Gun owner: I, not cops, got bad guy (Wilmette Illinois man charged for defending his home with gun)

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 1-22-04

[SF Republican]

Well said, Mr. DeMar. I can only find fault in his marksmanship. we need more gun control

[TigersEye]

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter did not criticize DeMar for protecting his family but said homes are safer without handguns.

Say Chief, would it be alright with you if I keep a baseball bat around the house? If you will clean up the mess I'll gladly 'Al Capone' any intruders I catch.

[blackdog]

I doubt many of us have homes with rooms larger than 75 feet in length or width. I use spreader loads from Orvis. They are for people who just like to aim based on compass position or clock reference right from the hip. At 50 feet, the pattern is about ten feet in diameter. You can't miss.

And FWIW, the blast wave from the shotgun will knock you down even without any pellets. It's a directional Flash Bang device with the added bonus of being lethal.

[FormerRep]

Depends on the choke of the barrel. The effective distance for even open-choke is plenty for indoors work.

[SW6906]

"How far away can you be with a shotgun and still hit your target?"

Depends on your aim and the shotgun. Also depends on how worked up you are at the time.

My shotgun has been converted to "home defense/crowd control mode". It has the shortest legal barrel, plug removed so it holds the maximum number of shells, pistol grip instead of the stock for my right hand, pistol grip on the slide for my left hand, and a six shell holder attached to the side for six more rounds at the ready.

I figure I can hit and disable somebody at just about any distance I'm going to encounter within my house....

[Blood of Tyrants]

Note to Mr. DeMar: Go to the range and practice. That way you can guarantee that this SOB will NEVER get the chance to go from burglary to rape and kidnapping and murder.

[bc2]

Inside of your home you should be able to hit anyone with a 12 guage shotgun. Even in the dark. You're at the top of the stairs, you hear a noise from downstairs... point, click, boom.

repeat as neccessary.

I would not recommend 00 buckshot for urban, suburban or family environments. 00 buckshot is a very powerful round. I have personally shot my friend's father's Chevy Astro Van with my 12 guage using 2 3/4 inch 00 buckshot and it went right through both sides. Now imagine that compared to plaster or drywall. You're talking about going through several walls if not your whole house. Use birdshot or turkey loads. I think #4 or #6 but I can't recall offhand so someone please fill in this blank for me.

Shotguns are long and bulky so if you're just going to get a shotgun for home defense, make sure it has a short barrel and a folding stock. I personally have a Mossberg 590 (military spec shotgun) with 20" barrel and folding pistol grip stock but they make a 16" version that is nice. The only difference is that you sacrafice 2 extra rounds with the 16" model. Shorter barrels mean more spread at shorter distances but inside your home this shouldn't matter very much.

just my $0.02... someone please fill in my blank about the #'s of turkey or birdshot loads (it's #4 and #6, right??)

[JudgemAll]

The misdemeanors are unlikely to bring jail time. Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter did not criticize DeMar for protecting his family but said homes are safer without handguns.

Cops just like regular people, have to answer to judges and have to defend themselves. They are not judges of things. And while home firearm possession provides for a positive settlement of homes against unsettling home invaders, cops should be restricted in firearms usage in that theirs is not for cop settlement purposes (that would be corruption), but for carrying judges' orders and settlement of the judicial.

[Littlejon]

Well, it depends on the gun and round. A 12 guage with a 2-1/2" or 2-3/4" .00 buck can still lay a hurt on someone pretty far away.

A few years ago, Mosseberg was marketing a .410 pump shotgun with a shortened barrel for home defense. It kicks a lot less than a 12 guage and was easier to handle for women, supposedly. Hit in the right place, it will do the job just as well as a 12 guage, but I prefer not to take chances at 2:00AM in the dark.

I keep a double-barrel 12 guage in my house with the first chamber loaded with bird shot for warning the perp to get the hell out of my house. (OK, so I hate to think I would actually have to kill someone, so I give them a sporting chance!)

The second chamber is loaded with .00 buck and is specifically for reitterating that I am serious about them leaving my house. Problem is they no longer have a choice as to how that will be after the first round.

[RunningJoke]

I have been consistently successful at 35-50 yds(since I never measured the distance, that's pretty much a guess). Funny, it never occurred to me to do that. I use the shotgun to kill vermin and as protection against bears and possibly any nefarious bipeds that force entry into the Runningjoke compound.

[Henchman]

I agree. As a former LEO, I note that the cops time their arrival to ensure that the criminal is gone...perhaps too many cops are intimidated by liber lawyer suits for doing their jobs. Often police want hand guns limited in the hands of private citizens. It is my belief that this anti citizen stance is to ensure that the cops have a job when they retire as they are the ones who qualify for a permit (e.g. NYC and NY State)

Too often the police forget that they are employees of the citizens - you know Government by the people etc. Police pontificate as if they are the only ones qualified to have a weapon for defense ecause their job demands it - not so - loook at when they arrive. More often they are busy giving out traffic ticket, with hands on guns to intimidate the honetst citizen. I have seen it where the cops do this and three blocks away the drug dealers are going at it. (I gave specifics on this and where people could get their drugs if they wanted - then - a week later the dealers were arrested. Like crooks and roaches, the cops also run fo cover when you turn on the light. I don't blame the foot cop, but the superior officers for putting up with this and the politicians need to have ticket revenue. If a cop takes more than 5 minutes to arrive at en emergency, they should be suspended the first time and fired the next - as well as the supervisor.

[jwalburg]

I think I get the general idea, if not all the details. Thanks.

[ibbryn]

This is a helluva good letter and I am sooooo glad that the homeowner is articulate and willing to stand up for what is right rather than being silent, contrite and hoping to plea bargin away the b.s. charges against him.
Here's hoping he gets more press and continues to make the case for armed citizens.

And while I generally support killing goblins and agree that the guage is the way to go for most social encounters, in this case, with such an articulate homeowner who is willing to speak out, it is good that the perp did not die, as the homeowner can now say he did everything possible to keep his family safe without going overboard (dog, lights, alarm, police called, and then shoots to stop only).

[Halfway Through Life]

As an almost life-long Wilmette resident I can share a few things:

• The vast majority of residents have no interest in guns. In 41 years I've only seen one gun in private hands in Wilmette.

• Growing up we didn't locked our house or car doors -- even at night. That's changed somewhat, but not a lot.

• If your a man, you can walk any where at night and your safe. If your a woman, I assume it's the same as I never have heard of someone being robbed or raped on the streets.

• We are a village with a big minority of economic Republicans that like to get along, and a majority of rich liberals (e.g., a lot of Jews and Northwestern University professors).

• The guy's house is a half block from Lake Michigan -- probably valued at more than 1.5 million, maybe a lot more.

• He lives a block a way from Jack Ryan the Republican, Senate front-runner who's a little squishy on 2nd Ammendment protection.

[uncbob]

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter did not criticize DeMar for protecting his family but said homes are safer without handguns.

I am sure the good chief leaves his gun at the station locked in a safe when he goes home at the end of his day

[Whatever_I dont care]

So you don't think this guy's argument will make any headway with the rest of the locals?

[TexasRepublic]

Moral of the story: 1) Move to Texas 2) Use a shotgun 3) Dead burglars don't testify against you in court

[Britton J Wingfield]

He would be FULL OF HOLES

Yeah, claw-holes from savage attack cats.

Just like our new exercise mat, btw.

[Trickyguy]

Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter did not criticize DeMar for protecting his family but said homes are safer without handguns.

Fire 90% of the police, disarm the other ten percent, arm all the citizens, and crime will drop 75%.

[XHogPilot]

PING