The safety was on when he went into the garage??

Damn lucky fool. He probably thought the sight of a gun would scare away the intruder, unfortunately there are some people out there who would take it as a challenge and they don't intimidate at all.

He came very close to being a statistic, hope he is smart enough to take some self defense classes and change his frame of mind before a situation like this happens again.

Frame of mind is the most important thing. If you don’t have it right, a gun or nothing will protect you.

And you folks can bet the rent that Mayor Fenty of D.C., and Mayor Daley of Chicago just about had orgasms when hearing about THIS story!

This will become Argument Numero Uno for those metropolitan tyrants in their continued efforts to keep their local populations disarmed, disinformed and just diss’d in general.

Note tha the home invader was 6 foot 3, 240 pounds. He needed a handgun and better training, but this story will be spun the other way.

Gun control is about being able to hit your target!

He’s damned lucky. A rifle is not a wise choice for internal home defense. A pistol or short-barreled shotgun are far better - and even then you need to train and practice regularly to be able to use them effectively.

He said when he walked into the garage, he was attacked. "He just took the gun [rifle] from me,"

That's why when roaming the house after hearing a suspicious sound I always grab the bedside table revolver. If I'm surprised (like the guy in this story) the perp would have a far more difficult time getting it away from be, and I can swing it into action far more quickly and easily.

Maybe there should be an IQ test for potential gun owners, if you don’t have the IQ of a turnip, maybe you shouldn’t own a gun.

The guy obviously had no clue what he was doing. Left the safety on, then let the guy take the gun away from him. Fortunately, two wrongs make a right in this case.

Umm, the fact that the safety was on is probably the only reason this guy is still alive. And in the final analysis, he likely DID succeed in scaring the intruder with the gun, with the intruder plan being disrupted, and the intruder ending up deciding to flee. If the homeowner hadn’t had a gun, and the intruder had been prepared to attack him with a knife and did so, this might not have ended as well as it did.

He shouldn’t have gone to investigate. Call the cops and defend your ground.

Actually, during the oral presentations on the Heller case, the DC lawyer tried to make the case that a rifle or shotgun was adequate for home defense; therefore handguns weren’t needed. This case demonstrates one of the primary problems with a rifle for home defense — weapon retention. (Also, in a crowded urban environment like DC, overpenetration would cause serious problems.) But as was said earlier, this will likely be spun the other way (possibly by some reporter/writer who isn’t sure of the difference between a rifle and a handgun anyway . . .)

Lots of weak people believe that waving a gun around will scare others off. They do not have the guts to use the gun even if they are attacked.

On the other hand, there is the one percent rule. That is the small group of hoodlums who do not intimidate, who do not follow instructions and who feel that they are bullet proof. They ususally die in a hail of bullets.

It comes back to the bottom line, do not go with a gun in your hand unless you are prepared to use it.

He put the gun between a begging mans eyes and squeezed the trigger but it didn’t fire.

He ran only after the shot, not after he disarmed him, which I presume he thought would wake the neighbors and summon police.

This guy roaming our neck of the woods is a cold blooded killer, and with the county fair going on and him possible working as a Carny by next week there is a good chance he will be roaming someone elses neighborhood.

In my opinion, you should never sweep your house if you think someone’s in it. Get your family into a safe room, lock the door, call 911 and wait it out. Should the bad guy attempt to open the door, you let him have it. Tiptoing around in your underwear is much more likely to get you killed than anything else.

Until I aquire my target I lkeave the safety on, but my thumb is on it for fast response

The home owner also needs a few lessons on self-defense and home security to go with that necessary training on gun safety and operation.

I agree. No reason to get all puffed up and make yourself available for danger.

Lesson Number One from this: Don’t go searching for intruders in your home, it’s bound to end badly for you.

As he was leaving, James Duncan said he noticed his attacker was wearing a shirt similar to those that workers at the nearby Johnson County Fair wear.....

Austin: Only two things scare me and one of them is nuclear war.

