home defence tools

[ghostrider]

interesting discussion on home defence firearms:

http://blog.hsoi.com/2009/02/06/on-a-home-defense-tool/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[longtooth]

Good read. I have been looking for a paratrooper length SKS for some time.
Much cheaper than an AR.

[RPB]

Some real food for thought in that article
Thanks

[C-dub]

I've been thinking about this for a few days now. For you folks that use or have a rifle ready for HD, is that your go to gun? Where do you normally keep it? Is it usually within reach?

[glbedd53]

I have 2 Chinese paratroopers. One of them is kinda picky about ammo.

[RPB]

Do those Chinese paratroopers eat much?

good one

[shooter76blue]

Excellent points in this article. Gotta admit it started me thinking...

[74novaman]

I've been thinking about this for a few days now. For you folks that use or have a rifle ready for HD, is that your go to gun? Where do you normally keep it? Is it usually within reach?

My "go to" gun is still what I carry every day, a Glock 19 and a flashlight. They are on the night stand next to the bed.

I do have one of my AKs loaded up and ready to go in the closet of the master bedroom.

With it is a Chinese surplus chest rig holding 3 extra magazines just in case it really is "Red Dawn" time.


Besides the carbine over shotgun point, I liked his point about light and reinforcement.

A decent floodlight with motion detection isn't expensive at all. That way you can turn off exterior lights, but if anyone approaches your door they get lit up. If they are there for good reasons, they'll appreciate seeing where they're going. If their intent is to do harm, being exposed like that may be enough to change their mind.

The other simple, cheap thing I did was replace the screws in my door to ones that are long enough to actually reach the framing 2x4s and not just the frame of the door. Here's a comparison picture between the installed screws and my replacements:



Looks like it would take a little more effort to kick in, yes? I haven't tried to do so, but it feels pretty solid.

[hsoi]

Thank y'all for the kind words on my article. :-)

- John C. "Hsoi" Daub

[JeepGuy79]

Good read!


right now behind the headboard I have the mp5k-n pdw with a surefire on it. mag clamp gives me an extra 30 rds close by. even with the castle sights I can hit all day with it. I personally think a SBR or a SMG is the way to go in a house. leave the handgun for carry and the shotgun for skeet.

here she is without all the weight of the surfire rail and light and extra mag. Not even sure I need all that crap.

[C-dub]

I've been thinking about this for a few days now. For you folks that use or have a rifle ready for HD, is that your go to gun? Where do you normally keep it? Is it usually within reach?

My "go to" gun is still what I carry every day, a Glock 19 and a flashlight. They are on the night stand next to the bed.

I do have one of my AKs loaded up and ready to go in the closet of the master bedroom.

With it is a Chinese surplus chest rig holding 3 extra magazines just in case it really is "Red Dawn" time.


Besides the carbine over shotgun point, I liked his point about light and reinforcement.

A decent floodlight with motion detection isn't expensive at all. That way you can turn off exterior lights, but if anyone approaches your door they get lit up. If they are there for good reasons, they'll appreciate seeing where they're going. If their intent is to do harm, being exposed like that may be enough to change their mind.

The other simple, cheap thing I did was replace the screws in my door to ones that are long enough to actually reach the framing 2x4s and not just the frame of the door. Here's a comparison picture between the installed screws and my replacements:



Looks like it would take a little more effort to kick in, yes? I haven't tried to do so, but it feels pretty solid.

I did that with my front door last year and think I went through one of the doorbell wires.

[TxSheepdog]

Unfortunately my house front is all glass, so extra screws wont help much.

For the price of an SKS you can get an AK and have a more compact and reliable weapon, with magazine capability right out of the box. I like the SKS too, but they have become too pricey.

I need a light for my AK, so right now my Mossy is the primary long gun for those pesky bumps in the night. Otherwise its the 1911 and Surefire.

[newTexan]

Excellent article. Thanks for pointing it out.

[XinTX]

IMO, the choices for whatever you use for HD are personal. Your family situation (kids in the house?), home layout (all bedrooms together? at opposite ends of the house?), location of your house (in a subdivision? out in the country with neighbors over a half mile away?) have an impact on your choice. But the number one would be what you're most effective shooting. If you shoot a 4" revolver well and are comfortable with it, go that way. If you're more comfortable with a shotgun, go that way. But no matter what you elect to use, first and foremost you need to be well drilled in its use. Just imagine being awakened at 2 a.m., being half asleep and the alarm going off and having to be effective in operating a firearm and putting shots on target. If you're not comfortable enough to be able to operate on muscle memory and instinct, you need more practice. And given how we're all different in what we prefer and why, as well as our circumstances, I don't think there's any 'one size fits all' best HD weapon out there.

The article also talks about the advantage of a rifle being shorter to maneuver around furniture and corners in the house, then discusses the advantage of being able to mount a scope. I can't think of a scenario where I'd use a scope for a shot at an 'inside the house' distance. At those distances, a shotgun using bird shot is devestating. But, if you have kids in the house I'd maybe re-think the shotgun. I don't, so I haven't thought that through. If I lived in the country where the dogs would wake me up before the BGs got within shotgun range of the house, I'd likely opt for a scoped rifle.