Questions about personal security options?

[Hotred911]

I got this suggestion from the news last Christmas when a woman was kidnapped from the parking lot of a high-end mall.

When returning to your car in the parking lot, don't walk right to the driver side door. Instead, walk towards the car to the right of your own. This gives you a chance to check out your car and make sure everything is safe.

There were more tips along these lines such as, walking with your keys in your hand, etc. But this has been the main one that stays in my mind, especially when going out alone at night.

 

[pimpslap]

Thank you for the advice.

I think the point of 'for sale or for use' when it comes to pepper spray is likely the cause of the problem I have run into. I can imagine it is not available for sale, but surely they cannot prohibit me from using it?

They can. In certain areas if you are caught carrying spray it's the same as carrying a conceled weapon. Check the laws... And if you are going to carry illeagly use something that has a better % chance of working.

I have questions about pepper spray...I've heard there are different forms of it, such as a foam-based spray...and that some are better than others, simply because there is less chance of it blowing back onto me when it is used. Anybody know anything about that?

From what I have read Fox Labs with a high SHU(or something like that) is about the best... Haven't heard that foam is better than anything else.

You are absolutely right about the cell phone. However...my town is very spacious, a true rural area, and it is possible to be out in the middle of nowhere while simply on the way to the grocery store. The response time of local law enforcement isn't great, truth be told, even in the best of situations. I do have a cell phone in my car but I feel as though I need have my own kind of back-up plan, just in case.

Don't bother relying on the police... They will get there in time to clean up the mess...

However, I do have qualms about keeping a firearm in the house, especially a small handgun...simply because of those children. It's a huge gray area, I know, with proponents on either side of the issue. My personal feeling is that I would rather not have to worry about the question of my kids ever finding a firearm, period. So that is an option, yes. But I would like to explore other options first.

You must use the same care storing a firearm as you would any "non-leathel" weapon such as a tazer... They make safes that are fast to get into but still secure. A good one looks like a clock radio that bolts onto your nightstand and has a keypad lock to keep everyone out. Also, don't jsut tell your kids not to touch them. When they are old enough(7ish) TEACH them too shoot and operate it safely. Let them shoot it so the novelty and the mystery is gone from it... The only reliable safetly in a firearm is the one in your head...

Carrying a whistle seems to make sense...but it seems it would have to be something more than just a conventional whistle. If you were approached from behind and your breath was cut off, let's say, you couldn't blow a whistle. But the hand-operated whistles and sirens would be a good option then?

Don't bother, learn to run fast... PEOPLE WILL NOT COME TO YOUR AID. Sorry to say it, but it's a fact of life...

The biggest part of being safe is a mindset. Keep your eyes open. Watch look and listen to what's going on around you. Know what's happening. Most people are sheep and that's why they make good targets for criminals.

PM me if you want links to some good boards discussing these things.

 

[pimpslap]

Ballistically, a shotgun loaded with bird shot (bunches of small pellets) is safer for home protection than a pistol. A Pistol will fire a bullet which will easily punch through walls in a house. Bird shot from a shotgun will be stopped by typical interior walls in a house. What this means to you as a parent is that you do not have to worry about the bullet that you fire going through the intruder, through the wall behind him and endangering the life of your children in the room next to you. The birdshot is stopped by the drywall and never endangers them.


Plus, a pistol fires 1 projectile. A typical load of birdshot will have over a hundred projectiles, which spread out after leaving the end of the barrel. There is less chance of missing your target.

False. Proper fragmenting hollow points have less peneration than Shotgun ammo. you must know what is beyond your target at all times no matter what.

And birdshot doen't have that many projectiles. And at home defense ranges there isn't enough spread to matter. You must shoot accurately. Even at 20 yards you are only talking at most a 3 foor diameter circle that 90% of the pellets are in.

In a home defence scenario GET ALL THE FAMILY IN ONE ROOM baricade yourself in. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TRAINING to clear the house. use the weapon to get your family into a safe room. And know what safe directions there are to shoot.

 

[Hotred911]

<snip>Don't bother, learn to run fast... PEOPLE WILL NOT COME TO YOUR AID. Sorry to say it, but it's a fact of life...<snip>

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you here. Sure, there are those people who would not help. But, there are people(myself included) that would help. Whether it's as simple as the person staying where they are safe and calling for help, or something more involved such as attacking the assualter, I would take any help I could attract.

