House broken into yesterday.. home defense help needed

[emopunker2004]

Personally i think a gun for HD is a good idea. If you are not home lock it up for sure. As a side note, if storage is that much of an issue maybe you should consider a handgun, maybe a .45 my again

[emopunker2004]

speaking of training. if you got a handgun you could always take up IDPA as a hobby. At the very lease you'd get some SD based target practice and have some fun.

[Tio Gato]

I got robbed two years ago. They even stole some humidors. The police chief told me that every robbery in town was in homes with no alarm systems. I got one installed pretty quick. One neighbor was the last to have no alarm system until they got robbed too. IMHO if I was a robber I'd rob the unalarmed homes and forget about those with security systems.
Best of luck deciding whether to get a gun or not. I thought about it after getting robbed but I knew I shouldn't have one as I love to drink too much.

[emopunker2004]

i vote system and gun. guns are like cigars: you can never have too many

[elderboy02]

Originally Posted by emopunker2004

i vote system and gun. guns are like cigars: you can never have too many

+1. I would go with the Remington 870. Buy some of the Federal Law Enforcement 00 buckshot shells to put in the gun. http://www.policehq.com/Products/FC-132LE

[Bruins Fan]

I don't know about your state but here in Mass you can not protect property with a firearm, your life you can blow the bastage away no problem.
Get a dog burglars want no part of a dog.

Originally Posted by emopunker2004

guns are like cigars: you can never have too many

Agreed !!!

Not I gotta get more cigars

[mosesbotbol]

If you are away, having guns is not going to help you. Do you travel often? Not saying you should not have one, but they do come with risk and would not have helped you in your previous break-in.

Security system is good. Especially with cameras. I would install some mock cameras in addition to the real ones. Big dog if you are able to have one. Burglars think twice about breaking into a house with Doberman or German Shepard barking at them.

[Ashcan Bill]

I keep a couple of loaded guns around the house for home defense. Should somebody break in while I'm home, they will have an interesting day. If I'm not home, of course they can steal the weapons should they find them. But that's not the point - they're for personal defense when I am home. And we don't have kids in the house. If we ever did, the guns would be secured.

As far as types of guns, a shotgun is great. The sound of racking one into the chamber alone can be pretty intimidating, and a shotgun with an 18 inch barrel is fairly easy to wield, has a good spread, and won't penetrate too far so you don't have to worry about hitting your neighbor two doors down. I personally prefer revolvers, but keep a scatter gun as well.

Gun ownership obviously comes with responsibilities. They are tools one must learn to use safely. And your girlfriend should take a class as well, if she's willing. Doesn't help her much if she ever needed to protect herself, has a gun available, but doesn't know how to use it.

[GTsetGO]

I vote staying away from ADT or Brinks (as ADT owns Brinks now).

I can put you in contact with some decent companies in your area if you are looking for a security system (i have worked in the industry for 15 years now all over the world).

I have a security system and multiple weapons in the house.

[Chainsaw13]

You're in luck today!

http://www.woot.com/

[DMK]

My
Alarm the house if you will leave it unattended for long periods of time, if you can attend the residence sooner, get a four legged alarm. I have four noisy terriers, well three noisy terriers and one quiet biter
My home usuallly has someone home all the time so the dogs work well.
When we are out, they run free in the house. They announce anyone setting foot on the property or even stopping on the front sidewalk.
A firearm is good if you are home and can get to it soon enough to use it.
Here we need to secure firearms to reduclious standards, making home defense a joke
As for your valuables, buy a safe that is secured to the floor, not easliy picked up and taken.
Walk around the residence with a video recorder and keep the tape and a inventory list offsite, mine is in the safty deposit box. It makes insurance claims less stressful.

[proguy747]

what about an alarm?

[Brutus2600]

How's your dog? That's not cool that they did that Was your house sitter at home at the time of the break in?

Sorry to hear about this dude, no opinions as far as what gun to buy, but I don't blame you for wanting one!

[sigsauer]

mossberg 590 A1
beretta 1201 FP
FNH SLP

[T.G]

Landmines.

[CigarNut]

Woot has a Zmodo 8 Channel Surveillance System with 8 Weatherproof IR Cameras for $169.99 plus shipping...

[markem]

I love handguns, but not for home defense. Here's my "defense in depth" plan.

Solid alarm system for all exterior doors (including the one to the garage) and first floor windows. If you have a basement and someone can slide in through a window there, bar it or alarm it.

Timers. Lights on timers are cheap and easy way to convince the bad guys to go someplace else. I replaced the light switch for the outside lights with a timer that knows when sundown is and the lights automatically come on just before sundown and off in a +- 15 minute window around midnight. Cheap at home depot. I have several lights on timers in the house that add to the "I am now going to bed" effect by going out about the same time. When we are out of town, we put a timer on a floor lamp in the bedroom with multiple settings to mimic going in and out of the bedroom at night.

Aluminum baseball bat. I have a good sized house (around 3K sq ft) but the shot lines suck. It is far easier for me to get close with a bat and their hit legs or their head than it is to find a clear shot that doesn't risk harm to my family or neighbors. Yeah, I know, what about multiple robbers. Well, how do you know that the other one isn't armed and aiming at you?

Wireless/cellular phones within reach. It is amazing how fast most police departments will arrive if you state that you have an armed intruder in your house. Honestly, officer, the fact that they broke in made me believe that they were armed.

Escape plans. Just like for a fire, know how to get out of your house in case someone breaks in. Never defend your home to your last breath. Things aren't worth it. Never underestimate the convenience of having a big window and a small chair plus a blanket in a room furthest from the front door. Chair through window, blanket over any broken glass, climb to safety. If they came to steal things, they aren't going to chase you around the neighborhood.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by markem

I love handguns, but not for home defense. Here's my "defense in depth" plan.

Some good tips!

In MA, you are not allowed to defend yourself, so running away is all you can do. Even if a bad guy is harming your family, you do not have the right to stop them with force. Crazy, but that's the way it is here.

Personally, I'd rather go to jail then see harm done to my family, so I would not think twice about using force in my home.

There's a big court case in MA about a guy who was defending himself when a burglar tried to break into his pick up in his driveway. He went to see what was happening and subdued the armed burglar until police came. The DA is charging this guy with assault,etc... and will most likely go to prison while the armed burglar will get off with light sentence.

[elderboy02]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

...
In MA, you are not allowed to defend yourself, so running away is all you can do. Even if a bad guy is harming your family, you do not have the right to stop them with force. Crazy, but that's the way it is here.
...

Wow, that is absolutely crazy. Here in Ohio we have the Castle Doctrine If someone breaks into your house, they are fair game. I would hope that a burglar would think twice about breaking in, but meth heads don't think clearly.