Home Defense meets reality...

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Guys, I keep a small nightlight (christmas tree bulb) on in every room of the house except my bedroom. This is plenty of light for situation assessment or target ID. This also solves the muzzle flash problem. An even better solution would be to install a light unit that comes on automatically when someone enters a room. Just having the light suddenly come on would probably be enough to make the average bad guy beat a hasty retreat.
 
Guys, I keep a small nightlight (christmas tree bulb) on in every room of the house except my bedroom. This is plenty of light for situation assessment or target ID. This also solves the muzzle flash problem. An even better solution would be to install a light unit that comes on automatically when someone enters a room. Just having the light suddenly come on would probably be enough to make the average bad guy beat a hasty retreat.
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That's good as long as you have electricity...
 
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If I'm trying to protect my ears, a .38 revolver is probably the bottom of the list. Revolvers are horribly loud. The only guns I have that are actually quieter than my 870 would be .22s.

But yes, that.....Barrettesque brake on the end of that 500 will do who-knows-what to the volume.
 
if u have a deadly intruder in ur house u mean to tell me ur gonna take the time to put on ear plugs? no way who cares if there ears ring for a little while
 
If I'm trying to protect my ears, a .38 revolver is probably the bottom of the list. Revolvers are horribly loud. The only guns I have that are actually quieter than my 870 would be .22s.
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if u have a deadly intruder in ur house u mean to tell me ur gonna take the time to put on ear plugs? no way who cares if there ears ring for a little while
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People - in such a situation, your body under goes changes to help you deal with the stress of the situation. Hormones are released and your body adapts....

Your eyes dilate to allow you to see with better detail, your Heart rate shoots up to supply blood to your extremeties because your dexterity is diminished.....

You will barely even hear that gun go off when you discharge it towards a intruder! You will not even notice the recoil.

Its the same thing hunters experience when they are out in the woods after that trophy! Ask any hunter and they will tell you that they don't even barely remember pulling the trigger and their ears are not ringing afterwords....

Its all that Transmarginal Inhibition stuff!

The last thing you really need to worry about is your hearing during a encounter such as this. Muzzle flash is a issue you may want to deal with but your hearing will not be a problem........
 
As far as that Mossy....One hole, in the front of the end of the barrel, should be enough. Shotguns are great with stocks, next to worthless without one.

The decibal level is similar from centerfire handgun to shotgun to rifle. All will cause hearing damage if too much shooting is done without protection.

If you are killing a man in your house you have more to worry about than slight hearing loss.
 
I think it all basically starts with getting your physical security measures right. I've ensured that at the very least noone can break into my place without being noisy and obvious about it, and unless they are breaching professionals aren't going to manage to do it quickly enough to get to me before I can get ready and dial 9-11.
 
You have just made my point. How do you know it is a BG? Firing before identifying your target is absolutely incorrect and could be incredibly tragic. Would you really fire without being absolutely positive that your target was indeed an intruder? I don't think anyone would advocate that course of action. If you can do so without using a light, then you must have an amazing amount of ambient light in your home at night. Most of us sleep in the dark.

A flash of your weapon mounted light to identify your target is the necessary and responsible way to proceed. Muzzle flash should be the least of your concerns at that pointand is irrelevant
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As I said before, I would never fire without ID'ing the target, but I can do it in the dark with little ambient light (especially with the pupils dilated). If I cannot ID the target, I will turn on the flashlight on my 870 or XD40. No ID, no shot.

I don't consider muzzle flash irrelevant. I always practice double taps and would not count on one shot to stop an attack. If you cannot see your second shot, you may end up shooting someone you shouldn't.
 
The last thing you really need to worry about is your hearing during a encounter such as this. Muzzle flash is a issue you may want to deal with but your hearing will not be a problem........
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The concussive stun of a muzzle-brake 12 gauge fired in an enclosed corridor would be significant. The sound and pressure energy are directed to the shooter, not the target. It's beyond ouch; it's debilitating.
 
Halfacop, you might not care if you can still hear when you are 60. I do. I may or not have the chance to don hearing protection when it actually happens. But if I can. it won't be a bad idea. I've already lost enough hearing from shooting tanks, .50 cals, and rock concerts. I can absolutely guarantee that you will have a degree of permanent hearing damage. I won't die to protect my hearing, but that doesn't mean it's stupid to do what you can.

In my case all of my choices for HD are at the lower end of the scale for hearing damage. It's not why I chose them, but it's certainly a bonus.
 
