# Someone breaks into your house with intent to do you harm. What are they met with? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 18, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954 "2009-03-18T22:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/81 "2009-03-19T15:17:52Z")
[A sword](http://www.kriscutlery.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KC&Product_Code=DAOFS&Category_Code=Chinese) and two dogs. Our betta fish will also swim menacingly and puff out its gills. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/82 "2009-03-19T15:19:24Z")
OK, I really need to ask, do all of these people here with swords and other pre-modern weapons actually have any training in how to use them? If so, how does one go about acquiring this training? (Is there an equivalent of a shooting range for swords, where you can go hack up man-sized targets made out of straw or something?) ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/83 "2009-03-19T15:23:10Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > 12-gauge; _THIS_ is the premier home-defense firearm, it can be loaded as lightly or heavily as you want, shot pellet loads penetrate wallboard far less than rifle/handgun/slug bullets, using a load of 12-gauge 000 Buckshot is like shooting the target with 8 9mm rounds simultaneously, #4 Buck is probably the best compromise between number of pellets/power/overpenetration, however, the fallacy of “you don’t need to aim a shotgun” is false, at typical indoor distances, the shot cloud will not have time to spread, and you will be essentially shooting a large frangible bullet at the perp, so you will still have to aim, the main advantage of a shotgun in this situation is sheer stopping power and lower overpenetration, assuming a center-mass shot > My first choice would be one of my 12-gauge shotguns, either my Mossberg 500 pump, or my Parker VH side-by-side You don’t keep a rock salt load to give the varments something to remember as they run away? 😉 A 12 gauge, or perhaps a 20 gauge so the whole family can enjoy, would be my first choice should I ever decide I wanted a gun again. Just the sound of the pump should turn most people back before they are sighted, assuming you want to give warning. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/84 "2009-03-19T15:25:25Z")
Time is surely of the essence should someone break into your/my home. Scrambling for an ineffective weapon in the dark really doesn’t help anyone. A swordfight in your hallway or bedroom? :rolleyes: The first thing I have in my hand when things go bump in the night is a flashlight. Most people have no idea how debilitating a light like [this](http://www.surefire.com/M3-CombatLight)can be to a dark-adapted intruder. As an ex-cop and general gun kind of guy, I take firearm safety and responsibility very seriously. I certainly realize that firearms are not for everyone, but for those who have them, the time to find and load them is not with Bubba pounding down the hallway towards your family. There are several safes like [this](http://www.gunvault.com/multibiometric.nxg)one that can keep your loaded weapon instantly available, yet keep it safe from children or intruders. I have 3 around the house. No, none in the bathroom. I’m not quite as bad as [some](http://a346.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/94/l_5f3d56485d8e0aebe592c13e1ca17ec9.jpg). I also have a similar setup to [this](http://www.santacruzgunlocks.com/setups/select/home.html)in the closet. Both a shotgun and AR-15 are available to me or my wife at the touch of a hidden button. They’re up high, lagged into studs, and will have to remain with the house when we move. A burglar with 2 hours to kill would not be able to remove them. We do have trained Tripping Dachshunds™ but they stay in their crate at night, providing little actual tripping value, while the cat roams the neighborhood searching for rodents to pile by the back door. We believe that this is a possible deterrent to any Santa Ria practicing intruders that may have come by, or perhaps it’s the ADT alarm signs all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/85 "2009-03-19T15:30:51Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > OK, I really need to ask, do all of these people here with swords and other pre-modern weapons actually have any training in how to use them? If so, how does one go about acquiring this training? (Is there an equivalent of a shooting range for swords, where you can go hack up man-sized targets made out of straw or something?) I am considered a master of 6 weapons including a sword and am certified by other masters in Hapkido to teach them. I would never start anyone off with a sharp edged blade of any kind, but have taught hundreds of students in the use of traditional weapons. Very very few actually progress or stay around long enough to master a sword. I have never had any student who was never at least slightly injured learning them so it is not for everyone. Check your yellow pages if you are intrested. There are also places for actors to learn to at least look like they know what they are doing when using blades and many clubs devoted to learning and using swords, including how to make them. All that being said, I would say few people actually train, they just stop at a sword store and pick one out. The pointy end faces away is about all they know. