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Originally Posted by Longstreet
As mentioned, I really do not know anything about this and am only stating what I would do given my limited understanding of the situation. I am learning from what is being posted and will change my plan. Thanks for the 'simulation' idea and while she may think I am nuts, I will do it.
Right so the glass breaks . . .
Assuming it is from ground level (I live in a two story house and would find it difficult for someone to break in on the second floor - not that it couldn't), I would turn on the lights and call 911. I would grab my gun (which will now not be locked. Question on this though. Although it is law to have any firearms safely secured - one which I agree with TR that does not work well if I need it ASAP. - and while I do not have any children (yet) leaving an unlocked loaded firearm in the corner of a room does not sit well with me. It just seems like an accident waiting to happen and is far more likely to accidently hurt/kill a 'good guy' rather than a 'bad guy'. Are there any other suggeestion to this or do I simply need to deal with it?
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Jayson it's good you're thinking about this, but let me offer a few thoughts; first yes a loaded gun is a hazard of sorts to some people, children being my primary concern. If there are no children living in the house then there is not a huge threat, and it is mitigated by having all adults in the house being shown how to fire and clear the weapon. If you are uncomfortable keeping the weapon fully loaded I would recommend having a snap cap (dummy round) in the chamber and keeping the weapon on safe. That way it is no more dangerous than a bullet laying on the dresser, however it can be made ready very quickly, rack the slide, snap cap is ejected and you're hot and ready to go. This also serves as your warning, yelling IMO is unnecessary, if the person in the house has ill intent they are going to do one of two things, retreat or keep coming, either way you yelling will have no more effect on their decision making process than the racking of a slide, however as others have said they may be able to better determine your location or they hear nervousness in your voice, neither of which is good for you tactically, but this is also situational, in my house there would be no reason for any other human to be inside other than my wife after I've locked up, I have a nieghbor with a key but they know I am armed and well trained and know better than to enter without my permission. If you have family or are concerned that the threat may be the police then a ghost call out may be in order, but IMO that would be best reserved for someone with a little more training and a command voice, but it is a personal decision IMO. Me personally I'm going to rack the slide and that's your warning, the next thing you'll hear is a bang. Understand the racking of a shotgun slide is the 2nd most recognizable sound on earth, second only to a Harley
, and it is a universal sound that means go away. Any friendlys in the area are going to sing out their name and status at hearing the slide being racked, and they are likely to stop moving until they make contact with you, but your situation may be different if you have family in the area or multiple neighbors with access to your house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longstreet
Back to the break in . . . with the call made, I would approach my stairs and yell down that I know someone is there and that the police have been called. I would also inform the intruder(s) that I am armed and would procede to cock my shotgun. Hopefully this would scare away the intruder. Should it not work, given the layout of my stairs, if the intruder was to try to walk up them, I could fire a warning in safety and retreat back to my room if the intruder continued.
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Ok lots of issues here, if racking the slide didn't scare away the intruder your voice is probably not going to have any effect, they are
INTENT on doing you and yours harm and must be dealt with. I would highly discourage warning shots, if you rack the slide and they keep coming a warning shot is simply a wasted round and wasted time, both of which may result in you or your families demise. Another issue, the stairs are a choke point in most cases, if you have only one way up and down that is the best place to make your stand should it come to that, the bad guy has no cover and you hold the high ground while he is in a fatal funnel. If I'm at home and have racked the slide and a bad guy keeps coming, I'm going to end him at the stairs, retreating at this point is simply giving up an advantage for a little meaningless time, if they keep coming up the stairs you need to be ready to keep them from making it to the top.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longstreet
From here I would again lie down perpendicuar to the door with her beside me. The baseball bat would be a great idea and I will look into getting one although I do have a hockey stick, heh-heh. Hopefully the police would arrive at this time.
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Hope is not a strategy, you have two choices in this scenario IMO, fight or hide and I equate hiding with dying, if you want to block the bedroom door then get a door club, but don't surrender yourself to act as a final door stop, I'd rather go down fighting than to hope the bad guy is a moron.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longstreet
I really do not know what I would do for my next step. Using the bat/hockey stick sounds good, but if the intruder is armed with a firearm, it mite not be the best idea. Of course the shotgun could be used, but I have no faith in Canadian law and I would probably go to prison unless I could solidly argue that the intruder was an immediate threat to my gf and I. I really hope it never comes to this.
jaYson
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Jayson you sound as if you are only willing to use the shotgun as a warning instrument, I would advise you that if you are unwilling to use it to take a life then you may want to reconsider getting one.
Also when I was a police officer there was a saying many of us used to live by, I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Canadian law may suck, and it may not side with you, however if you don't do anything in this scenario you may be dead right along with your loved ones, personally I'd rather neutralize the threat, ensure my family is safe, and deal with the consequences whatever they may be afterwards.
Just a few thoughts