First off, let me say that while I agree that the sound of a shotgun being pumped would scare away the majority of criminals that are looking for loot, I think that a stalker is going to be a different situation. It has been my experience that stalkers are in a completely different mindset. They typically are going to have some mental block or disability. Don't misunderstand that and think that I'm calling them stupid. I'm not. But a large portion of our inmates in the US do have some form of mental issue. This can be especially problematic with people that are stalkers and obsessed.
I want to raise the question that I'm amazed has eluded so many other people.
WHY do you think the sound of a shotgun would alert the others staying at the house to an intruder? That's not sarcasm. I'm just curious. Is it a small house? Is it an apartment? What's going on with it? I, personally, would be awakened by a shotgun being pumped only if I was in the same room when it happened. If it was a room or two away, or if my door was closed, I can't imagine that helping. And if the sound of a break-in didn't wake other people up, why would the sound of the shotgun action being worked do so?
Certainly, the sound of a shotgun being pumped would alert the intruder to possible danger, but you are forgetting that there are
TWO things that could happen.
- The intruder could be scared off never to return.
- The intruder could hear the sound of the shotgun, and be alerted to the danger. The intruder would then know he needed to rush the room with all speed to ensure that she had a more difficult time shooting him, and would more likely be immediately violent
I am aware that your friend may have a difficult time coming to terms with the idea of ending a life, but with children in the house, I can only imagine that she would be more willing to do so if she were made to realize that they could be in very real danger, too, if she didn't take action. Put that in her head to think about, and I bet you she'd be 10x more likely to pull that trigger.
Also, I don't know how the financial situation is (I imagine since she's borrowing your shotgun instead of buying her own, it's not the most positive situation), but I would suggest several other things be done to help make the house less stalker friendly.
- Add dead bolts to any doors.
- Doors with glass windows which can be broken to gain entry should have dead bolts that require keys on both sides.
- KEEP THE HOUSE LOCKED!!!
- It might be late in the season now, but if you can, add big heavy shrubbery with lots of sticks and/or thorns outside any first floor windows (to prevent peeping or entry).
- Contact a security company to purchase laminate sheets for any big windows. They're not outrageously priced, and they can prevent the window from being broken and allowing entry. I just googled glass laminate break proof, and I found http://home.securityfilm.biz/ That kind of stuff I'm referring to.
- Install motion sensing lights (or regular lights and leave them on at night) around the outside. People are less likely to walk around outside if they are VERY visible. This also serves the purpose of allowing neighbors and/or police the ability to see clearly into the yard if he is stalking in it.
That's just the ol' police thought process kicking in, but I would make sure that was done if someone in my family was being stalked. It wouldn't matter what kind of gun they had.
If the idea is to alert the bad guy to the fact that she's armed and to awaken the adults for assistance and the children for safety, I think it would be a FAAAAR better idea for her to grab the shotgun, point it at the door or window the intruder is likely to be coming through, keep her finger OFF the trigger until she knows who the person entering is, yell for help (it's a lot more likely to awaken a household than a single pump of a shotgun is), and clearly state that she has a firearm and is prepared to use it (if she thinks that is likely to make him flee).
Lastly, I would recommend that the family come up with a plan of action. If this is serious enough for her to have a firearm, then it's serious enough for the family to put some thought into it.
- If there IS an intruder, where are the kids supposed to go? Do they stay put and lock their doors? Run outside? Neighbor's house?
- What "safe" phrase is in place? SERIOUSLY!!! If there are THREE adults with guns in the house, then they need to make sure that they don't shoot each other when they walk around the corner. They need to have some way to identify each other before popping a door open with a stressed out armed civilian on the other side.
- Who's calling the police? Someone needs to be in charge of that.
- Bullets will travel through walls. Period. I don't care what crap you hear from Bucky at the gunshop or Big_billy1952 at thehighroad.org (no offense to any billies registered here), but bullets penetrate walls, and a .223 will NOT disintegrate into a fine misty powder after hitting a wall, and be unable to injure someone on the other side. BULLETS KILL! And a 12g shotgun will penetrate MANY layers of drywall and boarding. Don't believe me? http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm Make sure everyone knows the direction and path of where bullets could be flying if she's shooting at someone walking through her door. You don't want to be collateral damage.
That's just my two cents, but I think those are some things that need to be considered. Having guns is a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously. She needs to know how to operate the firearm with her eyes closed, half-asleep, and while stumbling around over a pile of clothing. She wasn't familiar with it (so you said), but she needs to be, everyone ELSE needs to know their role, and if they can do some things around the house as situational prevention (like the lights, locks, and shrubbery), then they should. PREVENTING a crime is better than stopping a crime once it has begun. Hopefully the stalker will see his task as pointless and move on.
-magiaaron
. Chances are the ******* would be scared s***less. Now under normal circumstances, you'd just be losing the shell you had chambered. And it sounds a lot scarier slow than if you cock it fast, but with my 870, sometimes the round doesn't eject if you cock it slow. So I suggested that she leave the chamber empty. That way, she could scare the BG and simultaniously alert her teenage son and possibly embolden herself. She agreed heartily to it and I emptied the shotgun, dry fired it, and stuffed the shells back in the tube. She only has 5 shells anyways, so she's not reducing her capacity. She has enough firearms experience to not need 5 shells of 12ga 00 Buck anyways. I dry fired it so she can just reach under her bed, grab the gun, and cock it without having to deal with the lever on the front of the trigger gaurd. 