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/86 "2009-03-19T15:36:53Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > All I can say is your neighbor was probably into some heavy shit for that to come down on him. If you keep your nose clean, I doubt you’ll ever be in the same predicament. But hey, I don’t trust the cops either - that’s why I don’t think they should be the only ones with the guns! > > It amazes me how many anti-gun hippies are also completely _anti-cop_ - and yet they’re cool with the cops having a monopoly on firepower, and think that average citizens should be disarmed! (These kind of “hippies” are usually just trustafarian wannabes - a fair share of genuine hippies live in rural areas and know how to handle a shotgun.) His son smokes pot - no question there. The police caught the dealer, the dealer made a deal and turned in the neighbor’s son, claiming he was the big boss. Police stake out the neighbor’s house for a couple of days then bust in as described. No pot found. No warrant either, oops. When the police bust into your house that doesn’t mean you are guilty of something it turns out. That said, I agree with you completely that the government shouldn’t be the only ones with weapons. Some of the Patriot Act stuff had me almost ready to start thinking about keeping something around. It’s the patriotic thing to do. But for home defense I’m still not ready. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/87 "2009-03-19T15:51:27Z")
Samurai. No really, kinda. My husband has a couple katanas he trains with. Myself, I’d grab part of our old entertainment center–we still have several metal rods floating around from that. We also have a couple daggers around here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/88 "2009-03-19T15:52:35Z")
A five course meal…OF PAIN ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/89 "2009-03-19T15:59:01Z")
Pretty typical for this thread at least. Pump-action shotgun with 6 rounds of #8 target shot if I can get to the basement. If not, then 36" of currently unsharpened toledo steel sword and a 4-D-cell maglite, or my quarterstaff, depending on which bedroom/storage room is closest. If I didn’t live in the safest part of the safest neighborhood in the second-safest city in the country, I might have given this more thought. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/90 "2009-03-19T16:01:59Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > OK, I really need to ask, do all of these people here with swords and other pre-modern weapons actually have any training in how to use them? Hell, my question was how many of the people who mentioned baseball bats had thought about how they were going to use them for self defense in an enclosed area. (Hint: you ain’t swinging for the fences. One hand near the knob, and the other about 1/2 way down the barrel.) IMO anyone is pretty foolish to think they would be effective using ANYTHING - gun/bat/knife/stick/sword/whatever - for self defense if they haven’t practiced with it. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/91 "2009-03-19T16:03:55Z")
Using a high-powered flashlight for defending yourself from after-dark home invasions is pretty much a given, you need to know what you’re pointing your firearm at, is it a home invader, s it a family pet that knocked something over, is it a family member coming in later than normal, the _last_ thing you want to do is touch off a round into an unidentified target If I can’t identify the target, the finger stays off the trigger until I have positively ID’ed the target, you can’t recall a bullet once it’s been fired, and you have a responsibility to know where every bullet you fire lands a decent high-power flashlight (minimum of 60 lumens, more is always better) can momentarily blind a dark-adapted person, there’s an almost reflexive urge to turn away from a blindingly bright light when dark-adapted ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/92 "2009-03-19T16:11:31Z")
They’d be met by two noisy dogs who will trade us and all the valuables (such as they are) in the house for belly rubs. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/93 "2009-03-19T16:14:39Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > OK, I really need to ask, do all of these people here with swords and other pre-modern weapons actually have any training in how to use them? If so, how does one go about acquiring this training? (Is there an equivalent of a shooting range for swords, where you can go hack up man-sized targets made out of straw or something?) I would guess that most would fall into collectors and maybe just regular people that like swords so that no, they don’t have any training in their use. Personally I’ve studied Historical European Martial Arts for about 3 years now. I know enough that I can kill with them if I need to. I wouldn’t consider myself a master of the weapon by a football field sized margin, and frankly I am dubious of anyone calling themselves masters of these weapons given that they are no longer practical tools of self defense or war. