Home defense rethink. What do you guys think?

Maybe, but I want an attacker / invader to be incapacitated, not just “hurt” (and pissed off).

So my current home (and office, and car) defensive weapon of choice is… wasp spray. It has a range of up to 27’, fires a traceable stream, and is non-lethal, non-penetrating. That way, I don’t have to be concerned that I’m about to fire a life-or-death shot in the dark; the worst I will do is temporarily blind someone and perhaps cause some breathing difficulty – which is my aim, in this case. If I shoot a friend by mistake, then all I have to do later is apologize, and not attend a funeral and a grand jury hearing.

The bonus is that even in my nominally weapons-free office, I can keep the can sitting on my desk, where it elicits questions from approximately one or two people per year.

Wasp spray makes sense for close quarters, it would also stinking hurt eyes. OC hangs around too much and you often end up getting yourself, especially in the hallway scenario. My paintball marker can lay down a hail of owie though and the mental picture of “ow ow jeez ow get me out of here” seems pretty good. Once in a less enclosed area, I can bring bigger ordinance to bear. (and still probably deafen myself)

I can deal with ear problems. If I ever find myself having to defend the house there is no way to know if your intruder is carrying paint guns or real guns. Drugged up perps seem to be able to ignore pain easily, and they can get from one end of a large room to the other in about 2 seconds. You do what you think is best but dead men won’t be bothered by ear damage. I’ll take the ear damage.

I made the mistake one time of forgetting to put my hearing protection on right before lighting off my AR one shot, and that was at an outdoor range. I thought my head exploded it hurt that bad. Pistols aren’t really that much better they are loud as hell too. In the heat of the moment of a home invasion I don’t think any of us would really be affected by the noise until after its over.

You could watch this discussion about this very topic with 2 security professionals

Am I the only one that finds the idea of attacking an intruder with paint balls a bit funny?

I rely on a home security system, a loud dog, and the police as my means of protection.

Very wise.

I was always taught not to pull a gun unless I’m willing to kill. My instructor in the CCP class also advised against small caliber handguns since they don’t have “stopping power”. The point being that non-lethally injuring an intruder may result in a not-incapacitated-and-now-pissed-off intruder.

I have large dogs and a baseball bat.

Woe to the intruder who visits me uninvited. He will become my private tortured plaything, to bat around for fun like a fuzzball fleeing the cats paw.

We begin by chaining him to my kitchen table where he will experience my lacking cooking skills. Yes “Eat my friend… Eat!” I dare say he will beg for release.

Welcome to my world of pain.

You can cause severe permanent hearing loss by discharging a weapon in a close area without hearing protection. However, if it’s a choice between your hearing or your life, I say choose life.

Even a .22 in the shooting lane at the range is really loud. The Damage capacity of this little guy is severely underrated. Nobody likes getting shot. Within 17 feet any bad guy is dangerous with a knife, and worthy of getting the full fury of any ordinance I have on hand. I would rather be shot than cut. It is just that I like being able to hear. I am, however very near getting hold of some paintballs loaded with OC.

Really? Paintballs?

Buy rubber bullets and attach silencers. Here is a youtube demonstration shooting suppressed handguns in a house

Suppressors are a good option if you are where they are legal. Why in the world any govt would feel they need to be controlled is beyond me I guess.

I assumed he was in a state that it was legal, but in case of doubt, go here to check, silencersarelegal

Even my shotgun has a silencer, but it doesn’t suppress the sound as well as on a pistol.

@tomathon I’m sure some are better designed than others. The good ones are pretty expensive. If you’re a regular working guy those models may be out of reach. Not all guns will work with them, but to use one on a real gun inside the house to save your life, they would be nice consideration. Someone might better spend their hard earned money on strengthening their windows and doors so the bad guys never get inside in the first place. One never knows how much trouble someone will go to just to get in.

I’m just curious where people live that they don’t feel safe in their own home? Have you been robbed while you were at home before? Why the constant fear?

@johnpowell Its not constant fear. Thats just a silly misnomer the anti’s use in order to downplay the fact that home invasion really do happen. Not very sincere either. The same weapons one would keep to defend their homes is often the same one for fun target practice or hunting. I feel safe in my place, but that in no way has an impact on a person I’ve never seen before suddenly deciding they think they need something in here. Its out of my control. Nothing wrong with being prepared for an emergency even though the likely hood of that happening might be rare. How many people religiously use their seat belts when they drive, having never been close to being in a crash? Almost all of us. Using your logic we should all cease using them, after all, the car isn’t going to know either way, and we don’t need them anyway right?

This question was about suppressing the loud noise when a gun is fired. The OP probably assumed the whole topic of gun control could be addressed in another place. And that members responding here would be past that. Your reply seems a bit trollish in relation to the question. This shouldn’t be a long discussion as long as we don’t go there. But thats up to you I guess.

@woodcutter

Yeah, newer ones and the higher end models will do a much better job, but you’re looking at $2000 price range. Mine were custom made.

btw @majorrich,

When I said rubber bullets, I just used that term for familiarity. They have moved on, long ago from rubber bullets to much more efficient materials because rubber bullets were bouncing uncontrollably.

@johnpowell

Is there crime in world you live in? How do you think you prevent or stop crime?

@tomathon :: There is actually a lot. But people normally wait until I not home to steal my Xbox. I don’t even lock my door when I am home.

Haha, alright. I can’t even begin to formulate a response to the amount of problems with that statement

@johnpowell ”people normally wait until I not home to steal my Xbox” That statement seems odd. So what you are saying is, that a robbery occurring at your home when you are there is unusual? If so, then you are no different from the rest of us. All “hot” home break-ins are unusual to say the least. If you are leaving your place unlocked then you are playing the odds that you won’t lose the XBox as well as the PC when you leave. And you live in a high crime area?

This whole situation of yours you describe will never add up to well, almost everyone who reads it. Why do you suppose this is?

@woodcutter So what you are saying is, that a robbery occurring at your home when you are there is unusual?

A robbery can only occur when someone is home. If no victim is present, then it would be burglary, not robbery.

@livelaughlove21….........................................

If it is robbery, then you answered the question for why you would need guns in your homes and carrying them on you at all times.

If it is burglary, then you need to turn your home into an impenetrable fortress since you won’t be at home, defending it. It’s too bad you have bullshit laws that prevent booby-traps.

You don’t buy guns just to prevent a single category of crimes. There are other categories than just burglary. As long as crime exists, it needs to be prevented or stopped. What the hell do you think cops do? They use guns to enforce law, only you can’t carry cops around in your backpack, so you carry your own guns.

Yes, the odds are slim that people will rob me when the light are on. Easier targets are all around me. I live in a apartment complex.

Look at it this way. You have people who don’t wear seatbelts and don’t put on helmets. What happens to them when there is an accident? They die or become severely or permanently disabled. They made their own calculations of risk as you did. The odds were slim in their minds and now they’re eating out of a straw. Now apply this to guns, only keep in mind that guns aren’t only for defense, they can be used for offense as well (saving the lives of others).

I have lots of firearms, locked up, in my house.

Having said that, and as I have said many times on this site, my “home defense” weapons are a baseball bat and a vintage KA-BAR knife. I suggest the same to you.

I can seriously fuck up two or three people with those.

If I need more than that, I am probably screwed anyway.

You can keep your knife. I’m keeping something that lets me strike without putting myself within the other guys reach forcing me into their game of which they probably will be better at, . Bats and knives, fists etc are ok but those might unintentionally give an attacker the idea they still might have a chance to continue with their plan.