It doesn’t matter how well prepared you are unless you can defend yourself and your possessions. That’s particularly true at home, where most preppers keep the bulk of their supplies and equipment. If you can’t defend your home in an emergency your chances of surviving fall dramatically.
Home defense is a particular problem for older preppers. With no disrespect to more senior readers, as you age it gets harder to protect yourself against intruders.
Your hearing isn’t as sharp, so you’re more likely to miss early warnings. Your balance isn’t quite as good anymore; you’re a little slower, and probably a little weaker.
You might also have problems like arthritis that make it harder for you to apply force. You still need to protect your home, though, so here are some suggestions on how to do that.
Get Alerted
The earlier you know intruders are sniffing round your home, the better your chances of successfully deterring or defeating them. An alarm system will let you know if someone tries to enter the building, but ideally you want more warning than that. Luckily there are a few options.
A well-trained dog is a reliable way to get warned of intruders. If you live in a rural area geese will also make plenty noise if a stranger appears.
Less organic solutions include tripwire-activated alarms, or even simple tin cans tied to fences.
Anything that makes a noise will give you more warning that someone is approaching, and there’s a good chance it will even scare them off.
You can also use technology to let you know of approaching problems. Modern security cameras like Ring are small, easy to install and affordable, and with night vision and motion sensors built in they can send alerts to your cell phone day and night.
Be a Hard Target
Make your home an unattractive target. A good perimeter fence or wall that needs some effort to get across will deter casual intruders.
Thieves don’t like to be visible, so if there’s nowhere to hide around your home they’re likely to think twice. Cut back bushes near entrances or under windows; the aim should be for the full exterior of your home to be visible.
⇒ If You Have This on Your Property, Throw It Away Immediately
Opportunist intruders can also be deterred by something as simple as keeping doors and windows secure.
A locked door is enough to stop someone just walking in; to get inside means either picking or forcing the lock, and that will put off a surprising number of criminals.
Be Ready to Fight
So you can deter a lot of potential intruders before they even touch your front door, but unfortunately not all of them.
Some will ignore fences, alarms, and force their way into your home anyway. At that point you have two choices – give up and let yourself become a victim, or be prepared to defend yourself.
It’s harder to defend yourself as a senior. You don’t have the strength or speed to grapple with intruders. On the other hand it’s far from hopeless. You do have options open to you.
First, stay as fit as you can. Just because you’re older, that doesn’t mean you can’t be active. Even a short walk every day will give you more confidence and mobility when it counts.
Get used to carrying a stick, as well. Even if you don’t need one to walk, a good solid walking stick can be helpful in all sorts of ways. Heavy hardwoods polish up nicely, and a decorative metal head looks attractive as well as giving a better grip.
Of course, if it comes to defending yourself, a heavy stick is a pretty useful thing to have – especially when it’s already in your hand…
Be Armed
A stick is a surprisingly effective weapon, and it has the advantage of giving you more reach – handled properly, a stick will usually beat a knife, for example. If you want to have the best chance of defending your home, though, you need a gun.
Guns don’t take much strength to operate, and as long as you can shoot reasonably accurately they give you more reach than any stick ever will. As an older person you want to keep invaders as far away as possible, and you can’t beat a gun for that.
Related: The Survival Guide To Concealed Carry
If you already have a gun, well done; if you practice with it regularly, even better. If you don’t already have a gun, you should seriously consider getting one.
When you’re choosing a gun it’s always important to find one that suits you. As an older person that means finding a weapon you can handle comfortably and effectively – and that you’re confident you’ll still be able to use in a few years.
We lose muscular strength as we age, and we slow down a bit too. This is already telling us something about the kind of gun we want; it should be light and controllable, for obvious reasons, and it should be semi-automatic. Why semi-automatic? Because if your first shot doesn’t stop the threat, you don’t want any delay as you manually chamber the next round.
I usually recommend a pump action 12-gauge shotgun as a home defense weapon, but for senior citizens I’m going to make an exception. A 12-gauge has heavy recoil, which some older people could struggle with, and a pump action needs to be worked rapidly and firmly to get the next shot off.
