I’ve got a Glock .40 caliber and a .380 in the bedroom, as well as my Taser. A 12 gauge in the garage. My wife keeps her 9mm by her at all times.
The 125 pound dog will probably keep anyone from getting in far enough to get shot, though.
I have five Tripping Cats. If I’m lucky, they’ll do the “Landmine Formation” and bring the intruder down.
Double post. Dang!
Girly screams that will make every attacker pity and despise me so much that they’ll leave in disgust.
ExTank, I want to come and live in your house!
FAL with a 20-round mag of .308.
The hardest thing about a question like this is that I can say whatever I like when my wits are about me. When the situation arises, I may go into an heroic, berserk rage. I may go into a catatonic panic. I may go into both at the same time.
Anyway, as far as weapons go, there are no dedicated weapons in the house. One of these days, I’d like to pick up a quarterstaff and start learning how to use it again, (“Actually, it’s a buck and a quarter quarterstaff, but I’m not tellin’ him that.”) but for the nonce, everything’s improvised. There are knives in the kitchen, there are tools in the workshop. There are bits of furniture to throw. There’s a phone with which to dial 911.
I’d like to think I’d have it together enough to sneak up on the person and sing a high Ab in the intruder’s ear, stunning them into submission. I’ve already told the story else where on the dope (“Only been here a year, and he’s already repeating himself.”) where my friend Mark was mugged while going through Riverdale Park in Toronto at night. Not the smartest thing he’s ever done, but not the ‘asking for death’ scenario it might seem. So, he was surrounded by 4 or 5 guys who wouldn’t go away when they were told he only had a couple of bucks and a pack of cigarettes. He started singing ‘La Donna è mobile’, the Dukes 4th act aria from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Blows were exchanged, but the thugs dispersed as lights started to appear in the windows of the houses that surround the park. Mark got away with a couple of bruises, his couple of bucks and his smokes intact.
Best part was, he still had the little chunk of hash that was stashed in the cigarette pack.
The point of all that is, improvised weapons aside, I think one of my handiest weapons is to be loud enough to stun the attacker or at least annoy the neighbours enough that they help call the cops.
I maybe should have mentioned that Mark was a member of the chorus of the Canadian Opera Company at the time, just for context. Missed the edit window - having coffee to see if it makes me more alert…
Well, let me clarify that the first thing that anyone who breaks into my house is going to be met with, is a warning to get the fuck out of my house, NOW. Because the last thing I want is to kill someone when I could have gotten away with not doing so - not that I give half a fuck about the “rights” of someone who breaks into my house, but I have no desire to be tied up in court, have to deal with the cops, possibly be sued by the criminal’s family in a civil trial, etc. I would rather that he just get out of my house and leave me be.
But if this intruder doesn’t bolt, immediately, he’s toast. I would rather not take any chances. Also, if I can see that he’s holding a gun of his own, I’m shooting first. I am not taking the chance of him drawing on me.
This is a situation I don’t think anyone would want to find himself in. And honestly, it’s really kind of impossible to predict what would really happen, how your adrenaline would affect you, etc, unless you’ve actually been through it before.
This thread has reminded me to get my ladies-sized spray can of mace from the bottom of whatever pile it is in now, and put it in my nightstand.
I keep a metal baseball bat beside my desk, since I am here more often than anywhere else. There are multiple sharp knives in the kitchen.
I have 2 big dogs, but they are very, very friendly, so I don’t know how they would react in a bad situation. I have a feeling they wouldn’t be much help, unless the intruder is highly allergic to dog saliva.
The main deterrence offered by a dog is the fact that it will bark, making noise that will alert neighbors. Unless you have a dog that, by training or by nature, will attack any stranger who enters the house, the dog will not provide direct physical protection, and should not be counted upon to do so.
I’ve been in countless homes where some random person has walked through the door - for a party, to bring something over, a maintenance man, whatever - and the house dog just ambles up to them and licks them. The average dog cannot be relied on to attack an intruder.
