From: ems@michael.apple.com (E. Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house
Subject: Hardening the Target (was Re: Killing burglars.)
Date: 28 Aug 92 03:39:01 GMT
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA

In article <8822@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM> mwilson@ncratl.AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Mark Wilson) writes:
>In <1992Aug24.145037.1946@sdc.com> kenk@sdc.com (Ken Konecki) writes:
>
>>Why are guns necessary?  A can of aerosol EZ-OFF used properly can be just
>>as effective as a gun for the purposes of defense.  One quick shot in the
>>face and it's over before it begins. 

>This works fine if the burglar is stupid enough to let you get close enough
>to use the EZ-OFF.  What would you say the effective range would be, 12 to
>15 inches.  Meanwhile, if the burglar is armed, he shoots you.  He knows
>right where you are, directly in front of him just a couple of feet
>away.  Even blinded and in pain that is an easy shot.
>
>What happens if you miss.  You have one very PO'ed burglar and there
>you are just a couple of feet away.  

What happens if he is wearing glasses?  Or just gets a hand up 
enough to block the spray from getting his eyes?  You get nuked.

There are some serious bad dudes with attitude problems in the world.
Some of them have taken 10+ shots of major munitions from POLICE and
still kept comming.  (My Karate Sensei (Instructor) is a Seargent in
a local PD.  He has seen a guy take all the pistol ammo two cops
could throw at him and kept standing with gun in hand shooting.  They
used a shotgun with slugs to take out his entire chest and spine
in order to get him to stop.  It knocked him over (in addtion to 
removing his middle) and THEN he stopped firing!)

A can of EZ-OFF just MAY stop SOME bad guys, but don't depend on it
for your life.  Sensei now has a Glock with .45 ACP in it and a 
couple of spare magazines (and is a 3rd or better degree black belt)
and STILL likes to have a shotgun handy ...  Think about it.  This
is someone who deals with criminals for a living and is a pro at it.

If Home Defense is a concern (bringing this tenuously back to houses...)
then go sign up for a martial arts course (any style will do) and learn
what combat is really about.  Take a citizens ride with the police for
a few nights.  Then, and only then, decide about safe rooms vs escape
vs firearms vs martial arts training vs EZ-OFF.  Once you learn about
'hardening the target' you will start buying alarm systems and iron
window grates and exterior lighting and emergency panic buttons for 
the alarm and steel doors and doing all the things you OUGHT to be
doing to make your house a 'harder target'.

AFTER hardening the target (which is by far the most important and
valuable step; pound of prevention vs. ounce of cure and all that.) 
you can next look at tactics for interior escape and defense.  
In THAT order.  (i.e. make sure the iron bars on the windows open 
from the inside!)

By the time it reaches a confrontation inside your home, you have
already blown it.  At that point, if you've hardend the target,
you have almost definitly got a serious bad guy to deal with.
Get a .357 with 110-125gr hollowpoints and learn to use it, WELL.
If you have properly hardened the target, you won't have anyone
wandering in who doesn't belong there ... they will have had to 
deliberately work at it (and this will help in your defence at
trial for defending your home.  You WILL be questioned or tried. 
Having evidence that it was very hard for someone to accidentally
wander in will help.)

I would like to suggest that discussions of interior defense be
moved to another forum and that the rest of this debate be turned
to the questions of how to harden the target, since that is a 
home related question...

-- 

E. Michael Smith  ems@apple.COM

'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has
 genius, power and magic in it.'  -  Goethe

I am not responsible nor is anyone else.  Everything is disclaimed.
Newsgroups: misc.consumers.house,misc.consumers