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Burglar Shot Dead

You don't. I thought I made that point clear. Here, I'll say it again:

Actually you did.

2. Why the **** could you not position yourself behind some sort of cover, flip a flash light on the intruder, and tell him your armed?

By both turning on a light and telling them you're armed, you're giving away your position. Also, what would be good cover in a house? A wall, a couch, or what? I'm pretty sure you could shoot the beep out of those things to hit what you want.
 
Would you own a gun if you lived in EPA or Compton or Harlem or DC or the projects of Chicago or West Valley or Kearns?

My parents never did, even after their friend was shot while helping Mom, just outside our fence. If you are that afraid of living there, don't.
 
can you not understand how someone could be so scared someone is trying to break into their house that they fire a gun to protect their house, family, and self?

This is probably the most important point that everyone here is glossing over. Everyone here likes to think they'd stay cool and level headed and think everything through but when **** starts to hit the fan instinct takes over and sometimes you simply do what you feel needs to be done whether it is out of fear, adrenaline, hatred, machismo, etc. Your rational self checks out.
 
Actually you did.



By both turning on a light and telling them you're armed, you're giving away your position. Also, what would be good cover in a house? A wall, a couch, or what? I'm pretty sure you could shoot the beep out of those things to hit what you want.

Exactly... still waiting to hear what he considers "Good cover".
 
Exactly... still waiting to hear what he considers "Good cover".

Sure, a wall is soft cover. You're hidden, you're crouched to be lower than the intruder's natural level to fire at, and you already have him in sight. A wall with kitchen cupboards on the other side would be sufficient cover to stop a 9mm. That's why I said, unless he brought an assault rifle, you'd be safe. I guess if you guys want to keep up your Rambo fantasies, that's your right. I have a feeling its a whole different story when you're standing there with a gun pointed at someone trying to convince yourself to shoot.
 
A few points:

1.) Isn't it a fact (statistically) that most home intruders are high on drugs when they break-and-enter? That being the case, it's likely their pain receptors wouldn't be firing as well, so ambushing them with rubber bullets might not be effective.

2.) We're also assuming here that when real bullets are used, people will always die. That's far from true. To kill someone with a .22 (the gun most homeowners own, if I remember correctly) is not easy. Most likely you'd end up hitting them in the shoulder, and they'd live.

3.) My preference would be to grab the gauge, announce myself, demand they leave, and if/when they still continue to advance toward me, then empty the barrel and let the lord decide what happens.
 
Sure, a wall is soft cover. You're hidden, you're crouched to be lower than the intruder's natural level to fire at, and you already have him in sight. A wall with kitchen cupboards on the other side would be sufficient cover to stop a 9mm. That's why I said, unless he brought an assault rifle, you'd be safe. I guess if you guys want to keep up your Rambo fantasies, that's your right. I have a feeling its a whole different story when you're standing there with a gun pointed at someone trying to convince yourself to shoot.

It has nothing to do with Rambo fantasies. It has to do with normal reactions to ****s who break into your house with who knows what intentions.
 
A 12 gauge would certainly do the trick. Aim for the knees/crotch, and you should be fine.
 
It has nothing to do with Rambo fantasies. It has to do with normal reactions to ****s who break into your house with who knows what intentions.

Yeah, and it has to do with you two sitting their acting like your tough **** and would have no problem pulling the trigger on another human being. If you think that you would do this without thinking you are just as cold blooded as presume the person you are firing on to be and have come pretty ****ing far from your christian values.
 
I said right off the bat I read everything up until the 4 of you had your little cat fight.

To reply: If you have time to figure out that its indeed an intruder, you have time to warn that you're armed and you will shoot. If he reaches for a weapon, pop around off center mass, just like the guy in the article said.

The problem with that is that you REALLY don't want to give the advantage away that you are there and armed. Guy could quickly move out of sight and returns guns-a-blazin'.

Carrying two guns is definitely a bad idea. Something you should NEVER, EVER do. Accuracy reduces. Control reduces. Personal safety reduces. Never carry two guns in a ready to fire position with the safety off.

Reactionary decisions are also pretty sketchy to rely on. Again, you lose the little bit of control and advantage you have if a gun is raised and pointed toward you after announcing your intentions. To shoot a gun properly, you'll be exposed in some fashion, so using cover is only a small help. Hearing something and shooting at it is definitely the improper way to act in any scenario anyway, so the college kid coming home argument really shouldn't hold any weight, especially if the kid KNOWS the parent has a weapon the parent will have obviously told the kid he will use it. Kid's got to be some sort of dumb to break into his own house when he knows his parent will shoot someone breaking in.

Another thing you're taught in gun classes is that if you point your weapon at someone, be prepared to use. "Flashing" it is one of the worst things you can do.

Having a gun with rubber bullets seems like a waste of time. Why not just have a baseball bat, instead? Pain is oftentimes not a deterrent to someone hyped up on just adrenaline, much less narcotics.

As to the question on what happens if you miss and do unintended harm to someone else, the answer is simply, don't miss. If you have a gun, you're supposed to be trained on how to use it properly, in other words, how to shoot straight. If you miss, you either are negligent with your execution (plain miss), or you were negligent with your decision making (shooting at a side target, moving target, etc.). Now in a struggle or some other circumstance where you're forced to shoot while in distress, than that's a different circumstance, and not really relevant to the scenario being discussed.
 
