You have an advantage at home. You know the layout and most of the times, an intruder does not. Having a gun at home should be a last ditch defense, not a solution to being invaded. Get a good alarm system and a dog. Cameras also help, and put a sign out in the garden or a sticker on the windows in the lower corner that lets a thief know your house is alarm protected. In almost all cases, a thief will choose a house that is an easier target rather than risk entry - and that is the whole point. I have cameras, a wired alarm system (for fire as well - discount on insurance) and of course, a safe with a biometric lock under my bed. The alarm was triggered once and I had my weapon in less than 20 seconds. The odds of an intruder getting to my bedroom in under 20 seconds is nil. Turned out my son (at the time he was 6) had opened the back patio door in the middle of the night because he said he heard a dog outside or something. We can't own a dog because my wife has allergies. This is the sign I have in my front garden: I assure you, a thief doesn't want to go through all the trouble to rob my house when he can get a neighbor with much less grief. An added bonus is that this sign also stops a lot of solicitors.
Uh, sounds like you're reading a book on what not to do. Shooting sideways is idiotic. Practice a proper draw, where the gun comes up to your chest and you push out towards the target. Don't have your arm raise as if it were a lever. Both hands, both eyes open. Don't ever close one eye. Doing all sorts of silly crap like one handed stuff and the like...just practice the right way every time. And you'll do it that way when you have to.
How many civilians who carry handguns can maintain fine motor skills under duress and in a crowd? I'm guessing not many. So the real question is, How many ticking time bombs with the best of intentions are walking around at any given time?
Not many is correct. That is not an argument for abandoning the second amendment. Strictly enforce existing laws would be helpful. I'd support a more thorough background check and mandatory training for all firearm purchases. All that said, none of it stops a criminal. The only things that stop criminals are a bullet, and/or long lengthy prison sentences for crimes committed with a gun.
Great advice. This is why I like second story bedrooms and dislike the typical Florida layout with a sliding glass door opening off the master BR to the lanai. An intruder can kick that door in and be on top of you in no time. What would you recommend as a home defense weapon for a woman who is ok with handling firearms but is not likely to do much if any training? Where do you come down on the shotgun versus AR debate for home defense?
Even firearm training will not necessarily prepare a civilian to conduct himself properly under intense stress. Reminds me of a story in Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, where one guy said he can hit a champagne glass at 20 paces (or whatever). The other guy said, Yeah, but can you hit the glass while it's aiming a bullet at your heart?
This is true, most people have no idea how they'll react in an actual violent confrontation, just as people don't really know how they'll act in real combat. Still, training is a necessary component if one is to have any chance at all. Given the stand your ground laws there should also be a mandatory class for all firearms owners in just what that law really entails. I'm all for training and education in weapons use, but I do not support the restricting of law biding citizens from being able to legally make the purchase. If a person thinks it makes them safer, they have the right to pursue that. Personally I don't think it makes people as safe as they think it does specifically for the reason we're discussing. Most will panic and forget everything and end up getting shot themselves. It's a personal choice. Whatever helps one sleep at night. BTW, I still don't own any type of firearm. Haven't fired a weapon in many decades. Seen enough, but I won't let my personal experience prohibit others from doing what they have the right to pursue. Day ever comes where I feel the need to arm myself it's probably too late for us all.
Which were written by morons for morons. I don't care nearly as much about firearm owners shooting themselves as I do about firearm owners inadvertently shooting innocent bystanders in the heat of the moment.