Most dogs won't bite, sadly even if the owner is attacked. The best dogs, will be mellow when they need to, bark when they first see someone and bite when they need to. It's relatively easy to test dogs and find out. Dogs are much less likely to bite if there is only one dog. The more dogs, the more likely they are all to bite. Even cowardly dogs, that would not bite on their own, will bite when with other dogs that bite.

Many people incorrectly assume their dog will protect them if they are attacked. Everyone, who relies on dogs for protection should have someone, who is wearing proper protective gear, act aggressively and "attack" them. Many dogs, that won't bite, with a little work, can be taught to.

I expect my dogs to alert me if someone is here, be mellow and alert, as soon as they are told relax, to bite if told to and to bite if we are assaulted. The best dogs, like the best people, are appropriately wary of strangers, friendly when everything is well and attack aggressively when their loved ones are threatened.

It's far better to be sued than to have a wife or daughter raped, robbed or killed.

Keith

dogs that give warning is good ,the rest is a trade off with kids around. mostly I want a warning.

as to effectiveness of bird shot , I am going to suggest you go shoot some raccoons at 30ish feet and come back and tell me how effective that #6 shot is

I have done it #6 and #4 high brass hunting loads almost couldn't believe how ineffective it was and repeated it a few times and I can tell you I am keeping my buckshot

now 5 feet is a completely different thing d e a d

I have also become a firm believer in more holes be it 22 or 9mm things are dead in time with a good hit but they are not immobilized , some times slowed down considerably making the follow up easier
I don't need an assailant dead in 90 seconds I need them immobilized now.

assailants aren't game , you send the pair or trio then assess , your not trying to save the meat , your trying to make sure they can't hurt you.

Yup, my Mossberg 500 is ready.

If you're shooting someone in your house, it's unlikely it's going to be as far as 30 feet. It's also very unlikely that if they get hit, even with little penetration, that they will keep coming, instead of fleeing. With bird shot, you are much less likely to kill or seriously injure a family member or someone else, who is supposed to be in your house, which is more important than killing an intruder.

Keith

Green country I'll just say I don't need to shoot coons to know what bird shot does to people at close range and leave it at that. And if planning head I ain't settling for birdshot and wouldn't recommend anyone else

Like how I said I wasn't gonna do it and just go with a shotgun and eveyone is talking about how I should go with a shot gun again the whole varmint bullet thing it's just a thought

My dogs are great alerts.

I'll take it from there.

I'll venture to say that there isn't a home invader anywhere that will keep coming after a high brass load of 5s blisters him.

No sight aiming in heat of the moment or the dark.....point at the silhouette and fire....then fire again...and again...if needed.

Wolfie I'm think if your using a rifle in a house or urban setting fragmenting varmint bullets would be a good option. If someone was prepared enough to wear body armor you probably got a whole nother problem on your hands. Thieves don't break into houses they think they are going to get shot at

I'd agree on the home invader but 5s in the chest is less likely to stop someone that wants to harm you immediately than one would think

You do know know they have them where you just put a pressure pad at the grip that turn it on and off really right ? Laser in the light Like as soon as you grab the gun it's right it's read to be turned on just need a extra lil squeeze.
And sorry she don't have good eye sight and can barely seem me in the dark 10' away id prefer if she could identify something before blowing it full of shot

Why something that weak when she can run my 9mm p320 just fine ?

These threads are always funny to me for some reason. I’d be willing to bet 80% or less have even practiced a home defense walkthrough with a spouse/kids. And that same amount have never shot enclosed without or even with hearing protection and y’all worried about which bullet to use.
With that said, “bullet”, the first shot or two will likely be a miss if it’s a single projectile. Everyone is big and bad, until they ain’t.
For home defense I want something that points and shoots. Or at least something with a lot of bullets to sling downrange.

Actually imagine some scenarios…you’re SINGLE and home alone. You’re awaken with your front door being kicked in. You wake from a deep sleep and you grab your weapon of choice. Let’s say it’s a pistol. Now are you going John Wick on them or are you announcing your presence? For the laws sake you’re announcing you’re home and armed and will shoot. They either leave or you take care of business.

Now we get to more complicated scenarios…it’s just you and your wife. Same thing except now your responsibility is your wife. Do you have a plan? Do you stay to defend your location and her? Or is she trained on what to do, areas to cover, while you lock her in and take care of business?

Now even more complicated…you have children in multiple rooms. Now what? Do the kids know the plan? Does your wife now have extra responsibilities? You definitely have extra responsibilities, now you have a family to protect and they’re in multiple locations.

Now with all these responsibilities going through everyone’s head you still have to get projectiles on target. Hopefully after one shot they turn tail and run. If not, now you have a charging target with as high of an adrenaline rush as you. I don’t know what someone was shooting at raccoons with at 10yds but everyone in my family is grabbing their shotgun and doesn’t even have to be aimed and start spitting out loads of #9 TSS and I can promise you with 100% certainty that they are stopping that threat. I’ve seen it stone cold one shot kill hogs at 40yds which is 120ft, so the shooting distance inside is less than that and it’s doing even more damage in to a man.

Now that scenario isn’t quite as described, my family had their own fields of fire and safe word. They were locked in their rooms with someone to protect and no one comes in unless the safe word was given. If not, when that door even remotely started opening they were to shoot until they ran out of ammo.

What was the weapon of choice even a scared kid/wife could use effectively?? A 20ga shotgun. Heck it’s my first weapon of choice as well. Y’all would really go crazy if you knew the different scenarios we played out over the years when the boys were growing up. When they got old enough to really be effective some got flat out Western to the point of going offensive rather than taking a defensive position. Only then did weapons change. But that was with dry fire practice and movements. A shotgun is still the best overall choice for a family type setting. Load that gun with TSS and you’re stopping the threat inside a house.

you didn't have a room mate or friend name Lee did you?

I know a guy named Lee, he was shot 30 some years ago with bird shot from across the room in the abdomen.

they had to re-route his digestion for a while but he is alive and telling the tale of how his room mate shot him now in his 50s , did it mess stuff up , definitely , I think he said he walked to the ambulance.

Wolfie, for the ease of shooting one.
A .22 mag with heavy bullets ain't weak.

Width of average room......I beg to differ on the high brass 5s...anywhere on the body.

And when the guy got the quick 2nd load and possibly a rapid 3rd...he wouldn't walk to the meat wagon.

I've told my sons and wife, when hunting or self defense, to continue shooting until the critter or threat stops moving.

What's the most important at that moment? Shoot em!!!!

Yeah that's something that's crossed my mind alot when it comes to the home defense deal. Mainly people hopped up on something

Sheesh. Get the dog a bb gun.
Teach him to shoot for the guts so the opiate induced
terrorist dies over at the neighbors.

How many layers of drywall to stop the
bullet with letters after it?

always identify your target and what is beyond it.....

Wolfie, there’s always going to be that one crazy person out there. Best thing is to do your best to prevent it in the first place. Lights outside. No where to hide. Cameras. Alarms. Outside dogs.
Most attacks or invasions are thought out and planned. An unknown vehicle driving slowly up and down the road. Someone unknown walking up and down the road. Heck we have 2 individuals on camera walking the street and talking about how many cameras we and our neighbors have. I ain’t afraid to stop an unknown vehicle and ask if they need help locating someone, especially if they’ve been down the street a time or two real slow.
Signs don’t hurt either. Alarm signs, cameras in use signs, beware of dog signs. Get neighbors involved and talking.