Pro-Line

I have read several posts dealing with home defense lately, and I have a question...

How many of you have actually had to use a firearm to defend your home? I personally know 2 families that have lost children due to keeping loaded firearms in the house for home defense (as many on here have admitted to doing) and one of those guys was an avid gun person, and so were his wife and children. He thought he had taught right from wrong...until it was too late.

Just wondering as I read about everyone talking about having guns for home defense. I own more guns than 5 men need...but none are loaded or even truly accessible in the case of a break in.

Is it worth the risk?

Don't think for one minute that I won't defend my family, but I personally do not know anyone that has ever seen an intruder in their home. Maybe it's because I live in Mayberry, USA...and hopefully always will.

etothepii

Yeah, I've never understood the "loaded gun under the bed" way of thinking. My guns and ammo are both locked up in separate places. What I'm thinking of doing is keeping a baseball bat under the bed, and practicing drills where I work out and coordinate the act of unlocking and loading my shotgun in case of emergency -- kind of a fire drill.

I'm sure there are those of you out there who disagree with me...

Briman

I don't keep any guns under the bed or loaded in the house, though am considering a setup for my wife to keep a loaded 9mm in adocument safe under the bed. I live in a very nice and crime free suburb, though I'm not naive to think that it will always be that way.
I have plenty of other weapons in the house- knives in the kitchen butcher block that are kept scary sharp- wife has even bee afraid to use them since I put an edge on them, My bayonet collection in another room, The steps that go down to my workshop are right outside my bedroom door, and I keep my 1911 with a few loaded magazines in a drawer on my workbench- the downstairs area is off limits to my toddler son at this point in time, but when the time comes when he can get down there, and reach my workbench, I'll come up with something different.

Matt / PA

I met an intruder once about 12yrs ago.......I was home alone, all lights off watching TV late one night in my bedroom. I heard the creak of the kitchen screendoor, and grabbed my 11-87 12ga shotgun and started down the stairs. I let the bolt fall on a 3" mag #6 and the person RAN out of the house like a bullet. I only caught a glimpse of him as he made it out the door.
This was Central PA in smalltown USA.

I have already had items stolen from my accidentally left open garage door within the last month.

I am not one of the "paranoid" types but I do believe in being prepared for the worst. I don't dwell on it, I'm just ready for it.
You just never know in this day and age........if you aren't prepared in some way to defend yourself and your family you are at a big disadvantage. I would rather have the option to effectively defend myself against an unknown.

That said, I also don't have kids in the equation so that's a major consideration that I don't have to worry about.
That would definitely complicate things......you have more at stake to potentially protect, but more at stake if you make a mistake with a firearm. Right now I do not envy all who have to weigh that decision. Just please keep kids safety first and foremost in mind.......if you must keep a loaded firearm keep it in a quick open safe or locked and unloaded , keep a cell phone handy, and have a plan. Indecision and confusion in a situation such as a break in can only compound an already bad situation.

Aught Six

Amen to that. I keep my pistols and shotgun accessible at all times with a full magazine and an empty chamber, although I lock them in a safe when I leave the house. The first thing I do after arriving back home is unlock the safe and double check to see that the mags are full. I've gotten spooked out of sleep by the dog a few times, and typically I'm up with a gun and flashlight in a matter of ten or so seconds. I'm pretty partial to the Boy Scout motto.

If I had kids, I'd just carry a pistol on me or put it in one of those quick-access lockboxes. I would never take the chance of having to unlock the safe while an intruder is breaking in; if I didn't arm myself in time, I might not even have the chance to regret it.

T/C fan!

I do keep a loaded .45 in my bedside table and the wife has a loaded .38 in hers. We do have a daughter, but she's only 5 months old. When the time comes, I'll probably go with a combination lock box. As for having a butcher knife or a ball bat handy, thats not for me. I'd hate to think that there's an intruder in my house and all I have is a knife or a bat to defend my family when he may be carrying a gun. I live in rural Ky and have never had any problems, but if you think that you're safe because you don't live in the city, you need to wake up!! Criminals are everywhere!!!!

Wolf killer

I do not have any children. I do have a few loaded guns at home. I do not ever want to use a gun to kill anyone. BUT I would if I had too.

bigcountry

I think about this alot. I am divorced with no kids. If I had any around, I just don't think I would have a loaded gun open to them. I know I was raised where my grandfather had his 12Ga in the corner. I knew where it was at. But was jaded by it. It didn't impress me. But times have changed. With all the spotlights guns get now, kids are fasinated by them.

I think if I had children home, I would have them locked.

akbound

Pro-Line,

Were the families that lost children in your area? Or did you know them as in family or friends? What happened?

Dave

Pro-Line

AK...A lady I work with had a 12yr old son. He found the loaded gun and shot himself in the neck...dead. The other one was a similar situation, but I don't claim to know the people as well. Two boys found the gun and were playing with it. One shot the other one in the chest if I remember right. He lived for quite some time, but finally died. They were also in the 12-14 yr old range.

I have a good friend that almost shot his nephew in his living room about 10 years ago. He had the hammer cocked on his revolver and was squeezing the trigger, when he realized that it was his nephew in his house, and not an intruder. His guns left his house the next day.

His nephew wasn't where he was supposed to be...but didn't deserve to die for it.

I'm not judging anybody here...I used to keep a loaded 9mm in my nightstand for years. Till I had a kid. I'm just looking for opinions.