Basil: What's the other?

Austin: Excuse me?

Basil: What's the other thing that scares you?

Austin: Carnies. Circus folk. Nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands

That is exactly the way I have it planned at home.

The stairwell is the only way to get to my entire family at night. The first three steps are enclosed by walls so he HAS to pass that bottleneck to hurt my family. The railing above the stairwell has a perfect corner and concealment, at that location I can defend the family from cover.

If my kids are home alone they are taught to run into my oldest daughters closet (15 now) and lock both the bedroom and the closet doors. She has her little .410 there and I told her to shoot anyone who comes through that door except a close family member who identifies themselves.

I truly pray to God it remains just a plan.

I will refrain from being hypercitical of this fellow. He got out alive and learned some lessons (hopefully).

A few thoughts:
- You fight with what ya' got. If the rifle is what you got, its what you use. Of course tactics may change, depending on the weapon.
- As pointed out, a proper mindset is crucial when investigating a potentially deadly encounter. It apepars that this guy was in condition yellow (a very pale yellow) while investigating the suspicious noise. Investigating a noise with a firearm in your hand is no time to be complacent. I have seen negligent discharges when a person is startled out of daydreaming with a firearm in their hand. And we see what happened in this case.

I am happy he's alive. He, and all of us, can learn some valuable lessons from his experience.

... the small group of hoodlums who do not intimidate ...

Last words of Richie Aprile

(Warning: bad language)

He shouldn’t have gone to investigate. Call the cops and defend your ground

Yep. A better choice of tactics would be cover the garage door and defend the house and family while the cops arrive.

“they heard a loud noise in the garage.”
If I was stuck with just a rifle, well,,,a couple of shots through the wall woulda probably made the perp skedaddle,,,,,

yeah, I’m not sure how this guy lost his gun, but if this thief is caught, he’s probably just earned the charge of attempted murder and burglary.

Actually, my fellow NH Freeper, a rifle is ideal for home defense. A pistol is only for backup or to fight your way back to your rifle.
The Military, SWAT, etc....all use rifles (albeit carbines) and train with them in close combat.
Rifles are quicker and easier to acquire your targets accurately.
In this instance he could have pulled his back up pistol on the guy.
Anyone who enters my home in NH will be met with a .308 first and my .45 second.
Scatter guns are good too but I will try to minimize the damage to my own property.

Never stand or have your weapon close enough so an assailant can grab or knock it away. Keep backing up if necessary.

That’s what I like about revolvers.

In my opinion, you should never sweep your house if you think someone’s in it. Get your family into a safe room, lock the door, call 911 and wait it out. Should the bad guy attempt to open the door, you let him have it. Tiptoing around in your underwear is much more likely to get you killed than anything else.

Riiiight. I think in the last 6 years I have 'swept' my place of residence between 10 and 20 times. None of those times was anyone there. That is a whole lot of times to be calling the cops and hiding in the closet because the cat knocked something off a desk. "More likely to get you killed than anything else"???? Are you just exaggerating for fun or do you thing 'sweeping the house' involves sticking the barrel in your mouth and skipping around? Because that is the only way it would be more likely to get you killed than anything else.

at that location I can defend the family from cover. Tecnically that is only 'concealment' and not 'cover'. Bullets don't usually stop in walls.

And watch the perps rob you blind.

Step 1) Grab Weapon
Step 2) Call Police
Step 3) “I don’t know who you are, but I have a gun and practice often. It’s also shoot first, question later”

Situation defused.

If situation not defused, find said perp, pull trigger, shoot till dead (not in the back or when on the floor).

The problems I've got with a rifle as a primary home self-defense weapon are muzzle velocity and barrel length/maneuverability. I've got a .308, too, but I'd never want to fire it inside the house - the bullet will just keep going, even if it strikes a bad guy at close range. There are just too many people in my own house and in the neighborhood for me to feel safe about that.

