We had an incident in this neighborhood several weeks ago.I always thought I would live here for the rest of my life, now wish I could move. Problem is houses are not selling! We have had neighborhood watch for years.
I have my carry permit, a weapon, and I know how to use it. I also have a dog. I'm sick & tired of all the crime!
When I go out to the grocery store or anywhere around here I am always alert of who is around me. If I think a car is following me I do not go to my home!

Tug

Things to consider BEFORE you decide on a gun for home protection:

1. Are there children in the home?
2. Are there pets in the home? Dogs/cats can make things go 'bump' in the night. Dogs deter more home crimes than any gun will. Ask any cop.
3. Is there a ‘significant other’ in the home? (yes I know there is a Mrs. Muddle)
4. Are there neighbor’s right next-door?
5. Are you anywhere near proficient with a gun?

A good LARGE can of pepper spray or a dry-chem fire extinguisher and a baseball bat may be the right choice instead.

If you’re determined to buy a gun, buy a GOOD one. Not some cheap P.O.S.

After you’ve had several months of supervised training, take each and every instructor led class you can, and after you’ve put a few thousand rounds through your new gun and you’ve read and fully understand what you can lawfully do and/or not do and if and only if you are confident in you abilities should you consider carrying a concealed gun for your protection when OUT of your house.

Although the state of Georgia will allow you to go to the sheriff’s office and apply for a concealed carry permit with absolutely ZERO training, I don’t suggest it for anybody.

A loaded gun is only going to have the same respect for you that you have for it.

One of the better ‘home defense’ guns is a 410 shotgun, not a .45 or 9mm. Just forget about a rifle altogether.

Mossberg makes a 410 called 500®/590® Special Purpose”. It’s been rated one of the best home defense weapons by many. You can buy all kinds of ‘attachments’ like a nylon child’s stock and laser sights.

Mossberg used to make one called the “Home Defender” but finding one now would be hard at best.

As for a concealed weapon, I would suggest at least a .40 if not a .45 cal. Git Real will prefer a .40 while I prefer the .45. My newest concealed is a KAHR PM45. It’s smaller and weighs less than 2lbs. loaded. As for Mrs. Muddle I would suggest either a 9mm or a .38 capable of shooting +P’s.

My wife liked the KAHR 9mm but, do to her arthritis, it was painful for her to chamber a round. The S&W 442 with the extended grip is much easier for her to control. It's hammerless and wont snag on anything if pulled from a purse.

Before you buy anything, talk to your local police and/or Sheriffs officers. Go and visit the folks at Aturey’s and explain to them, in detail, why you are considering the purchase of a gun.

Well, we have the dog part covered now, having recently rescued a nice shepherd-collie mix from the pound. I do have my dad's service revolver--a .38--from his many years as a cop. But I'm told that a pump shotgun, which makes a lovely sound when engaged, makes a great deterrent.

Though I grew up with guns in the home, often went to the firing range with my dad, and had gun safety practices ingrained within, I would likely be dangerous if I chose to carry without further training. I'm not considering it at present.

What I am looking into is the national Neighborhood Watch program for our neighborhood.

I'm so glad you decided to keep your rescue!

A note for those looking for a weapon -
A can of wasp and hornet spray has a reach of about 20 feet.....

ZoeS

"Never love anything that can't love you back."

Actually, we adopted four dogs at once from the Coweta shelter: two shepherd-collie twin sisters, a greyhound-pointer mix, and a Rottweiler-lab mix.

We're keeping one of the sisters and one of our daughters has taken the other one. My daughter in NC took the greyhound, who already pals around with the children as though she has always belonged. And a young couple we know through our kids fell in love with the rottweiler mix and adopted him. (He has the intelligence of a rott and the heart of a lab.) He and the greyhound were certain to have been euthanized the following morning.

All four are terrific family dogs, and it would have been a tragedy had they simply been discarded like so much waste material.

Mine is currently lying at my feet with her paw hooked over my foot.

The shepherd-collie mix you mentioned reminds me of our same type of dogs, several of them over the years, that we used mostly for herding in the cattle or sheep.
They were outside dogs however and we usually had two.

I remember we had to kill one of them once for falling in with a pack of sheep-killing dogs. It is the only answer and remedy for that situation. They won't quit.

They also warned of visitors usually. Also, they weren't the type one could pet very often due to living outdoors.

There were no dog pounds then and ours usually came from others having young dogs to give away.

This is beginning to sound sentimental like the ones on here speaking of "sauce," and good restaurants---you being one, I think.

I do believe the 'sauce' you really mean is the 'sauce' you partake of that makes it possible for you to post the posts you post.

There's nothing wrong with being sentimental. In the end, that's all you have to take to the grave with you.

"The most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." - Helen Keller

You talked him out of it, then went into how to arm a regiment!
I don't know what "Autry's" has got to do with giving advice about buying a gun or not----they sell them!

However, all that said, might I suggest the following to safify your home:

Build a two wall bunker around your home---12 feet high for the inner, 16 feet for the outer--with razor wire rolls on top--electrified with 100 AMPS.

Install bullet-proof windows, doors and walls, with welded bars on the windows.

Mine the lawn all around with IEDs. Iraq still has tons of them left over that we didn't collect after the big invasion.

Put boiling pots of olive oil on the roof all around that can be tilted automatically. Heat them constantly with windmill and sun power.

Install port holes in house walls where automatic, computer operated cannons can be fired from. Similar to the deck cannon on a missile destroyer.

Have a Kevlar suit designed for each family member and wear it at all times.

I would prefer M-4 automatics as personal protection along with a very potent tazer.

Don't ever go out unless in the bullet-proof Humvee from inside the gate. Hire retired SS people to ride shotgun.

Don't worry about snagging your gun on your purse---don't put it in there.
As to the "do" to her arthritis---just keep the gun cocked all of the time.

By all means clear all of this with local police, then the Sheriff, and then your keeper at the state hospital.

....to literally stop them dead in their tracks though.

LIBERALISM: The triumph of mindless, wishful thinking over logic, reason, and experience.

Grenades work much better!

I know that maplenut will not agree with me, but that is what I know is the answer. One of the main deterents to crime coming to Fayette County is the bad guys believe that everyone in Fayette County carries a gun. For a long time that was close to being true.

Although our prosecutor now days has weaker knees than Pee Wee Herman, we still have a good jury pool if we protect ourselves against a robbery suspect and leave his family dependant on what little Social Security he never paid. Present yourselves prepared. This will stop.