Home defense gun?

[Nemo]

I would suspect a good bolt action might be sufficient for you and make the "hunting rifle" cover.

This might meet your needs.

Nemo

http://www.ruger.com/products/gunsiteScoutRifle/index.html

[TrailingSpouse]

Grrrr….

Both those rifles look great!    Thanks for the suggestions.

A few more enquires down the line and… well… basically its not going to happen.  To progress this further legally I would need to physically go to the various offices (there's no postal service here) with wads of cash to grease the wheels - a big expensive headache - and no guarantees of a result.  And that's before actually sourcing a shooter.

In a true SHTF - one option would be to buy an AK from someone. 1k$ should do it, especially when 'normal' price is 50$.  Not to say that the purchasing process itself would be easy!

In the meantime its razor wire strung across the stairway (?electrified from a car battery?), pb marker with marbles and pepper, ammonium hydroxide in a squeezy bottle, various SFX, bricks, bats and knives.   Now I think about it a load of ammonia cleaning solution poured on the stone floor would be a great area denial tool - stinky and slippery. (Actually its maybe too toxic, even at 10%, and I only have one set of SCUBA gear for the whole family…would need the meth lab type full face mask respirators I guess)  Plus - laying out valuables at the front door with a nice note ("Please help yourselves - there's nothing else of value in here - any intrusion will be met with determined and lethal force.").  The theory being that the main risk will be from looters, and they'll go for low-lying fruit first.

Also - additional strengthening, improved advance warning systems, and most importantly an escape route and / or alternative hiding places.

Oh and the piece de resistance - some kind of fetish hung on the doorway would scare the crap out of most people here.

[JohnyMac]

Certainly none of my business TS, however: Why do you chose to live in such a hostile environment? Feel free to ignore my question if it is out of line.   

[thedigininja]

Spouse at the end of the day a firearm can come in handy (IF properly maintained and you are well trained and practiced in the use of one) but it`s not the be all and end all in personal defence. (Sorry, I fear that I'm taking this thread off topic but I feel it needs to be said) The mrs and I are both trained in unarmed and close quarter combat. Having some kind of combat multiplier (your SFX experience for example) is a good way to catch intruders off guard (intruders who may be expecting resistance with a firearm). I would take a good knife over a rifle for defence any day, maybe with a small handgun as an ''in case'' back up. Plus being able to and prepared to defend yourself without a firearm put's the rest in a bad place when they run out of ammo. I know that many will disagree with this though.

[TrailingSpouse]

JohnyMac
hehe - I ask myself the same question… Short answer is that my wife took a post here - she's a humanitarian aid worker.  And we like a challenge   Its not that bad really, at least not where we live.  In terms of everyday violent crime, London was far worse.  But here there's the potential - last attempted coup there were allegedly people eating the genitals of dead combatants (for their power).  When it kicks off - it kicks off.

digininja
I agree wholeheartedly - never needed a gun yet :p  and been in a few scrapes…  For me the gun is about having options, and handling, or scaring-off multiple home invaders, or a home invader with a gun.  You mention knife - I agree too.  I'm sure you know the 21ft rule - but boy that would take some mighty big cojones!  I'm a black belt in karate :p  although I realise its more about attitude at the end of the day.  To be honest - I'm not the most macho type - prefer to run and hide if possible    But if my family was threatened, I wouldn't hesitate.  Some guy was banging on the car door window where my daughter was sitting, some intimidation thing, I dunno.  I got out and wanted to hurt him but my wife pulled me away.  Red mist - not me at all - sort of effective, but am guessing I had tunnel vision and all that (not good).  Can you train to be cool when the adrenalin is flowing?

As an aside - I hate it when people say that active resistance (or having a gun) might get you into more trouble.   I can understand the arguments - but on the whole its not true, is it?

[Nemo]

Just make the fetish hanging on the door the first guy that wanted to come in.  A broke broom handle stuck mostly through holding up a sign that says-- Next? -- would work very well methinks.

Nemo

[JohnyMac]

Nemo, that will only work if the invader can read 

TS, thanks for the explanation. All makes sense now. 

[thedigininja]

Many African cultures still practice cannibalism in one form or another, even here.

