Heres the scenario:
The SHTF. The economy took another massive dive leaving millions upon millions more without income.
That is the current situation.
There are now groups of looters all over the country.
That is the current situation.
LEO/MIL just does not have the man power to defend everyone and you are essentialy left alone to fend for yourself and family.
The supreme court has ruled LE has no duty to protect, let alone defend anyone. Already the situation.
There is a group trying to gain entry into your home by force.
There are some stupid folks out there.
They are kicking in the door and it will give any second.
It's usually the frame not the door that gives, steel door and reinforced frames laminated glasss, along with extra long dead bolt w/ 10inch srcews.
You only have a few seconds to grab ONE firearm.
Exterior lights and motion sensors can prevent this kind of surprise as well as dogs, medium to large free roaming on your property work well.
What is in your hands and why did you reach for that first?
My normal home defense firearm is a G20 w/6" Barrel slide w/ NS and surefire light mounted, mag has a +5 extension giving me 16rds of 180gr GD's @ 1400fps followed by 5 rd of 220gr HC @ 1200fps.

Semi-Auto 12ga with Slugs. I won't need to kill them all. Limbs and body parts flying out the door of the first 3 should be enough to clear the rest out.

yes this is the current situation but it can get even worse. thats what im getting at. the bottom can completely fall out from under and the dollar will mean literally nothing. also, ive never kicked in a door so ive never witnessed the frame give...shady. ;P
not everyone has the luxury to have motion sensors/lights and/or dogs...what then?
your answers are great, im not disputing that, but not everyone lives in that perfect world where they have the ability to reinforce their homes.
i for one, rent a town home...big freaking glass door to the back yard. if i dont react fast enough my family would be seriously hurt or worse. my dog? a freaking chihuahua...my neighbors? all idiots that will most likely be the ones looting.

also, ive never kicked in a door so ive never witnessed the frame give.

it can get even worse.
Agreed.
not everyone has the luxury to have motion sensors/lights and/or dogs...what then?
Most of these have low cost options, most home improvement stores have motion sensing adaptors for exterior lights. there are also low cost aubile sensors
big freaking glass door to the back yard.
I would ask the landlord to cover the cost of the scatter resistant laminate and I'd attach a steel rod to help keep unwanted guest from opening the sliding open
my dog? a freaking chihuahua...
it ain't the size of the dog but the size of the fight in him/her
small dogs usually make great alarms
my neighbors? all idiots that will most likely be the ones looting.
I can't help you with this one, if you decide to move if I'm free I'm there.

If it's THAT bad, I'm boarding up the windows with 3/4" plywood.

AR-15, I want the most firepower I can carry. 5+1 in my shotgun just isn't enough.

My answers in red:
Why this setup, it's portable, reliable, accurate and more than enough power to drop man or four legged beast.

In all honesty, it'll probably be my Glock 17 since that's what I generally carry, but hopefully I'd have 15 seconds or so to go grab the AR.

I'm grabbing my SBR with the 77 Grain MK262 Mod1. That should discourage them enough to move to a softer target

I'll start handing these out to family members!

I guess since shtf you already killed me and took my glock and m4? Since your handing them out and all.

Heres the scenario:
The SHTF. The economy took another massive dive leaving millions upon millions more without income.
There are now groups of looters all over the country.
LEO/MIL just does not have the man power to defend everyone and you are essentialy left alone to fend for yourself and family.
There is a group trying to gain entry into your home by force.
They are kicking in the door and it will give any second.
You only have a few seconds to grab ONE firearm.
What is in your hands and why did you reach for that first?

Of all the prepping topics this is the kind of scenario that freaks me out the most. Not really sure what I would do or use since I don't have any kind of firearms yet, but hopefully would work towards preventing them from coming to my house....

I'm further back in a subdivision, so hopefully I would know they're coming before hand. If possible I may even throw stuff out in the yard, leave the doors wide open, and go hide in a safe spot in the house. To make it look like the house had been looted already. Those are just some of the ideas I have had.

Well Ddraig ... everybodies gotta start somewhere and you've come to just the right spot to start yer "inventory" build up Don't let the blues getcha down man. The fact that yer searching and prepping your mind first off is a good jump ahead of the "buffaloed" masses who will wait for a "news at 6" update to clue them in (good luck on that).

Don't know how sociable or interactive your subdivision is, but the more folks you can wake up, the more eyes the "group" will have. Keep at it and don't give up !

Thanks!

Yea, just got my first gun this weekend from DK Arms at the fredricksburg gunshow. Now to find a good class, and range to shoot at

How would you recommend approaching people? I'm not a very big extrovert. In fact I try to actively avoid people in some situations.

