[Dwight55]

dubcross, . . .

This question has been hammered on another forum, . . . try this link:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182676

Personally, I live in a household where all of us are firearm qualified and willing to use if necessary. When there are 2 or more of us here, . . . firearms are all in their "normal" place.

Because I live in an area where there are far too numerous crimes, . . . if I am alone, . . . my piece is where I can get it quickly, . . . and in the bathroom will often mean, . . . yes, . . . my springer is in there with me too.

Paranoid? I don't think so, . . . but then again, if Pearl Harbor would have beeb paranoid on Dec 7, 1941??????

May God bless,
Dwight

 

[mitrod3]

do what works for you.....it's your life and your home.

we are now in a new place and guns are located in strategic places up and down so that a weapon can be in hand within seconds from anywhere in the house. both bathrooms are located next to "gun" rooms.

with our security system (with independent back up) and our four legged early warning system ample warning is given of anyone approaching the house which works for us. doors are locked at all times when we are inside.

be safe, shoot well.:rock:

 

[Casca041]

dubcross,
I am not qualified to answer your question about being crazy.
There is a stainless steel handgun in my master bathroom within easy reach of a person seated on the toilet. There is also an Eastern Aluminum bat, a rust resistent knife, a couple cans of pepper spray, one cell phone,one landline phone and other good stuff. This bathroom is accessed only from the master bedroom which has a locked exterior grade door. No one except my Wife and I are allowed in the master bedroom and bath.
We raise a few horses and sometimes we have to exercise our obligation to protect our livestock as well as our family members. I was taking a shower one brutally cold winter day when I heard my Wife scream,my dogs bark and my horses whinnney in alarm. When I exited the house, I lacked shirt and shoes but I was not empty handed. There was a pack of nine near ferral dog that belonged to a local drug dealer. My Wife who is about 5' 0" was charging at the dogs to get them away from our horses. Not all of the dogs were impressed by me standing in a snow drift with the bat. I was glad that I had a pistol and wished that I had a spare magazine.
We have two "barkers": Jack Russell and a Lab./Boarder Collie. We also have an alarm system and what we call our guard horses. Everyone (5) in our household target practices at our small backyard range.
Are you crazy?
Thank you,
Casca041

 

[rick_c]

I'm new here, and I like yall already. My wife does'nt understand why I keep a loaded shotgun, my mini firestorm 40, and a 50 rd. bandolier full of buckshot by me all the time at the house. Not in my hand at all times, but within reasonable reach. She thinks I'm being paranoid, I think of it as BEING READY.
So, no I don't think your crazy.

 

[HP12C]

If you are, I am too.

Good luck

 

[RV man]

My wife and I carry inside our house full time. All other guns are inside the safe. It is open when we are home. My son and daughter are both capable of operating all tools in the safe. In event of a home invasion, I don't feel I would have time to "get" a gun. I should have time to draw my weapon! During the initial battle, the people in the back of the house will have time to prepare. The bathroom time is a very vulnerable time. Since we are carrying, we simply remove our weapon and put it on the counter. I may be crazy also, but home alone at my house won't make a commercial much less a movie. It will end in a few seconds.

 

[ranger]

You might be, depending on your area.

How does one assess the odds of a home invasion?

And assuming one has correctly assessed the odds, at what point do you draw the line that says you must be armed at all times, even within your own home?

If I lived someplace I where I felt I couldn't go to the bathroom without taking a gun, my first reaction is that I'd move. But that's not always possible. If I couldn't move, I'd buy more guns, and keep one in the bathroom, and maybe even one in each room. And then carry one.

But I really wouldn't want to live like that. Right now, I have a 4 year old, and a wife who doesn't train with guns. What if the home invader snatched one of them as a hostage? My carry gun might have to be given up. That's another reason might be good to have some more stashed here and there.

 

[ValleyBoy]

I don't think that your crazy, but.....

I feel a bit sad sometimes for people like us. I am proud and grateful for the chance to protect my family, but I do miss the sense of relief, shelter, and safety i used to have in my home. Your home should be a sanctuary, a bastion of peace in a world of chaos. Unfortunately, people like us have seen that this is not always the case. I do not mind the responsibilty, but I mourn the loss of innocence.

 

[blackdragon]

I live in Las Vegas. I have a loaded Firearm not more that 10 feet away from me at all times! I know thats a lot of Firearms, But I don't want to be killed for lack of shooting back!:rock:
Ivan

 

[WhyteP38]

Dubcross, if you're crazy, you have a lot of company. Many folks have firearms within easy access at all times at home. Funny thing is, I almost never read or hear about break ins for those people. Usually, it's the guy who has a revolver hidden in a shoe box that he can't remember where it is because he hid the thing 5 years ago. Or the people who don't have anything at all. Maybe there's something in the attitudes of armed people that sends a signal to BGs, who then look for easier prey.

And if you're like me, you also have a 90-pound German Shepherd that you exercise every other day and is now built like a concrete dufflebag.

 

[HP12C]

.

 

[HP12C]

You might be, depending on your area.

How does one assess the odds of a home invasion?

And assuming one has correctly assessed the odds, at what point do you draw the line that says you must be armed at all times, even within your own home?

