Massad Ayoob asks about what Long Gun for Home Defense and this is a subject that I have been giving some thought about it. What I have is my personal strategy depending solely on the physical distribution of my house and my thoughts as per where I live.
I agree with Massad on the following:
If I have to go mobile, I want a hand free to work communications, illumination, doorknobs, etc. If I have to scoop a little kid and carry same to a safer position, a handgun will be more workable. Same if I have to answer an insistent 3 AM pounding at the door…which might just be a cop, who won’t take it well if I open the door holding a 12-gauge or a .223 rifle.
We have to define what Home Defense is first. To me, my very particular me on my single story house, covers not only the idea of somebody breaking in and attacking inside the house, but also armed criminals attempting to break in (inside my property AKA Perimeter) and incoming trouble at a distance (20 to 100 yards) that have targeted my household. So, under that definition all three flavors (handgun, shotgun & rifle) do have a place on the Home Defense planning.
Inside the House:
I tried to “play” with my long guns inside the house (Nobody but me and the cat home, guns unloaded and chambers with flags) and it was a royal pain in the butt. It is slow going, cumbersome and just not worth the risk if I need to present the weapon fast. A pistol or revolver are much easier and faster with the pistol being top for higher capacity (more BBs on target win.) The other advantage of a sidearm is that it can be hidden pretty much anywhere of you choose not to carry with you all the time. I am a gym shorts & t-shirt guy so several pounds of metal & plastic in a pocket is annoying, so I chose to have guns placed in some locations around the house where I can reach them fast if needed. Besides comfort, the guns are available for both me and my wife whenever needed. No, I am not telling you where, so can it.
“The purpose of a sidearm is to help you reach the long gun” said somebody sometime ago and he is right. You can exercise a level of self-defense on route to your designated safe room where you will transition to the big boy of your choosing. Here is when we come to your particular living to decide what to use. Again in my case I want to go with shotgun with double ought buck as the construction of the house, location of the neighbors, inside walls, possible angles of fire and the number of people living makes it an acceptable risk versus reward situation. Let’s face it, at this time we are talking “repelling a boarding party” level of action. The criminal or criminals know that the home is occupied and are coming after the occupants. With 9 pellets traveling at 1,300 fps, it makes for a powerful hole maker and shock dispenser, things necessary to stop an attack or at least convince the aggressors to seek “horizontality” somewhere else.
Perimeter:
Shotgun also should go well for perimeter coverage. Allow me to stress something: If there are bad guys circling your house, there is nothing for you out there unless a family member needs to be brought in. There are no extra vantage points on losing cover and concealment by going outside. Even though the Bad Guy has several entry points to choose from, each one is a fatal funnel on a location you know intimately. Cool tactical house clearing movements are not needed because what you need is speed (and safety) to reach that entry point and repel the boarders.
Long Distance:
This is what I call the Post-Hurricane-Stupid-Party: Looters & Burners. For whatever collective & foolish reason, once there is a dislocation of social balance, people not only like to loot but also to set fire to the structure just looted. If they are repelled, they will in spite, try to burn you inside with Molotov cocktails or other incendiary things. I want these idiots as far away as possible from my property and here is where the properly sighted rifle shines: Anybody with an incendiary device is to be taken down ASAP and in urban areas where construction is tight and domiciles are rather on top of each other, the idea of defending your house includes making sure your neighbors houses are also spared from fire. Check you local laws, but in Florida, the use of Deadly Force to stop Arson is legal.
776.031 Use of force in defense of others.—A person is justified in the use of force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate the other’s trespass on, or other tortious or criminal interference with, either real property other than a dwelling or personal property, lawfully in his or her possession or in the possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate family or household or of a person whose property he or she has a legal duty to protect. However, the person is justified in the use of deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place where he or she has a right to be
776.08 Forcible felony.—“Forcible felony” means treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.
Again, I want to reinforce the notion that these are my ideas based on my level of proficiency with the weapons and the physical layout of my property. Your case is very particular and you are the one that must plan and practice for it.
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