Getting started with home protection how I'm I doing?

[EastCarolina]

Hey y'all am new to the form. Let me give you a little back story.I never really been much into guns I never had anything against them just never really cared about them. Back around Thanksgiving our home was broken in and robbed my wife and I were not home but it got me thinking what if we had been home? All I had for protection was a 22 rifle that was given to me when my granddad passed away and a half a box of bullets for it that my dad gave me. I didn't even have it loaded. I'm guessing had we been home the robber wouldn't have given me time to Load it lol. Anyway since then I've decided I need to protect my home my life and most importantly my wife's life. I am on a budget so I've gotten what I can afford. First a few boxes of ammo for my 22 which I now know is a Remington speed master and I keep it loaded second I picked up a 38 caliber revolver I know some will say I need something stronger but I got what I could afford I got it new for 250 also have it loaded with Hollowpoints. Lastly I got a used 20 gauge pump shotgun I have it loaded with number two buckshot I took the plug out and I have five shells in it. How I'm doing? Is this good enough to keep my home safe?

[Skadoosh]

Yup. Learn and follow the golden rules of firearms. And go practice at the range.

[Onward Allusion]

EastCarolina
Getting started with home protection how I'm I doing?
Hey y'all am new to the form. Let me give you a little back story.I never really been much into guns I never had anything against them just never really cared about them. Back around Thanksgiving our home was broken in and robbed my wife and I were not home but it got me thinking what if we had been home? All I had for protection was a 22 rifle that was given to me when my granddad passed away and a half a box of bullets for it that my dad gave me. I didn't even have it loaded. I'm guessing had we been home the robber wouldn't have given me time to Load it lol. Anyway since then I've decided I need to protect my home my life and most importantly my wife's life. I am on a budget so I've gotten what I can afford. First a few boxes of ammo for my 22 which I now know is a Remington speed master and I keep it loaded second I picked up a 38 caliber revolver I know some will say I need something stronger but I got what I could afford I got it new for 250 also have it loaded with Hollowpoints. Lastly I got a used 20 gauge pump shotgun I have it loaded with number two buckshot I took the plug out and I have five shells in it. How I'm doing? Is this good enough to keep my home safe?

A few thoughts:

- The order of protection is your life, that of your wife's (and any loved ones), then your home/property and not home, your wife, & you.
- Layered protection. Some heavy duty deadbolts, motion sensing lights, monitored alarm system.
- Practice and train. Ideally with a professional.
- Consider wearing your firearm at home. Yeah, a lot of folks will say this border's on being paranoid. However, think about what you would do if someone was trying to break into your home.

[Rifleman1952]

You're doing fine. As Skadoosh said, the main thing now is for you and your wife to learn how to safely use your firearms.

A good place to begin for a new shooter is corneredcat.com. Start with the articles on firearms safety.

In your case, the 20ga would be my primary home defense gun, with the others as backups.

[shafter]

What you have should be just fine for home protection. I'd keep one on the nightstand and the other under the couch. (unless there's kids in the home).

[Grizz12]

Dogs make great alarm systems, they may scare off criminals and give you a few more seconds to GYST.

[TailGator]

You are adequately armed. Now think about how you will use them. Where will they be kept to be both safe and easily accessed? What lines of fire can you use in the layout of your house? Where will your wife be? Does your wife know how to use the firearms? What places in your house can be most easily defended? Where are the phones and cell phones kept?

In short, have a plan. Think all these things through now, while you have time, because things might be happening too fast in an emergency for you to think and evaluate clearly.

[TarDevil]

Dogs make great alarm systems

^^^THIS! Ask any criminal and they'll tell you the first order of business to keep them out of your house is get a dog.

But as Onward Allusion said, having your sidearm on you at all times is the best assurance you can deflect the threat until you get to your shotgun. My best friend thought I was a bit obsessive for carrying my handgun from room to room and while letting the dogs out... until I chased a pervert away from her back bedroom window. You just never know.

Personally, I'd load that shotgun with 00 buck, but #2 is nothing to sneeze at. But make sure you pattern that gun with whatever load you choose at typical self defense yardages.... say 3, 5 and 10 yards.

Do practice. A lot.

[chewie146]

If you can use them, you can't do much better, but you could do a lot worse. Shoot them a lot to ensure proficiency with the tool and to vet the reliability of the tools. 20 gauge is the way to go right now, as that's still in stock. I don't know what kind of budget you have, but a 250 round case of 20 gauge shells for about 60 bucks would go a long way for some practice. Get some snap caps (dummy rounds) and go to a place with a safe backstop and NO LIVE AMMO around and practice loading, unloading, ejecting shells, etc. You can get those for cheap and they go a long way toward weapons handling.

When I say to ensure there is no live ammo around for dry fire practice and weapon handling, that comes from a loud experience from my past that involved a "snap cap" and a center channel speaker. They say the loudest sound in the world is "click" when there should have been a "boom." I venture that the second loudest is a "boom" when there should have been a "click."

[lcpiper]

Your good already with the guns you have. All you need to do now is become proficient with them.

Just make sure you don't go overboard with ideas like how you are going to clear your house of bad guys. You get to the closest gun if your wife is with you, have her follow. Grab a phone soonest if on the way, she can call 911. Then hold up with your gun, both if possible, and let the cops do the house clearing while you protect what's is most important.

Don't leave her alone.
Protect your stuff with insurance.
Don't leave her with the pistol and run off to look for bad guys, she will just decide to ignore you for whatever reason and one of you will shoot the other.

I have pistols, one in the valuables safe, one on top of the gun safe, one at my desk where I spend most of my free time, one on the bed-stand, and there is a shotgun between the mattress and box springs that I actually sleep on. Her phone charges in the kitchen, mine in the bedroom.