pump or semi-auto for home defense

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If we had a castle statue

So because there is a no law saying you would not be prosecuted for your actions saving the lives of your family and yourself, you would act with restraint?

As far as I am concerned, alive and in trouble is better then dead.
 
Call me crazy, but if you're on your second floor in an open hallway, and someone is coming up the stairs...and you scream you have a gun and rack one into the chamber....that he might think twice before reaching the platform and turn back around?

reverse roles real quick. You're a junkie looking for a jewelry box. Walking up stairs to bedroom, you hear a guy yell I have a gun get out of here. Now you're a junkie, are you going to believe him when all you have to do is run in there with the knife cause the guy clearly hasn't presented a gun. Or....does the guy present one of the most recognizable sounds in the country....
He said he has a gun, but I see nothing and I hear nothing.
He said he has a gun, and I hear "that sound".

Do the math. It's simple

Why the hell would you want the bad guy to know you have a gun????????????????
 
Why the hell would you want the bad guy to know you have a gun????????????????
It's the hope that he will decide there has been a failure of the victim selection process and he will di di mao. From a legal perspective, if you warned the cretin that you are armed and he then decides to break down the bedroom door anyways, even here in MA that is a pretty clear indication that he isn't there just for the family silverware.

On the other hand, it sure does give up the advantage of surprise.

Decisions, decisions.
 
So because there is a no law saying you would not be prosecuted for your actions saving the lives of your family and yourself, you would act with restraint?

As far as I am concerned, alive and in trouble is better then dead.

I'm not saying that at all. I've already expressed how I'd react. Would you rather the guy take off before he got close or would you rather lay him out when he bust through the door. I'm not saying I'd hesitate for .2 seconds. It would be an insta-rack, and then goodnight.
 
It's the hope that he will decide there has been a failure of the victim selection process and he will di di mao. From a legal perspective, if you warned the cretin that you are armed and he then decides to break down the bedroom door anyways, even here in MA that is a pretty clear indication that he isn't there just for the family silverware.

On the other hand, it sure does give up the advantage of surprise.

Decisions, decisions.

That's the biggest issue in my head. It's the "what if". I have no problem doing a lengthy jail sentence if need be to protect the people in my household, but if it's in any way avoidable, why not take the route. Chances are, just by judging on arms used in such robberies, they are poorly armed. People hear a shotgun, and they look down and see their knife, or their hipoint (hahaha)....they think twice.

If he kept charging, yeah game over you picked the wrong house a##hole, but if he ran away, mission accomplished either way. The only difference....one I don't lose my guns for XXXX days, and I don't face potential charges. In retrospect, racking the gun isn't a bad last ditch before opening fire. If I thought for 2 seconds that the situation was going to get real ugly, there would be no warning, no nothing....just bang, quite a few times. However, if it is clear there is one assailant, clearly being quiet, and you have the option, why the hell not rack it? If he busts through, you have him outgunned....if he doesn't, he ran because he knows you have him outgunned. He's in an open hallway, it's like shooting fish in a barrel if you know your house and do a few memory drills with yourself, it's your home turf, he's the away team....you know where everything is, he doesn't, so make it work in your favor. In a dark hallway, the sound of a shotgun could have come from any doorway as far as he's concerned, and probably was the last thing he expected to hear, and probably the last thing he wanted to hear.

All I know, if I was breaking into a house, trying to find the jewelry box down the hallway, I wouldn't be turning lights on....and if I heard a shotgun....I wouldn't be able to tell where the hell the noise came from, and I wouldn't want to find out...I'd probably get the f*ck out. And....if I did want to find out, well....we all know how that story ends....
 
Why the hell would you want the bad guy to know you have a gun????????????????

If you were in an unfamiliar house, breaking in, walking down a dark hallway, armed or unarmed....would you want to potentially be on the other end of a shotgun muzzle? I'd like him to know what world of hurt is about to come crashing down on him if he doesn't high tail the eff outta my house, and if he wants to find out....rock and roll....I'll empty the tube.
 
