Hello Jim,
I’d like to respond to MB’s article. In the Securing Your Castle section, MB wrote:
“If you have studied survival even a little, then you are aware that arming yourself ranks high on the list of recommendations. Perhaps some of you share my reluctance to build an armory in my home. I have children, and being married to someone who is strictly against guns makes security a particularly difficult element in my survival preparations. While I recognize security as an absolute must, I have reservations about keeping a device designed to kill in my home. Ironically the reasons not to own a gun are the very reasons why I feel I should own gun. The reasons are aged 2-11, not including the Mrs. In a volatile scenario that could spiral out of control; I would feel helpless without weapons to protect my family. All the stockpiling of food and water will be futile if some thug can easily take it from you (and maybe your lives with it). If you do decide to own a firearm (or firearms), don’t flaunt it and please educate yourself and practice. Keep a chamber or trigger lock in place and store the ammunition in a different location if necessary.”
Keeping a firearm with a trigger lock in place and ammunition stored in a different location renders that firearm useless in my opinion. In the city, once there is an unknown perceived noise in the house, the clock is ticking. You would have to go and get your firearm, unlock it, go get the ammo and load the magazine. If it is at night, reaction time to get out of bed and wake up enough to grasp the situation is additional time that will depend on the person. You might as well just go and greet your designated thug and let them in and save yourself the structural damage.
City people have to deal with the constant propaganda that makes them rethink the reason to have firearms in the first place where it’s always about the children and not about self defense. It reminds me of the book “Dial 911 and Die“. Here are the numbers: Five seconds to your firearms or five minutes until the clean-up crew arrives.
The solutions: Gun Safes, Educating your Family and Training.
Gun Safes keep children away from the firearms and keep you within 5 seconds of having a loaded and round chambered firearm that is ready to go. In larger houses, multiple locations are useful to keep one close by. There are many types of handgun safes that can be located thought a house that will keep children out. They should contain the gun and magazines or speed clips preferably in a pouch to make easy to grab and clip on to whatever you are wearing at the time. A holster would be handy to have adjacent to the safe so you can have both hands free if needed. There are other wall-mount safes for long guns and shotguns as well. I also know people who normally wear their firearms while they are at home or at least when they answer the door.
Educating your Family is the most important thing. The safes keeps young ones away from the firearms. When they are ready, they can be introduced to what a firearm is, its uses and to not speak to others about them besides immediate family members. The other major aspect is that they can ask to see the firearms at any time they want. At that time they are interested, they will listen and learn. I’ll drop what I’m doing and allow them to explore while teaching them further. This eliminates the mystery and “forbidden fruit idea” that leads to most problems.
Training can be broken into two categories, firearms training and planning for your location.
The successfully use of a firearm in self defense can be greatly enhanced by training and practice. If you buy a firearm, don’t get a false sense of security now that you have one. It does no good without being able to properly use it. Know the firearm you purchased. Read the manual, learn all the features and know how to manipulate it. There are a number of basic firearm training courses available from various organizations. If you don’t take a course, go practice with a knowledgeable friend. There are many resources available on the internet as well.
You’ve got a firearm, you know how to use it and now how will you employ that tool to your particular location? You wake up from a disturbing noise and now you need to take action. What will you do? Where will you go? Where are the children? If someone confronts me here and now and I miss, will I have a chance to hit a family member in the next room? Looking at your location and developing simple action plans will take the time consuming guess work out when you only have time to react. Plan and practice that plan so when the time comes you will naturally follow your plan without needing to think. Make the “what if” scenarios fun for the whole family so if the time comes, your family will be coordinated and have a greater chance to handle the threat. There are numerous resources on the internet for thinking about scenarios as well. – Paul.