Taking the daily jaunt around my favorite writing spots today, I happened to see something that piqued my interest.  Nay, it emboldened my curiousity.  No.  It really just made me want to comment on it.

But that turned into a mini-essay, so I’ll put it here instead.

At Bishop’s blog, he recounts a great anecdote about a gun shop encounter and the ensuing discussion.  Go read it.  I’ll wait.

Done?  Nifty.

He talks about three possible modes of self-defense/home-defense with the fine folks at the firearm emporium.  Bats, knives and room brooms, er, shotguns/other guns.

The first is bats.  I’ve heard this before myself.  “Shi-it, ain’t nobody coming in here and messin’ wit me an’ my Louisville sluggah!” is as close to verbatim as I’ve heard, and the person saying it was a Kwik-E-Mart type proprietor.  Now, it struck me as oddly ignorant when I heard that, but being as I didn’t really care, I let it go.  Bishop analyzes it a little more in depth.  The actions involved, the limited range, the inherent weaknesses in the system - all reinforce to me that a bat might be a last ditch, “oh shit I fucked up”, resort.  And that’s just for me.  I swing fast and hard with bats, golf clubs, strippers, oh wait.  This is a family show.  Anyhow, the point is that I can generate power, and I wouldn’t choose a bat for defense, ever.  Some people don’t get that.

Knives.  Knives scare the bejesus out of me sometimes.  I know how to use one, carry one or two everywhere I go, and I know that they are still one of the reasons man rose from the primordial muck to sit atop the food chain.  A simple tool, knives are also simple weapons, and they do lots of damage.  But a knife is also not the best offensive tool.  Defensively, it is much more in it’s element, but on the offense it is just as likely to be a liability as a saving grace unless the wielder has taken the time to properly train themselves in blade-based martial skills.  One thing that most people will not take into account when considering a knife for a weapon is this: you will get cut.  You might get cut bad.  But the other guy will get cut worse, all things considered.  What Bishop points out is that a knife has a place in weapons retention, specifically in disinteresting Bubba the Goblin from trying to grab your firearm by sticking him a few times.  I hadn’t particularly thought of that before, but a good point.

Shotguns.  What can I say?  I love the damn things.  I can handle them quickly and accurately.  When the SHTF, I will turn to a shotgun first or second, depending on the particular S and how it HTF.  It is the weapon of choice I would recommend to a non-enthusiast gun owner, shop owners, home owners.  All those people would likely best be served by a street howitzer than anything else.

Now - why would I say that?  Considering that, like Bishop, my first choice in home defense is a pistol with a rail-mounted light, it may seem a bit hypocritical of me to say “This is fine for me but not for thee.”  The difference is three-fold.

First is the level of comfort and training.  For the typical homeowner, firearms training is far down the list of priorities, somewhere after taking the kids to soccer practice and before cleaning the rain gutters.  A shotgun is a very simple, effective and intimidating tool to have in that persons employ.  It requires little in the way of maintenance, has a simple and almost universal manual of arms and is easier to aim (yes, aim, not point) than a pistol.

Second is deployment.  I hear a noise in the middle of the night, I may grab my XD and go investigate.  This is pretty much exactly opposite what the recommended course of action is for a home invasion.  I tell others that I teach to shoot that the correct action is to arm yourself, barricade yourself and call the police.  Your Sanyo TV isn’t worth having a creep get the drop on you and hurt you.  All your important papers, jewels and whatnot are in your room with you and the shotgun, right?  Right.  They decide to come in, then the police are really more there for the clean-up than the apprehension anyhow.

Third is lethality.  Train to stop the threat.  In most cases, that means two, three, eight, twelve rounds of 9mm or .40 or .45.  Twelve?  Think about it.  Can you really trust yourself to put a controlled pair into somebodies clockwork while they’re jumping around, charging you, the light is out, your flashlights moving, shadows are playing tricks - you just shoot, mostly.  That’s why police encounters are often heavy on the lead.  Stress.  Empty the mag, shoot them all and let Newton sort them out.  That’s how I always envision it.  Groups at the range, patterns under stress.  A shotgun, while not the scattergun most tend to think it is, gives you a wider, spreading projectile with considerably more energy than a handgun can offer.  One or two rounds to stop the threat, maybe the whole eight in the tube, but it will be stopped.  That’s why, though I prefer a handgun, a shotgun is close at hand.
Regardless, there is no magical answer for anyone.  Some of us have taken the time to examine what works best for us, and because we have explored the options can offer a little more insight than a complete n00b, which is how I usually preface my advice, such as it is.  I feel confidently enough in the power of the 12ga to have equipped my own parents with a couple.  They won’t train with pistols, but a day at the trap range and they at least have the basics down to defend themselves with ‘gauges.

I really do hope the guys in the story came to an amicable decision.  A gun in a house where 50% of the people there are unwilling or unable to use it is stupid, but a baseball bat is just as stupid.  I hope the reluctant roomate comes around.  Or gets evicted.