You shoot someone in your house in MA you're screwed either way. Don't tip your hand to the bad guy and only pull the trigger when you think you're going to get hurt. Pretty simple.

It would suck if you racked that mossberg and it broke or jammed...
 
That's the biggest issue in my head. It's the "what if". I have no problem doing a lengthy jail sentence if need be to protect the people in my household, but if it's in any way avoidable, why not take the route. Chances are, just by judging on arms used in such robberies, they are poorly armed. People hear a shotgun, and they look down and see their knife, or their hipoint (hahaha)....they think twice.
Maybe they will, maybe they won't. You'll only know retrospectively, and there is a downside -- you lose the factor of surprise. So I can see both sides of the argument.
 
If you were in an unfamiliar house, breaking in, walking down a dark hallway, armed or unarmed....would you want to potentially be on the other end of a shotgun muzzle? I'd like him to know what world of hurt is about to come crashing down on him if he doesn't high tail the eff outta my house, and if he wants to find out....rock and roll....I'll empty the tube.

Well if I was close enough to figure out where you were standing in your bed room from the sound of your racking shotgun I could empty a mag through the wall, drop you, rape your wife, and steal your shit.
 
You shoot someone in your house in MA you're screwed either way. Don't tip your hand to the bad guy and only pull the trigger when you think you're going to get hurt. Pretty simple.

It would suck if you racked that mossberg and it broke or jammed...

everyone really hates the mossys hahaha

Onto the legalities....it drives me crazy. I'd like to say in the situation I'd present myself with some rationality, but there's nothing rational about it. It's a coin toss. Is he armed, is he going to get scared once he hears it, should I just run and gun (come out guns blazing), etc etc etc.

If I was walking and about to get mugged, in the process of being mugged, etc, I'd have less of a hard time determining what to do....shoot until he's down for the count. In a house it's tough. If I shoot and he's some unarmed 14 year old, I'm f**ked. If he's some unarmed crackhead, I'm probably f**ked. If he's a she....well that might be something entirely different. It really is a cointoss.

Know anyone ever put in this situation in mass?

I'd like to think 9/10 the noise would scare someone off, but that 10% of the time is going to make me wish I didn't make a sound.

This debate could go on for days.
 
This debate could go on for days.

Nah you have your way, I have mine. I'll stick to making sure the bad guy doesn't know where I am until he sees my muzzle flash. You keep making noise and hope it's only one bad guy. [wink]

Seriously though you probably live in a safe neighborhood these things rarely happen.
 
Nah you have your way, I have mine. I'll stick to making sure the bad guy doesn't know where I am until he sees my muzzle flash. You keep making noise and hope it's only one bad guy. [wink]

Seriously though you probably live in a safe neighborhood these things rarely happen.

lol, I live in low-hell (lowell)
 
Nah you have your way, I have mine. I'll stick to making sure the bad guy doesn't know where I am until he sees my muzzle flash. You keep making noise and hope it's only one bad guy. [wink]

Seriously though you probably live in a safe neighborhood these things rarely happen.

I'm gonna do it your way from now on, but I live in lowell so my chances of it happening are vastly different from the nice places in MA. So if I go to jail, I'm blaming it all on you hahahaha

"your honor, in defense of my actions, I'd like to call to the stand derek from n.e.s. He told me to do it."

"if derek told you to jump off of a bridge, would you do it?"

"your honor, hypothetically is this a pre-ban bridge with high capacity cars on it"

"you're going to jail smartass"
 
Know anyone ever put in this situation in mass?
I know of someone.

Several years back a woman was in her home in Arlington when she heard someone on her enclosed from porch. She grabbed her gun and opened the door to find a drunk dirtbag on her front porch. He came through the door and advanced on her, even though she warned him and was pointing a handgun at him. He laughed at her and continued approaching. Then she shot him in the neck. He suddenly realized that he had an urgent appointment elsewhere.

