backup for when an intruder enters your home. Weapons can and are effectively used by “non-experts”. I understand where the myth comes from that weapon use tends to backfire, but it is only true because use of a weapon tends to backfire on idiots who own them and misuse them tatically and mentally (too many examples of dumb things to do to remotely list, but there are lots and they are sadly common practice) because they don’t know how to properly use a weapon for self defense (technically using most any weapon is trivial and most people think you only need to now the technical operation which is grossly false). As above there are FAR too many idiots who own guns and if you plan on becoming another one I beg you to do us all a favor and don’t.
If you plan on being a responsible and trained individual who owns a weapon it doesn’t take too much effort to become proficient (tactically and mentally) enough to do so; however it does take more effort than simply buying one.
To sum up: If you are an idiot, follow Guy’s advice and stay away from weapons.
If you plan on taking some decent training (2-3 month course will suffice, with a refresher 1 month course every year + plus periodic practice) than a weapon will likely serve you well if you ever need it.
What more could you expect from somebody who lets people kick him to the head?
UncleBeer, I wasn’t trying to suggest that firearms jam all the time. My point was that one shouldn’t rely solely on a weapon for self-defense, because a weapon will not be ready in your hand 100% of the time. A gun or a knife might be dropped, but your fist cannot be.
Hey, here’s a completely unrelated question. When we talk about a thirty-gauge or twelve-gauge shotgun, what is the base size that we’re measuring from? I.e., how big would “one gauge” be? I ask because I’m looking at a roll of 16-gauge steel wire, which is one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter. And I’ve never seen any shotgun that narrow. =B^)
Laugh hard; it’s a long way to the bank.
Glitch–I heartily endorse the “responsible and trained” part of your post. Too many people think that, if they own a weapon, they will be able to use appropriately in a tense situation. It doesn’t work that way. After all, would you expect to be able to jump in to a car and drive it in race, without ever having taken driver’s ed?
Auraseer, here is the answer to how shotgun gauge is measured from an old book I have in the history of shotguns.
Gauge - System of measurement for the internal bore diameter of a smooth-bore firearm based on the diameter of each of that number of spherical lead balls whose total weight is one pound. The internal diameter of a 12 gauge shotgun barrel is therefore equal to the diameter of a lead ball weighing 1/12 pound, which happens to be .729 inches.
Bore Size Table
Gauge Bore Diameter
1 1.669"
2 1.325"
3 1.157"
4 1.052"
5 .976"
6 .919"
7 .873"
8 .835"
9 .802"
10 .775"
11 .751"
12 .729"
13 .700"
14 .693"
15 .677"
16 .662"
17 .650"
18 .637"
19 .626"
20 .615"
21 .605"
22 .596"
23 .587"
24 .579"
25 .571"
26 .563"
27 .556"
28 .550"
29 .543"
30 .537"
31 .531"
32 .526"
.410 .410" - this is called a gauge only by convention.
And you are correct, there are many times when a firearm is unavailable. For instance, it is illegal to transport a loaded firearm in your car. Of course, you can take a baseball bat anywhere!
Ah, poop. I had a those columns spaced out a bit. Oh well.
“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - Humphrey Bogart