I used to believe the same thing about the deterrent factor of the sound of a shotgun slide being racked, but I was corrected about that idea on these boards in a previous thread about a very similar topic.
I now believe that If the weapon is to be used to defend one’s life, it needs to be able to be brought into use almost instantly. While an experianced shooter can load a shell into a pump gun rather quickly, the last thing you want is a jam, which can absolutely happen at that point. The weapon needs to be able to be brought to bear with no more thought and motion than it takes to move the barrel towards the target and pull the trigger.
The Parks and Recreation department in our county has handgun safety courses. They’re a prerequisite to getting your concealed carry permit in VA, but would also probably be a great introduction to firearms.
The biggest thing you want to remember is Don’t point your gun at anything you don’t want to kill. Even if you’ve checked 100 times to be sure it’s not loaded. Ya don’t do it.
Personally I have a loaded Glock 17 close by my bedside. Loaded, but not ready to fire (needs to be cocked first, then BANG BANG BANG as a fast as I can pull the trigger.) That is the way I’m most comfortable with having a loaded gun in the house.
Being from the UK the talk of handguns, shotguns etc in the house is rather alien. If there are so many guns in houses in the US then you must have really stupid burglars who would want to break in…Is there a bit of hysteria involved here, perhaps fed by the media, that it is not safe anywhere. I have been to the US on a number of occasions, staying in Hotels, and secluded properties and have never felt the need to carry a weapon. Do I underestimate the risk or is it that I have not been force fed the notion that people intend breaking into my house and rather than steal things, will kill me. I would have thought the best time to break into a house was when no one was in…
You have to think of this from the standpoint of the individual rather than the more collectivist thinking of Europe.
No, the U.S. as a whole is not very dangerous and most crimes like robbery are much more common in England. We do have higher levels of murder and rape but those are much more common in some areas than others.
However, individuals can live in places where there is a permanent or temporary threat to their well being. A properly trained, responsible gun owner is unlikely to do any harm and may protect himself in his family when nobody, including the police are able to. It does happen many times a day somewhere in the U.S.
We leave it mainly to the individual to decide if the threat is great enough against the costs and recognize that a gun is just another tool rather than a sculpture of terror.
Many people in the U.S. enjoy hunting and shooting as well so it makes little sense to prohibit them from protecting their own lives when they need it the most.
Five members of my family, including me (attempted armed robbery) have be the targets of violent crime. I don’t have any guns in the house now but I may want to again at some point and that is a decision I am perfectly capable of making without impacting anyone other than felons that may make the mistake of choosing me.
I will strongly advocate that you do not bring a handgun into your home until you are totally familiar with its operation. Go take shooting lessons; your local gun store will gladly provide you with information on where and when. Learn how to control the weapon and it then becomes nothing more than a tool.
I don’t keep a gun in the house, but if I did, I’d do what my parents did – a big 12-gauge shotgun.
My mother was a country girl, and grew up with long guns, so handling a shotgun was much more natural for her than learning a handgun. And the sound of the pump action was unforgettable to me.
Plus, my father felt that the odds of hitting something with buckshot were far better than with a handgun, particularly in a no-time-to-aim situation.
Neither of them made any bones about it being a deterrence. They were both explicit that if the shotgun ever came out of the closet, we’d better be prepared to shoot to kill.
This thread is full of good advice. I’m glad the OP is doing something smart–asking others’ opinion before embarking on owning a gun for the first time. I would reiterate that a 12-gauge is more effective both psychologically and practically than a handgun. (Old saying: More burglaries have been detered by the sound of a 12-gauge slide racking than by all the handguns in the world)
And probably the two BEST pieces of advice is to get training before you buy one, and make sure any children are taught how to handle the piece properly if they are even able to reach it. These are SO important.
Yes, yes and yes. My dear Wife’s first experience with a handgun or any gun was years ago with people that I have never meet. It was on a camping trip.
The gun she was to shoot? .44 magnum. Now, you can imagine the build up to this as my now Wife was about to shoot it.
“It’s a cannon”
“It’ll nock you on your butt”
So, she readies herself, aims, and pulls the trigger……
Click.
The one round in the gun was not in the proper spot in the revolver. She wisely chose not to try again. I’m not sure if her friends played a ‘joke’ on her or just didn’t know what they where doing.
