Would you shoot someone robbing your house?

[WFFC 1]

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Thanks for putting Law behind my opinion.

Make sure to shoot them in the front, not the back. Back will lead the investigation to believe they were leaving and not a threat to you anymore.

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~~~Michael

[WFFC 1]

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Been held up at knife point TWICE. If I had had a gun, would have been a mess, but there probably wouldn't have been a second guy brave enough to try it.

dated a girl just before I moved to CO and we were walking out of a movie and got approached by three 'gentlemen' who wanted her purse and my wallet. I started to slowly reach for my wallet while she handed me her purse and told them if they wanted it they had to come get it. Whet it was all over, the police are asking me why I used so much force on these guys. Sent them her direction. End result for the three, 2 broken noses, 1 broken arm (compound), and 3 unconscious perps. I didn't lift a finger except to give her purse back.
Learned that night not to piss her off.

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~~~Michael

[MrsB 0]

I don't come to this forum often, much less post.

If I came home, and some one was in MY home that I did not recognize, I would give them ONE chance. ONE.

Question from me: "Who are you and why are you in my home?"

IF their answer is LESS than SOMETHING that makes me feel like they should be in my home, and I'm looking at them and they make ANY sudden move....to the contrary...

They get a bullet in the gut. PERIOD.

Not paranoid. To the point. My cell will be in my hand to call 911.

We can figure it out when the "authorities" get here.

[Douva 0]

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You don't kill a person for things. EVER.

I really think that is as much an oversimplification as saying you should never shoot another person at all. Let's say you, your wife, and your three children live in a Winnebago filled with all your worldly possessions, including your wallet containing your last three hundred dollars, and you have no insurance besides the basic liability insurance required to drive your Winnebago. You're on your way to a new town to look for a new job when you stop at a convenience store thirty miles from the nearest town, to buy diapers. You and your family walk out of the store just in time to see the Winnebago pulling away with a car thief behind the wheel. You're carrying a gun, but you don't have a clean shot at the tires or the engine block (this is a philosophical question, not tactical scenario question); your only clear shot is at the driver. Do you risk leaving your family homeless and penniless to spare the thief's life? Do you forfeit your family's chance at a real life because the Winnebago and its contents are just "things?"

Texas use of lethal force laws clearly state that a person using deadly force to protect property must have reason to believe "the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means." This has been interpreted to mean that you can't shoot someone for steeling your car if the car is insured against theft. Overall, I think this is a good policy. The loss of property can, under certain circumstances, ruin a person's life. Why, then, shouldn't a person be able to take a life to protect that property?

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[Douva 0]

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i voted shoot to wound
my meaning is this: if an intruder were to come into my home, whether it be to rob me or otherwise, im going to do whatever i need to do to stop him/her. not kill, STOP. the police can take it from there. thats why you take gun saftety and accuracy training courses. i dont want to take anyone's life. i just want to protect my own.

What kind of #$%@ed up "safety and accuracy" course did you take where they taught you to "shoot to wound?" Unless you're a character in a movie, you shoot center of mass (aim for the heart) every time. If that doesn't stop them, you shoot for the pelvis and then the head. You don't play Annie Oakley and give them a chance to pick you and your family off with a backup gun fired from their good hand.

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[Douva 0]

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1. first shot to warn them to plant their ass face down or out the door if their close.

I just killed my neighbor and gave the now severely rattled perp time to draw his weapon.

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2. Second shot to wound if an agressive posture is taken and I feel threatened.

Now the perp is really pissed off and shooting back at me.

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3. Third shot to take them out if they stll don't stop after #2. (i.e. strike 3 you're out)

I pat myself on the back for being so considerate of the armed criminal, as I use my belt to make a tourniquet for my femoral artery and cover my loved ones' dead bodies with sheets.

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Someone attempted to break into my house in '96 and they managed to hide in a dark corner where I couldn't see them - they heard me and left the same way they came in. I was only armed with a baseball bat at the time. The dipshit was caught later that week at a different location and was carrying a gun when they caught him.

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[Kennedy 0]

Reread her post. She said Shoot to Stop. Shooting to stop is center mass. If that happens to kill them in the process, so be it. She also said whatever it takes. Why is this a difficult concept for some people?

She voted shoot to wound because the poll didn't offer her a valid answer.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
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[Douva 0]

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Reread her post. She said Shoot to Stop. Shooting to stop is center mass. If that happens to kill them in the process, so be it. She also said whatever it takes. Why is this a difficult concept for some people?

She voted shoot to wound because the poll didn't offer her a valid answer.

You're probably right. I probably misinterpreted her post. I thought she was saying she would shoot to kill because that's all that would be required to stop the criminal, but she was probably saying she chose "shoot to wound" because she felt that was the closest answer to "shoot to stop."

