I have a pistol. It’s in a drawer in the bedroom, so one could conclude that it’s there for home defense. I’ve also got an aluminum T-ball bat next to the bed as my *primary *defense. I don’t expect to ever need to use either of these tools, though.
If you are not currently positive it is unloaded you should have somebody that knows guns check it for you.
I have a few guns, primarily because I just like target shooting and enjoy guns as intrinsically cool items. I have a few that would be well suited for home defense if needed but that’s not my primary motive for owning them.
My primary weapon is a 60-pound dog.
You can have him when you pry him from my cold, dead hands.
I guess I just imagined the guy who tried to burglarize my apartment while I was in the shower.
It’s just awkward running down my narrow hallway with my secondary defensive weapon (my samurai sword)
I can’t see doing that because, I seem to recall that in most cases, when a gun is used to shoot someone in the home in which the gun resides, in most cases, it is an innocent person who is shot- sad to say.
I’d love to know just how many people who buy guns for home use ever take the training to learn just how to properly use that gun. I fear that in most cases, they don’t take any training and when they pull out that gun, they wind up shooting someone who did not deserve to get shot.
There was a time (not sure if it still holds) when 60% of shooting incidents in the US were either self-inflicted or accidental shooting of friendlies. Don’t keep a gun if you don’t know how to use it.
When seconds count, help is 30 minutes away.
I did not buy a gun for defense. I inherited them though.
A few years ago my store was held up at gun point. The owner has a few guns (just for target shooting) and one of them was near where I was sitting. I grabbed one, loaded it, called the police and the it was all over within a few seconds. The guy was gone probably before I even finished calling 911. But it was that instant where I went from “I don’t know if I could shoot someone” to “If this guy points a gun at me, he’s going to get shot first”. It really changed my perspective on things.
They always say ‘don’t own a gun unless you could shoot someone’, after that, in clear and present danger, I could. It was soon after that that I got one. I should be clear that I didn’t go out and buy one but a friend gave me one.
A few weeks after that there was a crime spree where some guys where following store owners/managers home after hours, breaking into their house, beating them to a pulp and robbing them with the idea that they were bringing the day’s money home with them. Until that blew over I kept the gun in an accessible (but extremely inaccessible to my child) area. We also knew what kind of vehicle they were driving so I kept an eye on my rear view mirror on my way home. Three cops live on my block and if I was worried, my plan was to call 911, let them know what was going on and tell them that I was pulling into Officer ‘Smith’s’ driveway and could you please call/radio him to send him out to help me.
Anyways, it’s all blown over now, the gun is not only incredible in-accessible, but in a non-working order (fires one bullet than jams and needs to be cleared). If someone broke into my house, I’d have no chance of getting a hold of it before they could get to me and I don’t intend to move it to, say, my bedroom.
I do plan to, someday, get it fixed or get a new gun (that I like better), but it would still be locked up and probably kept in the same place.
So, take that however you will. I have a gun in my house, it could be used for self-defense, but a bad guy can probably get to me before I could get to it. But, I’d have no problem shooting someone that pointed a gun at me. A friend of mind gave me a quick safety/shooting class that included some tips to avoid a gun fight, but still, if I’m in fear, you’re going to go down before I do.
Lastly, it should be noted that by daughter is incredibly NOT nosy. She doesn’t snoop around the house (at least not yet). She doesn’t go through my bedroom while I’m in the shower, she doesn’t ransack closets just to see what’s in them. My basement is unfinished and I think she’s been down there less than 10 times, she’s just not interested in that kind of stuff. I’m not worried about her finding it. But the case is locked, the ammo is kept somewhere separate and the key is nowhere near it.