 

[quickfoot]

I think whether people will help you or not depends somewhat on where you live. if you live in a large city people in general are likely to keep walking to keep themselves out of trouble.

Natural instinct is to help other people however the overriding instinct is to save our own butts.

Drawing attention to yourself will help in a lot of cases though even if it doesn't get someone to come to your aid, if the attacker feels there is a lot of attention to what they are doing they often times will abort their attack.

Another lesson we were taught was never get in a car with an attacker and leave a crowded place, they may kill you if your refuse but there is a good chance they are going to if you go with them and your chances are higher if you are in a public place.

Obviously there are exceptions and people must make a judgement call but sometimes there are no good decisions.

As for ammunition for home defense I use alternating hollow points with FMJ rounds.

With any weapon you must be sure of your target and beyond.

 

[Limbhugger]

Pimpslap you make some good points. Especially about not attempting to clear the house.

And you are also correct about shotgun ammo penetrating walls. Inside of ten yards any sized shot will act as a single projectile and blast right through drywall. Ten yards is 30 feet and that is a pretty big room. As for aiming you are absolutely correct that at home defense ranges a shotgun IS NOT an "aim in the general direction" weapon as portrayed by the movies and popular myth.

Further the old, "nothing like the sound of a racking slide to scare them away" adage is just about as much BS. For one, if you're having to load it, you're behind the power curve. And likely as not, the scene isn't going to play out like in a movie where you have all kinds of time to rack a shell and say something suave. This is real down and dirty my LIFE is on line because the person INVADING my home may be trying to KILL me. We don't play silly movie games in this scenario!

However, there are no such thing (at least to my knowledge) as "fragmenting hollow point" bullets. There are rounds designed to fragment and there are hollow points. A hollow point bullet strives to find a balance between expansion and penetration but most lean to one side or the other. But they will all penetrate walls.

Fragmenting rounds such as Blazer Safety Slugs are made of compressed lead and are purported to not penetrate two layers of drywall. My concern with such rounds is leather jackets, buttons, necklaces, etc. If I drop the hammer I want maximum tissue damage. So I personally shy away from these altho they get a lot of good reviews.

Another extremely important aspect to remember about home defense is time of day. This is just a rule of thumb (used to ba a lot more of a firm stat but the animals are getting wilder) but there is often a difference between the day time break in and the night time break in.

In GENERAL daytime break ins are property oriented. Meaning the sumbags are there to steal. They don't want to get caught, they don't want any trouble, and they don't want to be there long. Most half-assed criminals will case a house for a day or two to get a feel for when no one is home. They're also likely to knock on the door before commiting their crime and if someone does answer they'll ask something stupid like for directions.

In GENERAL a nightime break in is a very risky endevour perpatrated by someone seeking something other than computers and televisions to hock. Think about it, why would a scumbag risk all there is to risk at night if he didn't have other plans? Sure there are idiots who will but a break in after dark is a disturbing thing.

Now add to that that you are dead asleep. You're already behind the power curve just by the given scenario. Rousing from a dead sleep and processing the incredibly rare and ultra-bizarre fact that there is a stranger in your house, getting the mind to react and then telling the body, a million things suddenly zinging through your brain and hopefully he isn't standing at your bedside when all this is happening. And you're going to put your faith in the sound of a racking slide to scare away the bad guy?

Home security is a very serious thing and should be treated as such. No one in their right mind ever wants to shoot someone or even be in the position to contemplate such a thing. I am not advocating getting a gun or not getting a gun. Just trying to lay out some real world scenarios for consideration.

There are a lot of things we can do to deter crime from occuring at our homes. Better to have them pass right on by than ever be faced with all the what if's. How you deal with the what if's is a very personal and serious decision.

Wow another ramble.

LH

 

[sheath]

Thank you all for such incredible information! I am learning much, much more than I ever thought I would when I posed the original question.

I'm not as concerned with safety in my home as I am with safety when I'm away from home. My home is very well protected. And yes...I do know, as many have mentioned to me, that all those things do not mean I can't be attacked in my home. I know all the safeguards can fail. When I design the new home (soon, I hope), I am including a panic room.

What really concerns me is being out in the middle of nowhere. I'm quite often alone when I leave my home, and given circumstances with an ex, among other things...it makes me very, very nervous. I know I need something to protect myself. Pepper spray seemed the best option at first, because it seems so simple to use. Now I'm thinking along many different lines. Thank you all for opening my eyes to the amazing number of options available.

