opinion on home protection guns

[copgrl2b]

Hello,

I just purchased a mossberg .410, 500 series, pump shotgun today. I have heard that it is "easy" for a "girl" to fire. (HAHA)

I was just wondering the various opinions people might have concerning this weapon for home protection -- positive/negative comments are appreciated.

thank you...

cop^girl^2^be

[Samurai004]

Don't let anyone say, "this or that is a good gun for a girl to fire...". Pick whatever feels best to you, try it out first and get the training necessary to be safe and effective with it (any NRA sponsored class is a good bet and normally a good deal).

You also need to know how to prepare your bedroom (most likely) as your stronghold with all things necessary to take care of a situation should it occur. If you hear someone inside your house and have time you will need to get behind some cover (the bed), stay low, have a push button flashlight, and contact the police on a phone which should be next to your bed (ideally a cell phone on a charger). Once you are in that position stay there, stay focused on the entryways and keep the police updated. Also make a decision before hand about when to shoot, if the identifiable stranger/intruder comes past this point I WILL shoot, if you hesitate they can persuade their way right into a distance that they might disarm you.

Answering the door is another situation (handgun is best here), if you don't feel comfortable don't answer the door, if you get that really wierd gut feeling, don't ignore it, it is better safe than sorry...you only get ONE life don't sacrifice it because of politeness. Get a peephole and hopefully get sometype of discription for the responding officers. At this point, it would be ideal to get to your stronghold and wait until the police arrive while staying in constant contact with the dispatcher.

If you have children, you will need to change the above plans of action (you won't want to leave them outside of your stronghold with a possible intruder), and this is where the home defense training classes will help a lot. Treat this like a fire drill, do dry runs (minus calling 911 of course), check batteries, and just have a plan setup ahead of time.

Since you mentioned home defense and the .410 I would say that it is a good shotgun if that is what felt best to you if it is in good condition. The key isn't the weapon as much as it is the time you have taken in becoming intimately familiar with the weapon and how to be effective using it (but that is part of the fun, right?!). Almost anything will work with the proper practice and training, even a toothbush can be effective if the proper mindset is there.

At this point I would say go out get enrolled in a home defense/shotgun class and bust some caps!!!:D

Plan, practice and persevere!