Home Defense with Kids?

[JMcDonald]

Oh, one more advantage to using a handgun is the ability to fire it one-handed. Not just to look cool, but because you can do many important things in the other hand:

-Hold a flashlight (if you don't have one on the pistol already).
-Hold a cell phone.
-Hold a Club or knife.
-Open / close a door or move objects (without lowering the weapon).
-Grab your wife / kids to push or pull them away from danger.
-Hold off an attacker while still being able to get shots off (I.E. while within grappling range).

On top of that, a shotgun is going to be difficult to wield inside an average hallway. And, lastly, your wife will likely be able to use a handgun much more easily than a shotgun, should she ever need to. Furthermore, your wife will likely enjoy practicing with the handgun MUCH more than she does the shotgun (if she will even handle it after firing it once).

Shotguns have their advantages in certain situations, but in many cases they have too many downfalls to offset the power of the weapon itself.

[joe90]

I'm only 18 and don't have kids. But someone mentioned if the intruder takes your kids hostage or something. And if that happens I would not trust myself in shooting in that direction with a shotgun considering the spread. On the other hand I would trust myself with a pistol (if you practice and are a good shot). just my opinion. And I was also noticing people saying shooitng more than once. I know in my state even if the guy breaks into your house and you feel your life is indangered if you shoot more than once it can be seen as excesive force and you could go to jail.

[jimkim]

First educate your kids. Second if you get a handgun get one with a grip safety. You can find revolvers with the grip safety. The Smith & Wesson Centennial Models 40, 42, 640, 940, 442, 642, 340Sc, 342Ti and 340PD

[tonystewartfan]

my house is not very big, I can probably shoot the intruder from my bedroom. I have a shot gun, SKS, Mosin, but I prefer my to use my 1911 for home protection.

[bellx1]

I was taught gun safety at a very early age, before I was even big enough to shoot. You don't need to live near the country to teach it to your kids. Once your kids are big enough to shoot, you can teach them more gun safety at a range, or here in Kali you can go out to the desert and shoot all you want.............the rangers just ask that you not shoot at aircraft!
As for kids not being strong enough for a shotgun, youd be surprised how much strength/willpower/inventive thinking a curious child has.....THEY STOP AT NOTHING!!!

[sell33]

If someone already said this sorry i missed it. But you have not mentioned one thing about the penetration of the particular gun you woudl be shooting and with kids i think that would be almost as big of a dilemma as where to hide it, whether to show your kids, etc. many handgun rounds will go clean through dry walled walls. shotguns generally do not penetrate as much. I would go with the shotgun, be open about it, and also make sure i knew exactly where the kids slept in relation to you. Obviously you always want to know whats behind your target but if someone breaks into your house its going to be hard to do that. I would make sure whatever you end up with is not going to make it through your walls and hit someone a room over.

[samuel]

I can't remember but it hits me that #6 shot from a 12ga only penetrated about 6or8 sheets of drywall at 15'. sam.

[sell33]

Originally Posted by samuel

I can't remember but it hits me that #6 shot from a 12ga only penetrated about 6or8 sheets of drywall. sam.

Hmm so basically penetration is no factor because everything will penetrate? that is scary to think about i can't believe that it would go through that many sheets. Of course i do because i have never seen you to bs anything sam. it just shocks me that #6 goes through that many.....

[sell33]

So would that make it through several rooms?? i would imagine not but who knows...going through one wall is scary enough

[Coeloptera]

Originally Posted by TXplt

We use a Taurus Judge 3" bbl handgun (.410/.45 colt) for home defense and secure it in a fast access safe. Fast access safes are quite reasonably priced, and can hold 1 or several handguns. This keeps it at the ready if need be, and also keeps safely away from children.

Welcome and enjoy the site !!!

Yeah, the fast-access hand-print style safe might be your best bet, of course a shotgun won't fit in there.

DAC Technologies SportSafe Fast Access Pistol Safe Hunting & Shooting - Yahoo! Shopping

One of those.

