Hypothetical situation - home intruder

[djgtek]

I have a hypothetical situation I am hoping I can get feedback on:

It's the middle of the night and all lights are out in your house and you and your family are sound asleep. The next thing you hear is the sound of glass breaking and an alarm you have on your window and sounding (and shortly is unarmed). You act quickly and access your registered handgun from your safe and slowly investigate the noise (with finger off trigger). It is very dark and you slowly walk into the hallway. You then realize there is an intruder in your house and they start running at you. You are not able to see if they have any weapon on them because of the lighting but there is an obvious danger to both you and your family. What would you do and how would it fare when applied to our legal rights? Does your response change if they don't run at you and instead stand there without noticing your presence? Do you wait for them to make a move at you? As I understand this type of thing may happen in a matter of seconds so it'd be interesting to hear everyones thoughts.

[rplusplus]

Double tap center mass of the blob trying not to hit the dog that is busy chewing his legs off.

[cannon]

Buy a flashlight.

Nobody who is sane wants to shoot anybody else. If you fear for your life or the lives of your family members. Do what you have to do. But buy a frickin flashlight so you know who or what you are shooting at.

[robcoe]

Buy a flashlight.

Nobody who is sane wants to shoot anybody else. If you fear for your life or the lives of your family members. Do what you have to do. But buy a frickin flashlight so you know who or what you are shooting at.

^that^

Weapon lights are not that expensive when compared to the price of a gun.

I have one on my shotgun and one on my handgun, easy protection to make sure the blob your pointing the gun at isn't your wife/gf/someone you dont want to shoot.

[ElvenSoul]

Sjambok even though it is a UN War Crime!

[TNP'R]

Double tap center mass of the blob trying not to hit the dog that is busy chewing his legs off.

+1 this

This will meet him then I will greet him with a shotgun full of 00 buckshot.

[djgtek]

Great advice on the flashlight. So assuming you have a flashlight and confirm it is an intruder that is rushing at you (with no visable weapon in hand), what is your reaction? What if your flashlight blinds/dazes him but he doesn't make an effort to run away?

[robcoe]

Great advice on the flashlight. So assuming you have a flashlight and confirm it is an intruder that is rushing at you (with no visable weapon in hand), what is your reaction? What if your flashlight blinds/dazes him but he doesn't make an effort to run away?

part 1: if he's coming toward you, shoot him.

Part 2: if he does anything except surrender or run away, shoot him.

if he surrenders, or just stands there doing nothing, taser him just to be sure.

[voiceofreason]

Deal with the most immediate threat.

By the time you find out that he has a knife in his hand, even if you shoot him with your .45 multiple times, most likely he'll still be able to bury it in you or at least try. He has momentum, speed, and initiative on his side. You get to figure out what's happening, identify the possible actions and threats, figure out what to do, then put that into action.

I'd still shoot him unarmed or not if he's running at me. I personally don't have the ability to assess whether a person running at me is armed or not within the small confines of a standard living room AND have time to react in a way that will save my life. You might be able to. I cannot.

He's either attacking me or trying to take my gun away. Either way, I'm in fear for my life.

If he's just standing there with nothing in his hands and not moving, I have better options.

check out this thread:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?p=8022730&posted=1#post8022730

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Buy a flashlight.

Nobody who is sane wants to shoot anybody else. If you fear for your life or the lives of your family members. Do what you have to do. But buy a frickin flashlight so you know who or what you are shooting at.

This right here.

And damn, ya'll a bloodthirsty bunch. God help you if you actually do ever have to use deadly force in self-defense, because all of the internet advice in the world will be of zero help when the District Attorney reviews the shoot.

[TNP'R]

This right here.

And damn, ya'll a bloodthirsty bunch. God help you if you actually do ever have to use deadly force in self-defense, because all of the internet advice in the world will be of zero help when the District Attorney reviews the shoot.

Castle doctrine where I live. If I feel i'm in danger I feel sorry for the guy that broke in. I don't only own firearms so I can go to the range I own them to protect whats important and that's my life. If someones in my house unlawfully I will do what I have to do. I'd tell the person to make no sudden moves and if he makes one then its to bad for him..

[voiceofreason]

This right here.

And damn, ya'll a bloodthirsty bunch. God help you if you actually do ever have to use deadly force in self-defense, because all of the internet advice in the world will be of zero help when the District Attorney reviews the shoot.

Bloodthirsty? Maybe a few immature people that have watched too many zombie movies might be.

Being ready and willing to utilize deadly force to defend yourself and your family from a hostile deadly threat is hardly bloodthirsty.

Being the defender, having to assess the situation and react accordingly, always on the REACTION end... you're already well behind the curve.

You are correct that there will most likely be legal and civil issues to deal with in the aftermath. But at least you will be alive to do so.

[Kodemonkey]

I'm more of the "don't go looking for the bad guy, go to the kids room and hold up there" kind of guy. Ill wait for the cops to come - they can steal whatever they want because it's cheaper to pay my homeowners deductible than to shoot someone. But if they come upstairs, I'll do what I need to. I have an alarm and the house is wired for X10. I hit "all lights on" and it lights up everywhere I'm not. If they know the cops are coming, all the lights are on, and an alarm is blaring, and THEY STILL continue up the stairs I am pretty much going to fear for my life and the lives of my family.

[lgdpt]

A long time San Bernardino cop told me hes witnessed people murdered in their home with a weapon in hand...they were not prepared/willing to fire. Someone uninvited in my home...after breaking a window...late at night...they are not walking out of my house.

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Bloodthirsty? Maybe a few immature people that have watched too many zombie movies might be.

Being ready and willing to utilize deadly force to defend yourself and your family from a hostile deadly threat is hardly bloodthirsty.

Being the defender, having to assess the situation and react accordingly, always on the REACTION end... you're already well behind the curve.

You are correct that there will most likely be legal and civil issues to deal with in the aftermath. But at least you will be alive to do so.

You are correct in all these statement.

I guess I'm just taken aback sometimes by the cavalier attitude taken by some people to the use of deadly force. It's never as cut and dried as these types of threads seem to portray it.

Absolutely do whatever is necessary to to defend yourself and the lives of your loved ones and never second guess yourself when the SHTF, do what you have to do.

But it never ends there and the gung-ho posts never seem to take that into account.