I partly blame them for the reason my Wife is uncomfortable with guns. She now sees guns as unpredictable.
I’ve tried to help, and have taken her shooting, but I just can’t seem to fix it. Some people are shooters, some aren’t. I’m not going to force the issue, but I do think everyone should be able to handle a gun safely.
Ehh? I own both semi autos and pump. And I really think your reaching here. It’s like saying a model 93 is more accurate than an M-16 because you have to take the time to chamber a round. In a home defense situation, speed is of the essence.
Now, don’t get me wrong, my home defense gun, should I choose to ready it would be my .357 Ruger. And if I purchased a shotgun for home defense it would be a pump. But really, a pump is more accurate than a semi-auto at close distances? I’ll take my Remington 1100 over my Ithaca any day.
Have you ever heard the sound of a semi-auto shotgun being chambered? Pretty much the same thing, except louder. Not that I would ever wait to do it. If your life is in danger, you better make damn sure you have one up the pipe.
Never thought of the flash problem. Are they worse than say a 1911?
Yep. I’ve fired all of my handguns at night, and the .357 was one of the worst offenders in the flash department. The various 9mm seemed to be the best. Revolvers in general seem to put out more flash because of the cylinder gap, among other things.
For most situations involving home defense, a shotgun is the best choice.
Do not shoot someone who is stealing your stuff. As an example, if you see someone crawling out a window with your jewelry, do not shoot them. Only shoot someone when you believe you or a family member’s life is in danger.
Practice shooting your shotgun. A lot.
If your life is in danger, and you end up shooting someone, it will end up costing you between $20,000 and $30,000, even if the shooting was justified. Just something to think about.
If your life is in danger, and you end up shooting someone, do not tell the cops, “My life was threatened, so I grabbed a gun and killed him.” Never use the word “kill.” Instead, use the word “stop,” e.g. “My life was threatened, so I grabbed a gun and stopped him.”
After the shooting, do not let the cops or detectives interview you. Simple tell them your life was threatened and you’d like to talk to your lawyer ASAP. And then shut up.
Don’t let me hijack the thread (I’ll start a new one if I get really serious) but I like shooting a shotgun and have thought of getting one for target practice. Favorite merit badge of the three by far. Looking for a range in my area, I see one that lists “Facilities include: Outdoor Pistol (50ft to 200 meters), Outdoor Rifle (50 yds to 1000 yds), Rifle Silhouette, Pistol Silhouette, Muzzleloading, Sporting Clays”. What exactly would I be shooting at if I went there and did target practice with sporting clays?
It is like simulated hunting with a shotgun that is more elaborate and complicated than skeet. It gets played on a “course” that includes different types of varied surrounding sort if like golf.
“Sporting Clays is a challenging clay target game designed to simulate field shooting. On a Sporting Clays course, shooters are presented with a wide variety of targets that duplicate the flight path of gamebirds, such as flushing, crossing, incoming and other angling shots.”
“Courses are laid out in natural surroundings and typically include five or 10 shooting “stations” with shooters moving from one station to the next to complete the course. Each station presents shooters with a different type of shot. At a “grouse station”, for example, shooters might face flushing “birds” that zip in and out of the trees. At a “decoying duck” station, incoming targets may float in toward the shooter. Most courses make use of natural features such as woods and ponds to create a realistic setting for each type of shot. At any station, targets may be thrown as singles, simultaneous pairs, following pairs (one target right after the other), or report pairs (the second target launched at the sound of the gun being fired at the first). To further challenge shooters, target size may vary from the standard trap/skeet clay bird to the smaller “midi” and “mini” targets, or a flat disc shaped “battue” target. There are even special “rabbit” targets that are thrown on end and skitter across the ground.”
That sounds like a sensible compromise. Our rules our a little different, but then again our situation is probably different.
We have three young children, and I am not comfortable with a gun having a round in the chamber (Condition 0 or 1) or even a loaded mag in the gun (Condition 3). My home defense rifle is a FAL, and it’s always within arm’s reach of my bedside. But the chamber is empty and no mag is in the rifle (Condition 4). I keep a loaded, 30-round mag on the other side of the room. So when uninvited visitors come over, it requires a few extra seconds to mate the rifle with the mag. It’s certainly not perfect from a reaction time POV, but I feel it’s a good compromise for our situation.
