The average home robbery is only about 10 minutes. Especially, in a rural area, it’s very likely the robber will be long gone by the time the police arrive at the scene.
Biggest deterrent to having your home robbed isn’t owning a gun. The thing is to make your home less attractive - lights that come on, alarm, and one of the best is a barking dog. Robbers will take paths of less resistance.
As far as kids and gun safety, every single adult male I know who had guns in his house as a kid and was told not to touch them admits that they did.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I would appreciate it if everyone keeps this in mind. Additionally, please refrain from engaging in debate on the issue, as I am already starting to see in a couple of posts.
Being in highschool does not invalidate my advice. And there is nothing “expert” about what I said. What I expressed in my comment was very basic and known by every gun owner. College Confidential is not the place to go when searching for gun advice.
I never thought I’d marry a gun toting NRA member and hunter, but I did. Handgun permits are very difficult to get here but we have some rifles and shotguns. When the kids were small, all ammo was left hidden at grandma’s house in a locked box in a rafter and the guns were broken down in our home. As the kids got older, we acquired a gun safe and put everything in there. Only H, oldest son and I know the combination. My three oldest sons target shoot; the middle one is quite good and was scouted for the Junior Olympic Rifle Team but declined because he is not competitive (we had him on a swim team but took him when we realized that he was deliberately stopping to let other kids pass him so they wouldn’t feel bad about losing - H and I were fine with that but the coaches weren’t, LOL!).
Anyway, while I am not scared of guns per se (I am more scared of dogs, as a matter of fact), I am scared of them in the hands of the wrong people. I myself do not shoot for several reasons but foremost is that I have arthritis in my hands and lack the strength to hold a rifle or shotgun and I have really bad visual spatial skills. I did for several years organize our annual Scout shooting outing, which included arranging for safety training, so I am fully safety trained. H is qualified as an RSO (Range Safety Officer) and Instructor.
With that said, I would not get a gun to thwart a potential home robbery if you are not a confident, skilled shooter. I have seen (on TV) and heard of people who pull out their gun against a robber and end up dead because when push comes to shove, they can’t kill the robber but the robber can and will disarm them and use their own gun to kill them. I must also say that I would never live in a rural area, either…
@AnthonyZ, I have owned guns in the past. I also lost a sibling to suicide with a gun. Statistically households with guns are much more likely to have an accident or suicide with a gun occur than they are to valiantly fend off an intruder attack. Heroism dreams of young boys aside, statistics say it is a bad idea.
Take a gun training class if you are really unsure of your abilities. As an added bonus, you will also get to meet other gun owners in your area who will likely be more than willing to share advice/tips with you.
If you are afraid of guns, I would probably steer clear of pistols. If home defense is your concern, and you are determined that a gun will make you feel safer, you could do something like an alarm system & rifle combo… the alarm system will notify you of an intruder, at which point you will have a few moments to grab the rifle.
Rifles also look more intimidating, and you can use them as a physical weapon in close combat.
Having said all of that, unless you have reason to believe crime is high in your area, I don’t think you need a gun for self-defense. Just my two cents.
I think @techmom99 makes a good point. Could you kill someone? If not, what is the point of having a gun?
I think the taser idea is interesting. Are they hard to get?
Also are home invasions that common? Around here when I read the crime statistics they seem really rare. Mostly just people breaking into a garage or car.
I also fear guns, I am a nurse and see way to many ‘accidental/negligent’ shootings. I have also been assaulted at gunpoint and I know me owning a gun would not have helped me. The perpetrators always has the benefit of surprise. I know I couldn’t trust myself to use a gun correctly and I couldn’t live with the results if I accidentally shot someone.
I agree with a lot of the advise above. Get lessons, practice regularly, know your local laws and ask yourself honestly could you be quick enough to use it if needed.
