Dedicated home defense gun(s).

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D.B. Cooper

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I'm in the planning stage of staging guns around my home for home defense. I live in a 2 story condo. The farthest I would ever have to shoot inside my home is 30 ft. Almost certainly, my attacker will be approaching down a hallway.

One of my top concerns is that the front door entryway is immediately adjacent to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the upper level. If I'm in my living room, and someone kicks my door in, I can't get to safety upstairs. So that's the scenario.

Am I better off staging a handgun or a shotgun downstairs? I can hide a handgun in the seat cushion of my couch, or I can stage a shotgun in a corner or in a nearby coat closet. The same question applies to upstairs, but upstairs, my attacker will most likely be between myself and our guest room/son's bedroom. Over penetration is a more relevant concern there.

A subordinate question is securing the guns themselves. They will be easy pickings for a daytime residential break-in. Additionally, if I leave a loaded gun downstairs, and I am upstairs, I have left a weapon for my attacker to use against me.
 
Hm. Dedicated defense for a condo with concerns of over penetration ...

I’d go with 2 12g (870 or similar.) one in a coffee table gun cabinet in the downstairs living room and one in the upstairs bedroom.
The gun in the bedroom could be kept in a safe as being further from the front door you would probably have more time to access it... or perhaps set it out beside your bed each night. The downstairs gun I wouldn’t want to lock up, personally. If I were in my living room and someone was forcing entry I don’t want to be fiddling with opening a lock which is why I would opt for concealment .
 
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I'd first worry about making your door as hard as possible to kick in. Windows too. Reinforced frameworks, steel doors and polycarbonate go a long way for both when you're at home and away. I like the coffee table gun cabinet idea too, no need to advertise if someone is scoping your place out. Other than that, shotgun and whatever handgun you prefer should be enough.
 
If you carry a handgun on your body, it's accessible no matter where you are.
^Thats what I do^

I have a larger gun out of the larger safe and then a pistol in a more accessible pistol safe that I can swap out if I want to, but if I’m home mostly I just have a single stack 9mm pistol on me.

If you walk outside to get the mail or check on something are you going to go get a pistol each and every time?

If you answer yes to that question then you’re far more obsessive compulsive and regimented than I could ever be.

That’s just what I do.
 
I would bolt down a small biometric or code locked pistol safe downstairs, somewhere concealed but accessible like inside a cabinet. I got a remarkably nice one at Harbor Freight for $25 and used lag bolts to secure it inside my bookself out of sight but instantly available. Even if a burglar finds it, it would take some serious tools and time to cut it free and even then cracking it open would be near impossible without a torch.

I used to keep a pistol at the bottom of my laundry hamper before I had kids......

Theres always the "Hipoint in a ziplock in the toilet bowl" trick too, but junkies keep drugs there often and a thief would probably look.
 
You mentioned your son but no concern about his access to a staged gun. This suggests he's mature enough that there's no concern about his access. If that's not the case, then consider the problem.

I have kids that are mature enough to shoot but not enough to have unsupervised access so I keep everything physically secured and inaccessible or secured on my person. For me, on my person is the best place and the right place. It secures the firearm from any unauthorized access and it allows me the fastest access all the time, wherever I go. Instead of staging guns around the house and in the vehicles, I just keep it securely on my person. I use a bedside pistol safe when I sleep because I won't leave it unsecured on the nightstand with my kids.

I understand from another thread you're starting concealed carry. I think once you get comfortable with that, you'll prefer that around the house to having guns stashed in odd places. Carrying concealed can seem awkward at first. I started with an airweight J-frame -- and it was just last year so I can remember. The light j frame was easy -- it seemed like the only gun that would ever be easy. I tried carrying an old Ruger just to see if it would even be possible to carry a bigger, heavier gun. It felt impossible. I thought I couldn't possibly do it without looking like Yosemite Sam. But when I found the way to carry it that was right for me, it wasn't impossible anymore. Now I don't want to carry the little guns anymore because the big ones are easier to shoot well and I always want it with me not on the other side of the room. To me it's like my watch, my ring, and my wallet.
 
I think if I carried inside our home, I would be single and looking for a new place to live in very short order. That would be seen as evidence that I had gone over the edge or off the deep end.
 
I'm in the planning stage of staging guns around my home for home defense. I live in a 2 story condo. The farthest I would ever have to shoot inside my home is 30 ft. Almost certainly, my attacker will be approaching down a hallway.

One of my top concerns is that the front door entryway is immediately adjacent to the bottom of the stairs that lead to the upper level. If I'm in my living room, and someone kicks my door in, I can't get to safety upstairs. So that's the scenario.

Am I better off staging a handgun or a shotgun downstairs? I can hide a handgun in the seat cushion of my couch, or I can stage a shotgun in a corner or in a nearby coat closet. The same question applies to upstairs, but upstairs, my attacker will most likely be between myself and our guest room/son's bedroom. Over penetration is a more relevant concern there.

A subordinate question is securing the guns themselves. They will be easy pickings for a daytime residential break-in. Additionally, if I leave a loaded gun downstairs, and I am upstairs, I have left a weapon for my attacker to use against me.

I want to quote something that Kathy (Cornered Cat) Jackson said once. I don't remember her exact wording but essentially what she said is there's this dichotomy where our home is so unsecure that we won't have time to get a gun out of a fast action safe and yet our home is so secure that we can afford to just randomly stash unsecured Firearms throughout the premises.

