This is the crux - a self defense use of a firearm would never want the person to die, just the threat to their own life to stop so they can escape the criminal.
Versus a criminal who wants to kill another criminal over invading their imagined drug turf, punishement for a deal gone wrong and the like.
Couple things.
Suicide by guns dwarf homicide, protection, etc. combined.
The two home invasions I have personally been involved in, the first he stole a wallet and ran and the second tripped the alarm and he ran.
Third, mace or pepper spray is better, you donât have to be as accurate.
Fourth, locked doors and windows are your first and best defense.
If you are worried about going in public and being attackedâŚ
First, situational awareness. When I was in Prague last I had to cross the street and walk in the opposite direction twice to determine if someone was tailing me (both times yes).
Second, well lit and crowded places are your friend. When in doubt get a medallioned cab.
Last, the golden rule of security: make yourself appear only slightly less tempting than someone else.
No guns needed.
Well as you may know, I donât usually beat the defense drum. But it is a valid reason for owning a gun and many people do so. Personally I doubt I will ever have to do that, but I do live in a big city and shit happens all around me. But there are people who live in worse neighborhoods where being a victim is even more likely.
I donât have an answer how to lower home invasions. A solid door and a dog is a good start, but not a guarantee. Remember too, you donât have to shoot an invader, often times they will leave on their own if they encounter armed resistance.
On the flip side, how do you hope to protect yourself against 2-3 people wanting to cause you harm in your home armed with knives and bats?
Social safety nets a little more robust than âFuck you, I got mineâ are a great start.
Whatâs a Gun Dwarf and why are people paying them to kill people?
Just kidding.
For sure all of that is good advice. And yes, suicides dwarf homicides and accidents. A gun for defense is when those other measure fail.
I have good locks and an alarm and I assume it isnât going to happen (I wouldnât have the alarm either but my wife wanted it). In that situation Iâd let them take what they wanted over trying to gun them down when they woke me up, and call the police and the insurance company after.
Ha! I tried looking for a gif of a gun dwarf, but they all seem to be⌠Well⌠Horrendously offensive 
Put a sign on your neighbours house advertising all the nice stuff they have, and jimmy one of their windows open?
(akin to âI donât have to outrun the lion, I just have to outrun youâ?)
Is there any reason in the world why someone would come to a strangerâs home wanting to cause them physical harm? (Other than white supremicists)? American policy is all fueled by these bogus fantasy scenarious out of action adventure movies that would never happen in the real world.
If you meant to say: âprotect your belongings against 2-3 people wanting to rob you who enter your home armed with knives and batsâ the the answer is simple: homeowners or renterâs insurance.
Yesyesyesyesyes! Pretty please yes!!!
The techniques are the easy part. The formulas are trivial. The get-hands-on-it-without-undue-risk-to-self-and-everything-around is the difficult part.
Definitely yes!!! With possibility to set up own small miniature industrial disasters, or testing to destruction of explosion proof equipment and flash arrestors and other goodies⌠Seeing how much danger is in a bottle of acetylene or a brick of energetic material of choice, getting the right feeling for it to take it seriously while not being scared of it (like what the first minor spill of concentrated hydrochloric acid on my hand did to me in the school lab)⌠Numbers in the tables are nice but without them being paired to a real all-senses experience they are just numbers.
Definitely yes.
Go hydrocarbons. Hydrogen flame is a bit underwhelming, its emissions being mostly in ultraviolet. Virtually invisible.
All sorts of fuel-air explosions could be handy. Tests of proper (and improper!) methods of firefighting of spills of various substances, from metal powders to cooking oil. Pyrophoric materials too; gain the respect, lose the fear. t-BuLi comes to mind.
For this kind of fun, Iâd be heavily tempted to fly across the pond!
Ex-boyfriend, in less frequent cases ex-girlfriend. Various kinds of turf wars. Business going wrong.
Some belongings are irreplaceable for any amount of money.
Yeah thatâs why I limited my question to strangers.
Call me a bleeding heart liberal but I firmly believe that anybodyâs life (even a home-invading poor personâs life) is more valuable than any belonging. Certainly, the life of the children exploring around your house, or the life of your depressed loved one, is more valuable than any belonging.
I believe the preferred term is now âGun Little Person.â
Yeah, let me have my mind, ears, fingers, and loved ones. Everything else can go.
Bogus fantasies? Home invasions are very real. While they are some time after just goods to steal (in which case they will try to break in when they donât think you are home), there are those out there who plan to do more. I donât plan to ask or trust the answer on whether they plan to do me harm. They can GTFO and live another day.
My momâs friend was one of the victims of this horrific crime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_Massacre
They do happen. As I mentioned I have been involved in the victim side twice. And I knew a dude who was a perpetrator.
In all three cases it was unlocked doors and windows, and opportunists. A gun would have done nothing.
Others like the brick through my motherâs window, the three other vandalisms my current property has had, and the interpersonal violence (jilted lovers, or whatever you call them) pale compared to the suicides, attempted murder of family members, and âclose callsâ that involved firearms.
I canât with a clean conscious condone firearms that arenât locked in a safe. Which means they arenât great defense. Locks, poly windows (ask Starbucks, their ciso gave a great talk half a decade ago), and deterrents are waaay more effective. And cheaper. And easier.
(BTW shooting if effing fun. As a sport it is invigorating. So please donât confuse my position with firearm abolition.)
Depending on your living arrangements, you can store a gun at the ready for quick access. It doesnât have to be loaded. Again, I am not one who beats the defense drum, but people do use them for that, and Iâve known people who have great peace of mind after several break ins in their area.
I will leave it to the individual to make up their mind, but from my life on this earth and the stats from pro and nay gun advocacy groups, at a macro level I think it is clear that owning a gun is dangerous. And in almost every case unnecessary.
Personally I think automated caltrop deployers should be mandatory
So, for every one in 78 gun suicides, the guy misses and shoots a felon by mistake?
The only problem with the Davy Crockett gun the person firing it would also be obliterated.
