Should you carry your pistol at home?

[gunnre]

Very good food for thought. Typically I don't carry around the home. On the weekends I may only because it's easier to just run the errands on the weekend and not have to go in and IWB. It's a Shield 9 with the MIC trigger guard. Very comfortable at 4 o clock for this right hander.
My small town neighborhood is typically abuzz with dog walkers, weekend gardners etc. and many lot line activity. However I'm aware of gun fire moving closer to my burb. Closest to home was a half mile from my house past midnight recently with a drug deal gone bad at the local Wally World. Up to this point my home defense is a P30 on the night stand and a Mossberg 500 in the corner a Lab and Mini Doxie that can wake up the place in a heartbeat. As taught in my training, I understand that wife and I just barricade in the bedroom letting intruders know I'm well armed. Who wouldn't shy back from the racking sound of 12 ga.? I'm not wealthy so material things are just that and in time get replaced.
Reading many of these post makes me think of 'situational awareness'. Do I put thought into self defense in what seems my mundane life on weekends?

 

[Model12Win]

My Пистолет Макарова 9-mm is always at hand when I'm at home, either on the nightstand or on the table in my kitchen:

It has enough capacity, enough power, and I can shoot it very well. It is a rugged and reliable sidearm and I would have no qualms about using it to defeat an attacker.

 

[FITASC]

Assuming you are "safe" due to location is a fantasy.

And worrying 24/7/365 about hordes of armed invaders is paranoia.

 

[Lohman446]

No one is accidentally breaking into my house. The closest neighbor to s a quarter mile away so the "wrong house" thing is not a concern. The door frames are reinforced and have long throw bolts. Can it be broken into? Sure but not quietly or that quickly. Besides there is little of value here. Anyone breaking in has targeted me or my family. They will simply wait it out with a rifle and pick me off and there is no reasonable measure I can take to prevent it.

I'm sitting behind stronger than normal doors with multiple guns in quick access safes (I have young children) and literally thousands of rounds of ammo and I think some of you folks are paranoid. It's pretty impressive to clear that bar

 

[K_Mac]

I am not worried about hordes of invaders. I live in a quiet rural area with little crime, and even less of the violent variety. I am concerned that living in a rural area at least 30 minutes from any reasonable expectation of police support, some might view my modest home as a target of opportunity. Because of that I carry a gun. I am not naive enough to think my bucolic location protects me from violence, any more than I'm convinced the apocalypse is at hand.

 

[Lohman446]

I'm more convinced that, absent human trafficking, anyone who thinks there is enough of anything valuable here to attempt an invasion into an occupied home is incompetent

 

[K_Mac]

I'm more convinced that, absent human trafficking, anyone who thinks there is enough of anything valuable here to attempt an invasion into an occupied home is incompetent

I would agree that most violent thugs may be incompetent in just about every aspect of life. Home invasions happen regularly though. They may not be looking for money. Maybe they know you own guns. Maybe they need place to hide. Maybe they want your wife, or kids. I don't know what makes psychopaths or sociopaths tick. I know they are out there though. Carrying a gun costs me nothing. It is not a burden and there is no downside in my opinion whether I ever need it or not.

 

[briandg]

It's actually surprising how many home invasions happen in this small town. About twenty years ago a double execution occurred a block away from my home. The killer later killed his girlfriend in front of her children when she opened her door. He was with the TulsA bloods. A few years ago a man was killed in his apartment. Just this year two occurred, a family, who were unharmed, at the second one, a guy found a hidden gun and killed one of the invaders.

Random events happen. There are going to be more of these things in cities full of monsters. They happen less frequently here. That isn't meaning it's safe, drop your guard, whatever, but don't spend your life worrying about it. If you are going to take precautions, don't do it halfway.

If a person is sitting at his couch watching football with the door unlocked and no weapon at all nearby, he's living in denial. Quite person must take good, solid security measures, and imo, that includes a primary weapon in any place that can be a trap. Wearing a handgun isn't out of that equation, but as I sit here I'm about six feet from my front door, and a gun is on my mantle.

If you have primary weapons at all places, you won't have to run for a rifle. A handgun is in fact, a primary weapon, and it should be treated as one. Train with it and use it as if there is nothing else. Stand your ground and do the job, rather than think of it as being of secondary importance.

For example, don't keep the derringer by the phone and the real guns down the hall.

We can exhaust our brains planning and speculating, but the simple answer is to have the gun wherever you might need one. in a holster on your hip is as good a place as any. A shower gun in the closet is clearly defective if the goons are between you and the closet.

 

[SocialAnarchist]

FITASC

And worrying 24/7/365 about hordes of armed invaders is paranoia.

I don't worry about hordes of invaders and your comment is kind of snotty and dismissive.

I don't wait in panic every day waiting for my house to burn down either but I have smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher, and an escape ladder to get put of our second story bed room if necessary. I have planned ahead for this possible contingency.

