If I hear someone coming in the front or side door while I’m in my room, I think I can barricade myself in my room long enough to get myself and my dogs out the window. We might break some bones (it’s a high window, I have a raised ranch) but we’d be safe from weapons.
If the intruder is able to come close to me…well, we’ll see what my mutts are made of. But probably death for all of us.
I personally do not use shovels. Too often, the Acme shovel will reverberate leaving me paralyzed by vibrations*. I prefer the Acme Anvil on a Pulley or Acme Bat-Man suit to taking out my home invaders when I don’t have a crossbow or boomarang present.
Swing for the knees first to take them down, and then just swing away at whatever part of them they are not covering up.
Or, more likely, I’d probably not even wake up. I’ve been known to sleep through some rather remarkable middle of the night sounds. Like when a pole mounted power transformer blew up less than 40 yards from my bedroom window. Every one in my neighborhood was talking about the “cannon” shot sound. I heard nothing.
I’d rather have someone come at me while I’m in the garage, than in the house. I could trim him up with the table saw, smooth down any irregular surfaces with a bench plane, and then apply the finishing touch with Danish oil or perhaps a nice poly.
Or, you know, just clock him with a framing hammer.
The guns are safely locked away so I hope I have a little time or a clear path to get to them. Otherwise I would have to throw the dogs at them. I mean literally throw since they would be useless otherwise. One would cower in fear because there was a stranger and the other would just be happy to have someone new to lick. The only use I could get out of them would be as projectiles.
I’m in the same boat as Loach. My guns are all in a safe, and the ammunition for the guns is in a separate secure compartment. So I’d need lots of time to open the safe, try to remember where I hid the keys for the ammo, sort through the “dummy” keys to find the right one, etc., etc.
Luckily, my kids have lots of hard plastic dinosaurs each with several pointy bits. I’d throw dinosaurs at the intruder while loudly informing them that they’re going to be in big trouble in about 15 minutes.
I would apprehend, subdue and duck tape-bind the intruder in an upright position. Then I would smear bananas all over his face. Then I would take my Black & Decker drill and drill 5/8” holes spaced 8 inches apart into the intruder’s bones (tibia, femur, etc.) from foot to head. Then, I’d insert 5/8” wooden dowels, cut to 6” lengths, into the drilled holes. Then, I’d release my rabid squirrel money (fun fact: rabid squirrel monkeys cost less than non-rabid squirrel monkeys). Then,…well, I think you can guess the rest.