A shotgun is still a good choice – apart from anything else, that big yawning muzzle is more likely to make an intruder turn and run than just about anything else – but look at a compact 20-gauge semi-auto. At close range a 20-gauge will still put an assailant down, but the recoil is much lighter and so is the gun itself.
Something like a Benelli M3 with a 20-inch barrel and fixed stock is ideal – it’ll hold five rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, giving you a lot of easily handled firepower. A 3” shell loaded with AA shot works well for home defense.
If you prefer a rifle, an AR15-style carbine with a 16” barrel is also a light, handy weapon that can be maneuvered indoors but has the range to protect your land too. It also takes capacious 30-round magazines, which should be more than enough for any home defense scenario.
Handguns are usually the hardest guns to use effectively, but if you have mobility problems they might be your only option. For example, if you need a stick or walker to get around you can’t really spare two hands for a long gun. Don’t worry – a handgun is still a lot better than nothing; you just need something that’s light and easy to use with one hand.
If it’s manageable I’d go with a 9mm Luger, which is a powerful round with relatively light recoil, but full-size 9mms can be heavy and the recoil becomes a lot sharper in a compact gun. Don’t be afraid to go with a smaller caliber; a .22 semi-automatic that you can consistently hit the target with, and that lets you take rapid follow-up shots, is better than a heavier gun with too much recoil.
Be Confident
Getting older does raise challenges when it comes to defending your home, but none of these are things you can’t deal with.
Even if you’re not as quick on your feet as you used to be, you can still use most of the usual techniques to deter or detect intruders before they even enter your home, and in the worst case the right gun – and the fact you’re on home ground that you know very well – will give you a fighting chance of coming out on top.
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AR 15 with a 7.5 inch barrel and a 100 round beta C drum is all you need
Yeah sure BS!
no its a solid choice
My sun the upcoming troll of trolls, love ya.
A 7 inch might be your wiener size, that would not is not accurate for shooting.
You are thinking with the small head than the big one, dude. Troll!
Thanks ? …. i guess How big is your house that a 7inch AR isn’t going to be accurate
7.5 perhaps if it was 300blk and normal mags. but if SOCOM used to provide 10.3 and then changed to 11.5 for more reliability(dwell time) then it’s a good indication to not run something shorter in 556. I realize I’m responding to a troll comment but I don’t care right now. Fall allergies…
300 blackout requires additional calibers to stock up on and only is worth it with a can
I had read that 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed determined that 9” was the “optimum” barrel length for 300 BLK (subsonic, I guess).
Riiiiight. Shoot it in low light or darkness and the blast of unspent powder will blind you and give away your position.
golly gee best prepper, why don’t you just mount a claymore on your chest and back, then you can get them coming and going…..
the 7.5 works just fine in 556 and the 100 round beta drum keeps you in the game longer …
It is Friday Troll Day, let’s party you gun freaks!
Are you talking about the pistol barrel length or a rifle barrel length?
7″ rifle barrel is too short even for the spec ops guys, might as well us a pistol instead.
No its good for 100 meters works just fine
I got my 38.
Ammo is the strangle hold on the low income and senior legal American citizens. All the gun laws on the books are just fantasy and stopgap for the legal system to entrap honest people. The Biden , Soros globalist see America’s Second Amendment as a minor hiccup to their U.N. vegetarian bug eating 21 to 50 or 50 agendas to be placed into actions of a PRISON PLANET.
We are going into a Marxist adventure no commonsense human being wants.
Every time there are paradigm changes , to our way of life structure we get the agitators. Coming out of the wood work , we need to clean houses here and around the world , Amen to the people who keep the faith , depending in who you believe in of the truth.
