Get a gun AND a dog!
A good German Shepherd is a rough customer that I wouldnt want to mess with if I were a burglar, and a dog is far more alert than you could possibly ever be. The dogs skills in deterrence and alerting you to intruders is his most important function, but never underestimate their ability in a fight if you have the right kind of dog. I wouldnt want to take one on with the aforementioned hammer. However, a bad guy with a gun could remove the threat of a dog very quickly assuming he didnt have to worry about noise.
I grew up in the country where if a burglar had broken in, he could have fired a machine gun without drawing any attention from the neighbors since the closest neighbors were far away. We didnt have much crime but we always had to stand ready for self defense. I agree that a shotgun is the best weapon for self defense under most circumstances, even with a long barrel. The high probability of a hit, and the stunning impact from a load of buckshot make the shotgun king. However, a pistols compactness and easy pointability compensate for its lack of power, reduced accuracy. I believe that the .45 ACP is the all time greatest in terms of a defensive cartridge, but that is an endless debate that I dont want to get into here. Personally I would prefer a .45 ACP autopistol near the bed area and a shotgun stored nearby (20 or 12 gauge). If like in our old house, there was nice clear fields of fire (we had an open balcony from upstairs overlooking most of the first floor area) the shotgun would be ideal, assuming enough warning time elapsed that you could get the shotgun, assume position, still catch the intruder in the downstairs area. The pistol would be used in last ditch situations where the intruder had already gained access to the bedroom area and such.
Again, having a dog increases the chances of early detection of any intruder and would allow you to engage him with your best weapon (the shotgun).
Calling the police for us was a very poor option since we lived 30 minutes from the nearest town, and thus response time was likely to be at least that long. Fortunately there is little crime that far out in the country, but we had to go to full red alert several times when I was younger.
Once four men robbed a local gas station, making off with cases of alchohol. They were reported to be armed with at least one handgun. After a high speed police chase, they were forced off the road near our house. A very large manhunt ensued with all local residents being warned not to answer the door to strangers. My dad was cutting hay and not about to lose a days work so he strapped on a pistol and went back to work. I was stationed on an exterior balcony with a shotgun and pistol to ensure that nobody approached the house from the rear unnoticed. The Sheriffs department fortunately caught the last of the men about 1/8th of a mile behind our house in the forest. In this case, police were close but in others, response time was very long.
One night poachers fired at some deer in a field in front of our house. My dad stepped outside, just in time to hear another bullet crack past the house. My dad was angered by the fact that they were firing almost directly towards our house, not to mention the fact that they were poaching our deer. He ran out without even stopping to get a gun, and chased them down in his car. The interstate is nearby, and once on the interstate he ran them down easily. After writing down their license plate numbers, he quickly jumped off on a nearby exit. They must have thought at first that he was a law enforcement vehicle, but upon seeing him leaving the interstate, they also spun around in the median and started chasing him. Now my dad was a little nervous, as he was unarmed, and they had at least one hunting rifle for sure. He outran them in a chase with speeds from 110-120mph, and rather then go directly back to our house with them right behind, he went to my grandfathers place nearby to borrow a pistol, and to call the police, and also my mom to tell us not to open the door. Again I was stationed upstairs with shotgun to defend the frontal area of the house. At the time of this incident I was perhaps 11 or 12 years old. The police took about 40 minutes to arrive. Fortunately the poachers never showed up.
These are just 2 of at least 6 incidents that I have personally experienced in my 25 years, where having a gun for self defense could have been the difference between life and death. Fortunately for me (and for the bad guys too) none of them ever made it to the shooting stage. But any one of them could have. I relate one last incident that happened to some of our neighbors to show what could happen in a situation like these.
Two teenagers from Baton Rouge, a 17 year old punk, and his 15 year old girlfriend, stole a car and went on a crime spree. They ran out of gas in northern Lousiana near where we lived, and abandoned the car. They stopped at a house and asked to use the phone. There was a lady at home, with her two kids, one a girl about 13 years old, and her little brother about 8 years old. The lady felt a little uneasy for some reason apparently and didnt invite them into the house, but brought the portable phone to the door for them to use. They then asked for a drink of water. The 13 year old girl went to the kitchen to get it when she heard a shot. She then heard more shooting and ran out the back door to a neighbors house. The criminals chased her partway firing at her as she crossed the pasture that separated the two houses. She made it safely, and the police were called from there. When they arrived they found that the 2 perps had stolen the family vehicle and were gone. The mother had been gunned down in the doorway, and the little boy was found dead in his bedroom behind the bed with his bb gun. He apparently retreated to there and tried to defend himself with this. The community was in an uproar over this incident as you can imagine, and the two were caught not long thereafter. The boy is still in prison (he got life if I remember correctly) and the girl has since been released.
I relate these stories to show what can happen. To my mind, having a gun for self defense isnt paranoid, its just simply good sense. You will probably never need a gun, but if you ever do need one, you will probably REALLY need it. The person that is in the end responsible for your own safety and security is not the police, it is you!
I recommend dog and guns if circumstances permit. This is an awesome defensive combination. I would no more stay in a house without a gun, than I would ride in a car without a seatbelt.