That's why my primary SD weapons are a handgun - 9mm, 16 rd. mag with JHP's and laser sights, and a Winchester Defender shotgun (18"" bbl, 7 rounds, with #6 shot - won't go through walls but can still cut a man in half at close range.) Which one I'd use as primary and which as backup would depend upon the situation - # of intruders, location, light conditions, time to engage, potential for surprise, etc.

As always, the key to survival is training, training, and more training. I would consider a rifle perhaps in the form of a lightweight tactical carbine (M4A2 style) but again I'd be a bit reticent about having even 5.56mm rounds flying around the vicinity.

The wall is a closet that is stuffed with towels and blankets. If you ever saw how much *&%$ my wife can fit in a linen closet it would take something decent to get through to me!

That’s correct - you also need to practice holding and accurately aiming your weapon when it is close to your body and then gradually bringing it forward as you back away, maintaining a safe index between yourself and the threat.

On the other hand, there is the one percent rule. That is the small group of hoodlums who do not intimidate, who do not follow instructions and who feel that they are bullet proof. They usually die in a hail of bullets.

Like this guy

I have a Winchester model 97 in my closet my grandfather left to me.

I figure a thief would have to have a set of brass ones not to skedaddle when in the night silence he heard a shell getting jacked into that thing.

I swear that distinctive sound is probably the best alarm system ever devised with all its clicks and clanks and that final Ka-Chunk at the end.

Guns don’t get people ambushed, (stupid) people get people ambushed

Story recalls the pinhead who fired warning shots at the guy shooting up the Seattle mall w/ an AK. He wound up getting shot in the stomach and did nothing to stop the crime. The media, of course, made him out to me a big hero. They gave him loads of media time and in the end questioned whether he should be allowed to carry. Too many folks have gotten their training compliments of Hollywood. They never stop to think about pulling the trigger or proper training until its WAY too late.

For a lot of “normal” people it IS hard to pull the trigger because they know the consequences of their actions, and how much s*** they will have to go through even up to jail time if they make a single judgment mistake.

Criminals won’t hesitate because hesitation works the opposite for them.

Killing someone to a criminal is only a life changing event to them if they get caught. To most law abiding citizens all the stigmas and possible consequences cause them to avoid it at almost all costs, which in a lot of cases means that hesitation of thinking thing through has killed them.

If you carry it, be prepared to use it. Period.

“They ususally die in a hail of bullets.”

Works for me...

Colonel, USAFR

My “safety” is not chambering a round while it’s concealed. Once it’s out, it’s lethal.

“Keep backing up if necessary.”

While pulling the trigger repeatedly, I presume...or does that go without saying?

Well, so much for Washington DC's attorney Walter Dellinger's contention that a rifle or shotgun is a better choice for home defense than a dangerous and evil handgun.

Anyway...

The homeowner brought a rifle to investigate a noise. That was wrong. You only bring a long arm to defend yourself against burglary when you're:

1. Outside the dwelling to begin with.
2. Need to shoot through walls or body armor.
3. Choose to seek shelter in a protected location of the home and bunker down rather than investigate the disturbance. 4. Live in a 'Castle Doctrine' locale where you can lawfully engage felony trespassers on your property who are outside the dwelling.

Any other time, the handgun is the tool to use.

I think the guy should do 3 days’ time for not being able to maintain control over his firearm.

***He shouldn’t have gone to investigate. Call the cops and defend your ground.***

When seconds count, the police are minutes away.

People have their preferred methods for carrying concealed/home defense. For those that carry a semi-auto concealed, some might prefer to carry an empty chamber, that’s their thing.

For those with home defense shotguns, they might choose to keep the chamber empty; some burglar comes in and the homeowner hears the sound, they believe the criminal hearing the shell being racked into the chamber will scare the daylights out of them.

He used the gun to get finger prints and to upgrade the charges.

Minutes? Hell I need a calender just to get a pizza delivered where I live. If the cops can even find me on the first try I expect at least 10 to 12 minutes for them to get to my home.

I own guns and quite a few fire extinguishers just in case.