[Iron Duke]

Find one ... that you can mount a bayonet and swings well because you'll be hand to hand almost immediately.

 

[Iron Duke]

Old adage ... "Better to be judged by 12 than to be carried by six." Get a real self-defense weapon for home defense. If you have to use it then argue the "Castle Doctrine" in court. Other than that, I agree with miles58. A can of bear mace, a Louisville Slugger and a Roman Gladius blade. The bear mace is for your hikes in the woods, the bat is for your time at the local batting cage, and you wanted a replica Roman Gladius since you were a kid. Lucky for you that you stored them all in your bedroom. Not so lucky for the home intruder reeking of Mace with his eyes popped out of his bashed skull and split open like that last deer carcass you gutted.

 

[Iron Duke]

I guess a CC permit could mean concealed crossbow.

Or ... "Concealed Claymore."

 

[Iron Duke]

Ive attended several home defense training seminars hosted by my gun club. Please do NOT think a crossbow will be a viable home defensive weapon. You most likely will be forced to draw your defensive weapon of choice in a pitch black environment, and you will be under serious duress and adrenalin. Everyone focuses on "what caliber or what type of weapon". Focus primarily on what caliber and style of weapon you have the highest probability of ceasing the deadly threat. Pick a downsized (for tight confines maneuvering ability) open sight weapon of your choice that you are most proficient with, add a weapon mounted flashlight and have it accessible . Have multiple home layout plans. If you want to feel what you will be faced with in a life threatening situation under duress, stick your hands in a bucket of ice water for 60 seconds and immediately try weapon mag changes and manipulations. This is what duress and adrenalin rushes does to your body .

I'm a very ... experienced shooter. Killed thousands of animals. I'm neither a pistolero nor gunfighter. My self-defense pistols have weapon lights with built in green lasers AND a reflex sight. While some gunfighters sorta consider lasers a little Mickey Mouse. I've talked with some of them and they see lasers as viable for amateurs under extreme stress and/or duress. My theory is the laser for duress and the reflex if for any reason long range shooting is required. (like in the apocalypse...LOL) Remember 99% of people out there have limited or zero TRAINING with their weapon of choice. That includes handgun training. And as the saying goes, you never rise to the level of the threat, you fall to your lowest level of training. You're spot on with your assessment of 2:00am confusion. Many years ago my wife was away on a trip to Germany. In the middle of the night our alarm went off. I was driven out of a deep sleep by the screaming alarm in the hall and largely disoriented for 10-15 seconds. Trying to figure out what was going on with a clouded head and a heart racing at 120 BPM...LOL Then as clarity set in wondering if she came back early, is it a malfunction false alarm, did the dog set it off somehow, is someone in the house??? There's definitely a period of fog there. If I recall it was a picture or something that fell off the wall and broke a security beam. Still, it was an eye-opening learning experience. I get a kick on how so many people have these cursory plans on how they'd defend their home and family and in actuality their plan is both lacking and clueless to the reality of the potential situation.

 

[Iron Duke]

So in those 15 seconds of fog, you want a firearm in your hands? You know, the 15 seconds before it occurs to you “what if my wife came home early?”

But you do get back on track with “you fall to your lowest level of training”. That is precisely the point I was making in talking about having and executing a plan. The repeating crossbow in my hands is well-rehearsed at this point. I know what it looks like looking down my stairs in the dark with the laser sight, and I know how the arrow flies. I know the laser, zeroed at six yards, needs to be slightly less than 2 inches high of target at ten feet. I know what it feels like to cock the weapon in that small space.

And the guy(s) breaking into my home have likely not trained for what they are doing, and certainly a) don’t know my home layout, and b) are not expecting resistance. Especially a silent resistance. So I will take my chances on the much less accident-prone repeating crossbow should it ever come to that.

I said fog ... not that I went stupid. Thirty-five years of firearm safety means I wasn't about to empty my firearm magazine through my bedroom door with 20 "sound shots." 😂 And that addresses my point about "training." I wasn't a trained gunfighter or for suppressing intruders, but I WAS a trained and experienced firearm handler. Besides, by your thinking, what makes your "repeating crossbow" any safer in the same scenario? I guess your wife could handle that little bolt in the chest in an accidental shooting better than a bullet though.