That's why I taught my wife to shoot; she stays inside the door with the .243 and watches for anything moving that isn't me or the cats. Out to 100 yards, she can outshoot me with a rifle, and at least match me to 15 yards with a pistol.Excaliber wrote:( In a 360 degree low light threat environment, a tailgunner is an invaluable asset. ) And after they leave, you, your wife, and your dog can get some peaceful sleep.
About 15 minutes ago something started a ruckus outside. That skunk is now dead, bagged and downwind.
If we'd called 911, a deputy might be calling for directions by now, since we're 8 minutes minimum from the quick stop they're all at. Any threat that isn't in the house by the time they respond isn't much of a threat.
Thanks to the motion sensors not tripping, I could tell that it either wasn't over three feet tall or wasn't approaching the porch, so I went with a .22 rifle in hand and .357 in my pocket. Without that bit of advance notice, I would probably be explaining to the neighbors why I woke them up with the +3 Shotgun of Loudness over a skunk. (Mossberg 835 with overbored/ported barrel: it makes field loads sound like magnums, and magnums sound like cannon fire, and it's first shot is a #4 buck magnum. With the full choke, it also tends to make a squishy mess of small critters, which isn't something I want to do with a skunk close to the house.)