Unless you have a gun in your hand at all times, they’re pretty much loosen if somebody kicks your front door in they will already be armed. Having your front door hardened is best. What is on the door right now is easily kicked in because the wood is Soft and the screws holding the middle guides into the jams are only about an inch long. If you take those out and get a screw 4 inches it goes into the 2 x 4 making it much more difficult. Front door back door side door that is a big deterrent of even getting into begin with. When second count , this will make a difference. Remember, anything is a weapon that can be thrown, swung, or used as a club. Seconds count. Harden the bedroom door as well. Stuff, can be replaced. You cannot be.
Talk to text is irritating. Unless you have a gun in your hand at all times, they are basically useless.
who doesn’t have a gun on them at all times?
@Carl: Both my front and back doors are metal. Unfortunately, I was a bit concerned about light and got the ones that are 1/2 glass! (stupid me!!)
I do plan to improve with plexiglass replacement and longer screws for both the hinges and the locks. I have screen doors that can be locked, which helps to alert me and give me a couple more minutes. Also, just in case they just try opening the door, have one of those door stops that you push against the door to prevent opening/closing…that would also give a few more minutes…..
(I use those when I have to stay in a motel/hotel)
Thank you for the post for seniors…would be beneficial if comments could be kept to the TOPIC of the post and not personal attacks….
PS I believe in the darkside as it has proven to be my best friend and happy holidays to the trolls that bring cheer to us all!
As we age a good scatter gun – shotgun, aim an shoot in the direction of the intended target. Is better for older seniors. Because of reflex action, sight, physical characteristics.
The hand gun would be second option which needs a little more coordination to acquire the target under stress.
The use of a pistol, shotgun, rifle comes into play with age. When young an trained properly we can hit the target fairly accurate. When we age our coordination dips a little to accuracy. At a senior age the spirit is willing, depending if you are civilian, military or a combo thereof we need to keep up our shooting skills.
The usual gun training courses are generic to give everyone the skills needed. There needs to be senior training skills for those who want to keep on target.
The anti-gun crowd and politicians like Biden an CA gov Newsom would like all age groups to be disarmed to not be able to defend against the dirt bag criminals. The liberal legal 2-tier Soros DA’s and the Biden administration jail honest citizens defending themselves against criminals. They let the criminals go free to commit more lethal crimes.
We are truly living in the era of the lunatics are running the insane asylum in America.
Open borders letting in our enemies to terrorize our once stable country to become worst than a third world sh*t hole.
It is our country, what will we do to preserve our country?
I agree, but my fear is not the criminal elements’ of society as I’ve dealt with that for many years. My true fear and why I keep “assault” rifle, shotguns and handguns is the US Government. They never play fair nor do they abide by the law or Constitution. Then they take you to a Federal court where they have all the power. A good example of that is the Waco siege where they wouldn’t even allow the Texas Rangers to testify. It became a kangaroo court and we all still suffer from this circumstance. Soros and his ilk win constantly even when it’s completely wrong.
2024 the year of the United Nations defeats America’s First and Second Amendments as the Marxist indoctrinated transgendered CRT students and the general public submit.
If Trump does not win whether he operates the presidency in federal prison or in the White House again. We Americans are done for, our freedom loving nation will be ruled by the globalist.
It won’t matter whether or not we use the digital currency system we are allowing by not fighting back, push back to these nasty minions of the anti-Christ in the UN and the Bidenomics administration.
If we had known what the rich people knew, we would not be in this Dilemma of loosing America very soon. 2024 is our turning point, period, do or bust!
I’m Brazilian, a survivalist, I always follow the topics on the site, it’s important to know what’s happening in other countries. This arms issue here where I live is very difficult. To have a gun at home, you have to go through an almost impossible bureaucratic scheme. The government is completely against it.
Guns are a sign or symbol of freedom. Registered gun list by a government is basically the same as a CCW in the USA. The CCW gun owner goes through training class to carry a loaded gun in public. At the same time the gun is on a database along with the gun owner’s set of fingerprints.
That maybe good, but as we have seen the legal system and governments and politicians all that can be used against us in a court of law. We can be framed for something we did not do in a self defense legal case.
That is why don’t believe CCW’s are the way to go.