I'm paying attention and I'm researching all you mention here. It's taking more time than I expected! But I feel safer already...because after all, knowledge is power.

S.

 

[sheath]

I got this suggestion from the news last Christmas when a woman was kidnapped from the parking lot of a high-end mall.

When returning to your car in the parking lot, don't walk right to the driver side door. Instead, walk towards the car to the right of your own. This gives you a chance to check out your car and make sure everything is safe.

There were more tips along these lines such as, walking with your keys in your hand, etc. But this has been the main one that stays in my mind, especially when going out alone at night.

This made me smile, because it is something I was taught way back when I was a teenager. That, and to always approach your vehicle from behind, to look into the backseat before you get into it...another good option is to carry a remote that unlocks your car, so that when you do reach the door, you slide in and boom...you're in there.

My mother taught me to always case out the parking lot, park under a bright light, carry my keys in a defensive position, never wear heels while approaching a car at night...even if it means walking barefoot, because you just can't run in heels, and you can use them as weapons if they are in your hand.

Make sure someone is around, and if no one is around, be prepared with a cell phone dialed to 911 with your finger on the 'send' button...in the event of an attack of some kind, it isn't necessary to talk on the phone, but to simply hit send and then drop the phone in a place where it won't be seen by the attacker, such as kicked behind the wheel of a car. Of course, it depends on the 911 capabilities of the area you are in and whether or not they can trace cell phones. It doesn't provide enough protection, of course...like pimpslap said, they might just get there in time to clean up the mess...but it's better than nothing.

What else? I can't think of any more of them right now. I'm sure someone else can add to this list, or correct anything I have said that doesn't seem quite right.

I'm really, really enjoying this particular question...there is so much information here, and so many valid points.

Thanks for sharing.

S.

 

[Limbhugger]

Sheath,

Another completely different angle is this capsule. I don't think I completely agree with the vendor's claim of "it will" but it is strong indeed. There may be other sources so you can hunt around the web.

I experienced one of these capsules in training and they are incredibly powerful. Likely will result in everyone vomitting and doing their best to get the hell away from it. You puking your guts out along with your attacker tends to change the mood.

Not saying it is the perfect solution and there are some considerations to employing one but thought I would share some of the varried items of personal protection out there.

http://www.security-101.com/rape-deterrent.htm

LH

 

[I'm Wild Cherry]

RAD - an awesome choice

Rape Aggression Defense (RAD)

Do a search on this on google inputting your local sheriff dept. I took a FREE class from this past summer and it was awesome! The last night is "Fight Night" and you are video taped as you fight heavily padded officers in three different fight scenarios. It is simply an amazing course and taught by sheriff depts all over the country. Even if they charge in your area, it will be worth every penny.

Once you take the class, you can go back for free refreshers.

Most importantly, they teach awareness and avoidance. If avoidance doesn't work, they teach you strategies to keep yourself ALIVE. They preach that something may happen to you and to be prepared for that. They do mentally prepare you for survival though.

(edited to add: It is a course for only women. They also have classes for kids of various ages. I think it would be ideal for all the seniors about to head off to college!)

One of the things that sticks with me most is the quote "If there is no such thing as DATE MURDER, why is it acceptable to call it DATE RAPE?!?"

 

[Nightbird]

behind the wheel of a car. Of course, it depends on the 911 capabilities of the area you are in and whether or not they can trace cell phones. It doesn't provide enough protection, of course...like pimpslap said, they might just get there in time to clean up the mess...but it's better than nothing.
S.

That won't work where I live. They can't trace Cell Phones here.

 

[dollface007]

Re: RAD - an awesome choice

One of the things that sticks with me most is the quote "If there is no such thing as DATE MURDER, why is it acceptable to call it DATE RAPE?!?"

I LOVE you for bringing this up...even if it is a bit off topic It severely annoys, if not angers, me when people use the term "date rape." Not only does it imply that there is some gray area of consent if a woman is raped while on a date, but it also perpetuates the idea that date rape is a lesser crime than if an a stranger raped a woman he did not know.

So, i'm begging everybody who reads this, for the sake of your friends and family who are victims, and for future victims, please stop using the term "date rape."

Now back to the original topic