A few points:

1.) Isn't it a fact (statistically) that most home intruders are high on drugs when they break-and-enter? That being the case, it's likely their pain receptors wouldn't be firing as well, so ambushing them with rubber bullets might not be effective.

2.) We're also assuming here that when real bullets are used, people will always die. That's far from true. To kill someone with a .22 (the gun most homeowners own, if I remember correctly) is not easy. Most likely you'd end up hitting them in the shoulder, and they'd live.

3.) My preference would be to grab the gauge, announce myself, demand they leave, and if/when they still continue to advance toward me, then empty the barrel and let the lord decide what happens.

Actually, a .22 that hits in the center mass will bounce around in the chest cavity and shred all your major organs up. You're more likely to live if a higher caliber bullet goes in and right out the other side.
 
Yeah, and it has to do with you two sitting their acting like your tough **** and would have no problem pulling the trigger on another human being. If you think that you would do this without thinking you are just as cold blooded as presume the person you are firing on to be and have come pretty ****ing far from your christian values.

You've obviously haven't read the thread. I've already explained how that would effect me, and I've said I understand why people shoot home intruders. It has nothing to do with me acting like I'm a tough ***.
 
Actually, a .22 that hits in the center mass will bounce around in the chest cavity and shred all your major organs up. You're more likely to live if a higher caliber bullet goes in and right out the other side.

Link? A lot of it has to do with what type of bullets you use. A lot of bullets are designed to open up like a helicopter and follow bones.
 
The problem with that is that you REALLY don't want to give the advantage away that you are there and armed. Guy could quickly move out of sight and returns guns-a-blazin'.

Carrying two guns is definitely a bad idea. Something you should NEVER, EVER do. Accuracy reduces. Control reduces. Personal safety reduces. Never carry two guns in a ready to fire position with the safety off.

Reactionary decisions are also pretty sketchy to rely on. Again, you lose the little bit of control and advantage you have if a gun is raised and pointed toward you after announcing your intentions. To shoot a gun properly, you'll be exposed in some fashion, so using cover is only a small help. Hearing something and shooting at it is definitely the improper way to act in any scenario anyway, so the college kid coming home argument really shouldn't hold any weight, especially if the kid KNOWS the parent has a weapon the parent will have obviously told the kid he will use it. Kid's got to be some sort of dumb to break into his own house when he knows his parent will shoot someone breaking in.

Another thing you're taught in gun classes is that if you point your weapon at someone, be prepared to use. "Flashing" it is one of the worst things you can do.

Having a gun with rubber bullets seems like a waste of time. Why not just have a baseball bat, instead? Pain is oftentimes not a deterrent to someone hyped up on just adrenaline.

As to the question on what happens if you miss and do unintended harm to someone else, the answer is simply, don't miss. If you have a gun, you're supposed to be trained on how to use it properly, in other words, how to shoot straight. If you miss, you either are negligent with your execution (plain miss), or you were negligent with your decision making (shooting at a side target, moving target, etc.). Now in a struggle or some other circumstance where you're forced to shoot while in distress, than that's a different circumstance, and not really relevant to the scenario being discussed.

In my training we called it "pieing out" you stand back about 2 feet from the cover and make an angle so that all that is exposed is your arms. You can hold the gun perfectly steady and unless you're 20 feet away there is no way he is going to just move out of the way and pull his weapons. That would make no sense. Why would the intruder try and turn it into a gunfight? Even if that's the case, you still have the upper hand. He's outside, your inside. You know the layout of your home, he doesn't.
 
You know where he is versus you don't know where he is. If he's jimmying open a sliding glass door, he'll just maneuver himself between the wall and the flashlight. If he has a gun and willing to go the distance with it, you'd rather know where he is then not knowing.

I'd be hard pressed to shoot a guy on the outside unless I can see clearly that he is going to certain lengths to get into the home.

If you train your gun on the individual and he shoots accurately at the barrel, what is he likely to hit? Your head, likely killing you, or your arm, likely disabling you. I don't want to give up my position.
 
Would you own a gun if you lived in EPA or Compton or Harlem or DC or the projects of Chicago or West Valley or Kearns?

West Valley or Kearns? LOL Please tell me that you're not one of these simps that really thinks West Valley or Kearns are anything near what Watts or the Chicago projects are.

I grew up in Taylorsville just on the edge of West Valley. Approximately 4700 S. 3600 W. When I was in high school I was dating a girl that lived on the east side. On one date we invited her girl friend along but I had to swing back home to grab something. As we got further and further west this friend literally started to hyper-ventilate and cry. She was really freaking me out as I thought she had some serious health issue going on. I pulled the truck over to make sure everythhing was cool and she actually started to bawl like a 2 year old. The reason? She just knew she was going be raped and murdered. Her exact words between sobs, "I'm really, really scared. I've never been this far west before!"
 
Yeah, and it has to do with you two sitting their acting like your tough **** and would have no problem pulling the trigger on another human being. If you think that you would do this without thinking you are just as cold blooded as presume the person you are firing on to be and have come pretty ****ing far from your christian values.

You obviously have not read this entire thread since you continue to presume things that have already been stated to the contrary. I would hate to kill anyone. But if they were threat to my family, I certainly would, and wouldn't hesitate.

Do you have a wife/kids? Maybe for a single guy with nothing to defend but himself I could understand somewhat where you are coming from.
 
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