Your handgun seems great, until you actually need it.

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Balrog

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A few nights ago at about 4:30 am, I had a chime go off on my security system alerting me to the fact that a door had been opened somewhere on my property. I grabbed my Sig while the wife called 911. Looking at the security camera monitor, I saw a shadowy figure about 5 feet from my back door. He had gone through my closed back yard gate and was standing between my house and the detached garage, about 5 feet from my back door. He had apparently found an unlocked door on the detached garage and opened it and was looking inside. After a few minutes, he walked off, closing the gate behind him. As far as I can tell, he made no effort to try to break into the house, and I don't think anything was taken.

I was a little troubled by this because he had to open a gate to enter the back yard area. You can't just wander into that area without going through a closed gate. My son plays outside in that area (not at 4:30 am, but still). He was also very close to the back door of my house. His face could not be seen on the video footage mainly because of poor lighting (light bulbs burnt out and not replaced). Also, some camera views were obscured by bushes that I had failed to keep cut back.

Police arrived about 10 minutes after he left, and he was long gone.

No harm done I guess but it reiterates a few important points:

1. An alarm system is nice as an early warning system.
2. Police response time was OK, but if this guy had done something bad (i.e., enter my home), by the time the police arrived, whatever was going to happen would have happened.
3. Keep your doors locked!
4. Keep your lights in working order!
5. Keep the bushes cut back!
6. When you are looking at an intruder at your back door in the dead of night, your handgun feels small and ineffective, and you sure wish you had picked up your shotgun instead.
 
Am still an AR proponent for a house and yard. Regardless, a long gun whether it be pistol carbine, shotgun etc is the way to go. Confidence counts for alot. And nothing wrong with backing it up with a handgun too. Even if it is just a five shot J frame or pocket semi auto.

Your story underscores "the things we learn (or realise)" when something actually happens.
 
Thanks for the info. In my younger days I had someone try to break down the front door in the middle of the night. The firearm made them have second thoughts. I too wished I had as big of a weapon as possible.
 
RPZ said:
Am still an AR proponent for a house and yard. Regardless, a long gun whether it be pistol carbine, shotgun etc is the way to go. Confidence counts for alot. And nothing wrong with backing it up with a handgun too. Even if it is just a five shot J frame or pocket semi auto.

Your story underscores "the things we learn (or realise)" when something actually happens.
Click to expand...

You are exactly right about "things we realize". It is all stuff I already knew. Lock doors, secure gates, keep lights working, and cut bushes!
 
An AR with a co-witness red dot and a mounted light is my HD gun. Nothing wrong with a shotgun either.
Motion lights are great to if you don't have a bunch of deer, rabbits, etc. in your yard every night.
 
Balrog

You've listed all good points to updating and your home security measures. Glad to hear nothing came of your incident and that on the positive side it made you more aware of some maintenance items you needed to attend to (replacing light bulbs and trimming back bushes). Thanks for sharing.
 
Balrog said:
1. An alarm system is nice as an early warning system.
Click to expand...

Something on my short list to get. As I am reaching a comfortable point in my firearms collection to fill roles, bolstering home security becomes more prominent.

Balrog said:
3. Keep your doors locked!
Click to expand...

My toddler has reached the point where a simple twist lock in the center of the doorknob does little to dissuade him from wandering outside. As a result, my front and back doors have chains about face high. The secondary usefulness to keeping him in is others out. At least for more time than a traditional lock.

Balrog said:
4. Keep your lights in working order!
Click to expand...
May just be me, but I don't like the idea of lighting up my outside. Anyone skulking around would just be able to see what they are doing better under a motion activated light. One thing I do like is I found a motion sensor at Home Depot that can be used to turn on an internal light.

Balrog said:
6. When you are looking at an intruder at your back door in the dead of night, your handgun feels small and ineffective, and you sure wish you had picked up your shotgun instead.
Click to expand...

I agree. If it weren't for the aforementioned toddler, I would have a 12ga ready to go in an easy access location. But since he has an early affliction for firearms, I cannot leave one laying around too easy. So I settle for a double stack, with an attached weapon light near my head.
 
All these small precautions could prevent the intruder from getting in,
and you having a showdown, in the first place. If we kept our doors, gates, and
shrubs in as good shape as we keep our guns, we might need our guns a lot less.
 
herrwalther said:
My toddler has reached the point where a simple twist lock in the center of the doorknob does little to dissuade him from wandering outside. As a result, my front and back doors have chains about face high. The secondary usefulness to keeping him in is others out. At least for more time than a traditional lock.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately those chains are pretty useless. I bet *I* could kick in (or force open by throwing myself at) a door secured by one of those. (And I am a little old lady.)

May just be me, but I don't like the idea of lighting up my outside. Anyone skulking around would just be able to see what they are doing better under a motion activated light. One thing I do like is I found a motion sensor at Home Depot that can be used to turn on an internal light.
Click to expand...

On the contrary, suddenly lighting up the BG when he thought he was safely in the dark may shoo him off all by itself. Internal light OTOH allows him to see YOU.
 
Avoiding a gun fight is always the best course of action, and you accomplished that goal while still finding some weaknesses in your security setup.

As far as a fight is concerned, always remember: mindset, skill set, tool set, in exactly that order. That handgun may feel small in your hand as you see the bad guy at your door, but in the situation you described it would almost certainly be more than adequate if push came to shove (and you had the right mindset and skill set to use the tool). Don't fall into a thought trap of thinking your solution to a burglar / home invader is tied to only one specific tool, or one specific weapon... improvisation is often a key to surviving an encounter with bad people.
 
There are studies that conclude survival rate for handgun wounds is ~85%, and ~65%,while survival rate for shotgun wounds is ~30%. Of course, there are lots of variable, but, in general the stats seem to make the case for a scattergun as an effective, close range defensive tool.
 