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/94 "2009-03-19T16:20:10Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > \ > The first thing I have in my hand when things go bump in the night is a flashlight. > Most people have no idea how debilitating a light like [this](http://www.surefire.com/M3-CombatLight)can be to a dark-adapted intruder. > \ I made a [couple](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Walloflight.mov) of [movies](http://homepage.mac.com/mactechg4/.Movies/Walloflight2.mov) showing a _rough_ approximation of what a powerful flashlight can do to the dark adapted, bear in mind the movies were filmed at noon-ish and that human vision would react a tad quicker than the camera in my MacBook… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/95 "2009-03-19T16:52:09Z")
While we have several swords, I don’t, as mentioned, have any training. But that doesn’t stop at least two of them from being large heavy pieces of metal which would hurt if you get whacked with it. But oddly enough, the first thing that sprang to mind was an aerosol can of Lysol that sits on my dresser (don’t ask) and just happens to be next to where my lighter also sits. As my bedroom door opens exactly opposite the front door, I could arrange a delicious fireball for the intruder’s edification and enjoyment… ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/96 "2009-03-19T16:52:41Z")
All of the weapons I have have a sure-fire attached. Assuming I’m home, there’d only be one way in, which is through the front door, which means I would have the 3.2 seconds necessary to go from sleeping to armed with the 870. The combination of the blinding light and the sound of the racking shotgun ought to be enough to stop any would-be mutt in his tracks. If it didn’t, well, I just hope it would. ---
**Author:** ![New\_Beginning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@New\_Beginning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/New_Beginning)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/97 "2009-03-19T17:04:05Z")
Aside from the necessary tripping cat (which I fear would fail anyway, and quickly turn into a hiding cat), I also have a large, heavy, crowbar under my bed. Some of you have questioned how such a rudimentary weapon would be used. Obviously if the intruder has a gun, I’m fucked, but in my area, I would expect the intruder to be a penniless crackhead or some other lame burglar. If I keep swinging my crowbar, I doubt anyone is coming close to me (the weight of it is obvious when you see it swing), and if they are, I doubt they will win the battle. Of course, if I had a cellphone handy, I might just dial 911 and hide in a closet. Depends on my mood. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/98 "2009-03-19T17:24:27Z")
I’d probably be limited to using a knife. Polearms aren’t really indoors weapons. > [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > It’s probably not the right tread to talk about my watch collection, is it? That depends. Do any of them fire tranquiliser darts, grappling hooks or lasers? ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/99 "2009-03-19T17:41:24Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Just for the record I’ve always believed that everyone should have, at the very least, a shotgun lying around for the purpose of home defense in the case of a break-in. For me, the idea of not having a weapon is like not having a fire extinguisher or not having a smoke alarm. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do need it, and you don’t have it, you’ll wish you did. Other then my SO, there is NOTHING in my house that is worth risking myself for, or killing another person over. And I refuse to live my life worrying about it. That’s what the insurance is for. So my defense if you break in? Grab the phone, and head out the nearest door or window. Every second floor window in this house overlooks part of a roof, so the drop wouldn’t be bad. Escape, call the police, wake the neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2009, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954/100 "2009-03-19T17:41:29Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Just for the record I’ve always believed that everyone should have, at the very least, a shotgun lying around for the purpose of home defense in the case of a break-in. For me, the idea of not having a weapon is like not having a fire extinguisher or not having a smoke alarm. Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if you do need it, and you don’t have it, you’ll wish you did. I am Canadian and have only ever seen a gun on police officers’ hips and in museums so the idea of owning one is foreign to me. My ‘defense’ is to hide under the pile of blankets in my closet with the cats, let them take whatever they want and hope they don’t find me. If they do, and intend me harm, guess I am going to be harmed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-breaks-into-your-house-with-intent-to-do-you-harm-what-are-they-met-with/489954.md?page=6)