Posted on 02/28/2013 10:43:01 AM PST by EXCH54FE
Houston homeowner returned home after dropping his wife off at work to find three teenage burglars in his house Wendesday, Feb. 27. The man was able to get to his rifle and held the three intruders until the police arrived.
Randy Magdeleno arrived home at 8:30 a.m. and found the glass in his back door broken. He heard voices inside the house. A spate of burglaries in Houston has prompted many to take precautions, including Magdeleno who had left a rifle (an unloaded .22LR bolt-action) where he could get to it, just in case. And Magdeleno was able to get to his gun unnoticed.
“I came around through here in my kitchen,” Magdeleno told Houston’s Channel 11 News. “It was scary, I didn’t know what I was walking into and hearing people running around inside my house at the same time. I didn’t know if they were carrying weapons around or not.”
(Excerpt) Read more at guns.com ...
Unloaded? Lucky idiot.
An unloaded 22 lr bolt action rifle for home defense. I’ll have to try that, Not. Actually my favorite uncle used to do the same thing. He’s dead now. Of old age (RIP Uncle Joe).
Against three intruders I think I'd rather have a baseball bat.
“.....Magdeleno who had left a rifle (an unloaded .22LR bolt-action) where he could get to it, just in case.”
Good plan... you never know when you’re going to need an unloaded gun.
While I do applaud him for his nerve, this stupidity could have easily gotten him killed.
Why did the so-called “homeowner” find it improper for others to enjoy the shared creation space of us all?
There is a vid on Youtube of a guy who, out of curiousity, wrapped a frozen turkey in three layers of denim and shot it at 30 yards to see what a 22LR fired out of a Ruger 10/22 would do.
It went through three layers of denim, through the whole turkey and exited through the three layers on the back. He kept moving it further away with the same results every time all the way out to 250 yards.
At 300 yards the bullet was stopped by the exit side layers of denim.
A 22LR rifle is not just better than nothing, it's a A LOT better than nothing, if you have nothing bigger around.
My first choice ? No, but it's a damn good plan b.
My first choice ? No, but it's a damn good plan b.
In my den, I have a 38 S & W with 158g hollow points and also a 22 bolt action with bird shot (not for defense, but I'd use it if I had to).
“Against three intruders I think I’d rather have a baseball bat.”
A baseball bat is a surprizingly poor weapon in tight quarters, and against 3 intruders they would probably beat you to death with it. It might be better to retreat to a locked room, call the fuzz and hope they just want your stuff (assuming there is no gun available). PS, hide the dog when the cops arrive.
It really depends on how well you can sell the crooks that the rifle is loaded and will leave a really big hole when he pulls the trigger. Somebody who holds it confidently like it is loaded can get the same results as a loaded one as long as nobody challenges him. In that way, it is more useful than a bat.
I wonder if he just told the cops and the news that it wasn’t loaded so he might be allowed to keep it after the gun-grabbers see the story.
I believe that over 90% of encounters where a gun gets pulled ends with no shots being fired when the bad guy changes his mind when he sees the gun. In that case, an unloaded gun is as good as a loaded gun as long as you are a good actor.
One, only one, of the advantages of a magazine fed weapon is how easy it is to load it ... bring ammo to the tool and chamber a round. BTW, even an unloded rifle, with a good wooden buttstock, makes a fairly effective hand to hand tool. But most folks have not been trained how to use it for striking.
A bolt action .22 rifle is an even poorer weapon in tight quarters against three guys. There's plenty of room in my house to swing a baseball bat. In either case, I didn't say "the ideal weapon" would be a baseball bat. I was being sarcastic in choosing a last-resort weapon over the bolt-action 22 rifle. (and no, there would be no danger of any intruder succeeding in taking a baseball bat from me.)
It might be better to retreat to a locked room, call the fuzz ...
Not going to happen. Not me. Not in my home. Not ever.
If I were staring down the barrel of a .22 rifle held by an angry homeowner, I would certainly treat it as if it were loaded. One cannot see far enough down the barrel of a rifle to determine that it is not loaded. IF the bolt is out (per NY laws) then one could maybe see daylight down the barrel and would know it's not loaded. An unloaded gun is useful up to the point where you need to pull the trigger.
This is another reason I “carry” when I leave the house and return later!
“In either case, I didn’t say “the ideal weapon” would be a baseball bat.”
I know that, it wasn’t meant as a criticism.
I always told my wife if she was coming home late or for an extended period of time to always check the door to see if it’s still locked! I’ve known people that have stuck the key in and thought they unlocked it and the house had been burglarized!
Always give the door a check to see if it’s still locked!
” But most folks have not been trained how to use it for striking.”
However, they CAN give tender group hugs and share their feelings!/sarcasm;)
I concur re: a bolt action, but the first guy to make a move dies, and no one wants to be the first guy.
My 90 year old mom held four illegals stealing crap from our barn with a double-barrelled shotgun until the sherriff arrived.
Same principle.
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