Re: AR vs Shottie for Home Defense
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TJ.</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
BasraBoy,
When i moved to the US from the UK i thought a lot of this home defense (sorry defence) chat on the forums was over the top and more than a little "gun-ho". I've got to say though i'm really shocked at the level of violence and random violence at that in the US. Back in Blighty you get the standard burglary for the most part, the deserved football player being robbed when he's playing away (in more sense than one) and the very occasional violent break-in which hits the media big time. Over here, the violence is just on a different level. The aggression is senseless and you just have to be here a short while to read or hear about home invasions, road-rage gone bad and just random acts of extreme violence. There are just far more firearms in the wrong hands here and those hands seem very willing to use them with limited respect for human life. While i'm sure you can get unlucky in the UK the odds just appear that much shorter here. I'm starting to understand why people here spend time and effort thinking about the type of things we never really have to consider back home. Different ball-game altogether. </div></div>
TJ - thanks.
Yes, you are right, we are for the most part "sheltered" here in the UK from random and extreme violence.
I shoot with a South African ex-cop from time to time. He told me what a relief it is to have his family in the UK and feel confident that they are noy likely to be kidnapped or killed whilst he is out at work.
Having said that, there have been a number of murders over the Christmas and New Year period over here - including one involving an Indian student shot on the street in Salford for no reason other than being Indian,and another where a kid was stabbed in Oxford Street during the day at the height of the Sales (apprently in a dispute over a pair of trousers).
I am sure that, given time, the random violennce aspect you mention will only increase here.
I've never believed in proportionate/reasonable force as a limit on protecting one's home and family.
As for the PC obsession with the human rights of intruders (who choose to place themselves outside the law the minute they decide to break into someone's home, but crave it's protection the minute their plan bites them in the ass) that is (IMHO) pure BS!
My late father-in-law apprehended an intruder in his home back in the early '70's. Both my MiL and my wife (then aged under 10) were in the house.
Using skills he had learned and utilised during WW2 and a Mauser bayonet he had taken off a German with whom he had had a disagreement (needless to say the German had lost).
He held the criminal until the police arrived - at that point the officer told my FiL that he had better put the weapon away before he (the office) saw it.
He then lectured my FiL on the risks of confronting an assailant with a weapon and having the assailant take the weapon from you and use it themselves.
These days my FiL would have been arrested immediately alongside the intruder and charged with assault and possession of an offensive weapon!
Whilst "castle law" may be seen here as an extreme response, I can see how homeowners feel it is appropriate and take steps to ensure their own security.
I am sure there are many here in the UK who feel that a similar law should prevail here...... "enter at your own risk!"
Shortly after the riots this summer my South African mate told me I'd been insane to sell my semi-auto .22LR AR clone - he said I should get another one ASAP. Why?
In his opinion, loaded with hollow point ammo, it was an ideal home defense tool!
But he made the point that a tool is just a tool and can just as easily become a liability to the user without:
(a) proper training,
(b) the ability and discipline to remember and use the training under pressure and
(c) a knowledge of the law/rules of engagement!
Keep safe!!
