Uninvited Home Entry

If someone entered you house ranting, and speaking incoherently. What would be your response? Deploy the weapon and shoot to kill? Find out what the commotion was about? What would you do?

reply to post by eManym


I believe my response would fall somewhere between your offered choices. I would definitely deploy the weapon. Then I would try to ascertain what the problem was, and make a decision based on the result as to whether or not I would actually use the weapon. Example: Man barges into my home ranting and raving(I'm pissed that he barged in), I grab for a weapon because I have no idea who he is or what he wants. OUTCOME 1:There is an emergency outside and he needs IMMEDIATE help. I forgive his trespass and help. OUTCOME 2: He is some kind of lunatic and becomes threatening. I pull the trigger.

My response would be utter surprise and an assessment of the situation but I would have a weapon ready just in case.

I would catch him long before he busted through my door. I can see this type of thing coming usually, and the moment he started trying to bust in I would have already been at the door.

Gotta love early warning systems, made mine myself.

reply to post by eManym


What about if he's dressed as a clown?
Or Santa and its just a drunk local?

What about if a man in scuba gear appeared in your bathroom...he could have hypoxia and the rambling could be medically explainable.

I say just shoot unless he's in scubagear/dressed as santa

reply to post by eManym


I live in a very bad area of town with tons of mentally ill drugged up homeless people. They don't have the money for weapons. If one of them broke into my house I'd point a gun tell him/her to not move and then call the cops. Maybe then the state would give them treatment.

If it was anyone else, say a man that didn't look like a homeless person. I'd shoot him. I'm female, don't have luxury or muscle mass to take chances like that.

I think we should put rocksalt in shotgun shells. They used to do that before. If shot in the legs or butts it would burn a lot but would not have as much chance of being lethal. I actually think it may have been safer than a taser.

I wouldn't want to get shot in between the legs though

reply to post by rickymouse


That's kinda like a bean bag round.

I've never heard of the type you're talking about. I'll have to look into that.

Ah yes rock salt.....feel the burn LOL. A most effective deterrent if ever there was one.

reply to post by eManym

In California if that happens and you are closer to an exit than the (unarmed) threatening person is to you, you are supposed to make a break for the exit, then call for help at a neighbors house.

This is the avoid confrontation at all costs approach.

If you are trapped its different, or defending others in the home.

I'm not saying I agree with it, just relating what the Granola State laws are.

He wouldn't make it past the dog.

We did have a couple of young teenage girls ring the doorbell at 2am once. The had left a party for reasons not shared with us. It was winter and one girl was missing a shoe. They were unable to contact parents so they waited in our house until a cab showed up. Neither of them were visibly intoxicated either.

You never know what might happen so its unreasonable to brandish a weapon at an unknown visitor.
Incoherence may simply indicate a medical condition in need of care. You can't just point a gun or turn your back on people. It's also unwise to put your family in harms way. Hence my big ass dog, again, the situation can be assessed before someone is stumbling into my home.

If someone in such a state could make it through the walls of defense that surround my domicle, I'd have to assume they were a friendly and just going through a rough spell. I wouldn't deploy a weapon, but I would call for professional EMT services while trying to calm the person down and decipher what they were frantic about.

It accutly happened to me ((being it was me who entered a house ))
the row homes i lived at when i was 16 all looked just the same .coming back from the store one day walked right into someone elses house (not paying attation ) anyway turned out was a friends house and his dad was sitting in a chair watching TV .Now at this point im like ummm aaaa ooooo aalalalaoejdkfnb.
Finly just pretending I ment to walk in asked if my buddy was home.
Sure am glad not every one shots first lol.

reply to post by GENERAL EYES

I wouldn't deploy a weapon, but I would call for professional EMT services while trying to calm the person down and decipher what they were frantic about.

Not always possible. Theres this autistic young man living in our complex and he regularly escapes from his elderly mother and wanders the complex, looking for open doors to walk thru. He's scared quite a few people and even fought with homeowners when they try to throw him out.

I've seen him do it. He sees an open door or gate, is drawn to it and just walks in like he owns the place.

Nobody (even his mom) knows why and he offers no explanation. The cops don't even respond anymore. When his mother who is watchful but elderly and infirmed finds out he's gone, she goes looking for him. Whenever the people around here see him walking around they follow him and tell him to go home so he does.

Eyeballing doors and a gates all the way there.

It's easy to sit and contemplate what one may do. Until it happens one can only contemplate about it. It happened at my home and the outcome was'nt a good one. To put it bluntly, I blew the guy back out the door, he made it about 15 ft never moved again. Waiting to access the situation may get you harmed or even killed. Now the way you have to go about getting to my door, guarantees it wont happen that way again. Fence, cameras, dogs, long way off road. If you ring my bell or knock at my door, your already violating the no tresspass signs and the outcome want be one of joy.

The person who tried to invade my home was a career criminal. How do you know the person acting bat shat crazy, isnt just pretending to get you to drop your guard? You dont, your safety and your families safety is paramount to any stranger's actions. And I would do it all again, if I was forced to act. It took all of 45 seconds from start to finish, that could be your life that flickers away in that short, short 45 seconds.

reply to post by openyourmind1262


I sure hope you never find yourself in a situation where you are frantic and unable to clearly get your message across and maybe hurt and disorientated. The shoot first ask questions later theory could be used against you. How do you know the guy you blew away wasn't trying to get some kind of help? Because he had a criminal record? Probability says you were probably right but who's to say now that he is dead? A human life must not be worth much to you. That or you have some sort of grandiose opinion of yourself.

I'd do the Canadian thing...

Walk up to him/her, smack them upside the head and in a raised voice say: "Pull it together man !!"



... and then apologize for having to be so forcefully blunt causing bodily harm.

reply to post by eManym


eh i think it would depend on a variety of factors if your urban probably chill with them tell the cops show up,if your rural perhaps get the gun but dont just go willy nilly shooting people.

is the person visibly wounded,blood scrapes etc do they have a visible illness and or look potently mentally disabled? if so id say try to calm them down to get them help.

how old? is this a 90 year old thinking its his/her house(dementia) or is it a teen visibly tripping on some kind of hallucinogen or obviously drunk? some homeless guy just trying to get out of the freezing weather?

where are u first encountering them? they standing over you in your bed when you wake up? or just pounding on your door waaaaaay to many variables for one situation to fit all here

me personally id probably be to busy getting my 115 pound dog away from them to worry about who they were tell the situation calmed down but just because they are in the house does not mean automatic execution or nonsense like that

hell im more worried what my tenants would do personally one is a gulf war vet (first one) and the other is a martial artist so i sleep soundly at night

Shoot first,
Wait a moment,
Shoot again if necessary.

Why?
Because it's the honest answer.

The biggest supporters of restraint in home defense are violent criminals and their lawyers.

rickymouse
I think we should put rocksalt in shotgun shells. They used to do that before. If shot in the legs or butts it would burn a lot but would not have as much chance of being lethal. I actually think it may have been safer than a taser.

I wouldn't want to get shot in between the legs though

Jeez, salt burning the crap out of your wounds before being ripped into your flesh at hundreds of miles an hour.

Better than actual pieces of metal, i guess.

For an intruder? I am a paraplegic as of 2010, so me and any hand to hand combat mess is not too desirable, but i have no firearms in my house at all (this is New York). My parents sleep like two dead logs (came home drunk one night, forgot the alarm code, the panel goes off ringing for 20 MINUTES before the cops call and ask for the security word. Parents sleep soundly). Grab a biggest knife, pray he isn't packing, and that my dad wakes up, and tell him/her prepare to die if you want to stick around...