A statistic is just a generalization. The whole point of my comment was to say that gun ownership is a big responsibility that necessitates training and research in order to not become a statistic. Taking the proper precautions can greatly lower the chance of an accident. Obviously the person who created the thread is seriously considering buying a firearm; I’m giving my best advice. Also, better to be a hero than a victim in every situation.
@VaBluebird - I think there are better ways to protect yourself and feel safe rather than owning a gun, considering your fear of them and bad history with them.
Someone may talk about statistics as a generalization, but that is cold comfort to the people who end up on the sad side of them. You may think you’re in no danger of suicide, but the danger affects everyone who knows about the gun or may even accidentally find it.
And, unless or until there are fingerprint locks or something similar, you have to seriously think about what happens if the gun ends up in the wrong hands. Whether it’s a criminal or someone who just finds the gun.
I have found 2 guns in the last few years. One was tucked into a wardrobe full of old clothes and dropped out when I grabbed them, the other was under a small pile of clothes on top of a chair. Someone who considered themself a responsible gun owner put it there and forgot it. Human error is human error and I’m just lucky nothing worse happened.
I own guns and always will but I’m surprised no one mentioned the best alternative, unless I missed it. A good dog with a strong bark is a great deterrent. When we had a boxer, I felt safer. It would take a determined robber to open that door once she started barking.
We had rifles and shotguns when I was a kid (grew up in TX). We never had handguns. My father, a real Texan and did 20 years in the USAF, didn’t like them.
When I think about a handgun and crime, I always end up deciding that I wouldn’t have the time to figure out what to do with one. I don’t want a loaded gun, ready to fire, sitting around. If it’s stored in a more secure environment then I wouldn’t have the time to get it and defend my family in a critical situation. Basically, it wouldn’t help, so the most likely result would be some sort of terrible accident.
However, if I did get one I would go to the range and practice, practice, practice in the most reasonable scenario (I’d probably use blanks until I could rapidly draw and fire it accurately so I don’t end up shooting myself in a panic situation!). I’d also go to a gunsmith to have them “tune” the trigger mechanism to reduce the loading. My BIL has his handgun triggers tuned and it helps quite a bit (you’ll know what I mean when you use a stock trigger and then one that’s been tuned).
PS. BTW, “tune” isn’t the correct word for the trigger modification.
I would also suggest considering a dog with a good strong bark. I’ve heard interviews with convicted burglars who said they avoided houses with dogs. We have had burglaries here where the burglar was specifically trying to steal guns, because they are valuable and can be sold on the black market.
No. A statistic is a collection of facts that show that one thing is more likely to happen than another. Your odds of being a “hero” (as you do dreamily phrase it) are lower than your odds of being a victim of that very gun (losing a loved one or innocent person to a gun accident or suicide). Stranger break in crimes where they intend to injure the homeowner are extremely rare; sturdy locks, a dog, and/or alarm system reduce the odds further. Stop reading NRA literature. They have a financial interest in brainwashing you.
Sometimes a fear is your subconscious telling ,you what you already know.
My husband owns many guns. Mostly for target shooting and because he enjoys casting his own bullets.
As someone pointed out earlier, having a gun for protection is more than not being afraid of the gun itself. Would you be willing and able to shoot to kill? The presence of a gun often escalates anxiety and danger in a confrontational situation. One of the first rules of gun ownership is never pointing a gun at anyone you are not willing to shoot, partly because pointing it escalates the chance that you will have to shoot.
Now that my kids are grown and gone there is nothing in my house that I am willing to kill to protect. I’m a rape survivor; I’ve survived many losses. My own choice is to not kill for any reason.
We now have access to large, loud, barking dogs…and we don’t even have to feed them.
“Alexa, play barking dogs. Louder!” >:)
It’s a big deal, and if you aren’t sure, lean towards no. I took classes through the NRA and a friend is a certified instructor. I also live in a rural area, and as much as I really do respect the police, I really feel like they just take stats after the fact and solve the crime, they don’t really prevent it from happening in the first place. You can take the classes and decide afterwards if it’s for you or not.