Congratulations on making the move to protect your family and self.
I'm sure some of the members on here know of a good place to begin your training in the use of firearms close to where you live. Remember it's just a beginning, you never have learned enough or it all.

Hello my name is "your name goes here" I live across/down the street and I would to talk to you about how we can make our neighborhood safer.

Start with that.

I would respectfully disagree, and here's why. Especially for an introvert or someone who might be socially awkward (hey, I count myself in there in some ways), it is best to avoid the frontal approach. You need to breech the topic tactfully. The last thing you want to do is open a conversation with "making the neighborhood safe" or with anything remotely prepper- or security- or firearm-related. Especially in the climate this very minute! Do you want to be pegged as the "Neighborhood Watch Captain"? Remember that these days Up is Down, Right is Left and the things you once thought firm are pliable. While I've been delighted to see the prepper community and mindset take firm hold in the mainstream lately, I've also been dismayed at the people I once thought reasonable being turned into mental zombies. These days it is best to be cautious.

The best thing would be to approach from the flank. Strike up conversations about anything other than the topic you're really after. Sports...culture...TV shows...music; these are all good entries. But while you're doing this, learn to listen for indicators of how a person might lean opinion-wise, and I don't necessarily mean politically (although that also could be a good indicator). Once you've had a few conversations and are comfortable conversing with them, bring up a few pointed topics that can help you gauge their receptiveness. I've actually used these:

• "You know, they had generators on sale at Harbor Freight and I grabbed one because last year when the power went out we lost nearly everything in our fridge. I think I still have the coupon if you're interested in getting one." - This will give a clear indication of how concerned they are about preparing for the worst. Also it may clue you in as to whether they plan to simply mooch off of you. But even if they scoff at this, it doesn't mean they wouldn't band together for the good of a group; it merely means they don't really think ahead rationally.
• "I used to go skeet shooting a lot but I haven't in a long time. Do you ever go? Are there any good skeet ranges around here?" - Talking about skeet shooting is awesome. It's the foot massage of gun-talk. It lets you breech the subject of guns in a way that doesn't seem to mean anything, but we all know it means something. If the person recoils in disgust you can write them off for anything further gun-related -- but no worries, we were just talking about shooting skeet! If they reply enthusiastically the chances are better that they are open to other firearm related stuff. Proceed likewise with talk of other gun-related activities.
• "My cousin was living in New Orleans when Katrina hit. She says it was awful, and ever since then she stockpiles cans of food. I know! It's like that show about those preppers. But after hearing what she went through I really can't blame her." - See how this lets you play this off as someone else's "peculiarity"? Plus, you've said two magic words of the prepper movement: "New Orleans" and "Katrina" which basically gives the person in question free reign to do anything they want. You could tell them your cousin started kidnapping midgets and imprisoning them in a dungeon after that and it would be excused, with the admonition, "HEY, it was KATRINA! YOU WEREN'T THERE, MAN!"

You get the gist. The idea is to bring up the topics in an approachable way in order to see how they react. If they get a little squeamish then hold off for a while. Too many strikes and just write them off. But even a somewhat positive response could reveal someone who is willing to be converted. However, NEVER tip your hand until you are convinced they are into it at the same level as you. Even if they are somewhat lukewarm to one or two of your ideas, don't tell them about the ammo stockpile, the canned food hoard, the offline porn collection, etc.

If ever TSHTF making friends will be the number one survival skill. Best to lay the foundation now.

I dunno, a shotgun might take down more home-invaders faster. If they're at the door you might not need the range of a rifle. If you want more rounds then maybe look into that new Kel-Tec double magazine shotgun or even *gasp* a streetsweeper (despite their legality someone once offered to sell me one). Also the sound of a pump-action shotgun is pretty unique and a good deterrant. You could also practice the ol' load a new shell while cycling the action trick.

I've got a Mossberg Persuader (has one of the loadest pump *cha-chunk* noises). It's outfitted with a holder for extra shells, the magazine is full of buckshot/law-enforcement rounds. It's got a pistol grip for indoor maneuverability - if I need to aim it I have a green-laser affixed to the barrel (the light is strong enough to light up a room sorta). I also threw on a heatshield cause I thought it would make it look more 'boss.'





BTW, NO! I have never 'pretend' cleared the house with it [lolz], it hangs in the closet and gets oiled about thrice a year, I've only shot it a handful of times since most of the ranges here are indoors.

Love the shotgun for this situation. I am looking for one of the KelTec double mag guns for serious social encounters. Have a G20 with 15 rounds. Love the 10mm but the Glock is a piece of junk. I just hope it continues to cycle if I need it. I should be usefull to provide enough time to get to the 1911s and shotgun reloads, I hope. One must make do with what one has I guess.

If G20 is a junk, may be you would like to deposit it in may trash can?