Preparing for Home Defense

James Williams, at Tactical Anatomy, has a good article on "Home Defense." He covers, in order, the following main points: (i) develop a mindset; (ii) prepare the ground; (iii) make a family plan; and (iv) choose your weapon(s). I've added links to additional articles or resources relevant to Williams' points.

     The first point--develop a mindset--is basically that you need to think about defending your home: visualize how an armed attacker/intruder might gain entry to your home, how many attackers there might be, will they come in from different directions, etc., and start to plan how you would defeat each type of attack keeping in mind the laws of self-defense. (Don't be like the guy just arrested for murder after ambushing and shooting a kid playing "ding-dong ditch" game who had a plan but ignored laws on the justifiable use of force). 

• "The Five Elements of Lawful Self-Defense" by Steve Moses, CCW Safe.
• "Everything You Need to Know About Brandishing"--US LawShield. 
• VIDEO: "Deadly Force in Self-Defense: What You Need to Know - Critical Mas(s) Ep. 03 with Massad Ayoob" (17 min.) 
• VIDEO: "Massad Ayoob: Castle Doctrine, The McCloskeys & Why You Should Remain Inside. Critical Mas EP51" (14 min.) 

     The second point--preparing the ground--is just that: preparing your house and/or yard to better accomplish your defensive plan. Williams give the example of placing a couch or other furniture in such a way to direct an intruder in a manner that is favorable to you; or determining your best fields of fire; or create cover (e.g., a shelf densely packed with books or a cabinet packed with sand bags). He also suggest more basic "burglar proofing" tips like considering whether your doors and locks are adequate (don't forget the screws for the hinges need to go deep), security alarms, exterior lighting, cameras, etc.

• "Common sense about burglary prevention" by Massad Ayoob. 
• "Keep Burglars at Bay with 20 DIY Hacks for a Theft-Proof Home"--Family Handiman.
• VIDEO: "6 Home Security Hacks Proven to Stop Break Ins"--Jason Hanson (6 min.)
• "Tactical Home Defense: Defensive Positioning"--Special Tactics. 

    The third point--making a family plan--is a reminder that your whole family needs to know what is the plan and what to do; and any adults (such as a spouse) also need to know how to use any weapons. By which Williams means that they need more than just a passing familiarity with the weapon but training so that they can use it effectively under stress.

• "How to Plan for Home Defense" by Bob Campbell, USCCA.  
• "How to Use Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication for Self Defense"--Shooting Illustrated.
• "Getting the Family on Board with Home Defense"--Warrior Poet Society.   
• "Discussing Protection Options With Your Spouse"--USCCA. 
• "Couple Defense" (Part 1) (Part 2)--NRA Family. 
• "Couples Firearms Training: Strengthen Your Skills, Safety & Trust"--USCCA. 

    Finally, the fourth point is selecting weapons. Williams recommends having both a handgun (concealable so you can have it on your person) and a long gun (rifle or shotgun) for each armed defender. If you decide to use a 5.56/.223 rifle, he recommends using soft tip ammo in the 60 to 70 grain range (stay away from FMJ). For a shotgun, he suggests something in 12- or 20-gauge shooting 00-buckshot. But he also warns of the noise:

... Muzzle blast is directly proportional to the amount of gunpowder in the cartridge and the chamber pressure of the firearm. The muzzle blast from a handgun is therefore pretty mild, but will still cause hearing damage if you aren’t wearing ear-pro. The muzzle blast from a shotgun is really loud, and when fired indoors will instantly deafen you, at least temporarily. (I have had this experience… firing shotgun inside an abandoned farmhouse while researching bullet penetration through walls for a long-ago magazine article. I only did it once, and then put on extra ear-pro for the rest of the projecat.)The muzzle blast from an AR-15 is REALLY loud, much worse than a shotgun. The hearing damage you sustain from firing one of these in your home may be major and may be permanent. 

Thus, he recommends staging hearing protection next to your defensive rifle or shotgun.  

    He has a lot more detail and additional comments, so be sure to read the whole thing.