My fiance and I currently live in a pretty nice neighborhood, although since we live downtown, we get the occasional homeless going through trash and the like. It's a straight place and I've never felt like getting a gun at home would be necessary. Long story short, the owner is moving back in and we wanted to stay downtown so we found a bad ass house on the South side (16 blocks from current location). It's a not nearly as nice as the neighborhood we are in now,and it's somewhere a local suggested I benefit from having a gun around the house for self defense as a last resort. (I live in FL and getting a gun is super easy.) We have 2 nice cars, and hers in particular isn't exactly a detterant. We have the ability to park our cars in our back yard and protect them via auto gate but we still need someadditional detterants to thiefs for protection. We have an ADT alarm system we are planning on turning on, but we would love some more suggestions? I am not a huge gun enthusiast, so i'm open to anything. My main goal is keep my fiance, and our stuff safe. In any of your experiences have real (or fake) cameras ever acted as a good preventative or will it look like I am selling drugs out of my house? This one is def up for discussion. Peace our and Happy Fridays from the 727
Well my feelings on owning firearms for self defense are well known around here, strong. There are a number of things to consider though, safety, then the law, the fact that bullets can go through walls so you cant just fire any old way in a house or neighborhood. So much consideration, have you ever owed a gun? I dont suggest owning a gun without taking a class or two first at least, probably a requirement now after all the craziness people started. After all, it is not keeping you safe if you dont know how to safely handle and operate it. Get a dog and once you understand the massive responsibility involved, if you ever do, then get a firearm. People can die if you make mistakes with a firearm, or at least be injured for life. And it happens all the time.
Get a dog man. Homes with dogs that bark at strangers on the property are significantly less likely to be robbed.
I appreciate the dog suggestion, however I really just DON'T want a dog at this point in my life. We're still kinda young and like to travel and I feel like it's way harder getting someone to take care of a dog than a cat. Any suggestions in addition to a dog? There will be an alarm system as well.
Are tasers legal in your state? If nothing else get a can of mace. I've never actually used one on a person, but I have fired one of these things, and I think they might make a happy medium for you. http://www.guardian-self-defense.com/mace-pepper-spray-gun#.UfynWZLrw6w
Orioles fan gave a response I wasn't prepared to see on GC, surprised the hell out of me. He's basically dead on right, however understanding how to be a responsible gun owner isn't exactly rocket science. It also isn't something you can fully understand with text and videos. Have anyone in your life who is a responsible (not the same as gun nut) gun owner? Let them take you to a range and walk you through everything on how to handle a firearm. From working the safety, magazine release, slide release and everything else. Or go to a respectable gun store and ask for trainer recommendations. Either way, you want to walk away with a solid understanding of how the firearm works and how to manipulate it. You want to be intimately familiar with it. One of the few things the internet can help us with is understanding penetration, although adding some r/l examples in there too is helpful and fun. Go to the range with some plywood and see first hand. Penetration can turn you into the man who killed his family on accident in an instant instead of the guy who saved his family.
Not being what you'd call highly educated I know I'm going to word this poorly but the most important part of carry a firearm for me isn't exactly that I can deal with a threat but more so what I can/have to shrug off as non threatening. For one I can't risk getting in a fight and having the weapon fall out mid struggle and what has made my life confrontation free for years is that I don't feel threatened by most situations therefore the "man" in me doesn't need to react to said situations. It's not an attitude of "I'm bad ass I have my gun" its just simply knowing that I have to pick my battles (bad phrase for this maybe) more carefully.
I don't get this, because I don't disagree that the responsibilities involved with owning firearms are not to be taken lightly. Education isn't needed to know that, schools don't teach common sense.
Get a "Beware of Dog" sign anyway, could help. How much are you looking to spend? For $50-100 you can get an indoor security camera that you can view from your phone, and that will take a snapshot and email you when motion is detected. For around $200, you can get a decent 4-camera outdoor surveillance system. If you're parking your cars outside, I'd really recommend never leaving your garage door openers inside them since that could give someone easy access to your garage and potentially your house.
Beware of dog signs and security system signs in your yard or fences is a big deterrent i have heard on tv specials n such. If you want to get a gun go take hunter's education or go to a local gun store and ask about classes and seminars n such or training to get your CCW. If you can have a friend or family member who owns a gun take you out and show you the ropes with one and let you actually get a feel for a weapon. Talking about it is one thing but actually knowing how to responsibly use and care for one is different. Get all the education about it as you can never be afraid to ask for help from someone knowledgeable. Also PRACTICE! it's probably the most important thing. Go out and shoot and shoot and shoot.
Don't freak yourself out too much, I do respect you want to be safe but being in a bad spot doesn't inherently make you a target. My brother lives in Bed-Stuy which isn't the greatest place in NYC and he has never had an issue. I think you'll be fine with a security system and a motion sensing light.