As for training to act coherently in an adrenaline fuelled situation I think it's more about having confidence in your ability and being able to identify a threat before it becomes apparent. Like your car incident for example I've been in similar situations and I would not have gotten out. here they often do that and the moment you leave the vehicle another guy hidden nearby will jump in and take the vehicle. If that happened and your young'n was still in the car, I shudder to think. Safety over pride ALWAYS. However both krav maga and kfm have high intensity training where you need to fend off multiple attackers which really gets the adrenaline flowing and helps you to focus. I believe there is similar in the marine corps fighting technique but I speak without experience there.

[JohnyMac]

Time for another JohnyMac story.

It was 1993 and the company I worked for was going to expand from the west coast to the east in a big time fashion. I was the district manager for the 18 or so stores in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) and they had a brilliant idea to transfer me to the Florida area to oversee that expansion. I was game but had to convince MrsMac so the company flew us out to Miami to "check things out."

Things were going well and I think MrsMac was convinced on moving to Florida till one day.

We had just come from visiting a couple we knew form MDR (Marina del Rey) who were circumnavigating the world via their sailboat. They were in Miami berthed at the Marina attached to the downtown Hilton hotel working to refill their cruising kitty.

MrsMac and I had a grand old time catching up on their travels. The sun was setting over the yardarm so it was time to leave. We said our good-by's and were on our way.

As we approached the I-95 on ramp there was a stop light with a car already stopped. As I slowed down to stop behind the car, all of a sudden a bunch of people came out from under the over pass not unlike a scene from the Walking Dead.

The Zombies pounced on the car already stopped screaming for money. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another covey of Zombies heading towards our car so I stomped on the accelerator, weaved around the car encased with Zombies; zipped through the red light and onto I -95.

Once on the high way my MrsMac turned to me and asked, "Did what happen really happen?" With a adrenalin shaking voice I responded..."Holy shit. YES!"

To this day I do not think I hit any of the Zombies however there were a few scrapes on our rental car that were either there when we picked it up or not. By the way, I did not take the new assignment in Florida but stayed in the PNW for three more years till we did move east.


 

[thedigininja]

This is primarily for our brethren in areas where firearms simply aren't an option but still want a form of defence with some range. I recently purchased a Tippmann TiPX. Now I am in no way implying that this is an adequate substitute for an actual firearm but it can be an incredible self defence weapon. Many different types of ammo for paintball markers are coming out now for less recreational users. I opted for capsium filled balls and solid nylon. Spend good money on the pepper balls though, the cheaper ones are made of inferior plastic that can burst in the chamber. The nylon are less fickle, the cheaper ones tend to merely have moulding faults that can easily be ground away. You also get "breaker" balls which are solid glass in a thin rubber coating; these are brutal at short range and glass pellets that shatter on impact. If you're considering a less lethal ranged  option have a look on YouTube for videos of this thing in action

[thatGuy]

Jesus... what's the ballistics on those things Digi? I'm betting that getting hit with solid nylon ball out of a paintball gun (while less than lethal) would correct all but the most determined attackers bearing..

[thedigininja]

Well you're looking at a 5 gram round traveling at 300 fps (You could set it higher but I'm keeping it there as I found it to be the best power to gas conservation ratio). You're looking at broken teeth or nose, severe dermal damage and frequent penetration on exposed areas.  And I have to say that at 20 metres this thing is unbelievably accurate. The first time I took it out I hit centre target with 20 out of 30 rounds (with heavy wind interference). That's close to my average with a .22 pistol and this is something that requires no paperwork or waiting period. With the breakers you struggle to get it above 200fps but at 15 metres they will penetrate flesh and they will break ribs.

[thatGuy]

That is a 77 grain projectile for you AR15 fans.. you could turn that bad mamajamma up to 340-380fps...

[thedigininja]

Very easily TG. I know guys who have fitted a remote line and pushed it up to 420fps but to anyone who would consider that I would recommend rather going for a sturdier full sized marker as they're designed to handle the higher pressure and a remote line on the TiPX makes it terribly cumbersome which completely negates some of the main reasons I decided on it. Even though it's not small (to me it resembles the enhanced D.Eagle used for the original RoboCop) it feels natural and I can carry and draw it like I would a normal handgun. There's no way to conceal carry it unless you habitually wear a trench\duffle coat but the holster is sturdy and functional allowing for storage of additional co² and a spare clip.