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From: jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard)
Newsgroups: mod.rec.guns
Subject: Re: mod.rec.guns: Gun selection
Message-ID: <1535@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Mon, 27-Oct-86 14:33:27 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.1535
Posted: Mon Oct 27 14:33:27 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 28-Oct-86 18:28:18 EST
References: <1425@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, <1490@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 46
Approved: jkh@ucbjade
Author: ihnp4!utzoo!henry@ucbvax.Berkeley.Edu

Article: 10:47

> There are a few things to consider when purchasing a "home-defense" weapon.

There are also a few things to consider before purchasing one, like (a) do
you have a way of quickly and quietly getting your family together behind
a locked door, and (b) is there a telephone in the room behind that door.
Home-defense weapons are appropriate only as a desperate last resort in
response to open attack.  In most cases it is much safer to take shelter
behind a locked door and call the police; they are *equipped* and *trained*
to deal with such situations.  Unless you are under the delusion that
you are bulletproof, it is clearly better to let the professionals do it.
Even if they are so incompetent that they can't do a better job than you
could -- and they can, if only because there is only one of you -- you
will find attending the funerals of a couple of policemen a whole lot less
disagreeable than being the guest of honor at a funeral yourself.  Let them
take the risks; it's their job.

There is something to be said for being able to defend yourself against
dangerous intruders, in the event that the police aren't available or
can't get there quickly enough.  But note, "defend".  Unless you truly
believe that your possessions are more important than your life, your
best move (situation permitting) is still to hole up in a well-protected
location and use your weaponry only if the intruder(s) mount a determined
attack.  There are lesser reasons for this, like the courts taking a dim
view of you shooting someone except in such a dire emergency (no, the law
is *not* automatically on your side if you shoot a prowler), but your own
survival seems sufficient reason all by itself.

These tactical considerations may well influence your choice of defensive
weapon.  More important, if you are buying defensive guns before having
given any attention to these issues, you are acting without thinking.

On the more specific issue of weapon selection, do remember that at
close-combat ranges, the pellets from a shotgun will be in one solid mass
not a lot larger than the bullet from a pistol or rifle.  This makes utter
nonsense of the purported no-need-to-aim-accurately advantage of the
shotgun, and greatly reduces its advantages in lethality and minimum
wall penetration.  If you doubt this, check over your house to determine
the longest range at which you would plausibly engage an intruder -- good
odds it's something like 10-15 feet -- and the most plausible range -- which
will probably be nearly spitting distance.  Then try some target practice
at those ranges to see what the spread is like.  It's not much.

				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry