Posted on 11/22/2012 4:22:00 AM PST by marktwain
If you’re a thief, there are a couple of warning signs that you should watch out for. A dog bowl and a leash in the front yard would tip you off that you’re probably going to get bitten. A sign that reads, “Trespassers will be shot!” is pretty self-explanatory.
The home of 77-year-old Lloyd McCarty is similarly filled with warning signs. He flies an American flag on the front porch, he has a U.S. Marine Corps patch tacked to the wall, and he also keeps a framed picture of himself in his glory day as a Marine. If the home invader had noticed these clues then maybe he would have picked another house to rob.
According to reports, McCarty heard a knock on his door – a knock so light that it was suspicious -- on Nov. 10. The shrewd veteran retrieved his .32-caliber pistol just in time to encounter the home invader breaking down his front door. With the casual devil-may-care attitude that only a war veteran can have, McCarty said, “He hit (the door) that hard and when he hit it that hard that's when I shot the door. He went to a hollerin' and screamin'. I could hear him going clear down the street hollerin." He added, “Well, maybe I shoulda shot two or three times.”
So, what happened to the would-be thief? He learned the hard way that even 77-year-old Marine veterans still have some fight left. The bullet struck the home intruder in the abdomen, forcing him to flee the scene. Police caught up to the culprit and arrested him.
This story went exactly the way it should have gone – McCarty defended his home and his wife, and the police caught the bad guy. There really isn’t much room for argument here. What we can chat about, though, is the whole issue of warning signs.
Flying an American flag on your front porch isn’t the same thing as saying, “We have a gun and we’re willing to use it,” but it isn’t that far off.
Every gun owner has the opportunity to warn would-be thieves. Putting a sign that reads “I’m a lifetime member of the NRA” on your front lawn may very well scare off thieves, but on the other side of the coin having lots of signs on your property typically doesn’t look very nice.
What about our readers? Can thieves look at your house and immediately know that they’re going to get shot if they try anything stupid? If you do show any warning signs on your property (even subtle ones like an American flag), why do you do it? And for the other gun owners out there, what’s stopping you from putting up a “Trespassers will be shot” sign?
Thanks for a great laugh!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!
When someone knows that you are in your home and they break down the door,it has to be assumed that they do not mind hurting or killing you.
In that case firing 2 or 3 times is definitely called for, shoot until the yelling stops.
These days I prefer flying a gadsden flag. The message is much clearer.
My first reaction was that wasn't very smart since now he's got to fix the door. But after I gave it more thought I decided it was better than allowing the guy to enter the house THEN shooting him since a dead body is very heavy to drag and blood is hard to get out of the carpeting........
Mine is the Bedford flag. The meaning may be a bit more obscure to most, but those who get it, get it.
It may also say "I have lots of guns. Stake out my house and break in while I'm away."
It may also say “I have lots of guns. Stake out my house and break in while I’m away.”>>>>>>>>>>>
As a matter of fact , I was taking all of my guns to my hunting camp and while crossing a lake on the way, the dog got to jumping around and the boat tipped, and not having my guns tied into the gunnels, I lost every gun I owned.HORRIBLE.
Now I have sold all my ammo too. All I have left is a baseball bat and a Scottish sword ;-)
Some years ago I took some private self-defense lessons from an NRA instructor. One of the things he told me was that you continue shooting until the perp drops to the ground. Then absolutely no more since if you do, the justice system will nail your hide to the wall.
Here, the homeowner could not see what was going on behind the door but I think he should have fired more than once to be sure the threat was neutralized.
A claymore? A nasty piece of steel that.
A .32 pistol.Not a proper weapon for a Marine.He defended himself but the perp survived.
First hold the perp at gunpoint,then order him to step onto the blue plastic tarp.
Thanks, Never heard of the Bedford flag. Interesting history.
Vince Aut Morire (”Conquer Or Die”) is a pretty direct message, although I doubt your average thug knows much Latin or even cares to look it up like I did. (I took Latin 35 years ago and remember enough to only embarrass myself)
Yep. Hard to find a good repro, so I started making my own :-)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2909162/posts
He's 77. If he's arthritic and has problems with recoil, a .32 may be his optimum choice. The article didn't go into a lot of detail about the weapon, but sometimes things are not quite what they seem. The .327 Federal Magnum is not your grandfather's .32....
The average criminal has no clue what a gadsden flag might mean.
You know it.
Idiot probably knew an old man lived there and chose the house accordingly.
But, once a marine, always a marine.
Any chance this was a groin shot and the damned fool can be removed from the gene pool? One hopes.
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