America is under siege by anti-gun opposition to make private gun ownership a thing of the past. So the corrupt governments and the United Nations can go full force to rule the world as they see it.
I’m in Australia, where access to guns is possible with reason, but “I just want one” isnt a good enough reason.
Stick fighting and marital arts (ju jitzu predominantly) is where I’ve been focussing. I can easily enough get my hands on a gun (for good reasons). But guns have limits. You can turn almost anything into a stick weapon, they are more legal to carry around, and the ability to deflect and control are sufficient against the average idiot I think.
If someone is wildly wilfully intent on doing you damage then a gun might be best, but if you live somewhere that every second numpty doesn’t have a gun then you probably don’t need one too. You can learn to beat them back with a stick, subdue and hold them with grapples until help arrives, and break a few bones along the way if you need to.
Your self-important BS overlooks the entire topic “For Seniors”. How wonderful for you to be young, strong, and hard-headed, not all of us are so fortunate. Martial Arts & Grappling are not an option for many of us. ( I’m well into my 70s, disabled, and drag an Oxygen tank everywhere I go, that makes Grappling and Stick fighting impossible ) We were all young and tough once, these days we seek intelligent, useable, and sensible alternatives.
Guns will be locked by the you will own nothing activist from the private sectors and the government alphabet agencies have their way.
The New York stock exchange has a new finance investment. The natural asset companies that will take away your rights to own anything. Unless you belong to the elitist way of life which most of us will not be privileged.
In the Bidenomics period we are being turned upside down of what America is or will be. The old story of the Trojan Horse has come into our reality. We are happily sleeping in a woke society, then being awake to see our Matrix existence coming into focus. Can we escape from the transgender, crt, commie garbage?
I don’t know whether to agree or disagree with this author’s suggestion about clearing the bushes near your house. In another article, the suggestion was to have multiple thorny bushes around your house to deter a direct assault, and to have thick bushes under the windows to make entry harder. A clear line of sight has its advantages also, so I guess this would be a personal choice for what you believe to be best.
For a gun option, unless you are going to be carrying the gun from room to room, multiple guns should be considered. If you are in the den, but your gun is in the bedroom, getting to it in time may prove to be difficult. Also, the older I get, the more my thought process slows down. I may not recognize danger in time to defend myself if my gun isn’t close by.
I like the idea of a camera that notifies you of movement, but for it to send a notice to your cell phone also means that it is susceptible to hacking. In today’s society, I want to make absolutely sure that I am the only one with access to my technology, but that is not possible. When a Roomba vacuum can be used to spy on you, in my opinion, that is WAY TOO intrusive.
Geese were suggested, but also consider Guineas, as they make a lot of noise also. Of course your location will determine what you can and cannot have.
Stay safe. Stay calm. And by all means, stay alert to current events.
Prepper in Training, I had the same thought about bushes and thorns near the house. We currently have a mix. The windows that don’t have any greenery don’t offer any concealment options leading up to them, so would-be intruders would be easily seen.
As far as the gun issue goes, it depends on what type works best with you. I have small hands, and many guns are made for those with larger hands. Another consideration is how easy is it for you to get ammunition. And what type of Plan B is there if you run out of ammo.
Realizing that many things can be a weapon and understanding how to use them as such will provide a lot more self-defense options.
I recall seeing a YouTube video where a boy fended off a would be kidnapper with a slingshot. The man was trying to kidnap the boy’s younger sister when she was playing outside. She yelled, and her brother, inside the house, hearing her, and seeing the intruder, got his slingshot and aimed at the intruder. The man ran off, leaving the girl alone, and he was later caught. There were marks on his face from where the slingshot’s stones had hit him.
Doing what I can to stay physically fit will help me no matter how old I am.
