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master218711 -> RE: Gun Question (9/9/2007 7:51:29 AM)
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Having been trained by the State and having to qualify on State Ranges for the last 24 years, and before that having to qualify with the US Army Military Police for 5 years, not to mention for one year having to qualify on another states State Police Range, and having the training that Police Officers go thru, I think that this is good advice. Remember those words, "I was just trying to stop him from killing me". This shows that you were in fear of your life, and that you were not trying to kill but just stop the person from killing you. Remember if anyone asks you were shooting at center of mass. That is where all good ranges and training tells you to shoot at. "Center of Mass". Anyone asks what that is, it is the area in the center of the chest where the body is the biggest. The four rules he has quoted below are good however I want to make sure everyone knows this one again. C) ALWAYS BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEHIND IT. You do not need to kill your wife, child, or friend who just happened by and the door was unlocked so he or she walked in. Likewise you do not need to kill an intruder and have the bullet go thru him/her and the wall to the next house and kill a sleeping child in their bed. Having said that, I will state that I would give the intruder a verbal warning. Course that is my training, a normal person would not be expected to do this. course my verbal warning would be something like, "freeze, do not move or I will shoot." and yelling it instead of just saying it. Since I live in the boon docks and the police response time to my house is about 15 mins or longer I have a glock 45 with hollow points and a snub nose 38 with hollow points. not to mention my 308 rifle, and shotgun with slug rounds. There are reasons for this. If I was in the city I would not have the powerful ones I do have. Out in the country like I am even if the round goes thru the wall and out it will hit a tree before it gets to any house or person around my farm. I will end this by saying, it is better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6.
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ORIGINAL: Crush
A few things for you to consider:
1) You don't shoot to kill. You shoot to "STOP" the agressor. If he dies, he dies. Just be the first one to call 911...usually the first one to call is considered the victim. And you aren't the police, so you don't have to tell the bad guy to "put his gun down" or such. If you are in fear for your life, you take action to save your life. End of story. Meth heads need BIG rounds to keep them down.
1a) Use a sufficiently powerful round to STOP the intruder. A .22LR is not a good self-defense round. Birdshot is not a good self-defense round either. Use a big enough bullet, such as a .38 or 9mm or better. And in a shotgun, use a round that is sufficient to STOP that intruder. Check out http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs10.htm for info on shotgun rounds.
2) A shotgun is a good choice, since it isn't a handgun and there are all sorts of nanny laws about handguns. (Since you are in Illinois, one of the "worst" states for permitting residents to defend themselves, be sure to read over the following from Handgunlaw.US : http://www.isp.state.il.us/foid/firearmsfaq.cfm It is the link to the laws regarding hangduns in your state.)
3) For personal defense, a revolver is a good choice. Most encounters are three 3s. Three yards, three seconds, three shots. A S&W .38 is good. Even better with the laser sight grips. BUT you do have to practice! A revolver, in general, will "kick" more than a pistol, since nothing but your arm is going to handle the recoil. And you don't have to remember to chamber a round with a pistol. You point and pull the trigger and it goes "bang" and the bullet goes out the end.
3a) Most pistols (semi-automatic hanguns) today are fairly reliable. One problem is that some people don't carry "one in the pipe" so you have to load that first round. Not something you want to do if you are in a self-defense situation. If you don't feel comfortable carrying a round loaded in the chamber, then don't use a pistol.
4) Training...did I say Training? Be sure to get some! And range time, so you know what it will feel like to shoot. What it sounds like. What it will smell like. And to help insure that when you decide to use your weapon, you will use it properly.
5) Securing your firearm. Make damn sure it is available when you need it but not something the kids will be able to use. If you go with a handgun, then there are safes that require a second to open and are secured with a fingerprint reader. A bit harder to do with a shotgun. But NEVER have your self defense weapon secured with a keyed lock.
6) Remember the "Four Laws of Gun Safety" (http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~dss/gun-safety.htm)
A) A GUN IS ALWAYS CONSIDERED LOADED B) NEVER POINT A GUN AT SOMETHING YOU DON"T WANT TO DESTROY C) ALWAYS BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND WHAT IS BEHIND IT and D) KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
7) Have the name of a good attorney handy/on file/in your head. When the police come you say only "I was in fear for my life. They came at me. I believe they were going to hurt me. I really want to tell you more, but I need some time to recover and I want to talk to my attorney first before I make any further statements." Just be sure that you've called 911, made sure the Bad Guy doesn' t have access to a weapon and that you don't have the gun pointed at the police when they arrive....put the darn thing down.
You may end up in jail overnight. You may find yourself grilled a bit. Just invoke that right to speak to your attorney and shut the f* up.
Deciding to use a lethal weapon, such as a gun of some sort, is a life-altering choice. You aren't using a weapon to protect your property. You are using a weapon to protect yourself or someone you care about. IF you make the choice, be SURE you are willing to make that choice if the time comes.
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OR, the short version for self defense: A good shotgun, possibly with a pistol stock (easier to move inside a building with a pistol grip instead of a standard stock), with a self defense choice of ammo. I like the Mossberg shotguns, but that's because I own one. Inexpensive as well to buy, shoot, and are very reliable and easy to maintain.
Talk with some folks at the gun shops and tell them what your concerns are. Most will help you out fairly.
Edited to add: DOH! Missed some of the posts above me...Even briefer: What they said!
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