With the recent account about the visit we had from our friend Tom posted on that other blog, and the subsequent purchase, and the subsequent onslaught of anonymous comments, I figured I'd weigh in on the topic. First, let me post a few things about the gun that I purchased. If you're looking for something for home protection, a shotgun is much better than a handgun for several reasons (in my opinion). First, is safety. A shotgun is much more difficult for a child to accidentally or non-accidentally fire. It is pretty much impossible for a young child to be able to load it and lift it up to fire it. It would also be impossible for the child to fire the gun at himself due to the distance between the end of the barrel and the trigger. Also, even though some handguns have some limited "safety" features, they don't have a safety like shotguns do. The second reason to buy a shotgun is the fact that it shoots a "spray" of bullets in a wide pattern. If it comes down to actually having to fire the gun at an intruder, this makes it much more likely that you will actually hit your target. It is very difficult to hit a target with a handgun--especially when your adrenaline is pumping, you're shaking, the target is moving, etc. So those are the main reasons I opted for a shotgun. Now for the fun part--the gun itself.
There are a lot of shotguns made for the specific purpose of home protection--pistol grips, 18.5" barrel, tactical lighting, etc., that make it ideal for protection. I didn't opt for one of these because I like to shoot skeet on occasion and I also go hunting once in a blue moon so I wanted something a bit more versatile. Here's what I got:
It's a Benelli Nova 20 gauge pump. Benelli is one of the best gun manufacturers around, so I knew I couldn't go wrong. I got the 20 gauge because it's a nice versatile caliber that doesn't kick too much. That's important so Leslie can learn how to shoot it without breaking her shoulder! I got a pump for safety reasons--it's next to impossible for a child to pump a shell into the chamber. On top of that, just the sound of a pump action shotgun is often enough to scare away unwanted visitors. It's a bit futuristic looking since it's all synthetic polymer and metal, but I like the look of it. So anyway, that's the low down on the gun. In case you were interested.
This post is getting long, so I'll save my rant about the comments made concerning gun ownership for another day. I know you'll be interested.
2.19.2008
If you play with your Benelli button, your legs will fall off . . .
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16 comments:
Neal - thanks for the education. Your logic has merit. It is just unfortunate that we need protecting in our society. Maybe Tulsa will hold less of a risk for intrusion. How about a gun safe?
Still scary to a city girl like me, but I am happy to know it is so hard to get loaded and ready to shoot.
So glad you finally posted! I always love your titles. Tyler always wants me to help him name his paintings and I can't think of anything. Maybe we'll ask you for some advice.
Those are some good arguments for shot vs. handgun. My husband's home protection of choice is a 9mm but as I said on that other blog, it's in a locked case, sans ammo, hidden up high (I'm not even sure exactly where; behind some sweaters at the top of the closet I think), in a separate location from the ammo, etc. so I have no worries at all about the kids. However, in that condition it doesn't do us much good in an emergency... unless the prowler were to give us several minutes' notice. But I think it is valuable to teach the kids about gun safety; my son (7) has gone shooting with his dad (not with the 9mm; but with a .22 rifle) to learn the ropes so that as they get older there will be no mystery, & less curiosity that leads to potential accidents.
A city girl myself, I am not crazy about the guns but I trust my husband and agree that it doesn't hurt to have them at home, properly secured. Especially since we don't have an alarm system on our house... It sounds like you made a good purchase!
(sorry so lengthy)
looks like the right choice - love the part about this gun not taking Leslie's arm off - so true. Up at Jay's family cabin, we took firearms out to the firing range and some of his brother's guns were useless because they were either too difficult to hit a target or had way too much kick. Nice post, Neal - stupid annon. - give 'em hell (coupled with knowledge)! :D
I am proud of you for taking the steps to protect your family!!
Here's more from your hillbilly family... When we got married and John was moving his arsenal of guns over (in his gun safe that we had to have a robot move into the house), I asked him if any of those guns were loaded. He told me, "No, but the one under the mattress that you've been sleeping on at my house is."
Now that we're at my house, it isn't kept where any child could ever get it. I don't think a gun is a bad idea.
Good choice. Shotguns also have a much lower likelihood of penetrating a wall easily enough to do damage to anyone on the other side, i.e. family members still blissfully unaware of an intruder in the house. I'd get some heavy-ish gauge shot for the whole "home protection" gig.
