V. Defensive Use of Firearms
   C. Home Defense

By Anonymous

Legal Disclaimer:

The information in this section does NOT CONSTITUTE a recipe for
defense of your home; instead, it is only intended to give you an idea
of the issues that you must think about, and the questions that you
must ask of your lawyer and the local police.

                                -----

In the event that you have to "defend your home," a wide variety of
things might happen:

(a) you might be arrested and charged with crimes

The police might find that you acted improperly and arrest you, much
to your surprise.  Before firing or even brandishing a weapon at
someone, you should be very knowledgable about the laws of your state
*and* with their interpretation in the courts.  You may not agree with
the laws and courts in your state, but you will be subject to them,
just as the intruder(s).

(b) you might be subject to a civil law suit

You will likely be sued in civil court, whether or not criminal
charges are pressed against you, and whether or not you end up
mortally wounding someone. (His or her estate can often sue you in the
case of a mortal wound.)  You will have to pay for your own defense,
and it *will* be expensive.

(c) you might make an error and kill/injure somebody by accident

You might mistake your target and kill a "good guy," or make a error
in handling your weapon, resulting in a fatal "negligent discharge,"
perhaps due to all of the the excitement.  In any event, even if you
avoid financial and legal entanglements, this could result in severe
emotional problems due to guilt and remorse.

If you leave weapons unsecured in your house,

(d) they could be discovered and operated by your children

(e) they could be discovered and operated by your friends

(f) they could be used by an intruder against you

Therefore, given all of the things can go wrong in defense of your
home, we strongly advise you to:

-- SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR LOCAL POLICE
-- LEARN THE LOCAL LAWS THAT APPLY TO YOU
-- SECURE ANY PERMITS THAT YOU NEED FOR WEAPONS
-- TAKE CLASSES WHERE YOU LEARN ABOUT SHOOTING AND DEFENSE
-- READ A WIDE VARIETY OF BOOKS ON SHOOTING AND DEFENSE
-- PRACTICE YOUR HANDLING OF WEAPONS
-- SHOOT OFTEN AT THE RANGE

V.B:  Literature

???

V.C.1:  How to Defend your House

                              ---Note---

NOTE: This section is written on the assumption that you wish to
protect yourself against "random intrusion" in your home.  However,
there are situations where a person actually knows or suspects that
some specific individual intends to intrude into their home.  One
example that comes to mind pertains estranged boyfriends/girlfriends
or spouses who get upset over unrequitted love and make violent
threats as a consequence.  If the reader finds themselves in this
situation, they should immediately seek the advice of the police.

                          ---End of Note---

There is an old adage which is well suited to home defense: "an ounce
of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  We shall see that true
security comes from preventive measures, and that the firearm should
be viewed as the absolute last resort.

Consideration must begin from far outside the residence.  The first
step is to attract the least amount of attention to you and to your
residence.  Are there some public locations, like a bus stop, perhaps,
which provide a clear view of the inside of your residence?  If one
can easily look inside your residence from a public area, then it is
possible that you or your belongings might catch their eye; perhaps it
is better to draw the appropriate shades.

Next, consider the grounds of your residence.  They should have the
property that anyone on them can be seen or detected by someone in
your dwelling, or by a trusted neighbor.  If your grounds are dark and
inviting, and covered with large amounts of dense cover, they might
encourage an uninvited visitor.  It is probably wise to cut bushes
back so nobody can hide behind them.  Another alternative is to use
bushes that grow very dense thorns.  The yard should have good
lighting so that people cannot "lurk in the shadows."  Electronic
lights which turn on when they detect motion (by means of infra-red
radiation emitted by the body) are both inexpensive and very useful to
put outside your residence.

It is also important that you know the phone numbers of your
neighbors, and that they know yours.  This way, they can alert you (or
the police) if they notice something odd, and you can return the
favor.

Your residence should be reasonably difficult to enter.  This includes
being careful not to leave the windows open, the alarm system off, the
key under the front door mat, etc.  Bars can be placed on both
basement and first floor windows to make entry through a window
difficult.  You must also give consideration to somebody climbing up
some simple path and gaining entry on the second floor.  However, make
sure that you can exit in the event of a fire!  It would be most
unpleasant to be trapped in a burning house due to window bars that
cannot be opened from the inside.

You should be sure that your locks are of reasonable quality.  Low
quality locks can be opened in moments.  How many other people have
copies of the keys to your residence?  For example, if you have just
moved into an apartment, was it re-keyed for you?  What is to
guarantee that the prior tenant and his or her friends do not have a
key to your residence?  The locks, door, and frame should be very
stout to prevent easy entry with a kick or two.  You would like the
door to provide a significant delay before somebody can gain forced
entry, so you have time to take protective measures.

Inside your residence, you should have an alarm system.  You should be
sure to have infra-red (or microwave) motion detectors, switches on
the various doors, breakage detectors on patio doors, etc.  Your
should use your system in "perimeter" mode when you are at home, and
turn on all of the detectors when you are out.  A dog makes a loving
pet and a fine addition to your security.

If you return home and disarm your system, it should make a special
noise to warn you that it has been triggered.  It might be wise to
call the police instead; it is not a
good idea for you to investigate, since you are probably not trained
or equipped for the job.  Also, you must consider the possibility that
whoever might still be inside has gained access to your own weapons,
in addition to their own.  (Therefore, it is wise to store your
weapons in a secure and heavy safe.  In some states, your firearms
license may be revoked if your weapons are stolen, under the theory
that you are not responsible enough to keep them.)

