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tboesche wrote:Great topic. I don't know If I would shoot thru the front door but probably thru the bedroom door. One thing no one mentioned, if the fear of stray rounds passing thru the neighbors walls is a concern that is real for you get a shot gun. I sleep with the CZ under the matress and a 12 ga. with 00 close by. I dont care what any body says, there is no more intimidating sound in the middle of the night than jacking the slide of a 12 ga. Inside the house at night, I would go for the shot gun first, and use the pistol as back up

While I agree that a shotgun will penetrate less in the way of interior walls, 00 will still go through 4 of them (worst case when only going through drywall) before stopping. This is based on the testing done by the guys over at "The Box o' Truth" ( http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm ). It is still very important to be aware of what is behind your attacker, as most apartment situations have less than 4 walls before a neighbor's apartment begins. It is important to have a plan for a self defense situation in an apartment beforehand, to minimize the risk of hitting a neighbor with a stray round, as well as for tactical readiness. I'll also agree that for a home defense situation, a shotgun is ballistically superior weapon to a handgun. The downside is that it's difficult to retain shooting readiness of a shotgun while opening doors, while a handgun can remain ready to shoot one-handed.

I'd have to say that it would really depend on the situation. One thing I will have to disagree with some folks on here is to announce that I am armed. If a determined assailant is armed, this may prompt gunfire directed back at you from the other side of the door. This may go for even announcing myself, depending on the situation.

Someone attempting to bash the door down and yelling murderous threats may get very little verbally if it would be likely to give away my whereabouts in relation to his position. 911 would be called immediately if at all possible, but I can envision many situations where it isn't feasible.

Someone fumbling at the door/lock is a different case entirely and would get loud warnings to leave immediately, with 911 ready to dial on the hands-free. Where it goes from there depends on if it escalates or not. My apartment has a bolt lockable only from the inside, and is not susceptible to picking or bump-keying. An intruder would have to either try to bust in the door or break a window - both of which would clarify intent.

Unfortunately the layout of my apartment would put any rounds directed from an angle to the door through a sheet rock-only wall into the neighbor's apartment, which I would not want. All other angles with the exception of shooting towards the back of the apartment (from the door area or directly inside) puts any stray rounds into exterior brick wall. If it were absolutely necessary to shoot at an angle to the door, I've worked out that COM shots fired from a crouching position should go above the heads of anyone standing in an adjacent apartment, and the floors above (I am on the first floor) are solid concrete that a round traveling in an upwards direction would not penetrate.

Defensive shooting in an apartment is tricky, and there are many more variables regarding stray rounds to consider.