A can of wasp spray on your bed stand and by your doors. No warning, just spray it in the eyes and then finish them off however you want. No silencer needed.
lol just use a gun
@Frenchy: I agree, however, as some have commented in past posts, the use of such things like wasp spray can lead you to jail.(even pepper or bear spray!!) As screwed up as it is, the thief or murderer has more rights than the person being robbed or assaulted if they live to take you to court. Doesn’t seem to matter if there is a “stand your ground” law in your state, either. Just like posting “cute” signs about bodies being buried, or dogs attacking if you enter, these can be construed as threats to invaders and premeditated as lethal actions on your part.
We truly are living in an upside down country…..
Am willing and prepared to use lethal force when necessary. Wisdom dictates that post SHTF changes my position on wasp spray. Having our government intervene after shooting someone is not preferred.
I was waiting for someone to be against using a .22 for self defense but nobody did. In my almost 30yrs as a cop virtually every time I handled a death where someone was shot it was with a .22 —no exceptions. That tells me a .22 CAN be a decent defense. If you want a bit more punch get a .22 magnum. Close to the same performance as a .38. One other is the .327 (yes I said .327 not .357) it has the same performance as the .357 but less recoil depending on the ammo used.
The bushes should be trimmedbelow the windows but use 2 different types. The row closest to the windows I would use something with barbs on it then in front of that maybe azaleas. And/or yo could lay razor wire or barbed wire on the ground or actually IN the bushes. Just my 10 cents. (Because of Bidenomics the 2 cents has gone up).
As well, with ammo prices increasing, .22 might be the only one that folks can afford to stockpile at first. Even if you are lucky and never have to shoot it in anger, it makes training the basics a heck of a lot more affordable.
Just a side note, Federal has a new .22 round called “Punch” which is designed for personal defense. Breaks into segments when it hits the target.
Here’s a tip.
Can’t post anything here because this site has fallin to the WOKE. Just try to say something that will not conform to the New AI naritive…
Not a pepper site anymore. Just another WOKE crap site.
Sad times for real americans…
Agree this site turned woke about two years ago. Plenty of TROLLS wimpy keyboard preppers full of ***T and second hand BS!
Go WOKE never go back, just like Bud Light did.
Today’s special the USA-Mexican border just got a notice. Border Patrol now has confiscated EID’s, the terrorists don’t care, they are not scared of Bidenomics national security. The next bang you hear is from your friendly China Joe, the border Czar Harris and Alejandro Mayorkas – Homeland Security; The southern Border is secure – Bang!
When is America’s October 7th attack? We got anti-American Muslims like the Antifa an BLM rioters ready to break fire and brimstone riots to America. Lock and Load as the Bidenomics crime family destroys America as we know it.
“Ask the Prepper” site, has gone AI Woke, not like what it was before the Covid reset scandal of commonsense. Trolls to the left, trolls to the right, right back in the middle with you.
So have heard this too, the US Marine corp is shutting down their sniper school?
Will this happen to other branches?
Will the transgender personnel BOHICA to the enemy, then fight our enemies when time comes to defend us?
Remember elite politicians cause the wars, the armed forces must die to defend those elites, not us common folk in the Marxist world.
Never forget, when you cook and eat chicken you eat the meat and throw away the bones. Same with this site. Just saying.
Current MP here. I carry a G19 copy pepperball pistol in my kydex holster on my waist at home. It’s not heavy. Good to 75’ range. About 350 ft/sec. 3, 7round mags. Cops used pepperball “sbr’s”during the 2020 riots. Leaves exploded paint marks on your target and stings and blinding and suffocating as heck cos it’s pepper balls. That’ll buy me time to go to my G19 if deadly force is necessary cos it’s life altering to your soul (not in a good way) when you take a life.
Lol what a waste of time
Just use a gun
Bullpup, mag fed, 16 – 18″ semi-auto 12 ga (18″ preferred for power), using 1,500+ FPS 00 lead buck (lead retains energy longer than steel buck), in one hand and a 10.5″ AR platform firing 7.62 x 39 SP will get ya out of most entanglements with a zombie. Maybe the zombie and his buddy. 🙂
No one argues the 7.62 x 39 SP or HP AR/AK 16″ platform is THE superior weapon for 200 yards and under for HD, which is where ALL SD/HD scenarios occur. Over 50′, one is going to jail, anyway, in almost any case. If I want serious power beyond 200 yards, I’d be inclined to use a .308. The AR 7.62 x 39 will outperform the AR every time against zombies if one is limited to a 7.5″ bbl.
