As an alternative to conventional firepower, I wonder how effective a portable LRAD sound cannon would be in persuading bad guys to break off a home invasion attempt and leave in a hurry.

I would imagine that the first person to come up with an EFFECTIVE non-lethal home defence weapon system, that works in similar fashion to an LRAD, would make a killing, if you'll pardon the pun.

 

should I be scared since I do not have one?

Only as scared as you would be without a fire extinguisher in your kitchen or without accidental death & dismemberment insurance. The absence of these things don't immediately strike fear in one's heart, but there is definitely a feeling of reassurance by having them,

 

As an alternative to conventional firepower, I wonder how effective a portable LRAD sound cannon would be in persuading bad guys to break off a home invasion attempt and leave in a hurry.

I would imagine that the first person to come up with an EFFECTIVE non-lethal home defence weapon system, that works in similar fashion to an LRAD, would make a killing, if you'll pardon the pun.

Yeah that would be effective until everybody on the block had one. there would be a 24/7 cacophony of false alarms blaring in every direction. how many people cast a glance at the sound of a car alarm these days?

 

Oh well, so much for that attempt at re-inventing the wheel.

Insurance coverage by Smith and Wesson stood the test for time for a reason, I suppose.

 

For anyone interested in statistics, I found this great document, Firearm Injury in the U.S., but it's from a few years ago.

With regard to the next graph I still wonder: Would the TOTAL number of homicides decrease or not when firearms were not available?

Someone makes a guess?

Did you know they also count deaths by POLICE HANDGUNS AND SHOTGUN shootings, as well as self-defense shootings in those reports and charts?

Read the book "How to Lie with Statistics".

As far as "More gun owners in the US than car owners", not really. I have 2 cars and probably a "medium" collection of firearms that equal the value of the house. So the number of guns owned by me is many times the number of cars owned by me. The same goes for most every other gun owner here, they usually have at least one rifle and at least one shotgun, and maybe a handgun. If they own 1 car, there's a 3:1 error.

Again, read the book on lying with stats, it will open your eyes to an entirely new world. I am to the point I won't believe any stat that doesn't include sample size, mean, standard deviation, and method of classifying what is in the chart, how many were owned illegally, in addition to if it was a "good shoot" (cop shoots bad guy). I'd rather have the full data set they used than the pretty graph they made to sway opinion one way or the other.

For those with children in the house, Teach them early that they are not toys. Start with an air rifle and the rules of gun safety at an early age (6 years old-ish, with eye protection on adult and child). 1) Always assume the weapon is loaded and will fire if you pull the trigger. 2) Never Assume the chamber is empty. 3) Never point a firearm at something you do not intend to kill or destroy. 4) Always know exactly what your target is, and what is beyond before firing. (mangled a bit, but if everybody followed those rules, there would be no accident. The WORSE THING you can do with children is to tell them "NEVER TOUCH", it only makes them curious, which makes for tragic accidents, often by gun-owners who weren't responsible to keep them locked in a safe or at least a trigger lock when < 12 yr olds were around. It's like saying "Don't take a cookie out of the jar", to them, it's a challenge.

For those that intend to defend themselves while at home, get a solid flashlight, preferably weapon mounted, and GO TO A TRAINING CLASS on Self Defense. I'd suggest several, the first one teaches you safety, the next teaches "urban combat" strategy if you have an intruder. ALWAYS Dial 911 if you are certain of an intruder. If you are unfortunate enough to be forced to kill or be killed, and "win", you will still be scarred for life. When the police show up, make no statement, you will be pumped full of adrenaline and a bit fuzzy on what happened. Get a lawyer immediately, one who deals with self defense shootings, and only talk to the police with the lawyer present. The police like to attempt to arrest people for defending themselves. It's a national pastime in the UK. That mindset is also creeping into the more "urban" states here as well.

No matter what, pay for Real, Good training, don't just watch videos, go to an IDPA club and shoot once a Sunday, various SD scenarios are presented, from walking, to driving, to being in a house, etc. Expert shooters will help you improve, and guys like Ben Coolie will sometime be in the area giving a 3 day class.

I really cannot stress how important it is to get all the professional training you can. You have a lot of power, and the ability to make one "newbie" mistake to be dead. Many armed home invasions are perpetrated by people who have already invaded other homes, while it will be the first time for you.

Do not be afraid of weapons, show them respect and learn how to use them properly. Driving down a dirt road, shooting road signs while yelling "yee-haw" is not the proper way of using them, for example.

 

I have 2 cars and probably a "medium" collection of firearms that equal the value of the house.

Mmh, you have either a very inexpensive house, or a very expensive collection of firearms.

 

Mmh, you have either a very inexpensive house, or a very expensive collection of firearms.

It's actually a small house, not a trailer, but really small compared to what other people I hang out with have for houses. I DO have lot of firearms, one original (select fire/full auto) M-16 alone that is transferable goes for around $20k right now, and the other models sell for more.

Electronics, photography, and shooting are my hobbies. Oddly, many people that get into one of those somehow end up picking up the other two. I went to college for EE/CS and have been very lucky on jobs since graduating, as I believe you make you own luck.

I'm not rich, I have no debt, but I can go a year without a job, you should have at least 6 months saved for a rainy day, and it's starting to get cloudy.

 

Electronics, photography, and shooting are my hobbies. Oddly, many people that get into one of those somehow end up picking up the other two.

Yeah well, it's understandable, shooting is not one of the cheaper hobbies...

There are other hobbies that are expensive too, but not much like this.

 

Yeah well, it's understandable, shooting is not one of the cheaper hobbies...

There are other hobbies that are expensive too, but not much like this.

When I go to big shoots (>100 people), I charge per mag/belt to play with the Full Auto suppressed (sounds like a carnival bb gun run by compressed air), minigun sounds like a lawnmower, it more than covers ammo and gas cost to get there, usually adds an extra thousand cash as well.

Those are more of an investment with a very high return.

 

If I had $2K to blow in a day, it wouldn't be at the gun range. If it were a gift card to the gun range, then $1900 would go to a new scope and $100 for ammo.

 

If I had $2K to blow in a day, it wouldn't be at the gun range. If it were a gift card to the gun range, then $1900 would go to a new scope and $100 for ammo.

$1900 on the optic?

I use a NightForce 8x-32x w/Mil-Dot on the .50, and haven't had any issues. $1300-ish (prices vary, NightForce has a minimum advertised price policy) You can clearly see the rings of Saturn with it if you use a bipod.

 

Nuf said.

 

That one's been making the rounds. I've seen it twice in my email and at least 4X on my facebook.