I don't have an M.D. or a law degree. I have bachelor's in kicking ass and taking names.

[wingnut 0]

i'd shoot to kill... in the conceled cary classes her ein utah they tell you you better kill em cuz if not you wil probly be charged with atemted murder..... don't really understand it myself but oh well... lets just say you come into my house and arn't asked and well hope ya got a good life insurance policy...

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[Kennedy 0]

Yeah, I was a little hot and didn't phrase that in the best possible way.

We were discussing burglary, and items stolen during a B&E. Those sort of things you don't shoot someone over.

If they are stealing the only way for my family to survive, that's another story. I've never been dependant on a mobile support like the Winnie is in your example, so I'm not sure how that would affect me.

My closest experience would be backpacking in Europe, when my life was on my back and in my pockets. In that case, I did feel threatened a few times, and did wish for better means to defend myself should the need arise. Thankfully, it never got that far. However, if I turn my back then turn around to find someone making off with my backpack, wallet, and passport, I don't know that I'd shoot them. Really, I don't know that I could. I know I can get by, even without papers. But you better believe I would've given chase and beaten the piss out of them.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[Kennedy 0]

dude, you just went way up in my respect points. I didn't realize how rare it was to hear someone else say "yeah, maybe I was wrong." major props to you.

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[AggieDave 6]

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We were discussing burglary, and items stolen during a B&E. Those sort of things you don't shoot someone over

Ok, we have to go over this again, then.

What does B&E stand for?

What does that mean?

What does that mean for the safety of you and your family when the person or persons commiting the B&E are in your house?

Do you know they mean no ill harm and only want to take your TV?

Think it through logically and you'll realize that we those of us willing to use force aren't worried about our things, things can be replaced. We're worried about our well being and the safety of our families, point blank.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[Kennedy 0]

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Think it through logically and you'll realize that we those of us willing to use force aren't worried about our things, things can be replaced. We're worried about our well being and the safety of our families, point blank.

Dave, this is me, you know I'm not against defense of hearth and home.

All I'm saying is I don't go from "oh, someone's in my home" to "kill the bastard" with nothing in between.

Say you live in a two story and are upstairs in your bedroom with your woman (fiance, right?). You hear a noise and determine someone is in your home. Going to the top of the stiars, you pie the corner and see him without him seeing you. He is less than twenty feet away and you have him dead to rights. It looks like he is grabbing your stereo. Do you go for the kill shot right then?

witty subliminal message
Guard your honor, let your reputation fall where it will, and outlast the bastards.
1*

[AggieDave 6]

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All I'm saying is I don't go from "oh, someone's in my home" to "kill the bastard" with nothing in between.

By no means am I advocating that.

Seeing how I have a set proceedure for someone in my home, your scenerio can be played out (even though hypothetical situations leave out too many important details to truely come to a factual conclusion).

For one, if I think someone is in my house, I'm room clearing my way there. Cutting the pie around corners, etc. I keep 2 things close at hand for this purpose. 1. A weapon and 2. A 2 C-cell mag light that I've trained with for this specific purpose (even got to spend time in "kill houses" getting this skill down). Once the perp is illuminated, slack is out of the trigger, what does he/she do? Bolt for the door? Good, situation over. Turn and come towards me? Bad move for he/she. Stop and doesn't move? Well, if that's the case, then maybe the perp gets to go to jail. It all depends on the perps actions at that point, eitherway, the perp is going to know for damn sure I'm there. If anything it tags my house as a house not to be fucked with.

That's another reason why I'm an advocate for having a shotgun for a home defense weapon. Before you even pie the corner, cycle the shotgun. That sound IS universal (atleast in America) and that will get their attention very very quickly. The old cop joke is "you'll find the perp by following the trail of urine out the door."

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[akarunway 1]

I can't help it if he turned his back in the heat of a life or death situation. Til the clip (clips) are empty I ain't stopping

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[akarunway 1]

I think there is an old Texas law on the books that says you can use deadly force if someone steals your tranportation as in the old days if they stole your horse it could cost you YOUR life. I'll see if I can find it

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[Ducky 0]

[replyIf I have to shoot someone, I shoot to stop. Not to kill, and sure as shit none of the silverscreen to wound crap. I shoot them to stop them from threatening me or others.

[piisfish 140]

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I shoot them to stop them from threatening me or others.

shoot, kill, and after that put a gun in his hand.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[wildcard451 0]

Well, it's 4 am and I have nothing better to do, so I may as well toss an opinion up in here.

I see the two possible situations involving someone in your house: 1) You come home to discover that your house has been intruded, or currently has an intruder, and 2) You are home when you house is broken into.

Situation 1: Once you figure it out, remove yourself from the situation, get safe, and call the authorities. Do not reenter the premises.