Also WRT to guns for safety, I ALWAYS recommend some kind of class. I learned a lot from mine. They teach stuff I never would have thought of. Everything from, if you’re going to keep the gun in a locker in your nightstand, don’t have the key in your purse by the front door to practice practice practice. They did an interesting simulation where they took three volunteers from the audience, gave one a key to a gun locker, one a combination to a gun locker and one a key to a trigger lock. They then flashed the lights on and off and yelled and screamed as each of the three people tried to open the locks…took them all well over 30 seconds with all the chaos. The point was, you need to practice. Put the gun where you’re going to keep it and practice, learn how to roll over, grab the case, unlock it, load it, turn off the safety, rack it and point it. Practice to the point where it’s second nature, to the point where if someone is beating your front door down you can do all that as easily as you can put your glasses on. Or as they said ‘don’t practice so you can always do it right, practice so you never do it wrong.’
@drewder, when it comes to long (non shooting) weapons like bats/swords/lug nut wrenches etc, you have to use a stabbing motion in a hallway, you can’t swing.
I live in the safest city in the U.S. statistically and I have considered getting one again because you never know when you might need one. My family, including me, has been the (rather lucky) victims of an improbable number of violent crimes over the years. The kidnappings, armed robberies, assaults and hostage situations have always worked out in our favor and sent a lot of people to prison but the next one may not and I do not want to be to caught unarmed in that situation again.
My father was a gun dealer when I was growing up and we had every type of firearm under the sun, three shooting ranges (rifle, pistol and skeet) at our house and I was allowed allowed to use them at will as long as I obeyed the SAFETY RULES. Violating one of those is the one thing that will cause my father to lose his temper because he takes gun safety extremely seriously and I do too.
I love guns as sporting tools and art objects just as much as for their utility and I know a whole lot about them in general. I have shot countless rounds through every conceivable type and I would love to have some collectible examples that are also useful. However, I have always liked custom designed rifles best of all followed by artisanal shotguns. I like handguns just fine for casual shooting but I have never developed a real interest in them. Unfortunately the ones that I really love the most aren’t very compatible with my suburban living situation. I am not going to buy a beautiful double-barreled 12 gauge shotgun or a custom Weatherby rifle because it could put neighbors in jeopardy if someone ever fired it in the wrong direction by mistake or or purpose.
Either of those could certainly take out an intruder much more effectively than any handgun though.
The short version is I’ve needed it and I was glad to have it. Plan on keeping it. Wish it wasn’t so but --------
See post #14.
Don’t have one, don’t want one, don’t need one. I have no desire to learn how to shoot, and I won’t own anything that I don’t know how to use properly.
I can’t think of anything in my house I’d kill someone to protect, and crime just isn’t a huge issue around here. I’ll continue to take my chances.
Violence doesn’t solve problems, it only escalates them.
I wouldn’t kill to protect stuff, I will, however, consider it an option to protect people in my family.
Although as I stated up-thread I’d much prefer to go somewhere that level of home defense isn’t needed.
You “seem to recall” this from where?
A violent defense is occasionally required in order to end or prevent a violent attack; there are some people who will not be dissuaded from their goal by any means other than violence or the threat thereof.
I have one, and if I didn’t have one I would get one. My city has some rough neighborhoods not far away (there was a homicide last weekend) and I have had a fair amount of theft / vandalism occur since I moved here. From my security cameras I have learned it’s amazing what happens outside your home while you sleep. Finally as a regular scanner listener I am aware of the scope and trends of crime in my area.
I live alone so I am not worried about accidents.
That all said, I have no expectation of ever needing it. I also expect my term life insurance to expire before my demise, my smoke alarms will never save me from a fire, my life preserver will not prevent my drowning and my seatbelt will not be asked to stop my flight through the windshield.
I absolutely appreciate each person makes a choice appropriate for themselves. I have made mine.
I don’t see how this contributes anything useful to the discussion.
I know a lot of people believe this, but I personally do not. My waving a gun around will not stop another from using their gun first; it may even encourage rather than discourage them. If violence is their plan, my bullet won’t stop their bullet.
I’m lucky to live in a country where guns are rarely used in crimes.