LondonSquirrel

What if they break in at night? Are you going to sleep with the gun under your pillow?

sir_eccles

Good, there's nothing like taking a shortened version of this thread's subject line to ruin your day.

lansbury

and after the bullet passes through the burglar, how far is it going to travel before it stops.

andrewlohnes

I've already said the shotgun will be above my bed and yes we have had the conversation on where the bullet will stop! My dad has a magnum which gives off a mad kick and the bullet would probably go through the whole house.

Anian

If you are only shooting burglars, then a 22 pistol is all you need. Easy to shoot, little recoil, and it won't destroy your house when you miss (and when the bullet exits the blighter).

andrewlohnes

Yea I was just saying all that in jest, I still find it crazy that I'll be able to buy one if I want one!

augigi

I bought a 9mm handgun at a gun show in PA while on non-immigrant visa. I had to tell the seller that he needed to ask for my hunting license - as long as my driver license checked out, he didn't really care.

Bob

Down in MA, most of the illegal guns originated in Maine...very easy to buy a gun up there, even though you've got to be resident of the state, they don't check, so folks go up there and buy them and then put them on the dodgy market down here.

There's a turn key business up there for sale too, $230K asking price, building, stock, client list and if you need it, training in the use of guns...and the place is huge. Been around for 60 some odd years I think but the folks are retiring.

Sally Redux

When are you actually going?

LondonSquirrel

The reality is of course 99% of burglars strike while you're out. They even sometimes case the joint to see when you will be out. I've been burgled twice. First time I was out. Second time my DH was asleep in bed (during the day as he works nights) and he didn't know a thing about it until I got home.

I think the cases where people are actually at home and are attacked are rare. That's why the stories appear in the papers. And it's usually rich people with a lot worth stealing although unless they believe you have a safe it's still easier for them to just strike while No-one is home.

I believe far, far more people die or are injured in accidental shootings than those saved. Father-in-law has never had a gun in the house. DH wouldn't either (not that I'd let him even if he wanted and it was an option in the UK). Of course he believes in the right to own a gun because it's ingrained in the American psyche. It's the only thing we really badly disagree about.

andrewlohnes

The end of September. I can't wait over a year like I had planned, I just want to be there now.

Michael

He can always have cameras in his home that he watches through the internet and when he sees a burglar, he can run home and shoot them to get some practice.

Sally Redux

Ah right, I knew it was fairly long-term.

Pulaski

That is dangerous nonsense. Firstly there's a good chance you won't actually hit the burglar (see the much discussed story about Michael Brown who was shot at something like a dozen times with a 9mm/.40, yet most of the bullets missed him). Then even if you do hit someone with a .22 the likelihood is that you'll just make them angry, and if they have come "tooled-up" I will guarantee it isn't with a pea shooter .22 (again, see the Michael Brown story - that he was shot several times with a gun much larger than a .22 and kept advancing).

If you're going to shoot a bad guy, you MUST shoot to stop them, and you MUST assume they are armed and will return fire with a weapon that will kill you. Any other course of action is likely to get you killed.

A 12 gauge shotgun as a dedicated home defence weapon is the only logical choice, preferably a "tactical" short barrel model.

Nutmegger

To say nothing of the fact that I have read insane stories of criminals who have been injured in the course of their evil deeds and have actually sued the homeowner for damages -- and won.