Situation 2: I'm at home. I live in a very small apt, and for sake of argument, I live alone (roommate is here about once a month). If someone in my apt at say 3 am, they are there for one of two reasons in my opinion: they are there to rob me, or to kill me.

If they are there to kill me, shit, I want to be on equal footing, so shoot center mass, which is shoot to kill.

If they are there to rob me, here is where I definitely agree with aggiedave. Cycle your weapon once. Whether it be a shotgun or racking the slide, I can guarantee the kind of person that is B&E has heard that sound and you will have their immediate, undivided attention. They have now definitely just lost their easy score. You have now put them on a decision, possibly for their life. Knowing that a scared homeowner is around the corner with a gun, do they leave and live to steal another day, or continue and face off with the weapon around that corner?
If they leave, sweet. Your house is safe, and if you have a family, they are safe as well. If they keep coming, they're coming for you. Shoot to kill. Shoot to save your own life and that of your loved ones.

As for going straight from "Someone's in my house" to "kill them dead", you go back to what anyone who ever took a basic hunting safety course was taught: "be sure of your target (and what's behind it)." Give them a chance, but if you even have the slightest hint of additional threat (additional being beyond that fact they have broken into your home), then tough shit.

I hope in my life that I never have to encounter this situation. I can't say how I will react if it were to happen. However, I do know that if it is them or me, I still want to be able to jump that next weekend.
Oh yeah, and if it IS my roommate coming in at 3 am, racking that slide will give him time to freak out and yell at me

I think that about covers what I was thinking. Not that I think anyone would hold back comment, but I hope to hear differences of opinion on my thoughts because maybe it will bring up something I haven't considered.

[winsor 236]

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It will. Just remember. Smooth is fast and fast is smooth. Do what you're trained to do.

As Bat Masterson said, "take your time, and don't miss."

[Ron 10]

Come into my house to do evil things....Leave in a body bag.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[RoadRash 0]

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Oh yeah, and if it IS my roommate coming in at 3 am, racking that slide will give him time to freak out and yell at me

This is what I am ultimately afraid of! Not knowing who else is around the corner besides a burglar. Could a family member also be wandering around trying to figure out what the noise is down the hall? Yes of course, and I don't want to take the chance of shooting someone I love and care about.

Then again, if someone points a gun at me while trying to rob my house, well, I want a gun in my hand, and I want to now how to use it.

Will I shoot to kill? No, I don't think so, however, I think that we as humans overestimate our reactions under pressure. Because I don't BELIEVE that I could kill someone who is trying to harm myself or someone important to me, doesn't mean that I might not pull the trigger and accidentally kill someone.

In the end, I think that I would personally call the cops and hide under my bed with my bat and let the piece of shit take what he wants and leave his filthy prints everywhere so the police can catch the bastard....As long as he doesn't try to take my rig...he might just walk away with his life.


~R+R...Just an insomniacs point-of-view...

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Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~...

[sdgregory 0]

My property, my family, this revolving dorr of justice? You come into my house, you know I might be armed, you get what ever justice I decide.


And anyone who thinks I am the bad guy in that scenario can bite me. The criminal should have thought twice before being a criminal. Responsibility for one's own actions.

Shoot to kill, empty the gun, but do not RELOAD, unless there is more than one. I for one am not going to assume your intentions are just stealing when my family is at risk.

[winsor 236]

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I can't help it if he turned his back in the heat of a life or death situation. Til the clip (clips) are empty I ain't stopping

A) Unless you're using a Garand, Mannlicher or something similar, odds are you have a box magazine and not a clip.

B) You should be able to stop them with three rounds or less. With a 12 gauge to the center of mass, one will usually do the trick.

C) If it turns out that they have one or more friends that either take umbrage at their demise, or perhaps have to get past you in order to depart, you may not want to find yourself with an empty firearm.


Blue skies,

Winsor

[RoadRash 0]

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Shoot to kill, empty the gun, but do not RELOAD, unless there is more than one. I for one am not going to assume your intentions are just stealing when my family is at risk.

That is also another subject that needs to be explored. What if there is more than one perpetrator and he is armed as well or you don't know if he is armed? Does this change how you would react in this scenario?

When I was younger, this very question was posed to me, whether or not I would shot someone in order to defend my family from harm. I said I would do my damnedest to avoid physical harm, but in the end if I had to I would try and wing them.(Try to shoot an appendage...arms/legs) But how do I know what kind of shot I am in the dark? Even if I have a flashlight, my surroundings will be familiar, but lack a significant amount of light. (this is hypothetical considering) Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how I will react until I am put in the situation, but I hope that I will never have to make that decision.

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Fly the friendly skies...^_^...})ii({...^_~...