Guns in the Home - Preparing for the Evil that lurks outside...

It will never happen to me. That’s what most people assume. If you’re lucky, it won’t.

But if it does, you will be eternally grateful to yourself that you were prepared.

What are we talking about? In the U.S., a home is burgled once every 25.7 seconds. While most burglaries happen during the day when no one is home, some folks aren’t so lucky.

 If an unsavory character comes knocking about your house, you’ll be glad you read and implemented these quick tips about home defense tactics and guns in the home.  This is just a brief overview of the many items and details that we discuss in our DEFENSIVE HOME TRAINING COURSE, which includes gun basics.

Reduce Your Risk

Burglars typically don’t enter a home on the fly, they check out the neighborhood first to see which houses might offer the best booty. If the windows are visible from the street, draw the blinds or curtains at night to prevent them from seeing into your home and don’t leave expensive items like laptops or jewelry lying around in plain sight.

Prepare Your Home

Making it difficult for the bad guys to get in is the first step in home defense. Keep your landscaping neatly trimmed and don’t put large bushes near entry points to your home. This gives the bad guys a place to hide as they try to get in. Additionally, install exterior lights. If you don’t want them on all the time, choose motion detectors.

Install an alarm system and set it every day. Install high-security door locks and high-security casement windows. Keep your doors and windows locked at all times, particularly when you’re home and asleep.

If you like pets, get a dog. It doesn’t have to be a Rottweiler, although they would be more helpful in a fight. Any dog will sound the alarm if intruders are breaking into your home.

Consider having an expert come out and review your home and prepare a risk analysis. Defensive Tactical Training can provide experts in this area to assist.

Defense Plan

An invader will always have one big advantage — surprise. This is why preparation ahead of time is so important. You are going to have to react quickly to an unexpected situation.

Sit down with the members of your family and discuss what you’ll do in the event of an emergency. Without an organized plan, members won’t know what to do and can be scattered all over the home, putting them at risk.

Designate one room in the house where everyone will go if they realize someone is trying to get in. The master bedroom is often a good choice and it’s a great place to store your weapons as well.

Your cell phone should also be in an accessible place. Keep it in the designated safe room at night and designate a person to call for help. Keep the 911 operator on the line and be sure they can hear you shouting warnings to the intruder. This can save you later in court.

Practice being aware of your surroundings and teach your kids to do it too. The more aware you are, the faster you can react to a situation. Keep an eye out for things out of place when you return home as many people have been injured or killed by surprising a burglar already in their home.

Pistols for Home Defense

What kind of gun should you keep for home defense? There are a few things to keep in mind.

First, what happens if you shoot at a bad guy and miss? Where does the bullet go? Depending on the type of firearm, it can go through the wall and potentially hit someone or something you don’t want to destroy.

This is why some folks prefer shotguns for home defense. The powerful blast can take out anything directly hit in front of you, but the birdshot or buckshot will spread and the pieces are unlikely to penetrate any walls.

However, long guns can also be cumbersome. This is why others prefer a pistol. They are easy to store and you can even have a few hidden at different points throughout the house. It is harder to hit your target with a pistol, but in close quarters indoors this generally won’t be problem.  Proper training will get you familiar with the gun and the potentials situations you may encounter reducing the stress in your time of need. 

Pistol Accessories

There are many accessories you can get for your pistol to give yourself the upper hand. These include laser sights, night sights, red dots and gun-mounted lights to name a few. 

Where to Keep Them?

Your guns need to be easy to access quickly in case of an emergency, but also safely so that unauthorized people like kids or thieves don’t get ahold of them. You should also abide by both federal and state gun storage laws.

Handguns have the advantage as there are many convenient ways to store them. For example, you can keep a loaded pistol in a small safe in the bedside table where you can easily access it.  The lock will prevent others from accessing without the code.

Defensive Tactical Training Class

Finally, you must prepare yourself both physically and mentally. A home invasion is a highly stressful situation. You are going to be scared and clear thinking often goes out the window.

A Defensive Tactical Training class, or DTT, can help you prepare. You’ll learn how to use your gun safely, effectively and quickly.

You’ll also learn how to think tactically as well as prepare yourself mentally. While you can never know precisely how you’ll react in the moment, thinking about some split-second decisions you might be faced with and making them ahead of time is tremendously helpful.

For example, are you comfortable with taking someone else’s life to save your own or protect your family? That’s not something you want to be debating while an intruder is breaking down the door. Honestly, if you’re not prepared to fully defend yourself, and possibly destroy your attacker, don’t buy a gun in the first place.

Who Should Have a Gun in Their Home?

From women living alone to dads looking to protect their families, anyone can benefit from having a gun in the home for self-defense. Guns level the playing field between you and an invader and give you an opportunity to protect yourself.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. Invest in gun safety and Defensive Tactical Training courses to ensure that you know how to use your gun responsibly and are prepared to defend yourself, your family and others.