He was arrested. She was arrested. He was charged. She wasn't. It did take many months for her legal situation to be straightened out, and at one point the police chief was going to revoke her LTC. I'm sure her legal defense was not cheap. She and her partner have since left the state.

A friend of a friend was driving in a not-so-great section of Houston when he pulled up to a red light at night. A couple not-so-friendly types approached his car with crow bars and ill intent. They weren't impressed with his handgun pointed at them. But when his doberman in the back seat woke up and said a few choice words, they decided to di di mao.

Don't count on dirt bags being afraid of a gun. Dopers may be too doped to realize or too hyped to care. Hard core dirt bags may have been shot in the past and just aren't scared.
 
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I know of someone.

Several years back a woman was in her home in Arlington when she heard some on her enclosed from porch. She grabbed her gun and opened the door to find a drunk dirtbag on her front porch. He came through the door and advanced on her, even though she warned him and was pointing a handgun at him. He laughed at her and continued approaching. Then she shot him in the neck. He suddenly realized that he had an urgent appointment elsewhere.

He was arrested. She was arrested. He was charged. She wasn't. It did take many months for her legal situation to be straightened out, and at one point the police chief was going to revoke her LTC. I'm sure her legal defense was not cheap. She and her partner have since left the state.

A friend of a friend was driving in a not-so-great section of Houston when he pulled up to a red light at night. A couple not-so-friendly types approached his car with crow bars and ill intent. They weren't impressed with his handgun pointed at them. But when his doberman in the back seat woke up and said a few choice words, they decided to di di mao.

Don't count on dirt bags being afraid of a gun. Dopers may be too doped to realize or too hyped to care. Hard core dirt bags may have been shot in the past and just aren't scared.

Well, you've sold me on it. I was and still am shoot first ask later if I'm outside the house and confronted with a 'situation'.......I suppose I'll apply the same rule to the house.

Look at what you all did, created a damn trigger happy monster. I'm blaming it all on you too. hahahaha
 
wha... wha.. wha.. what is this faggotry? [thinking]

I've been reformed. No need to question it anymore lol

I'm on the same mental wavelength as I was for treating street situations now in my house.

I hate MA, a castle statue would make life 10X easier.

He comes into house, goes up stairs, meets a load of buckshot, then another, then another....falls down stairs, makes some stupid face, and cashes in. Simple, effective, and safer than the question approach.
 
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Well, you've sold me on it. I was and still am shoot first ask later if I'm outside the house and confronted with a 'situation'.......I suppose I'll apply the same rule to the house.
Slow down there. I am not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. This is my limited understanding of MA deadly force law.

In MA, outside of your home you must retreat from such a confrontation if it is safe to do so. You can also only use deadly force if you, or another innocent, are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury.

Inside your house, you don't have to retreat if the perp is in the house illegally. But you still can't use deadly force unless you are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury. If the neighbor kid is downstairs with your TV on his shoulder and is not threatening you and you shoot him, you will likely be in a world of legal hurt.

There is no requirement to give a warning if you are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury. Whether or not it makes sense to do so is up to you, and I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other -- both approaches have pros and cons.
 
Slow down there. I am not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. This is my limited understanding of MA deadly force law.

In MA, outside of your home you must retreat from such a confrontation if it is safe to do so. You can also only use deadly force if you, or another innocent, are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury.

Inside your house, you don't have to retreat if the perp is in the house illegally. But you still can't use deadly force unless you are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury. If the neighbor kid is downstairs with your TV on his shoulder and is not threatening you and you shoot him, you will likely be in a world of legal hurt.

There is no requirement to give a warning if you are in immediate danger of death or grave bodily injury. Whether or not it makes sense to do so is up to you, and I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other -- both approaches have pros and cons.