Remember, the AR is a terrific platform, amazingly designed and a minor work of art, but it was partly designed to be affordable and same with the ammo.
The USA is the final armed NATO country, and all other NATO countries today were disarmed a decade or more ago, AND are simply the enforcement arms of the NWO today, as is the UN – via their proxy leaders. Obama is acting president, and he and Trudeau answer to the NWO/WEF and Klaus, et al. So does Nikky Haley who actually attended the Soros Academy with Trudeau.
Many special forces trials show far too much velocity/energy is lost using a 7.5″ bbl with the AR 5.56 platform. It simply doesn’t have enough gas expansion time. 11.5″ is optimal and Hornady agrees given their “made for short bbls”, barrier, SP, low flash, low smoke, low fireball (so you don’t set your curtains on fire like you would with a 7.5″) TAP was designed and built specifically for 11.5″. This is not by accident but thousands of dollars worth of tightly controlled testing over time conclusively finding 11.5″ as the best tradeoff for length vs energy.
Given this, 11.5″ are hard to find for a build. Slap a 1/7 twist easy to find 10.5″ on it till ya can find a 11.5″. A .40 or .45 HP sent from a 5″ pistol bbl will do more zombie damage for in close work than an AR 5.56 with a 7.5″ bbl. Still way better than using harsh language, however.
There is a nice web site called “Ballistics By The Inch” you may find interesting. They have mathematically derived figures, THEN find the link to the same caliber you are looking at for real world tests results. YouTube has much free data on bbl length as well for those interested in such things, with the guys using pro chrono’s.
As for me, I’m just going to cheat and use The Force. I’m very non-violent.
Those elites can only stay down in their bomb shelters for so long, even their kids will want to go outside. That is when the rest of us survivors play wack a mole on them. For what they did to us after the SHTF crisis is in post crisis mode.
Why would we want to have those elites continue a corrupt mode of government after they caused the SHTF in the first place.
The world will take revenge on the elites and that is what scares them deep inside of their dark hearts, who sold their souls to you know who.
Revenge of the nerds is best served cold in the future.
7.5 inch is fine for 100 meters, I am good with that
I am looking for another prepper that was what this prepper site was like before the crazy people and trolls took over a once great prepper site.
Shame on the trolls who spoil a great site.
Anyone find another site yet?
K.Dog
Trolls did not Woke the site. It was the owner that went Woke. Trolls can’t change the site, only the owner can do that.
Thanks Claude. I voted you the best prepper site, guess I was wrong.
Sad times now.
Get to know your neighbors , establish good relationships
help your neighbors so they will be your friend s in time of need
Best Defense is Great Preparations
Lites, dogs, neighbors who look after you
Never disclose what you have , your wealth , your goods as it creates contemp, envy and covetness
be a Good neighbor , Smile , wave , say good things to your neighbors
Dont be a snob, nosy, or arrigant fool
never flaunt your wealth among the neighborhood , be as alike as you can .
Remember in time of koas , you need people on your side
as a senior i know i cannot defend against gangs, mobs, or young and stupid
so use common sense , set up natural alarms or panic alarms , or if you have the money pay for services
Remember that your handgun is only there to let you get to your long gun that is in the other room or leaning against a tree. Mine is only me or beside me 24/7/365.
They make slings
All our entry doors – 4, are Steel Doors. With Long mounting Screws. 2 level house. And 2 Doggie Doors. I am a long time, 10 yr, Combat Competition Shooter Pistol & Rifle so trying to save lives with good doors.
good doors and locks only serve to keep honest men honest, a good home defence will only slow down the determined criminals. you can’t keep them out,
OK, how many who have posted here are in there mid 60’s ?