I myself have the Mossberg 500 Persuader. I really like it. Still have to wait before I get some of the accessories I want, though.

- Coeloptera

[samuel]

Originally Posted by sell33

Hmm so basically penetration is no factor because everything will penetrate? that is scary to think about i can't believe that it would go through that many sheets. Of course i do because i have never seen you to bs anything sam. it just shocks me that #6 goes through that many.....

People just don't understand what they have unleashed when they fire a 12ga shotgun at close range.If you shot a grizzly with a 12ga field load with the muzzle an inch from him it would more than likley kill him and probably instantly.This is grafic but demonstrative.When I was a kid I saw a man shoot his dog just behind the shoulder with a 20ga shotgun from about 5'.He shot the dog in the left side with #6 shot and I was standing back behind the dog and the right side popped out like a balloon and exploded.The dog was about 60lbs.I never got totaly over that one,but it impressed on me what power a shotgun has at short range.They are way bigger,way more powerful and way more deadly than the normal handgun used for house defence. sam.

[samuel]

Originally Posted by sell33

So would that make it through several rooms?? i would imagine not but who knows...going through one wall is scary enough

If you are using slugs or even buckshot you bet ya it will make it through multiple rooms.The Army found 00buck 500yds from where it was fired. sam.

[.22guy]

Jesus, samuel, that sounds awful. Did the guy do it on purpose or accidentally?

[TXplt]

Originally Posted by Coeloptera

Yeah, the fast-access hand-print style safe might be your best bet, of course a shotgun won't fit in there.

DAC Technologies SportSafe Fast Access Pistol Safe Hunting & Shooting - Yahoo! Shopping

One of those.

I myself have the Mossberg 500 Persuader. I really like it. Still have to wait before I get some of the accessories I want, though.

- Coeloptera

Cheers, dude--hope it fits your scenario

The Judge fits ours

[sell33]

Originally Posted by samuel

People just don't understand what they have unleashed when they fire a 12ga shotgun at close range.If you shot a grizzly with a 12ga field load with the muzzle an inch from him it would more than likley kill him and probably instantly.This is grafic but demonstrative.When I was a kid I saw a man shoot his dog just behind the shoulder with a 20ga shotgun from about 5'.He shot the dog in the left side with #6 shot and I was standing back behind the dog and the right side popped out like a balloon and exploded.The dog was about 60lbs.I never got totaly over that one,but it impressed on me what power a shotgun has at short range.They are way bigger,way more powerful and way more deadly than the normal handgun used for house defence. sam.

Wow that sounds awful, but i can believe it. Aren't there rounds out there designed to not overpenetrate? for handguns i mean. I haven't seen any but for some reason i am thinking i have heard of them. that would probably be my choice of home defence round. right now i am not even old enough to own a handgun but in about a year and a half i will.

[Pope130]

Originally Posted by sell33

Wow that sounds awful, but i can believe it. Aren't there rounds out there designed to not over-penetrate? for handguns i mean. I haven't seen any but for some reason i am thinking i have heard of them. that would probably be my choice of home defence round. right now i am not even old enough to own a handgun but in about a year and a half i will.

Controlled penetration rounds (like the Glaser Safety Slug) are available. The Glaser is made like the copper jacket of a jacketed hollow point, filled with small shot (#9 I think) and capped with a plastic disk. They disrupt on first impact, giving excellent energy transfer. The big advantage in home defense is that, even if they do penetrate a thin wall they will come apart and be non-lethal.

Another possibility for home defense is the use of "less-lethal" rounds. These include bean bag and rubber ball rounds. Most commonly these are in 12 gauge. Load sequentially, non-lethals in last, out first, then service rounds. Two or three rounds of rubber ball should discourage or disable an intruder. If it doesn't, the service rounds that follow will.

Try here: www.deltaforce.com/

Robert

[samuel]

Originally Posted by .22guy

Jesus, samuel, that sounds awful. Did the guy do it on purpose or accidentally?

