Who here would give a warning shot?

[calif 15-22]

Oh it will, don't worry, you picked the right tool for that job

I'm kidding I'm kidding!

Wait that's been edited . . . funny but still edited!

[titan2]

Ok, what if the 'bad guy' is a 13 year old kid. Maybe he's on a dare. Maybe he thinks it's BS the white lady in this house has a gun. Is there nothing in your conscience that makes you want to do everything possible to avoid taking a life?

REALLY????

What does the age, sex, race & etc have to do with the perp, breaking in to your home with the intent to do you harm....why else are they there....collecting for the 'Red Cross'??? You're talking about a split second decision to protect yourself with your firearm, in your own home, late a night, poor lighting and etc.

The jails do have a number of 13 year old murderers, rapists & etc, don't go thinking it don't or won't happen!!!

[Chameleon Loco]

I hope and I pray I am never in a situation where I need to use a firearm to defend myself or loved ones but if there is ever gunplay I'm aiming center mass and shooting until the target ceases to be a threat.

[stormvet]

Every time I go to my range, I fire a warning shot into the birm. But the paper or steel target never runs away, so I'm forced to shoot the crap out of it. And it always works, the target never advances towards me after.

[titan2]

I know there are certain things you do or don't do to win the civil case or beat the wrap. But beyond that? Doesn't anyone else think they just might feel tremendously relieved and thankful to God that their firing a warning shot got that kid with the knife at the top of the stairs to turn tail and run?

It sure would....now that little darling can go find himself someone else that's not armed and finish what he was going to do before someone fired a warning shot and let him go and try again another day!!!

[Wnick308]

What....I'm home, minding my own business and NOT fireing a warning shot is NOT doing all I could do to avoid a threat!!! YOU SERIOUS???



I'm in best place that you could consider being; in order to avoid threats to my peace and safety....in my own home, amongst my own possessions, bothering NO ONE!!!



You better hope that your gun doesn't jam after the first shot....the WARNING SHOT!!!



You might want to reconsider your position here....

I think this needs to emphasized more that we as gun owners do not go out looking for a fight. If anything we try very hard to be quite and avoid all of these situations because we know what can happen. The question I have for the OP is why should we not fight back to our fullest abilities? It seems that you don't want us to fight but run away at all costs.Why?

[titan2]

I'm not changing whether the intruder was a threat. I'm just asking people if there's any part of them that takes pause...that thinks 'this is a human life. Maybe an f'd up one, but still a human life and I should do everything I can to honor life before taking it'.

What if it were your best friend's son who recently became an addict? He knew you had valuables from all the dinners his family had at your house, so he grabbed the ski mask. There are a million different scenarios...all a threat, but also all people that you'd have to live with killing.

In all seriousness.....sell your gun, and get yourself a well trained (preferable large) guard dog to keep with you and your family! You are NOT ready to have a CCW or a personal firearm for H/D! Your best bet is a guard dog that will protect you and your family!!!

[heidad01]

I have a VP9 . . they would never buy that story!

OP has any of the 209 replies convinced or at least got you thinking in a different direction?

A good possibility is that OP "Babe" is crying for water that is gone under the bridge already. He "eF"ed the pooch and now is looking for salvation here.

He may have been involved in some sort of defense situation but froze with gun in hand (for what ever reason) his dog and loved ones were hurt/killed, himself hurt, and he did not do anything. Allegedly because of his conscious and he is now looking for cohorts.

Afterwards, he goes to church for a confession and the father nicely tells him that his sins are forgiven and that he will pray for Babe but no amount of prayers will help him grow balls and if God didn't give him something, no man can do it either.

Good luck OP and I pray the gun you and I have for HD will rust over time because we never had to use them!

Do not let your guns rust, oil them. They belong to your heir when you go and no one wants a rusty old gun. Your heir will be cussing out the old coot who let that nice1911 or Python rust to Shets.

[Sniper3142]

I've taken many classes where lethal use of force is discussed from the practical and legal aspect. The answer to your question, as provided by actual experts is that warning shots are used by the following groups:

-idiots
-people who don't understand the law
-people who don't understand how bullets work

Which group do you fall in?

I mostly agree with this^!

Warning shots are almost always:
- Stupid
- Dangerous
- Illegal

I don't fire at shadows, shapes, or sounds. I fire at Identified Threats that I have determined mean to do serious bodily harm to me and mine. And the ONLY warning I give is the verbal ones to leave my residence.

Op... If you are an actual firearm owner, I strongly suggest you do some serious soul searching and give deep thought to what you are willing and capable of doing to protect yourself & your loved ones. In a crisis situation, hesitation may well get you KILLED.

[stix213]

Ok...but you would be left feeling you didn't do all you could have to avoid the threat without giving that warning 'bang'. A lot of people can yell a lot of things but thst noise has a completely different effect on the human psyche.

As the victim it is not my responsibility to do everything I can to avoid the threat. The criminal could have chosen to avoid harm but purposefully chose not to.

Thst being said, mentally, have you ruled out the warning shot or would you consider it if the situation gave you the time? The scenario of the estranged family member is interesting. Most shootings involve people you know. I wonder if people consider that in their calculus. Someone coming at you with a crime of passion mentality.

I've ruled out warning shots personally. Inside a home they are far too dangerous, as walls are too thin and neighbors are too close. If I'm firing it is because I think I have little choice otherwise, but I'm not going to put neighbors at risk for the purpose of sounding scary.

[ElDub1950]

So if I hear the crash in the night, I'll be yelling 'go away! I have a gun!' And if I still hear the footsteps charging up the staircase, I would still want to do all I could to avert a deadly confrontation.

If you've announced your have a gun and the intruder keeps coming, you no longer have the luxury of deciding on having a potentially deadly confrontation. The BG has made that decision for you.

At that point a so called warning shot is likely going to set off a hale of bullets headed somewhere in your general direction. Unless you live alone you just increased the danger to the rest of your family 100X.

[Pardini]

Misses are warning shots.

[Best sale]

1.They might be after your life rather than your properties.
2. The robber/robbers might shoot back at you out of fear after your warning shot.... and you might be hit.
3. While giving away your role as who dictate the game, to who is adapting to the game when seconds matters.
4. if there were 2 or 3 assailants, it is easier dealing with one less assailant if you have already taking one out of the game.
5. in deadly confrontations, I think it is better to hit fast & hit well if situations warrant. ...

imho

[John Browning]

I would tend to completely agree with you but there are exceptions:

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...202-story.html

The exceptions are times when stupid people did stupid things and somehow luck managed to intervene and save the day. That isn't a good plan, and it doesn't change the fact that it was stupid people doing stupid things.

You guys are all getting trolled hard.

[bk23103]

Something to ponder in the home defense, bump in the night scenario.

Statistically, most burglaries occur during the day time - not all of them, as evidenced by some of the personal self-defense stories we've seen on this website and in this thread, but the majority of burglars want to get their [your] loot and leave. If someone is coming into your occupied residence in the night, who's to say theft is their motive? Perhaps for whatever reason they are there quite simply to kill you. This could be something related to a previous business venture gone wrong, your spouse's angry ex/baby daddy, or even a road rage incident that occurred three weeks ago. In this case, your verbal warnings and warning shots are only going to let the intruder(s) know where you are.