If I lived someplace I where I felt I couldn't go to the bathroom without taking a gun, my first reaction is that I'd move. But that's not always possible. If I couldn't move, I'd buy more guns, and keep one in the bathroom, and maybe even one in each room. And then carry one.

But I really wouldn't want to live like that. Right now, I have a 4 year old, and a wife who doesn't train with guns. What if the home invader snatched one of them as a hostage? My carry gun might have to be given up. That's another reason might be good to have some more stashed here and there.

Ranger - no offense - but you and I aren't just 'not on the same page' we aren't even reading the same book......... it is a mindset.....What if the home invader snatched one of them as a hostage? My carry gun might have to be given up. - its kinda like my momma always told me (and was told on this board a few weeks ago) it is better to be shot in the back while running to get help than to be placed in an isolated environment by your abductors.... Handing over my gun? Wow...... umm no thanks, instead I'll educate myself about what it takes to 'turn the lights out' and practice my pons shot from the draw, from cover, weak hand, strong hand.... you get the idea.....



Good luck

 

[mitrod3]

as was stated elsewhere before: the best laid and practiced plans will go south, sometimes far south, the moment the S H T F. but you still plan and practice, and practice. and plan broadly for the expected and unexpected with some flexibility built in.

i guess we all just find what works for us, what we are comfortable with and then learn it (know it) inside out. for others it may be something completely different and when it comes to it we make our choices, take our actions and our chances.

some, like myself, have the uncanny ability to go cold stone sober and controlled in a crisis situation. at short distance 7 to 12 yards i have trained myself (with my guns of choice) to put a round or rounds exactly where i want them in a target the would simulate body COM or a persons face. having had to shoot before i already know i can do it. would i take that shot if someone was standing in front of me holding my wife or kid? knowing my past history in crisis situations.....i just might go for it....possibly, maybe.....or go for the distraction....that flexibility thing?

from what i have heard and read most people are going to be shaking in their draws from the hyped situation and that means their gun is shaking along with them to some degree or another. read the stats of LEO's fires vs hits in confrontations.

would i use the tactic of handing over (or laying down/dropping) one gun knowning another was within easy reach for use as soon as the BG became distracted? possibly, maybe. not knowing my preperations he might be put off guard by my "giving up my gun" just enough for me to blast his butt with another one he did not expect. but, i would think that over very carefully and i had better have another gun close by to try that.

in reality who among us knows exactly what is gonna come down till it's all actually coming down and plans are going south, possibly, maybe. but we still plan and practice and find what works and what we are comfortable with in our own lives and situations.

good luck to each whatever way you choose to go. if the time ever comes may you be the one standing when it is over.

be safe, shoot well.

 

[Casca041]

mitrod3,
During my misspent youth, I lived in some pretty rough areas in the largest city in the state. I was burglarized at three different residences. On 8 December 71, I was home reading when the b & e occurred. At first, I did not believe that it was happening. I did not go for the pistol in the nightstand but did grab my small Marble's fixed blade that I had owned since I was 6 years old. I still have it. The presentation was enough. They departed rapidly. It was a while before I slept well.
In short, I have come to believe that it seldom happens exactly the way we expect it to happen... surprise.
Thank you,
Casca041

 

[mitrod3]

casca:

thanks for sharing.

i wish to this day that just having presented my gun would have turned things, but in didn't. good to hear your situation went better than mine, and with a marbles knife.......awesome.

have a plan, and backup plan......etc., and if they go to down the tubes, you grab for anything or do anything that will keep you (and others) alive and safe.

be safe, shoot well.:rock:

 

[ranger]

Note to HP12C, maybe you should read a few more books?

Unless you sleep with a gun in your hand, and even then, you never really know when somebody could get the drop on you. Nobody thinks it could happen to them, but that person is just not planning for every possible scenario. I'm talking worst-case scenario. Maybe multiple bad guys, one of whom has a hostage, maybe they all have guns. There's so many possible scenarios you could think of.

If it's just me, fine, I'll risk a risky shot. But if it's my kid or my wife's life on the line, I would have to go with whatever seems like the best odds of their survival, even at the expense of my own. I think it would be very surprising for the bad guy, if you dropped your gun on the floor, and then was able to pull another one 'out of a hat' maybe when they had relaxed and weren't expecting it. It's just theoritical, I'm not going to carry in my house, I'm just sort of 'thinking out loud'. But I do have guns in 3 different places in my house. Just in case.

 

[HP12C]

Note to HP12C, maybe you should read a few more books?

As a San Franciscan that has already gone through the mental process to think out when it would be better to give an armed bad guy their own weapon - what books would you suggest? Are they written by Fienstien? How about Pelosi? How about the author on the recently passed law for the city regarding handguns.....Does a book title go something like this? "From Bad to F*cked - how to make sure that you are not only a victim but a dead one at that"


Please...... don't give me any advice..... you do it your way. I'll do it my way.

Good luck

 

[DirksterG30]

If I'm home, I have a handgun either on me or within arms reach at all times. That's not paranoid, just prudent.

 

[ranger]

but you and I aren't just 'not on the same page' we aren't even reading the same book

Agreed, advice withdrawn, sorry!