Next, you must consider the other residents of your abode.  If your
housemate is a drug user who is behind on his crack payments, you
might consider kicking him out, or moving, before somebody comes over
to collect the money that they are owed.  If you are not happy with
some of your housemates, or the company that they keep, replace them.

Finally, if one is in their home, and the alarm system goes off, or
there is the sound of forcible entry, the following procedures could
be employed:

(a) Run to your saferoom (often the bedroom), collecting your family
(b) Lock the saferoom door, which could be strengthened
(c) Secure your shotgun, and load it
(d) Call the police
(e) Wait behind cover

If the person who enters your residence knocks an extension phone off
the hook, you might be unable to dial.  In this case, it is useful
that your home is wired in such a way that you can disconnect all
extensions from your saferoom and still dial.  (Of course, if you have
a cellular phone, you can use that.)

If you can hear somebody on the other side of the door, don't be sure
that it must be the intruder(s).  Could it be

 -- the police, trying to help you?
 -- a fireman?
 -- something else?

If you are not sure about who the intruder is, don't be too quick to
assume that it is a serial killer.  Could it be:

 -- the police, looking for somebody else?
 -- a fireman?
 -- a frightened and frantic neighbor running to you?
 -- a drunken friend of a housemate?

Is somebody starts to break into your saferoom, you probably should
*NOT* shoot through the door.  In general, it is wise to hold your
fire until you can *CONFIRM* your target.  At the very least, you
should loudly demand that the person on the other side of the door
identify himself or herself.

If their entry appears to be inevitable (say the door has just broken
down), you have to decide if you wish to stop their actual entry.  The
laws that cover these issues change from state to state, but if you
are confident that the person who is attempting entry has the intent
of causing serious bodily harm or death, it might be a good idea to
fire upon them.

If you choose to stop somebody's entry, fire repeatedly using either
"0" or "00" buckshot loads. Your shotgun comes with sights for a
reason---use them.  You should fire at the intruder's torso until they
cease being a threat to you; then, you should *STOP* shooting.

If your shotgun does not seem to be having much effect after a few
rounds, is it possible that they are wearing body armor, so you could
then fire at their pelvis or head, which is probably not guarded.

Your intent is *NOT* to kill them; it is only to defeat their entry,
in an attempt to protect yourself and family from harm.  Once you stop
them, render aid if it is safe to you to do so.  The safest way to
render aid is to call an ambulance.  The fact that you rendered aid
can be used to demonstrate that your intent was simply to stop someone
from harming you.

Of course, it is difficult to know how many intruders are in the
house; so, you must be very careful and attentive.  The sound of your
shotgun going off will probably deafen you, and your ears will be
ringing, so be careful that somebody else does not enter---you may be
unable to hear them.  Some argue that you should wear active hearing
protectors in your safe room; see the literature section.

When the police arrive, you have to be very careful that they will not
shoot you by accident, particularly if you are running around with a
weapon; it must be very difficult for them to tell the difference
between a "good guy" and a "bad guy."

In the event that you are involved in a shooting, it is probably wise
that you speak with legal counsel before saying too much to the
police.  In any case, depending on the state you are in, your weapons
may be seized and your license may be revoked pending a full
investigation into the matter.  Do not resist these actions, as
resistance may be used against you when you try to recover your
weapons and license.  Instead, seek out legal counsel immediately.

V.C..2. Shotgun or Pistol?

In a word, shotgun!

The pistol has two advantages: it is portable and compact.  However,
these advantages are irrelevant in the home, *unless* you carry it at
all times on your person.  If you are going to store your pistol in
your saferoom, its compact nature is irrelevant.  If you spend all of
your time with a pistol, you must be *extremely* careful that you do
not make an operating error and shoot somebody by accident.

The pistol fires a single bullet which lands at a point, so you must
aim very well in order to hit a target with a damaging shot.  If you
must fire in a darkened room, it is very difficult to see the sights
and aim properly.  Therefore, you must be sure to secure tritium
sights, which glow in the dark so you can aim with them.  These sights
have to be replaced every five years, since they become dim.  You
might also consider a laser sighting system, but make sure that the
batteries are good and fresh!

The shotgun is an extremely powerful and flexible weapon, and it is
reasonably forgiving in terms of errors in aiming, since the buckshot
will spread.  Be sure to select the choke that will adequately spread
the shot pattern given the distance from your saferoom's place of
cover to your saferoom's door.  The shotgun is considered by most
experts to be the ultimate defensive weapon, since it can be fired
rapidly, with great terminal effect.  Shotguns can be fitted with
"magazine extensions" that let them hold up to eight rounds of
ammunition.  (Some state and local laws place an upper limit on the
number of rounds your shotgun can hold.)  The shotgun can also be
fitted with tritium sights, which are a very good idea, as well as
flashlights, lasers, etc., even though most of these options are not
needed.

The rifle is also another extremely powerful weapon, but it is not
well suited to home defense.  The rifle round is so powerful that it
will go through a considerable number of walls, possibly killing
innocent people elsewhere.  At short distances, the shotgun is a more
effective weapon than the rifle; there is no "home defense" situation
that I can think of that would require the long-range accuracy of a
rifle.

Finally, no matter what weapon you select, you must be sure that your
children or friends cannot get their hands on it.  This is very
important, since some states have laws that punish the owner of a
weapon if a child gains access to it, and since jurors in a civil
court may consider an improperly secured weapon as gross negligence on
the part of its owner.  Many people play with weapons even though they
don't understand them, and few things could be more tragic than your
defensive arm being responsible for the death or serious injury of a
friend or family memeber.  You might wish to consider a cabinet with
an electronic lock on it to keep your weapons secure, and you might
consider training classes for the adult members of your household.