Worried about Home Defense

[lexington86]

There has been an increasing number of assaults and robberies in and around the State College area over this past year. I haven't been too worried because most of those incidents happen downtown, and I live about 5 miles away from that "hot zone."

Well as of today, that's all changed, due to the fact that there was an armed robbery in my apartment complex last night. There were three men armed with knives and scissors, and they apparently forced their way into an unlocked apartment and stole one of the resident's cell phones. Now, even though this sounds like the work of amateurs (given what they armed themselves with and what they stole), this incident still has me pretty nervous.

I'm always sure to lock the main entry door to my apartment before I go to bed, and my roommates usually do the same. Our bedroom doors also have dead-bolts which I usually don't lock when I go to bed, but I'm going to start doing that too. I also know not to open the door for people I don't know, and the main entry door has a peep-hole to assist with positive identification. I won't be 21 until late May, so I'm not yet able to own a handgun for self-defense. The only firearm I own that could possibly be used for defense is my Remmy 870 (12ga.). I usually keep my firearms locked away in their cases in the closet or under the bed, but after this robbery incident hitting so close to my home, I think I'm going to keep my 870 out of the case in a corner behind my bedroom door. I have a bunch of light birdshot, and also have some double-aught buckshot and some one-ounce slugs. I know I shouldn't use the slugs, as they overpenetrate like whoa. I'm going to stop at Dicks on the way home from work today to pick up some #4 buckshot, and I think I'm gonna keep the 870 loaded with two birdshot shells followed by three #4 buckshots.

My question to you guys is do you have any tips for me regarding home defense? Is there anything I'm doing wrong that I could do better? Any comments will be greatly appreciated!

[JustinM]

Always leave your door locked. Dont open the door for strangers. Get 00 buck. Apply desired amount of 00 buck to the COM of the intruders.

[D-FENS]

What part of town are you in (State College is my old stomping ground)? Heroin has taken a pretty strong hold in the area, which is a shame. It's so cheap from Lewistown (transport hub).

If there was an armed break-in/robbery, chances are good that your neighbor was up to no good. Not to minimize the situation or anything but people that have guns and do armed robberies usually don't just pick random homes to do it to (although it does happen). Chances are it was someone who knew something was going on in the home.

[Triggerh4ppy]

Always leave your door locked. Dont open the door for strangers. Get 00 buck. Apply desired amount of 00 buck to the COM of the intruders.

ive heard places 00 buck is not good for hd because it can hit the guy and go through the other side (into a non-com back behind em) that what ive heard anyways maybe the the smarter people will fill ya in(im not that smart)

Triggerh4ppy

[Emptymag]

Armed with knives and SCISSORS?
Buy some chain mail armor!

Sorry, I can't offer any advice on what shells to use. My home is brick, no children, no real concern about over-penetration. I'm sure you will get some good advise here though.

[JustinM]

ive heard places 00 buck is not good for hd because it can hit the guy and go through the other side (into a non-com back behind em) that what ive heard anyways maybe the the smarter people will fill ya in(im not that smart)

Triggerh4ppy

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm

00 buck doesn;t penetrate as much as handgun or rifle rounds, as you'll see on the test.

"Frankly, I was surprised that the shotgun did not penetrate more than it did. I had been led to believe that they penetrated more than a .223 rifle or a 9mm or .45 ACP. Such was not the case.

Amazing what you can learn by doing a little testing."

"But doesn't 00 Buck penetrate too much in interior walls to be a "safe" load in a home?
Yes, it does penetrate a lot. But any load that is going to be effective will need to penetrate walls to have enough power to penetrate bad guys. If our only concern was to be sure we didn't penetrate walls, we would use BB guns. However, BB guns will not stop bad guys.

Therefore, we must use loads that will STOP bad guys, and this means that they will also penetrate walls. So, be sure you hit the bad guy and do not shoot into walls where loved ones are on the other side."

Incase you didnt want to read the whole test.

[Glock17]

I went to Penn State, and thought it may appear ideal and all nice on the cover, there is definately an underground voilent flow.

About 10 or 11 years ago, my roomate was savagely beaten on the corner of Beaver and Fraser, right where the Svoboda's bookstore used to be. It was around 11 pm, and he was coming back from a study session. He was lucky to be alive. It was just random thugs beating someone up. Pretty scary.

00 Buck is pretty awesome, and should do the ner'er do well much harm!

[awkx]

Depending on how flimsy the walls are in your apartment building, you may want to consider #4 or #1 buckshot, so that a stray pellet is less likely to go through the walls and kill one of your neighbors. May also want to have 00 buckshot loaded after the #4 or #1, just in case.
Birdshot is probably not enough to stop someone who is intoxicated with alcohol or narcotics, especially the smaller sizes of birdshot.

Also, consider mounting a flashlight to the shotgun to illuminate and/or blind the intruder. There are flashlights specially designed to be mounted on shotgun and to withstand it being fired.

[JustinM]

Birdshot is probably not enough to stop someone who is intoxicated with alcohol or narcotics, especially the smaller sizes of birdshot.

From the Box of truth:

Birdshot as a Defense Load
I have had a lot of questions, summed up as follows: How effective is birdshot (#4, #6, #8, etc.) as a defense load?

We have done tests with various birdshot loads. Birdshot penetrated through two pieces of drywall (representing one wall) and was stopped in the paper on the front of the second wall. The problem with birdshot is that it does not penetrate enough to be effective as a defense round. Birdshot is designed to bring down little birds.

A policeman told of seeing a guy shot at close range with a load of 12 gauge birdshot, and was not even knocked down. He was still walking around when the EMTs got there. It was an ugly, shallow wound, but did not STOP the guy. And that is what we want... to STOP the bad guy from whatever he is doing. To do this, you must have a load that will reach the vitals of the bad guy. Birdshot will not do this.

In fact, tests have shown that even #4 Buckshot lacks the necessary penetration to reach the vital organs. Only 0 Buck, 00 Buck, and 000 Buck penetrate enough to reach the vital organs.

Unless you expect to be attacked by little birds, do not use birdshot. Use 00 Buck. It will do the job.

"I saw a gunshot victim, about 5' 10" and 200 lbs, taken to the operating room with a shotgun wound to the chest. He was shot at a range of six feet at a distance of just over the pectoralis muscle. He was sitting on his front porch and walked to the ambulance. We explored the chest after x-rays were taken. The ER doc had said 'buckshot' wound, but this was obviously not accurate.

It was # 6 shot. There was a crater in the skin over an inch in diameter. When the shot hit the level of the ribs, it spread out about five inches. There was ONE pellet that had passed between the ribs and entered the pericardium, but not damaged the heart at all. As you say, 'use birdshot for little birds.'"

[KeithPA]

If you are very concerned about over penetration do as a previous poster said. Get #4. It's obviously not as powerfull but a good number of people use it for home defense.