One thing I don't think has been mentioned in regards to say using a gun inside the house for protection.
If you miss there is a very good chance of hitting and hurting or killing someone else who is in the house legitimately, or in one of the neighbouring houses.
IIRC there have been multiple instances in the last few months where US police officers have taken shots at one person (or dog) and wounded or killed other people in the house because the round has gone through the internal walls.
The same thing happens with depressing regularity for residents who are firing at intruders inside the property, it doesn't occur to the shooter to think where the round is likely to go if it doesn't hit the intended target and results in them accidentally killing someone they love whilst trying to protect them from a relatively minor threat.
As someone who recently had an attempted break in whilst I was in the house (the idiot tried to get in through the window of the room I was in*), it scared the heck out of me (and I suspect the brain donor needed new trousers), but if it had been in another room I would have called the police and grabbed something from the tool box under my desk, then made a lot of noise whilst making sure I had a door between myself and them.
If someone is breaking in with an intent to use violence, they're always going to have the advantage over you, regardless of if you've got nothing to use to defend yourself or a pump action shotgun loaded by your bed.
They will get in and likely be attacking you before you've woken up fully and got your hand on your gun (and they're likely to think of the gun as a nice bonus).
On the other hand the far more common burgler simply wants stuff and to get out, without getting caught - the moment they use violence it goes from something relatively minor that the police don't necessarily have the resources to follow up fully, to something where the police are going to treat it as a high priority.
If they actually do serious harm, or kill someone it takes it to a whole new level where the police will throw practically everything that might be needed at it to ensure it's solved (it goes from maybe a handful of officers for a few hours and a SOCO to potentially dozens or hundreds of officers for a long time).
*I was sat in the dark watching a film with headphones on and the blinds closed.
If you miss there is a very good chance of hitting and hurting or killing someone else who is in the house legitimately, or in one of the neighbouring houses.
IIRC there have been multiple instances in the last few months where US police officers have taken shots at one person (or dog) and wounded or killed other people in the house because the round has gone through the internal walls.
The same thing happens with depressing regularity for residents who are firing at intruders inside the property, it doesn't occur to the shooter to think where the round is likely to go if it doesn't hit the intended target and results in them accidentally killing someone they love whilst trying to protect them from a relatively minor threat.
As someone who recently had an attempted break in whilst I was in the house (the idiot tried to get in through the window of the room I was in*), it scared the heck out of me (and I suspect the brain donor needed new trousers), but if it had been in another room I would have called the police and grabbed something from the tool box under my desk, then made a lot of noise whilst making sure I had a door between myself and them.
If someone is breaking in with an intent to use violence, they're always going to have the advantage over you, regardless of if you've got nothing to use to defend yourself or a pump action shotgun loaded by your bed.
They will get in and likely be attacking you before you've woken up fully and got your hand on your gun (and they're likely to think of the gun as a nice bonus).
On the other hand the far more common burgler simply wants stuff and to get out, without getting caught - the moment they use violence it goes from something relatively minor that the police don't necessarily have the resources to follow up fully, to something where the police are going to treat it as a high priority.
If they actually do serious harm, or kill someone it takes it to a whole new level where the police will throw practically everything that might be needed at it to ensure it's solved (it goes from maybe a handful of officers for a few hours and a SOCO to potentially dozens or hundreds of officers for a long time).
*I was sat in the dark watching a film with headphones on and the blinds closed.
) but here he is very unlikely to be armed and therefore the use of that force is not just excessive but not needed.
