One in the chamber at home??

[Truthlesshero81]

I also keep my go to gun loaded but on a empty chamber. But that's only cuz I have 2 happy dogs to give me some advance warning. Arguments for and against both have valid points IMO.

 

[MikeTF]

Keep the handgun in a holster with one in the chamber, if there are 'safety' concerns.

 

[CorpsmanUp]

I used to have my XD9SC loaded with one ready to go. Also had my AR-15 loaded.

Now that I have a little one running around they are no longer loaded. I keep the magazines stored separately.

Not ideal, but it works with the wife.

 

[CrazySanMan]

I keep a full mag in my XDs and keep the slide locked back. If something goes bump in the night I can just hit the slide release and load one. To me the slide noise is a benefit because I'm hoping it'll scare someone away so I don't have to go hunt them down.

I have a Mossberg 500 that I keep with a full tube. I just need to pump and take off the safety to shoot. That sits next to the bed most nights.

I also have a large machete by the bed. In the summer we have window AC units and can't hear inside the house very well, so if I get surprised by the bedroom door opening and a bad guy standing there, I don't have to worry about chambering a round in the machete. It's just grab and swing.

 

[Indiana Jones]

I keep a full mag in my XDs and keep the slide locked back. If something goes bump in the night I can just hit the slide release and load one. To me the slide noise is a benefit because I'm hoping it'll scare someone away so I don't have to go hunt them down.

I have a Mossberg 500 that I keep with a full tube. I just need to pump and take off the safety to shoot. That sits next to the bed most nights.

I also have a large machete by the bed. In the summer we have window AC units and can't hear inside the house very well, so if I get surprised by the bedroom door opening and a bad guy standing there, I don't have to worry about chambering a round in the machete. It's just grab and swing.

I also liked the movie Commando. However I know I am not John Matrix.

Please, don't hunt anyone down. Call 911 and sit with your gun or machete pointed at a choke point. You'll live longer!

 

[F8L_Funnel]

I keep a full mag in my XDs and keep the slide locked back. If something goes bump in the night I can just hit the slide release and load one. To me the slide noise is a benefit because I'm hoping it'll scare someone away so I don't have to go hunt them down.

I have a Mossberg 500 that I keep with a full tube. I just need to pump and take off the safety to shoot. That sits next to the bed most nights.

I also have a large machete by the bed. In the summer we have window AC units and can't hear inside the house very well, so if I get surprised by the bedroom door opening and a bad guy standing there, I don't have to worry about chambering a round in the machete. It's just grab and swing.

Jeez!! Has Parkville gotten THAT bad??

 

[CrazySanMan]

The county police helicopter is over my neighborhood day and night, all the time. My cars have been broken into three times in the last two summers. The businesses around here are robbed all the time. I've come home from work several times to find what looks like signs of forced entry into the front door.

I'm about 1 1/2 blocks from the city line, so they come up from the city, rob the county, and retreat back into the city before the Parkville police precinct can respond.

 

[Indiana Jones]

The county police helicopter is over my neighborhood day and night, all the time. My cars have been broken into three times in the last two summers. The businesses around here are robbed all the time. I've come home from work several times to find what looks like signs of forced entry into the front door.

I'm about 1 1/2 blocks from the city line, so they come up from the city, rob the county, and retreat back into the city before the Parkville police precinct can respond.

You need claymores!

 

[CrazySanMan]

The bad thing about my house layout is that its like a maze and there are bedrooms all throughout it. Mine is the very last room in the house you can get to, so anyone coming in the front will have to pass all three of my kids' bedrooms before getting to mine, so I have to move outside my room significantly to protect the kids.

I can't wait to get out of this house.

 

[dapefley]

I have considering doing the below, especially because the laws here in Maryland suck, and how if you use a firearm in a SD situation, you are likely to NEVER see that firearm again, assuming you are justified (or at least I have heard, also, good luck with that).

What about keeping a revolver at the ready. Something cheap. Something that goes bang ever time. Something that you don't mind loosing. Enter, Nagant Revolver. Granted, it may have some over penetration, but I don't know, as I haven't fired mine enough yet. Also, there is no racking a round, so the element of surprise is still with you. It has a LONG, HEAVY trigger pull, which, in this situation is good, I assume, as well as having enough rounds for you to get to your other *tools of the trade* if need be. Finally, would you really mind loosing a $100-$150 firearm, vs a $500-$1000 firearm? Especially if you can get the job done?

