Do you use your concealed carry to protect your home? If not, what do you use or suggest, and why?
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I use my conceal carry, I keep it with me at all times.
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I have my concealed carry on me most of the day. My new puppy tends to jump, so Iāve secured my gun earlier in the day than normal for the last few weeks. Iād love to say the pitbull and german shepherd puppy are great for home protection at this point - but theyād most likely lick the intruder to death.
I also have a bo staff (long staff) and a short staff in the front closet from Tae Kwon Do. A baseball bat, golf clubs, or hockey sticks are other great things to have in the front closet.
Weāve got a shotgun also in the home as well as knives.
And then there are always the weapons of opportunity as well - the pans, kitchen knives, anything aerosol spray, and your car keys to set off the car alarm if your car has that option.
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We have animal mace, ar, shotgun, swords, throwing stars, dog seal pup, 2 kabars, my wife carries at home in case, my off duty gun I the safe, my on duty with my during the week, pots,pans, random tools like flathead screw drivers and crowbar, and a partrige in a pear treeā¦ with 2 pits as back upā¦
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Oh - good call on the tools! Hammers and screwdrivers can be deadly!
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My carry gun is locked in a small safe, as well as my 6 inch GP100 .357. My wife shoots it very well, so it is loaded and ready to rock, in case she needs to defend the home while Iām not there. If itās the ābump in he nightā Iāll grab both handguns, while she unlocks the gun cabinet, and get my 12 gauge, at which time Iāll hand her the revolver.
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Do you keep your guns loaded in your small safe, @45IPAC? I used to keep mine loaded in the safe, but then I saw a video by Kevin Michalowski.
In a follow up discussion, Kevin explained how grabbing a gun in a safe in a high stress situation may cause me to grab the trigger by accident.
Thoughts?
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Do you guys have a safe plan for if an intruder ever does enter? A very important subject, IS TO BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET, Iāve seen videos of the intruder getting shot, only to find out, it was the daughter sneaking in from a party. Always have a powerful flashlight, and keep your finger off the trigger. this would change your life forever.
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Me personally if I can give my opinion. High stress situations your in a hurry to reach. Just like anything your not focusing on where your hands are going because you donāt have time. So I personally wouldnāt keep them loaded in a safe but keep the magazine or rounds close by.
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I spoke with a guy in California who shot an intruder when he was staying with his parents. The intruder turned out the neighbor guy who was drunk and went into the wrong home.
The legal fees for his defense were horrific.
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They are actually ina holster, in the safe. I would have to take the whole thing out, then discard the holster. All trigger guards are covered in the safe.
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Do you have the holster secured in the safe or does it come out of the safe with the gun?
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Comes out with the gun. I know it adds one step in the event I need the weapon for protection, but, I canāt get to the trigger without knowingly removing the holster.
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I should get me a safe but I donāt have on yet. I keep on gun unloaded and stuffed out of sight and my carry gun sits on my nightstand in its holster through the night. And then when I wake up I put it in my waistband.
As far as the ability to defend myself with weapons and makeshift weaponsā¦ I have my carry gun, a 12 ga. (birdshot first with slug after I believe), 5 pocket knives (most are about 3 3/4 in blades), a .22, my mom has a .38 revolver, and then thereās all sorts of kitchen knives I can use (including butcher knives), plus the 4 and maybe 3/4 in Buck knife I have as well. Oh and I canāt forget the hammer, flat bar, utility knife that I have in my tool bucket.
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I personally keep my EDC by the bed in a small safe with 2 extra mags it has a light lazer and my wife knows how to use it we also have a plan for her getting to the kids and taking cover in the most out of the way spot in the house as to limit the potential of a stray round finding them. All that being said one thing I didnt see in this conversation was choice of ammunition for home defense. I personally keep all of my handguns loaded with fragmenting hollow points to take the possibility of a misplaced shot injuring a family or neighbor as well I have hollow point frangable rounds for my rifles and 4b buckshot for my shotguns as these all have the lowest penetration capability that will still get the job done.
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I carry a gun all the times. Home, away, yard work, what have you.
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Itās so important to have that game plan, and everyone in the house is on target with it, practice it, have a close friend that you trust be the intruder, go through the procedure over and over, when shooting at the range, or anywhere, practice drawing your gun with that finger along the frame and not on the trigger. After doing this a couple hundred thousand times, itās just a muscle reflex, putting your finger on that trigger just isnāt part of your shooting style.
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I donāt think Iāve ever had the issue of drawing with my finger on the trigger. Thankfully. Though I have accidentally discharged my gun when I thought I needed to release the trigger in my semi-auto in my bedroom. I had racked it, removing the round in the chamber but inadvertently chambered another. So when I removed the mag, and thought my gun was clear I thought I needed to release the trigger (a guy I knew said that he did it in his Glock to save the spring or something) and had an ND. But I learned and have never had such an accident again. Thank God. So while Iāve never drawn with my finger on the trigger I learned a great lesson about unloading your semi-auto and always making sure itās clear. Stuff like that makes you more cautious for the future.
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Bet you wonāt ever do that again, when we compete, be it USPSA, or IDPA, whatever the game, if you run to the next set of targets or draw with your finger on the trigger, whatever it may be, you get sent home for the day on a safety violation. I e never done it, but Iāve seen many shooters that are far better than myself get sent home for the day, this has always been a fear for me, so I try to stay very self conscious.
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Well, in my apartment I donāt call it āconcealedā as it is open to see. With that said, I do carry in my apartment as there have been numerous shootings and break-ins in our area and I want to be prepared.
@Dawn and others, if you keep items that can be used for self defense (ie: Long and Short Sticks, Golf Clubs, etc) just make sure that they are not in a place that an intruder can find. Donāt give them anything to fight you with.
My AR15 is in my big fireproof safe and my Glocks (19 & 23 Gen4) are in my small safe on my night stand / short dresser.
As for keeping them loaded in the safe, currently I do not. I have heard both pros and cons to that. One, why keep a gun ready if it is not ready? And two, if it is loaded it could accidentally fire when taking it out. For number two, I would suggest spot training with an empty gun to see if you would accidentally pull the trigger. Have a family member yell out āIntruder Drillā at random times to see if you could pull that gun out clean. First rule of firearms is to keep your trigger finger outside the guard until you need to fire the gun. Get used to reaching into the safe with your trigger finger straight out and try not to jam it into the edge of the safe. Ouch. When going into my safe for my gun, I always follow that rule and only grab the handle of the gun with the rest of my fingers and thumb and it works fine. If you conceal carry outside Im sure your gun is loaded. What happens in a stressful situation there? You donāt pull the trigger getting it out of the holster. So it shouldnāt happen out of the safe. On the topic of drills, I have read in various magazine articles about practicing an intruder alert in your home with an empty gun just so that you are prepared on how to handle the gun and maneuvering around furniture etc. It might be a good idea if you have not taken the time to do so.
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