Balrog said:
6. When you are looking at an intruder at your back door in the dead of night, your handgun feels small and ineffective, and you sure wish you had picked up your shotgun instead.
Click to expand...

Maybe you're projecting your own feelings of inadequacy on the gun, after all your security was breached fairly easy. A gun is not the be all end all it's just a tool and does size really matter as much as the man behind the gun?
 
huntsman said:
Maybe you're projecting your own feelings of inadequacy on the gun, after all your security was breached fairly easy. A gun is not the be all end all it's just a tool and does size really matter as much as the man behind the gun?
Click to expand...
In my experience it does. Once in Afghanistan I drew a Beretta while 7.62 cracked overhead. Felt like a water pistol.

Or perhaps it was just my feelings of inadequacy.
 
I'm an old Quail hunter and trapshooter, so an 870 hangs from its sling on my bed post. My ccw makes a great backup gun for times like that.

I also have a short AR with electronic sight and weapon light. It is a first class HD gun too. Had I been in the military or have had extensive experience with an AR, I think i would prefer it, but I go with the devil i know.

Anyway, when you have a long gun available...I think a handgun is for backup.
 
old lady new shooter said:
On the contrary, suddenly lighting up the BG when he thought he was safely in the dark may shoo him off all by itself. Internal light OTOH allows him to see YOU.
Click to expand...

I have blackout curtains on all my primary windows. Making viewing from outside difficult if not impossible.
 
Balrog said:
When you are looking at an intruder at your back door in the dead of night, your handgun feels small and ineffective, and you sure wish you had picked up your shotgun instead.
Click to expand...
Actually, for defending myself in the bedroom after having been alerted by a security camera about a person in the yard, I should prefer a handgun, for number of reasons.

There is a lot to be said for having an AR, but it's not for me.

A shotgun would be may last choice.

But this isn;' really about guns. The OP had a security system and video cameras; he stayed in a position of safety; and he notified the police. The choice of weapon falls to a tertiary poison on the priority list.
 
Kleanbore said:
Actually, for defending myself in the bedroom after having been alerted by a security camera about a person in the yard, I should prefer a handgun, for number of reasons.

There is a lot to be said for having an AR, but it's not for me.

A shotgun would be may last choice.

But this isn;' really about guns. The OP had a security system and video cameras; he stayed in a position of safety; and he notified the police. The choice of weapon falls to a tertiary poison on the priority list.
Click to expand...

Not to derail this thread any further but I have to agree here. It's a clear win for the home owner. His primary residence was not breached, a gate and a detached garage door was the worst of it. Not feeling confident in your weapon choice is a personal thing, I too prefer a pistol for mobility purposes and I like having a hand free if I need it...but to each their own.
 
A pistol is a way to fight UNTIL you can get to your SHOTGUN.

If I were in the OP's position, with that much time,
I WOULD have had my shotgun.

That's about as devastating a weapon you can have at close quarters.
Think what you want, but that is the fact.

AND YES.. I carry 24/7 unless I'm in the shower.
Then It's on top of the toilet tank.

Shotgun for me any day!
 
Big7 said:
WOULD have had my shotgun.

That's about as devastating a weapon you can have at close quarters.
Click to expand...
Devastating, yes, but it is also more difficult to handle, limited in capacity, and easier with which to miss in extremely close quarters.
 
Big7 said:
No.. Sorry about that.

3 1/2" = 18 pellets X 5 = 90 projectiles.
3" = 15 pellets X 5 = 75 projectiles.
2 3/4" = 9 pellets X 5 = 45 projectiles.

I'll take a shotgun any day.
Click to expand...

Before we get further down the rabbit hole, can we simply agree every gun has advantages and disadvantages? There is no one perfect tool for any job. It would be tough to keep that shotgun up while dialing 911, grabbing your kid out of harms way, opening doors or maneuvering through tight corners no? But hunkered down? Sure, I'd switch to the shotgun.
 
psyopspec said:
In my experience it does. Once in Afghanistan I drew a Beretta while 7.62 cracked overhead. Felt like a water pistol.

Or perhaps it was just my feelings of inadequacy.
Click to expand...

What you're describing is a wartime situation, which varies quite dramatically from the OP's situation here (you could have just as easily found yourself in a position over there where a rifle was also inadequate -- whereas I doubt the OP's burglar was carrying any type of artillery). In the case described in this thread it's almost certainly a psychological dilemma he's facing, rather than a true weapon inadequacy like you were experiencing.

While there's no debate that a shotgun or rifle is more powerful than a handgun, there's also nothing in this thread that suggests that the OP wasn't going to be able to resolve that situation (should it have turned violent) by using that handgun. It was a psychological barrier he was dealing with, not a physical one. But, fortunately, the burglar never pushed the situation to the point that the homeowner had to find out what would happen.
 
Agreed. No one weapon serves every purpose.

I'm single, no kids so that part is not an issue.

To the AR guys:
How is an AR anymore maneuverable than a shotgun?

I'm always armed in some form or another. Just putting in my 2 cents.
I'm covered either way and proficient with ALL of the many weapons I own.

So, I guess just use what you are comfortable with.

I will stay with my post relating to the OP's situation.

One assailant, time and notice I would stay with a shotgun.
 
Big7 said:
To the AR guys:
How is an AR anymore maneuverable than a shotgun?
Click to expand...

By being shorter in overall length and having an adjustable stock to boot. A 16" AR with flashider is still a few inches shorter with extended carbine stock than an 18.5" full stock pump. Sure, a shotgun can be stamped SBS or have a PG only or a collapsible stock fitted, but AR's can be 14.5" permed, SBR'd, and there are AR pistols as well.

AR's also make mounting a RDS, light and sling easier.
 
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