My understanding based upon legal stuff, was if you were in a house and had the ability to get out (IE: a second floor window), that you were supposed to jump. I've heard at least a dozen different things.

I was also under the impression that if someone presented a weapon outside the home (if I was walking, going to the car, etc), and I was clearly not going to be able to run away, that I could open fire.

I need to move.
 
That's not to say you wont get in serious trouble...but like I said, I would rather be alive and in trouble then dead.
 
no. if you want to effect permanent change you need to make more friends. hard dudes. dudes who won't sit around parsing obscure laws when their life, or the life of their loved ones is in danger. dudes who will solve the problem with little to know guidance. and dudes who will solve the secondary problem that the sheep created by tossing your butt in prison for doing the right thing.

Vote out every single one of the liberal pansies in MA and replace them with stand up guys that have no problem punching someone in the face cause they looked at them the wrong way. Those are the kind of people I want in office, not some deval with a tiny voice, or martha with a stupid haircut. hahaha

Seriously though, I want people in office that would smash someone in the face.
 
no. if you want to effect permanent change you need to make more friends. hard dudes. dudes who won't sit around parsing obscure laws when their life, or the life of their loved ones is in danger. dudes who will solve the problem with little to know guidance. and dudes who will solve the secondary problem that the sheep created by tossing your butt in prison for doing the right thing.

I know who I am. I'm the dude playing the dude disguised as another dude.
 
i think you missed my point, but that's ok. [wink]

Certainly seems that way hahaha


No I understand, I just thought I'd add a bit of humor to it; but on a serious note....I really want people in office that like to fight hahaha
 
you have them now. they like to fight, and they believe they're smarter than you. they believe they should use force, intimidation, and will to rule you, rather than represent you. they have a majority that they've nurtured through threats of violence and imprisonment. they have the men with guns behind them that enforce their will.

i don't want people who like to fight or thrive on drama and political b.s. in office. i want people who represent their constituents instead of coercing them. i want people who know and love their federal and respective state constitutions. i want people who will do a good job and then go home to their families and careers after a set number of years. not lifers who perpetuate a system in which they are the children of privelege.

no one should love fighting. fighting is something that hard men do every now and then, stuff in a mental closet behind them, and then get on with their own domestic lives. men who cherish their wives, their children, their gardens, etc., but who remain more than capable of reminding their representatives that should it be necessary, they're ready to fight again.

it's high time the lions started reminding the lambs that we may allow them to represent us, but we're still out there in the darkness, prowling, and ready to feast should they attempt to further cage us against our will.

Hey, that's what the second amendment is for. Apparently the people in this country forgot that it isn't for "sportsmen", it's for civilians to take the gov back when it get's too much like......like it is right now.

Plan A, win in november.
Plan B, if we lose in november, refer to second amendment.
 
My understanding based upon legal stuff, was if you were in a house and had the ability to get out (IE: a second floor window), that you were supposed to jump. I've heard at least a dozen different things.
Not true. For a short period of time, due to a court decision in MA, that was true. But legislation was passed that changed that. See MGL Chapter 278 Section 8A:

Section 8A. In the prosecution of a person who is an occupant of a dwelling charged with killing or injuring one who was unlawfully in said dwelling, it shall be a defense that the occupant was in his dwelling at the time of the offense and that he acted in the reasonable belief that the person unlawfully in said dwelling was about to inflict great bodily injury or death upon said occupant or upon another person lawfully in said dwelling, and that said occupant used reasonable means to defend himself or such other person lawfully in said dwelling. There shall be no duty on said occupant to retreat from such person unlawfully in said dwelling.

I was also under the impression that if someone presented a weapon outside the home (if I was walking, going to the car, etc), and I was clearly not going to be able to run away, that I could open fire.

Please reread this:

In MA, outside of your home you must retreat from such a confrontation if it is safe to do so.
You are not expected to try to outrun a bullet.

I need to move.
I think you'll find that MA deadly force laws are similar to those in many states.
 
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