IMHO someone who has the capacity to put hearing protection on while someone is invading their house must have liquid nitrogen in their veins... No to the muzzle brake, definate yes to a light mounted to your HD weapon...
 
mljdeckard said:
I can absolutely guarantee that you will have a degree of permanent hearing damage.
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A couple unprotected shotgun blasts are not going to affect your hearing. Prolonged exposure is what you need to avoid. The rock concerts are probably the worst thing - 3 hours at 150 dB is not a good idea. Ear protection is absolutely required for prolonged shooting but a few shots in the wee hours won't hurt you long term.
 
They are LESS LIKELY to affect your hearing. Far from guaranteed. But a heavy revolver is a LOT louder, it's a lot of pressure, exiting the muzzle and the forcing cone, a lot closer to your ears.

If you have any ringing that lasts more than the next day, you have permanent hearing damage.
 
Do police officers utilize hearing protection prior to the defensive use of their firearm? :confused:

Of course not. Might it cost them a very slight degree of hearing loss?

Sure. I guess they would rather be alive than be able to hear perfectly. :scrutiny: Go figure. :)
 
Do police officers utilize hearing protection prior to the defensive use of their firearm?

Of course not. Might it cost them a very slight degree of hearing loss?

Sure. I guess they would rather be alive than be able to hear perfectly. Go figure.
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I hear SWAT guys do, at least when venturing indoors. Shooting in confined spaces is just a totally different animal. Peltors and other electronic hearing protectors can boost your hearing as well as protect it so there's no real downside to using them.
 
Cosmoline said:
If your state has a very strong Texas style castle doctrine you may be able to assume the intruder is out to do you harm, but to fire blindly at a shape you think and hope is such an intruder is very risky and that sort of thing has ended in tragedy before. There are also ethical obligations beyond the law, and the very real problem of how to aim at a dark shadow amongst dark shadows, when you cannot even see your own sights. Now if you have lots of nightlights and such you may already have the situation resolved.

Personally when I'm awoken at 3AM I'm not at my best and I'll be lucky to find my own glasses. I need all the help I can get, which means a long gun with a tactical light.
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There should be NO other human in my home that I dont know about, and what is the reason that they entered illegally? (Broke in).

I'm not shooting at shadows, I'd be shooting at a person who *I believe I'd have to assume meant me harm*. No?


And yes, I am not at my best when woken suddenly either. Not to mention that I have already experienced the adreneline rushes of bad situations and know that that will be a major factor in my reactions as well.

That is why my plans for home defense need to be as solid and clear cut as is possible in 'unplanned' situations. That's why I'm looking for information here.
 
I'd be most concerned about baddies surreptitiously breaking in when you're not home and then lying in wait for you to walk in, some home invaders prefer to operate this way. The best in shotgun software and hardware probably isn't going to help you much at that point.
 
Youngster said:
I'd be most concerned about baddies surreptitiously breaking in when you're not home and then lying in wait for you to walk in, some home invaders prefer to operate this way. The best in shotgun software and hardware probably isn't going to help you much at that point.
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Hopefully, I'd notice that my dogs were outside, or didnt meet me at the door, or were dead :-(

And if many of you carry, you'd probably have something on you if you had a little warning.
 
I've read about quite a few home invasions. I can't imagine putting on some high-tech electronic ear muffs right in the middle of one. I would like to know if anybody here has ever known someone to put on hearing protection in the midst of a real home invasion. By "real", I mean a home invasion with an actual intruder who was intent on causing harm, not a bump in the night that turned out to be the neighbor's kid playing a prank or something like that. I'm not saying that putting on muffs has never been done before or that it can't happen. I'm saying that my skeptical old mind just can't imagine it.

I had a false home invasion one time. Let me tell you. My heart rate went from about 60 bpm to about 200 bpm in about three seconds. It's a strange feeling unlike any other. It's sort of like coming up on an unexpected cliff when snowboarding. In other words, it feels like "hey, this might be the end of it all right now". I would not have wanted to put on electronic ear muffs during my false home invasion, even if I could have. For one thing, I had 911 on the phone and not on speaker phone. That issue is a distant second to the fact that I just would not want electronic earmuffs on my ears while my life is flashing before my eyes.
 
It takes me a whole instant to put on the earmuffs, and while that might be a long time if your setup is such that anyone could just barge in and be on top of you in an eyeblink, it's not going to hurt me any time wise.
 
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