Also bear in mind that a home intruder might not be a stranger. It might be a disgruntled ex, especially in the case of women. If that person knew your dog for any length of time, like say if he lived with you, the dog will recognize him and will probably not attack him even if he’s coming into your house with the intention of raping and killing you.
I hope it never happens…my husband’s mantra is “keep swinging until the threat ceases”. And “always assume it’s a threat”. Baseball bat would be his weapon. although he knows how to shoot, we have no guns.
So, the intruder would have better luck with me. Unless my stepson was home, then I would definitely be more fight than flight.
First they would be met with my Piranhas, otherwise known as a uncoordinated attack from 7 Jack Russells. If they stick around after that, a bat or sword and 20 years or MA training would probably encourage them to leave. No not just me, my sons, wife and daughter are well versed and trained blackbelts as well. No guns, if they get the drop on us, they are welcome to take whatever they came in for.
The Intruder is met with two cocker spaniels who, in a stressful situation, are likely to pee on his shoes, and a voice shrieking from behind a locked door, Get out of my house, asshole! The cops are on the way!
So basically I’m dead, I guess. But I live in a safe neighborhood so I’ll take my chances.
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 know a lot of people have baseball bats, knives, et cetera…but what use is a baseball bat or a knife if the guy who is threatening you has a gun? For that matter, what use is a knife if the guy who breaks into your house is a hardened street tough who’s been in 30 knife fights, and pulls out a knife of his own? You really think you’re going to win against him? What good is a baseball bat if your attacker manages to grab it, and then while you’re holding onto it with both hands, kicks you in the balls?
I just think, in strictly logical terms, a gun cannot be equaled by any other object as a tool for defending yourself.
A .38/9mm/.357/12 ga. depending on who gets to what gun first, 2 Boxers intent on doing harm, and a homeowner with a Tae Kwon Do black belt who will use anything else available as a weapon.
First line is my dog - 100 lbs of snarling pit/german shepard mix. He may not actually bite, he may not actually wake up even, but he does not like strangers. If I were outside a door and he told me not to come in I wouldn’t. If I were inside a room and he came at me I would get the hell out.
Second line - Me in my bedoom. If intruders want my TV they can have it. If they want in my bedroom where my wife and I are, they better have a gun and be ready to shoot because I’m pretty sure I can give a good account of myself hand to hand.
Third line - I have a kukri (curved knife used by the Gurkhas) in the room and my wife knows where it is.
So if one or more people with guns and evil intent want into my house I will probably lose, otherwise I feel safe.
My neighbor’s house was actually invaded by a group of armed men - a swat team looking for as much as an ounce of pot (gasp!). They battered in his door and dragged his family out of their beds at gunpoint. It is really lucky he didn’t use his gun. They never did find any drugs BTW which is just as well since they forgot the warrent.
We own a crossbow.
It has been used successfully to discourage a truck thief.
There is also an assortment of knives in the kitchen, various gardening tools including a machete, and a variety of caustic/corrosive cleaning fluids available to fling upon those storming the castle.
But mostly, I think we reach for the crossbow. Fortunately, it’s rare we feel the need to do so.
We never kept a gun in the house when I was young because of two major reasons:
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My mother was exactly the sort of person who would shoot a relative who got up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water or take a leak. She tended to panic when woken by a noise in the middle of the night by a “strange” noise.
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We have had several family members who suffered from clinical depression. It is not good to have guns around these people. Even without guns, about half of these unfortunates have managed to kill themselves. Guns would just make it easier for them to do it.
I’m all in favor of the option to own guns, but they are not appropriate for all people and situations.
Nuthin’. I’m pretty sure I cannot legally buy/own a gun here, and I don’t play golf or baseball. On the other hand, property crime/assault/etc. is vanishingly rare here, and I live in a secured compound anyhow.