Posted on 07/06/2011 4:36:38 AM PDT by marktwain
I never cease to be amazed at how many people approach me and ask about taking them out to learn to shoot. Like most outdoorsmen I know I usually try and accommodate these newcomers to the outdoor sports but sometime there just isn’t time to do it all. I usually have to refer them to other experienced outdoorsmen or to a professional shooting range to learn the basics from a certified National Rifle Association instructor.
Many of these “newbies” are women who have wanted to learn how to use guns. In the world of today there are certain elements that have done everything they could to make one believe that it’s a bad thing to have guns in the house. To these folks it’s “politically incorrect” to keep a gun in your home. As economic times get tougher by the day and crime seems to be spreading, many of these anti-gun folks are beginning to look for ways to protect themselves and the most reasonable solution they see is to join forces with the pro-gun crowd and learn to use guns for self protection.
Fortunately some recent Supreme Court decisions have removed some of the stigma against owning guns and a lot of people are finding themselves frequenting gun stores shopping for a personal protection weapon.
Increasingly the numbers of women who want to learn to use guns want to learn to shoot handguns for personal protection and in a large percentage of these cases they also want to obtain their concealed carry permit so that they can keep a small handgun in their purse or pocket everywhere they go.
Male or female, in North Carolina it’s necessary that someone wanting to get the concealed carry permit has to go through a professionally taught class consisting of hours of classroom time along with actual shooting time on a range before the permit can be issued. There’s usually a reasonable fee for taking these classes and it’s money well spent to take the course taught by a professional instructor.
In other cases, the individual wanting to receive instruction on the safe handling of guns for personal protection is thinking in terms of having a gun just to keep in their home for protection against burglars, snakes or just to have one gun to keep around the house for whatever might arise. In this case a gun is a tool much the same as a hammer, saw or a screwdriver.
To the person wanting to have just one gun to keep around the house I always recommend a shotgun as the one gun that is the most “all-around” gun I can think of.
Considering the person wanting to use a shotgun for home defense, I usually recommend a pump action 12 or 20 gauge as the best weapon for all around use. These are very reliable guns and relatively inexpensive.
Having worked around criminals for a number of years I’ve learned through talking with them that there are two things that act as the best deterrents to anyone breaking into your home. These two items are a gun in the house and a dog that barks at something or someone that’s not supposed to be in the house. Either one of these things individually acts to deter an intruder but having both of them together is even better.
One other item that a lot of homes have today that acts very well to keep intruders out of your home is a good, modern, alarm system.
In most cases it’s not a good idea to keep a fully loaded gun sitting around the house and this is particularly true in the case when children are in the area. It’s against the law in many states to keep any gun sitting out loaded (or unloaded) with ammunition close at hand where a child can pick the gun up and accidentally shoot it.
On the other hand an unloaded gun has about as much use as a piece of iron pipe when it comes to protecting yourself or your property. When people ask my advice about what gun they should choose for home protection, in most cases, I recommend that they buy a shotgun that they can comfortably handle and then go to a shooting range and have an instructor teach them how safely to use it.
The shotgun should be kept loaded and securely under lock and key and kept close by where you can quickly get to it in case an intruder is breaking into your house. In cases such as this it is important to be ready to use the gun quickly and to have to unlock the gun cabinet, get the gun out and load it could waste valuable seconds in an emergency. An even better idea is to keep it loaded with several rounds of heavy shotgun shells in the magazine of the gun so that you have to work the action to place a shell in the barrel before the gun can be fired. There’s a reason for this.
Most intruders are quite familiar with the sound of a pump action shotgun being charged with a shell and the ominous “click-clack” of the loading action will usually scare the bejabbers out of most criminals. If that doesn’t turn the intruder around a loudly spoken warning to them that you’re armed and will shoot usually does the trick, too. Hopefully these actions will turn the trouble away but if it doesn’t and you feel that you’re really being physically threatened, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot at whatever’s threatening you. Aim for the biggest part of the target and pull the trigger. At close range the shotgun is usually very effective at stopping most any threat.
I do not recommend using the same type of shotgun shells that you’d use for hunting deer for home defense. A load of buckshot or a slug can go through the target, the wall back of the target and could hurt someone in the next room. A load of smaller shot such as pellets #4, #2 or BBs is devastating at close range and usually stops in the intended target.
A handgun of adequate power such as a 9-mm or larger is a very effective personal protection weapon but it necessitates a larger degree of training to effectively use guns like this. A shotgun is easier to use in a lot of cases and vastly more effective at close range. If whatever you might be shooting at isn’t at close range and a threat to your wellbeing, I question whether or not you should even be shooting at it.
