Guns Magazine: "The Home-Carry Handgun"

Rich Grassi suggests that there are an increasing incidence of burglaries occurring when the homeowner is at home (although he doesn't cite any statistics). While some people like to stash weapons around their home, Grassi notes some problems with this approach, not the least of which is the potential of unauthorized access to the weapon. (Something I can relate to from personal experience from when my children were very young, visiting a relative and having my daughter coming across a handgun left on the coffee table under a pile of magazines).

     His recommendation is to carry a firearm on you when at home. Funny enough, your "night stand" gun is probably too big to easily carry around, and so Grassi recommends a lighter, smaller handgun ... which, for most concealed carriers, will probably be your concealed carry handgun (or one of them if you have more than one). He relates what he does, writing:

      In my situation I simply wear street clothes at home all the time once dressed until bedtime. For me, this allows for a service pistol in compact format (e.g., GLOCK 19, Lightweight Commander-class auto), plus a small backup gun (S&W J-Frame, Ruger LCR, small auto).

     For those times I’m in lounging attire, a pocket holster with a small 7-shot auto has to do.

For Grassi, his small auto is a Ruger LCP380 with the Crimson Trace Laserguard. One of his friends uses a J-frame revolver. The general idea with these is that it gives you something to use immediately, with the possibility of retreating to where you can access heavier fire power. Of course, the Rule of 3 (3 yards, 3 rounds, 3 seconds) suggests that in most cases, the small gun will generally be all that you need.

     Although Grassi does not discuss this, the reality is that you cannot keep your alertness raised at all times because it is too exhausting. You need opportunities and places to go to "condition white" and inside your home--your "castle"--is the most natural place of all. Consequently, your first defense against a burglar, even if you carry a weapon around the home, is to secure your home: lock the outside doors when practicable, even if you are home; be careful about opening the door to a stranger; make sure that gates in your fences are closed and locked (use a pad lock in necessary).

      A Ring doorbell system, with motion alert activated, can give you warning of someone outside your door. So may a yappy dog.

      If you have an alarm system that will give an audible indication when a door is opened, you might consider activating that feature. That way, even if you are engrossed in a movie or good book, an alert that, for instance, "back door open" or an audible chime can help snap you into a higher level of awareness. Years ago, while my wife and I were still living in apartments, we found some door alarms that could be mounted to a door and door jam with double-sided tape and give an audible alert if the door was opened (good for keeping track of small children). And they were easy to remove when we moved out. Just making a quick search, I see that Amazon sells a GE system with multiple door sensors, for $26.