I think you'd be better off carrying at home than staging Firearms throughout the house.

I carry a glock 26 and a spare magazine in my pocket in my pocket at home. If I'm not wearing clothing that supports that it sits on the coffee table right in front of me if I move throughout the house it goes with me.

True. But I'm not going to wear a gun around my home 24/7.

You're concerned enough about a home invasion to stash multiple guns throughout your house (Which you've already stated would need to be secured) but not concerned enough to carry a pocket pistol at home?

I think if I carried inside our home, I would be single and looking for a new place to live in very short order. That would be seen as evidence that I had gone over the edge or off the deep end.

But having guns stashed all over your house wouldn't be?

It's 4 a.m. where I'm at and I'm at work. My wife is home alone and I promise you that if she's awake there's a gun on her
 
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Biometric safes arent just pistol sized. They make single-slot versions that are shotgun-sized. This one has a combo but you can find them with finger pads. A3A229AE-FF8A-43FA-A0C4-00693FA0146A.png

Get two of everything. One upstairs, one down. Load them with a self-defense load. Don’t be a dummy and use bird shot.
 
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It’s just me and I know this is about firearms. But seriously, sometimes the best offense is a good defense. I’d get a dog. My 98lb Catahoula has a bark that is quite deep and loud. His favorite place to lay is in the front bedroom looking out the window into the front yard. He can see anyone approaching and just watch people in general. Sure beats looking at walls. NO ONE makes it in the yard without him being on alert and throwing a few warning barks. And no one makes it to the front porch without being concerned. The UPS guys don’t even ring the doorbells anymore. They know that I know they’re there long before they drop the packages off. Plus he’s a great companion.
 
I think if I carried inside our home, I would be single and looking for a new place to live in very short order. That would be seen as evidence that I had gone over the edge or off the deep end.
If I feel the need to carry inside my house, I would move shortly.
When I lived in the bad part of Tulsa, I had a shelf over the door with a handgun on it. You had to walk in, turn around and look up to see it.
A well trained dog that weighs between 60 and 100 pounds is better than guns.
 
I live in a 2 story condo. The farthest I would ever have to shoot inside my home is 30 ft.
Given that, I would compromise a bit of theoretical lethality for reduced overpenetration. Either a carbine with a light and/or frangible bullet, or a 12ga with a birdshot or #4 load.

Staging a pistol seems backwards. A pistol is the weapon you wear so that you can get to the rifle (or shotgun) you staged.
 
I had a shelf over the door with a handgun on it. You had to walk in, turn around and look up to see it.
That's innovative.
My FIL used to, and probably still does keep his revolver on the top of a grandfather clock... it's not in sight because of the decorative molding on the top of the clock. He's 84 now.
 
Honestly the whole "staged guns" thing without having them secure makes me uneasy.

Excellent opportunity to arm some knucklehead that broke in previously unarmed. All of my HD/SD guns are secured unless physically on me. I use a couple of V-Line vaults for my CCW pistol and nightstand gun. I also have one for my carbine. Everything else is in a safe room with vault door.

There's just now way I'm risking coming home some night to face some idiot holding my M4gery.
 
If I feel the need to carry inside my house, I would move shortly.
When I lived in the bad part of Tulsa, I had a shelf over the door with a handgun on it. You had to walk in, turn around and look up to see it.
A well trained dog that weighs between 60 and 100 pounds is better than guns.
Dogs are a great active/reactive part of a home security system. We have two 125# Rotties who are on constant alert, and usually go off well before the perimeter alarms do. No one gets near the house without you knowing about it, and those who do get to the door, have to pass their security check and approval. They are also usually with you, every minute your home, inside or out, and will die protecting you.

Dogs or not, Ive carried a handgun on me every waking moment, most of my adult life, and have no plans of stopping. Ive never understood what the problem was in doing so, its just another tool I have on me and no different than my Leatherman, pocketknife, or anything else I always have on me. The only time its ever noticeable is if for some reason it wasnt there, which is very rare.

I do have a couple of handgun lock boxes at key points around the house, and while they are handy, and can be quick to access, there is still nothing faster and easier to get to in the moment, than the one in your belt.

Where you live really doesnt matter. We all live where we live, for whatever reason, and things do happen everywhere, and at any moment. Youre either prepared or your not, and that choice is entirely up to you.
 
I wouldn't get a dog just to be part of my security system and I do agree with the carry versus prestaging argument. Dogs are a big responsibility and much, much more than simply a component.
 
I carry my wallet and car keys on me when I am home and I don't consider myself financially fearful or compulsive. The CCW lifestyle is the same. A pocket carry .38 is the same to me as carrying my wallet, keys and a pocket knife and all are with me whenever I am dressed. All of them serve a purpose and I don't want to waste time looking for any of them should I need it.

I think staging guns around your house is dangerous and an invitation to getting shot with your own gun.
 
I wouldn't get a dog just to be part of my security system and I do agree with the carry versus prestaging argument. Dogs are a big responsibility and much, much more than simply a component.
Not really, especially if you have or have had kids. They are just another kid, and generally dont require as much work. :)

I realize not everyone is a dog person, but they are better than "most" cats, and arent as "upper crust" in attitude. :D
 
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