Firearms advice

Do others here lock up their rifle every time they leave the house and then get them out every time they come home? Genuinely curious. I just can't imagine doing this. Is there a better way of keeping them secure?

 

Ask around if any of your family/friends have any weapons you may have interest in ask to go shoot them get a feel for different platforms and calibers. Every make/model will differ from one to the other.
A gun is such a personal item what one works perfect for another may be horrendous for you. Most of all find something that “feels” good to you.
For example I’m a Glock fanboy not for the looks good lawd they ugly but stupid simple and easily operated. Insert mag, rack the slide, aim, squeeze and have fun no external safeties to worry about when you need it most. Plus stupid realible and easy to maintain.
For the kiddos gun education imho is the biggest thing and possibly a bio metric safe for the night stand.
Good luck with your endeavor get some hands on experience before getting the first one you see.

 

Ive been wanting to go to Tactical Response for years, take Fighting Pistol and Rifle, if nothing else experience James Yeager's personality first hand.

 

if you are concerned with your home safety, a few cameras go a long way, especially a doorbell cam. once they get up to it, they are already on video before they realize the camera is there. that is usually enough to deter break ins, especially if you are home. as far as safety away from home, a small caliber pistol is all you need. all of the AR and shot gun stuff needs to be left to hunting. its not a zombie apocalypses or anything. you cant bring an ar-15 on a shoulder holster or in your pocket. now, if you are the type to think the world is out to take over your compound, then by all means, get a 556 AR and a few thousand rounds. dont forget the moat and land mines. oh, and make sure the moat has gators, or crocs. the world isnt as scary as people think. you want to ease your mind. turn off the news.

 

I have cameras and an alarm system but I keep my rifle and shotgun in a safe and my pistols in a readily accessible GunSafe. I just don't want to be the guy that gets his guns stolen to be used on someone else.

I have no confidence the police will respond to my monitored burglar alarm.

 

Yea same here. I like the looks of the training given by Fieldcraft Survival. Mike Glover seems like a solid dude.

Someday...

 

Yes, I lock up the long gun when I am not home. Break ins happen when people are not home too.

 

https://youtu.be/m1CeNqLZ0Y8

 

Recommend your first step should be a gun safe. Buy one that will hold whatever you're considering, so if you think you would buy a rifle or shotgun (i.e. a "long gun"), but a safe that will hold it. You should probably buy one that's larger than what you think you'll need. I keep "highly pilferable" items (cameras, iPad, binoculars, extra sets of house & car keys, etc.) in it when I'm away from the house.

 

The only two posts I would recommend listening to.

Opinions on firearms are very comparable to opinions on Tacomas. You'll ask one question and get 6 completely different answers. Make sure your source of information is reputable and backed with logic. This is not a "one size fits all" and there are far too many variables to give a generalized response.

Find good information sources and then go buy a G19 and get LOTS of training. You're welcome.

 

a gang of 20-50 thugs? lol. fake news. most home invasions are 1-2 people and are usually when you're not at home. if someone is out to kill, its usually someone you know.

 

so going to a professional at a firing range isnt recommended? ok then, just google what looks cool or maybe see what gun was used in your favorite movie and buy that. if they live is such a bad area, but have the money to load up on thousands for weapons and ammo, since a small caliber pistol isnt good enough, then maybe they should move.

 

I'm sure these two rich lawyers thought the same thing at the time? Oh wait you don't watch the news. Rachael Maddow maybe...?

Living in a very exclusive neighborhood where nothing bad happens I'm sure these two were glad he was prepared.

 

well, if you read their post, they said neither have experience with guns and needed some advice on where to "start". AR-15s, shotguns and large caliber pistols aren't the starting place. everyone jumped on here like the people are going to battle, and starting throwing out worst case scenarios. i like how that opens up for name calling. Not really sure what i or anyone else on here has done to deserve that. you dont have to like my advice, just post your own and let the person asking the questions make their mind up.

 

I’m generally pro gun and anti gun people

Everyone thinks they’re Rambo, man. It’s nuts.

I wouldn’t have (and didn’t) arm myself as heavily as some folks do when we were the southern most unit in Garmsir/Helmand, pushing the Taliban south hahah.

Talk about the epitome of when you have a hammer everything is a nail.
Only thing worse is people into martial arts AND guns/knives. Talk about fantasy land!

 

Was this directed towards my post? If so, know that I skimmed the responses so I could have missed a few. My recommendations don't change though regardless.

Not an unpopular opinion but my recommendation still stands. They asked for a defensive recommendation, not a ergonomically one. If that's the deterrent then you're either not training enough or your instruction is weak.

Just so I'm not being some dickhead on the internet, I worked in the firearms industry for 4-5 years and have likely single handedly sold more guns to people than the sum of owned firearms of all of the people who have commented in this thread.

Edit: I was also kind of joking because me making a direct recommendation was exactly what I had said shouldn't be done earlier in the post.

 

From someone with small hands - Gen3 sucks, Gen4 and 5 isn't bad. M&P fits better out of the box.

 

Know your state laws first on guns. education and training is key.

 

I have been in LE for about 11 years, and in the last 5 have been with an agency where the rank and file receive as much, if not more tactical training than most SWAT teams (huge metro PD's excluded). We mainly do close quarters room entry and vehicle assaults. My open air experience is limited to a couple active shooters.

We enter a house with way more people than you might think. Moving safely through a structure takes a ton of people. You cannot, under any circumstances, safely move through a house or rooms by yourself. If there is a threat in the home, I don't recommend any homeowner try to clear their own home, especially alone. But sometimes you have to work with what you have. It shouldn't be plan A, though. Best case is defend a room at the end of a hallway and call the Calvary.

I personally prefer a handgun with a weapon mounted light for HD because I am still very effective using 1 hand with it while using the other to herd people, use the phone, manipulate doors, etc. It is very clunky moving through a tight house and opening doors alone with a long gun.

Rifles and shotguns are absolutely more effective in a gun fight, but you need to prepare for more than the gunfight. It's not Mogadishu. You aren't going to be laying suppressive fire. You need to manage the whole situation, which is a lot more than which gun is most ballistically effective.

There are a lot of finer points about the benefits of handguns in close quarters, but the gist is they are significantly easier to maneuver. A counterpoint is of you are planning on static defense of a room, the disadvantages of a long gun in CQ are minimized. YMMV. My house is tight and even though a have a couple acres, I don't have a good backstop, so shooting out is not a great option.

Whatever you do, be responsible, buy a safe, not a storage cabinet, a real safe, get trained, continue training, teach your kids and have a plan that you rehearse with your whole family.