By the same token I do not wait in panic nor am I paranoid about a potential home invasion but as I mentioned earlier I am in close proximity to a county park that has a partying and drug use reputation. I have had visitors from that park as late as 0100 that have had some sort of trouble in the park. I do not answer the door at that hour without a gun in my hand. Not visible to those at the door, but I have it. Maybe people at your door that late at night is a normal thing, but here it is not. So I answer the door prepared. That is not paranoia that's smart when even in our small rural area there have been murders.

 

[Jleonard]

I don't carry at home.
If I had to carry at home I would move.

The problem there is you're mistakenly assuming one place is safer than another.

It doesn't much matter where you live, unless you have 24 hour security guards, a deadly threat can present itself at a moments notice

Not really, I think it's a matter of risk assessment. Mine is low right now. Very low.
Heck, I rarely lock my house.
Now if the situation changes, I can change, but currently I don't feel the need.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Pep in CA -

Do what you are comfortable with. I don't think anyone is going to try to convince you otherwise or at least, I hope not.

I personally carry during almost all of my waking hours. Right now I'm in my pajamas with a tiny P32 on my waist in a small paddle holster. In the course of my day, I have one in my back pocket at the office. Outside of the office, I have a G27 or 617 on. If I'm wearing a tucked in shirt, it's a P3AT in a Sneaky Pete.

The BG's will always have the edge. Always. Even extra second or two on my side helps.

One more thought . . . What's the cost of carrying a little guy on your person that weighs 10 oz? What's the cost of having to run/stumble 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds to your gun? Also, gotta keep in mind...most of us will not automatically assume that someone is trying to break into the house. We'll sit there for a second or two - "hey, what was that?" - before investigating. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves.

 

[K_Mac]

...I think it's a matter of risk assessment. Mine is low right now. Very low.
Heck, I rarely lock my house.
Now if the situation changes, I can change, but currently I don't feel the need.

That is your choice. Even if you are right and the chance of needing a gun is very low, the consequences of not having one are if needed are severe. Risk assessment requires an objective look at all the facts, and then weighs the costs. It costs me nothing to carry. The cost of not carrying could be incomprehensible. It is a simple choice for me.

 

[FireForged]

All the folks who are running to their guns scattered all over the house, need to time their response to a break-in vs. the entry speed

If a person using common burglar tools can enter my home and attack me faster than the 5 seconds it takes me to casually arm myself, there are already substantial security failures that need to be addressed.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

As somebody who has been carrying a pistol around the house for decades, I can't do your cost/benefits analysis for you; but I can explain mine:

PROS:
1) Most secure method of storing a firearm since it is under my direct supervision and positive control at all times.
2) Fastest method to access a secure firearm for the same reasons.
3) Cheaper than other secured, fast access alternatives (which are slower and less secure to boot)

CONS:
1) Carrying around a handgun can be inconvenient - since I live in a permissive area and wear one regularly, it is about as regular as putting on a belt for me. So with a good holster and belt, the inconvenience is minor - probably higher for those in non-permissive areas though who chose to remove it every time they come and go.

2) Hard on furniture - you don't notice it initially; but that chair armrest that the butt of your metal framed pistol rubs against every day for 15 years is going to start showing some wear and tear eventually.

RISK:
Very low risk for most of us; but very serious consequences if you don't beat the risk probability. Generally, my bias is if I have a low risk situation with major consequences and I can counter it with minimal cost and effort on my part, I go that way. Since I already like and enjoy shooting, the cost for me to carry a pistol in the house and be trained is fairly low.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Aarond

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[jmorris]

My pistol too is loaded and is in the same closet.

Sounds like putting all your eggs in one basket.

 

[FireForged]

That is your choice. Even if you are right and the chance of needing a gun is very low, the consequences of not having one are if needed are severe.

A person could use this same logic to suggest that a person could benefit from wearing a NASCAR helmet on their drive to work each day. Most people would agree that a traffic accident is probably the more likely danger vs a home invasion but how many people are wearing helmets while driving a car on the public roadway? Not any that I have ever seen.. why? It could be because of a relative risk assessment that indicates that the need is rather low.

If that logic is not accepted then it begs the question.. how many of those critical of it are actually wearing helmets while driving cars on the public roadway?

 

[Lohman446]

I figure anyone who can break into the house quietly and quickly enough that it prevents me from getting to a firearm is competent enough that having that firearm on my belt would likely make very little difference. The fact that they are breaking into my house indicates they are determined as my house is not a target of opportunity (either by location or perceived wealth)

I still hope anyone who attacks me is either incompetent or not determined. My preference is both.

 

[P5 Guy]

Most break ins occur during the daylight hours. B&E boys may be lazy but they are not stupid. As most every house they can see will be vacant while the home owners are at work and their kids are at school.
I live alone and when I worked I was on the afternoon or graveyard shifts, my preference because the plants paid a shift differential. So I was home, alone, during the peak breaking hours.
My neighborhood is on the lower end of the socio-economic scale, my choice, I was able to live below my means and save lots of money to invest.
I have a gun in the same room I'm occupying, always.

 

[FireForged]

Sounds like putting all your eggs in one basket.

and staging weapons all around the house could very well be putting them in someone else's basket if badguys have made their way in. Common sense dictates that a person can more easily control less material in less space than they can more material is a greater space.