 

[Gryphon]

I store my primary self-defense weapon unloaded, no magazine, no cartridge chambered, safety on, with the crappy state mandated barrel (a/k/a "tampon" lock) inserted into the barrel, with a second trigger lock, a wire tie through the open slide, stored in a locked pistol box, stored inside a locked gun safe, stored inside a walk in closet with a biometric lock on the door, with frangible ammo stored in a separate locked box, in a separate safe, in the detached garage 200' away from the house. I do all of this for legal defense purposes so if someone breaks into my home and kills me my family won't have to read about how I was some kind of gun nut in the Baltimore Sun, and so if my wife is lucky to survive she can't get sued by the perp's family. I also lock up all the knives, golf clubs, and baseball bats before going to bed. I don't expect to be attacked often, but just in case I keep a couple of cold Dos Equis on hand for the perp to drink while I dial 911 on preprogrammed cell phone and wait for the police to arrive. Too each his own, what do you think I really do?

Someone else posted that this thread had been around since the beginning of time, and I wasn't sure if I commented or not? Did a quick search and found my old post above - no change of opinion since the original post.

 

[Tito]

Zero in the chamber. I'm not worried about giving away my location because I know my home. When I lived alone, I usually had something loaded.

 

[Blaster229]

I keep a full mag in my XDs and keep the slide locked back. If something goes bump in the night I can just hit the slide release and load one. To me the slide noise is a benefit because I'm hoping it'll scare someone away so I don't have to go hunt them down.

Gotta love the "make threatening sound" game. Why don't you make the sound of sharpening knives too? I'll say it over and over. The bad guy isn't giving you a warning that he has a weapon, why should you?
Do people here honestly think that bad guys go into homes thinking there are no weapons?

You know a slide locked back is a pistol out of battery, right? Why start out a gun fight with a malfunctioned weapon? Because that's what you are facing a threat with, a paper weight. The lack of response from the threat is not worth the possibility of you not getting that all important first shot off.

 

[amoebicmagician]

One in the pipe for all the guns I may have to grab

 

[amoebicmagician]

I have considering doing the below, especially because the laws here in Maryland suck, and how if you use a firearm in a SD situation, you are likely to NEVER see that firearm again, assuming you are justified (or at least I have heard, also, good luck with that).

What about keeping a revolver at the ready. Something cheap. Something that goes bang ever time. Something that you don't mind loosing. Enter, Nagant Revolver. Granted, it may have some over penetration, but I don't know, as I haven't fired mine enough yet. Also, there is no racking a round, so the element of surprise is still with you. It has a LONG, HEAVY trigger pull, which, in this situation is good, I assume, as well as having enough rounds for you to get to your other *tools of the trade* if need be. Finally, would you really mind loosing a $100-$150 firearm, vs a $500-$1000 firearm? Especially if you can get the job done?

The nagant revolver is a strange weapon, and it can be good or bad.

While I understand every gun can be good or bad based on factors like care and if the guy that put it together was competent, it's crazy how much these vary.

I've seen Soldier's models in great shape that shot well, and had great triggers, and Officer's models that were some of the worst and shittiest firearms I've ever held or fired.

Most of them you would be lucky to hit the broad side of a barn with, and the cartridge is woefully underpowered. The mix of the stacking gritty trigger, the heaviness of said trigger, and the fact that there is an extra step of the cylinder being pushed forward, it's hard to maintain aim while the gun is doing all this crazy stuff.

Just get a P-95 while they're still cheap if you want something you won't miss. great guns. Clunky, but great. Better yet, a P90 or P345

 

[CrazySanMan]

Gotta love the "make threatening sound" game. Why don't you make the sound of sharpening knives too? I'll say it over and over. The bad guy isn't giving you a warning that he has a weapon, why should you?
Do people here honestly think that bad guys go into homes thinking there are no weapons?

You know a slide locked back is a pistol out of battery, right? Why start out a gun fight with a malfunctioned weapon? Because that's what you are facing a threat with, a paper weight. The lack of response from the threat is not worth the possibility of you not getting that all important first shot off.

Most bad guys don't break into homes looking to kill. They break into homes looking for something to take that they can sell quickly and buy a rock for that next high.

If someone breaks into my home I'm not going to go confront them unless they are harming one of my kids. I'd rather rack the slide or pump the shotgun and scare them off then go confront them and force a gun fight. I'd rather lose the PS3 or TV then get shot or have rounds go through the walls into my kids' bedrooms.