Well I am and after serving 6 years in the Marine Corp (4X2) coming out a E4 , then working for 40 years as a heavy equipment mechanic I can tell you, you are not going to be carrying around a stupid shotgun or AR15 or any rifle for that matter. Both knees replaced and a rod up my back prevents me from any physical contact so where does that leave me ? I do have a nice little 22 that I carry, but with my hands not working so well that can be problematic. At a certain point you just need to trust GOD to take care of you. I do have a 6 ft tall chain link fence around my whole property, and animals to alert me if I’m outside to hear them and have my hearing aids in. It makes me laugh at all the BS talk from people here who never served in the military or police force, yet can make all these statements about what is the best weapon to use and how to use them. Eventually we need younger people around to take care of us. Just a fact. So if your all alone, then your SOL.
I carry a ar15 and a pistol most of the day.
Sorry your time in the girl scouts was so tragic
i’m in my 60’s now living in the deep south, and for as long as i can remember absolutely everyone has grown up with a firearm in their hands. men and women. hunting when they were kids and predator control. remember when we were kids and stayed gone in the woods all day.
we knew then and we know now to never, ever mess with an old person. they can’t fight, but they can still shoot the shit out of you. and they all have something in their pockets,
nothing to lose and the law on their side, never doubt that.
If you are new to the idea of firearms, or even if you have some little experience in their use, Consider the following thoughts…
1) Find one or more experienced individuals that you can trust for information. Preferably those who can take you to the nearest range and provide remedial instruction and the opportunity to try out different makes / models to see if there is one that FITS you PERFECTLY… Often you can get a lot of information at your local sporting goods store that sells firearms, at least the chance to hold different models to check for fit. I’ve found out over time that the “FIT” is perhaps the most critical aspect of achieving excellence in marksmanship.
2) Sign up for a BASIC instruction course with a certified instructor… Make sure that part of the curriculum covers your States current rules and regulations with respect to ownership, carry, and use… (And don’t stop there!)
3) PRACTICE, and more practice until you can shoot proficiently (hitting the target with the first shot out to at least 25 yards) with either hand if a pistol is selected, 50 yds with the shotgun using shot, 100 yds if slugs, and 300 yds if using a rifle.
Cheap home alarms for your home are:
Door Handle Alarms…
Door Stop Alarms….
Be sure they are powered by simple 9V or AA or AAA batteries which can be easily obtained during a SHTF scenario.
And have the firepower to back it up!
for all the people complaining about this website why don’t you go elsewhere? this is a good information platform even if i don’t agree with everything written. as far as using a rifle for home defense, that bullet will go thru the intruder and 2 or 3 walls and into the body of a family member with enough power to still kill. could you live with that? a shotgun with birdshot works well, will stop in most walls and if used at close range makes horrible wounds, i’ve seen it first hand as an emt. as far as geese for early warning we used them in our munition storage areas when in the usaf. if they were making racket there was something inside the wire, fortunately it was always a coyote and not an intruder. we do have rose bushes around the grandkids windows and an overweight pit bull outside to warn us. i’ll get off my soapbox now, happy holidays to all.
Surprised the author didn’t mention a dog. Even a small one is a decent warning device.
Use a door kick. And if needed your gun,
From a DHS Certified Pisto Instr, 10yr+ monthly Combat Competition Shooter. And survivor of 3 Real Gun fights. Words of caution using a Gun, especially a Hand Gun. Just Going to the range and shooting bulls-eyes, while good, is not nearly enough. REAL FIGHTS don’t happen that way. For 1 thing you need to practice your “Draw & Present” just as much as “Shooting Accuracy” – practice your “Draw” until you cannot get it wrong – ie it is Automatic – like 300+ times. For inside a house – you are likely to Not be farther than say 30ft out. This is Critical – How FAST can you get that gun On Target and Place say 3 Good Shots ? So practice your “Draw to a Threat” and Speed Shooting. Like 2 shots/ second – inside a 6in circle at say 20ft out. Like maybe 300 times. “Speed” has a quality all its Own.