The man shot his own dog on purpose.I was very young and the vision is still with me at 68yrs of age.I guess the dog was bothering chickens and since that was food in those days I guess the dog had to go.But I never felt good about it and consider it rather cruel to this day,even tho it was a fast,merciful kill.Things were different back then.People weren't so gentle at that time,having just went through the depression and then the second world war.Besides,in those days people loved humans more than animals.I still love humans over animals,but never enjoyed killing either.I do love hunting tho,and killing is anecessity in that field.Still,there is that touch of remorce I am sure we all share.I can't explain it. sam.

[samuel]

Originally Posted by Pope130

Controlled penetration rounds (like the Glaser Safety Slug) are available. The Glaser is made like the copper jacket of a jacketed hollow point, filled with small shot (#9 I think) and capped with a plastic disk. They disrupt on first impact, giving excellent energy transfer. The big advantage in home defense is that, even if they do penetrate a thin wall they will come apart and be non-lethal.

Another possibility for home defense is the use of "less-lethal" rounds. These include bean bag and rubber ball rounds. Most commonly these are in 12 gauge. Load sequentially, non-lethals in last, out first, then service rounds. Two or three rounds of rubber ball should discourage or disable an intruder. If it doesn't, the service rounds that follow will.

Try here: www.deltaforce.com/

Robert

Good advice but I have tried Glazers and consider them chancy for self defence at best.Once frag,ed,they seem to stop all peneteraton,making them low on my list for self defence.I never shot anyone with them but they don't look good to me.As to a 12ga,or shotgun.I tried reduced recoil rounds and found them adequate at short range and they reduce over penetration quite a bit.I would believe loading a non lethal first (last in mag) would be great too. sam.

[KGunner]

I keep my P11 on my nightstand at night and the Mossberg 500 Tactical by the bedroom door, I don't have kids, and my cousin is my roommate and he wouldn't ever do anything irresponsible with the guns since he is my shooting buddy. I don't even bother keeping the SKS or M44 ready to fire, if I can't get the job done with a 12 gauge or 9mm, then I have no business defending myself with two long guns. There are always 5 rounds in the magazine of the 500, and 10 rounds in the magazine of the P11, neither have rounds chambered as I feel that is much safer but still doesn't put me at risk from an intruder.

I have a tactical sling for the shotgun, and with that pistol grip I can easily fire it one handed. I also have a pressure switch light on the end of the barrel with the switch on the pump, so I have no need for a flashlight in my hand. I can shoot safely in any direction as my cousins room is in no possible line of fire. I also have a very obedient and watchful dog, he isn't protective but alerts me when he hears anything at night. He is an Australian Shepherd and smarter than hell, so if anyone is milling around downstairs or trying to get in, I have no doubt he would wake up and let me know, he has done it before with people shuffling around outside.

If I had kids I would make a hidden rack above my closet door on the inside of the closet, I know where it is, it is high, and unless you look specifically in that spot a burglar is very unlikely to find it.

[cremley]

I would strongly suggest against a pistol and I would go for the shotgun. Handguns seem to be a lot more dangerous if a kid gets ahold of them. If you want it for defence, a shotgun will do better because of the spread and depending on the type of load you get, it probably wont go through a wall into your kids bedroom. my dad never even told my brother and I that he had a gun until we were 12, when he let us shoot his airgun and then let us buy some. He kept a 12 guage mossberg 500 for the same reason as you. He kept it up high in the closet with a cable lock in it and hidden from our knowledge. I would suggest locking it during the day and unloaded and up high or in a safe which is the best way to go, and then keep it by your bed with a few rounds in it at night. just remember to put it away every morning. I would suggest teaching your kids about gun safety when they get a little older because my dad didn't really do that and when my brother and I got our air rifles, we shot BB's at each other and it could have been really bad had one of us hit each other in the eye. when I was 14, I learned about gun safety in boy scouts and only then did I understand why I shouldn't point a gun at my brother or anyone else. I would strongly recommend getting them as least some BB guns and be sure to teach them about safety and you will not have any problems with them finding a gun and then playing with it.