I'm Leslie's friend Natalie's sister Nicole's husband, by the way, not some _totally_ random stranger. Just a little bit.
first of all, i want to say that you are one of the best people i've ever met through blog land, actually you and your wife are a tie.
when i was starting my family, i never, ever wanted a gun in our house. i was too scared and thought they were too dangerous. robby turned out to own a few but i made him take extra special precautions to keep them hidden and secure.
now that we live in the scary phoenix metro area and i just saw someone arrested in our apartment complex, i've been more open to having one for saftey reasons. robby keeps his rifles in our outside locked storage room and his pistol next to our safe for important docs. it used to be inside it, but that kind of defeats the purpose.
i feel like that is all the protection we need for now as we are in a gated community but once we move into a house out in the scary area, i will refer back to this post. i like that i would be able to use the gun also and that it makes it almost impossible for kids to use it.
thanks so much for all the good info! i love yoru family!
sounds like it will do the trick - look, it already scared away "ANONYMOUS."
If I'm not mistaken it is our right as Americans to bear arms. Yes, true sometimes there are unfortunate accidents involving guns and children. But really, I know I would feel better if we had a gun under lock and key for situations like what happened to you.
I guess I missed the previously heated discussion...but I am one that is pretty opposed to guns as I truly believe it's for the old west and possibly paranoia with the law and the effectiveness of our judicial system in general and other such reasons. And I wonder if you know of any positive fun toting stories out there (like someone who truly saved their family with a gun, etc. because unfortunately in my sheltered life in the O.C., SLC, AZ, OK, & WY, all I've ever personally encountered are very sad accidents and suicides as a result of a gun household.) I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers just to discuss and try to better understand this position.
It looks cool...thanks for the lesson.
No feathers were ruffled, since you signed your name ;) The point you bring up about not trusting the judicial system is an interesting one, and something I haven't heard before. I don't really think the two can be connected. Having a gun to protect my family doesn't mean I want to mete out justice to those I feel the justice system may have failed to lock up, it means I want to protect my family. I doubt that in the event of a home invasion, burglary, or whatever I would be thinking "Dang, I wish I had a gun because I just don't trust the judiciary to lock this guy up after he murders me." See the disconnect there? Anyway, here's an excerpt of a story that ran on ABC's Nightline just this last Friday. The story was mostly about the guy in Houston who shot the guys that were burglarizing his neighbor's house, but it had this interesting story line as well. The interesting thing about the coverage of the guy shooting the neighbor's burglars never cites the fact that the thieves had left the neighbor's house and were in HIS yard when he shot them, but that wouldn't garner near the amount of media hype, now would it.
Here's the ABC story:
"In December, Damon Barone confronted a burglar breaking into his Houston home in the middle of the night. His wife, baby daughter and 6-year-old son were asleep when Barone heard a commotion and grabbed his Glock handgun.
"I heard a crashing through my window … [in] my bedroom, and I got my gun," said Barone.
"When I came around the corner, I saw the silhouette in my window, I pointed my weapon, I fired three times," he said.
Asked if he was shooting to kill, Barone said, "Yes."
The burglar Barone shot dead had a lengthy criminal record, and Barone had a permit for his gun. Even before the new law, he certainly could have been justified in using deadly force. But the "Castle Law" gives Barone added protection from criminal prosecution and even civil lawsuits.
Barone is "positive" that he did the right thing.
"And if I had to do it over again, I would," he added. "I mean, that's the safety of my family over us being hurt. It's a no-brainer for me."
Anyway, you can read the whole story here.
Sadly, where I live, there have been three of four such incidents in the last six months were someone killed an intruder in their house or business. In this same time, I have not heard about one accident involving a child and an unsecured firearm.
I think one problem is that the media prefer to sensationalize and promote the tragic stories of accidental shootings involving family guns and/or carelessness. Those make better headlines than the stories where the guns saved lives (like the Houston story). Not that my opinion matters to you, but I strongly support the (2nd?) Amendment coupled with safety and training. I'd be taking shooting lessons myself if I'd experienced what you did!
You left off the real number one reason you bought a gun: You. Live. In. Texas.
BTW, a little flag of TX would look great on the stalk (is that the wooden part?). I'm pretty sure all things Texas actually require the Texan flag, an outline of the state, or at bare minimum, the lone star, to be inscribed, embossed, or otherwise attached to said item.
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