When someone comes face to face with a home invasion or a burglar in the act of breaking into your home it’s far, far better to turn the threat away without shooting someone. Whether you’re justified in shooting someone or not it’s always preferable that you simply drive them away and then call law enforcement to handle things. If, regrettably, you should have to use deadly force to protect yourself, your family or your property, it’s a messy and very involved process you usually have to go through with to prove such action was indeed justified.
The Second Amendment gives every American citizen the right to keep and bear arms but that right comes with a great deal of responsibility. If you do own a gun learn to safely use it and understand the local laws that might come into play should you find it absolutely necessary to use deadly force to protect yourself.
On this week of the 4th of July we need to remember that our American Independence Day was brought about through the judicious use of guns and keeping that right that the Second Amendment to our Constitution guarantees to every American citizen is well worth fighting for today.
What is a “carbine?”
I've always been curious about this process. If you do indeed have to use deadly force to repel a home invader, do the police show up and just arrest you/throw you jail, until it's proven that you were justified in your action? Would it be best to call a lawyer immediately after dialing '911' to report the incident?
Here’s an affordable one.
http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2010/08/captain-john-raguso/gun-review-kel-tec-sub-2000-40/
My son bought this very one.
Short rifle.
"The shotgun should be kept loaded and securely under lock and key and kept close by where you can quickly get to it".
How quickly can you unlock something when someone is kicking in your front door? How does locking up your gun provide for your safety?
"Most intruders are quite familiar with the sound of a pump action shotgun being charged with a shell and the ominous “click-clack” of the loading action will usually scare the bejabbers out of most criminals. If that doesn’t turn the intruder around a loudly spoken warning to them that you’re armed and will shoot usually does the trick, too".
I'm honestly amazed how many time I hear this canard. If someone has broken into your house while you are there, you have to assume they are intent on doing you harm. Giving away your position in the hopes of frightening the home invader is a gamble with your life. A criminal that breaks into a home they suspect is occupied is already prepared to do violence on the resident and they are just as likely to start shooting at a source of noise rather than suddenly developing a strong sense of self preservation.
I like the 12 double. I am not interested in scaring someone with the click of the pump. It can be stored loaded with the barrel open so you know with a glance it is ready. It has an easy to operate safety too.
I think this is best. I worry about shooting a perp and then facing legal nightmares.
You bet, S 682 Beretta, My trap, skeet & sporting set up is always ready to protect me and mine. Run 6 boxes thru it every week
I used to shoot trap. Man that was fun. I never could get those skeet though.
A pistol solution I used with kids in the home was to use was a 9mm Browning High-Power with its standard magazine safety: the pistol can be stored in the open with a round in the chamber, safety off as long as the magazine is removed. It can't be fired at all even in that condition until you insert the magazine, then it's ready to go instantly. Just kept pistol on top of the refrigerator and the magazine of 13 rounds in my pocket.
Great Advice !
The Author needs some help:
From the http://www.theboxotruth.com/ website
Lessons learned:
1. Notice that the #4 and #1 Buck penetrated 6 boards. In previous tests, 9mm, .45 ACP, and M-193 out of an AR all penetrated all 12 boards.
So, it seems that these loads do not “over-penetrate” as much as some have led us to believe.
The 00 Buck penetrated 8 boards, but was stopped by the 9th. Still not as much penetration as the pistol or rifle loads.
The slug penetrated all 12 boards.
2. Once again, please notice the size of the entrance spreads....2 1/2” to 3 1/2”. Therefore, anyone that says, “With a shotgun, you don’t even have to aim. Just point it in the general area of the bad guy, and you can’t miss”, does not know what they are talking about.
You can very easily miss with a shotgun. You must aim to hit your target.
3. The slugs were “bad” penetrators. By that, I mean that they will penetrate several interior walls. If you have loved ones in your home, consider this as you select your home defense weapon.
4. I “racked” the shotgun several times during the tests, and no bystanders lost control of their bowels.
Conclusion: Racking a shotgun will not make the bad guy faint.
A German Shepherd makes a great home defense “weapon”
I’ve shot a little skeet.
Didn’t think much of it.
Tried cooking those things every way possible, and they still taste like crap.
Have you ever had a Golf? Them eggs are hard to cook. They live in little holes but you never see them. All you can find are the eggs.
That was another thing I was wondering about. If you report it, aren't you already 'confessing' to something, on a certain level? Could always toss them into the wood chipper, and life goes on. lol
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