Why do you need tactical surprise? In Maryland if you shoot a burglar who wasn't threatening your life you're done. Let them know you are there and armed and they will leave. Come running in the room shooting and you're in a world of trouble.

 

[joppaj]

If you are awoken by a thump of someone breaking into your house, your heart will be pumping pretty fast and you will be awake almost as fast and your fine motor skills will go to crap.

Fixed that for you...

To the larger issue of "warnings" made by the sound of racking a round in...

I have an alarm, and a dog and the tv's and dvd players are downstairs. If they come up those steps they've had plenty of warning AND the opportunities to steal and run. They're coming up those steps KNOWING that anyone upstairs is awake. I don't see any reason to give them any more chances to cut the crap. They're coming upstairs because they want to interact with my family and I intend to oblige.

 

[Gryphon]

Most bad guys don't break into homes looking to kill. They break into homes looking for something to take that they can sell quickly and buy a rock for that next high.

If someone breaks into my home I'm not going to go confront them unless they are harming one of my kids. I'd rather rack the slide or pump the shotgun and scare them off then go confront them and force a gun fight. I'd rather lose the PS3 or TV then get shot or have rounds go through the walls into my kids' bedrooms.

Why do you need tactical surprise? In Maryland if you shoot a burglar who wasn't threatening your life you're done. Let them know you are there and armed and they will leave. Come running in the room shooting and you're in a world of trouble.

You have a son and an awkward house plan so I respect your decision - your call. But, if someone breaks into my home while I am there I haven't confronted them - rather they have confronted me. And if they are looking for $ to fund their next fix they will likely be unpredictable. So I am with Blaster229, they don't get any breaks. I will put myself between them and my family, and not just to become a target. I don't call it tactical surprise I call it common sense and my responsibility. I am not questioning your decision in your situation.

Obviously my original post above was being sarcastic, because for the life of me (when I first wrote it) I couldn't imagine why someone would purposely put themselves at a disadvantage. So this has been a good thread because I have heard lots of opposing opinions, and it has made me think, but I still haven't changed my mind.

BTW, for those that have suggested keeping a loaded "throw away" gun on hand - I just don't get it. I am not that good, and if I am unfortunate enough to be involved in a self defense shooting I want the best firearm available and will worry about getting it back later. Last, contrary to popular belief Maryland has long recognized the Castle Doctrine.

 

[ThawMyTongue]

Fixed that for you...

To the larger issue of "warnings" made by the sound of racking a round in...

I have an alarm, and a dog and the tv's and dvd players are downstairs. If they come up those steps they've had plenty of warning AND the opportunities to steal and run. They're coming up those steps KNOWING that anyone upstairs is awake. I don't see any reason to give them any more chances to cut the crap. They're coming upstairs because they want to interact with my family and I intend to oblige.

Very well put!

 

[niftyvt]

Gotta love the "make threatening sound" game. Why don't you make the sound of sharpening knives too? I'll say it over and over. The bad guy isn't giving you a warning that he has a weapon, why should you?
Do people here honestly think that bad guys go into homes thinking there are no weapons?

You know a slide locked back is a pistol out of battery, right? Why start out a gun fight with a malfunctioned weapon? Because that's what you are facing a threat with, a paper weight. The lack of response from the threat is not worth the possibility of you not getting that all important first shot off.

Most bad guys don't break into homes looking to kill. They break into homes looking for something to take that they can sell quickly and buy a rock for that next high.

If someone breaks into my home I'm not going to go confront them unless they are harming one of my kids. I'd rather rack the slide or pump the shotgun and scare them off then go confront them and force a gun fight. I'd rather lose the PS3 or TV then get shot or have rounds go through the walls into my kids' bedrooms.

Why do you need tactical surprise? In Maryland if you shoot a burglar who wasn't threatening your life you're done. Let them know you are there and armed and they will leave. Come running in the room shooting and you're in a world of trouble.

LOL 'make sharpening knives sounds. Im with Blaster, always have a round chambered. Im the same with CCW.

Personally, I wont let the bad guy get far enough to start hurting anyone. I will never assume they were in my home to rob me. I will always assume they are in my home to kill me/my family. If given the choice I will always use a reliable modern weapon with modern ammunition to defend myself. If I lose a $2k firearm in the process, so be it.

And lastly, I don’t prepare for ‘most’ I prepare for the ‘worst.’ If they are in my home they are ‘threatening my life.’