They make rubber buck shot. That I know of they do not make rubber bullets, per se. I have it in my "house gun" first shot is rubber buck, second shot is 00.

I too was raised in a home with guns, and 1 thing I knew, above all else was not to touch or go near them. If your kids are taught about fire arms, and what can happen (I.E. what you will do to them if you ever find out that they played or showed anyone else.) then you shouldn't have any problem. I did a lot of stupid things when I was a kid(hell, I still do) but never has anything involved guns. I agree with Rick that Rubber bullets are a very bad idea, but because if your kids friends are as stupid as you make them out, they are liable to shoot each other thing whey won't get hurt (the MTV show Jack-Ass comes to mind). which is why you need to take the time and teach them about the guns and what they can do. When I was young, all my friends had BB guns, my dad wouldn't let me have one as he said they were too dangerous, so for my 12th birthday, I got a 20 guage shot gun, and a Fire Arms Safety course:D
If you really love your kids you will teach them and their friends about guns and what they can do.

Worst a$s-whooping I ever got as a kid was for "mishandling" my bb gun. Gun safety was religion in my house.

+1000

Avon Calling

"First it was sonic ray guns. Now the Israeli military is "replacing its sometimes lethal rubber-coated steel pellets with compressed sand bullets," says the AP.

Rubber bullets have killed dozens of Palestinians in the past two decades. The new sand bullets were originally developed for close-quarter hostage rescue situations...

The new round, in which the head of the bullet is made from compressed sand and can be fired from a regular rifle, has already been used in the West Bank against Palestinians protesting against the separation barrier Israel is building, the army said.

The sand bullet, said to be extremely painful but less dangerous because it does not penetrate the skin, was developed and first used by Israel's Prisons Authority, the army said. The rubber bullets will be phased out.

THERE'S MORE: "I'm glad to see they are switching. It is LONG overdue," says Sid Heal, a long-time veteran L.A. Sheriff's department veteran who's considered one of the world's leading authorities on non-lethal weapons.

My guess is that the "sand" will provide sufficient mass to gain the stand-off distances they needed and obtained with their rubber coated steel pellets but with reduced ability to penetrate and imbed themselves into the body...

It sounds like a variation of the frangible rounds we've been experimenting with. It began with a round nicknamed the "Avon Round," that used Xerox powder and dental plaster. It remained intact until it struck an object -- and then it released excess kinetic energy by breaking into "dust." The breaching round got nicknamed the "Avon Round" because when it strikes a door lock, it pulverizes itself into harmless powder."

I haven't seen many posts I agree with.

Gun safes are nice, for the weapons you want to own but don't want to use for defense. Perhaps the ones that use biometrics for quick access would work in a home invasion scenario. I like the P7 suggestion where hand strength is required for operation.

If you're talking about rubber bullets- then guns aren't for you (right now at least). Guns are for killing. When someone enters your home un-invited you kill them. For your safety, for the safety of your children, and for society it's best to take them out. You don't want them in court anyways suing you.

Having children at home makes things interesting for sure. Glad you're thinking about it and seeking advice.

Personally, I will keep handguns accessible, but separate from fully loaded clips. All without too much work, but some assembly required. I'm hoping we'll have bio-metrics on guns soon affordably. Same for shotguns- maybe keep the shotgun under the bed, and the shells behind a curtain rod or something.

Can't agree with Hugh about moving. Criminals have cars and drive to areas less patrolled where the pickings are easier. Home invasions can happen anywhere.

Get another dog. Criminals hate dogs. I have a half Lab half Pit puppy who is slowly learning what's "normal" and what's not. Between her, the alarms, and the guns I sleep really well.

Thanks for the input.

I am not that paranoid and live in a very nice neighborhood. The nice neighborhood only minimizes the potential for bad stuff. Does not eliminate it.

I like guns, always have.

When I started having kids figured the safest solution was to not have any at all. EDIT: guns that is;)

Would like to restock but again my children's safety comes first.

Their friends intelligence is an unknown variable that can have drastic repercussions.

May just wait a couple more years.

Are you familiar with the "Gun Vault" posted earlier? It is designed specifically for this purpose.

Familiar yes, personally used no.

In a home invasion I think you'd barely have time to grab a firearm out of a drawer- much less open the gun vault. Still seems like it could be a good compromise with children present. I would still want to use one before recommending. I'll check them out at the next gun show.

Or who has one they want to send me? :D

I like your style. This is actually pretty smart. Rarely do accidental shootings involve multiple rounds.

For this reason the rounds in my chambers are FMJ (full metal jacket). After that first round things get more interesting.

Not that a FMJ is a "safe" round, but they will do less damage than the rounds thereafter.

So there's a good semi-solution I missed earlier for those with children. Use a non-lethal or even a blank as the first round. You'll want to double-tap a bad guy anyways so you'll hit him with the good stuff in short order. In a real situation you could always double-clear while arriving to the scene as well to get to the killing rounds. This could give away your position and intentions however.

I'd prefer to make a kill while they are unplugging my DVD player. ;) But, I'm a bit of a wuss.

See I'd try to get the guy into the bathtub or shower, easier to clean up afterwards.

Claim he was trying to steal my soap.

I have three gun safes and am looking for a fourth. I do keep my single-shot shotgun and an antique Remington Model 17 hanging on the wall, but both are designed in such a way that the action cannot be worked with a simple trigger guard in place. The single-shot opens by pulling back on the trigger guard. I keep the action locked forward on the Remington and the release can't be operated with the trigger guard in place.

When I have kids, I plan on keeping the firearms inaccessible until they are old enough to teach a healthy respect for them--and even then they will still be kept inoperable or inaccessible.

"I'd prefer to make a kill while they are unplugging my DVD player. But, I'm a bit of a wuss."


I'm afraid you would both have a lot of splaining to do if those were the real situations. Now if he "threatend" you with the DVD play or the soap...fire away.

The new DVD players have really sharp edges. Could make a fearsome weapon in a pinch!

Seems to me the first question is how will you be alerted to an intruder, the second question is how you will respond to it.

Alerting -

See if your house has an interior door that can be locked, so that the noise of breaking through would wake you up. For example, my house is three floors, the stairway from first to second has a lightweight door, I could replace it with a solid door and a sturdy lock.

Alarms and dogs are also options.

Responding -

A gun in a bedside safe seems adequately safe to me, as another dad with small kids (and their friends) around. As long as you are not the forgetful type who is going to walk away and leave the safe open.

If you just don't want to take any chance of an accident, perhaps you can look into a Taser, or two. With a baseball bat . . .

P.S. There are also fingerprint scanner gun safes. Might be the fastest to use. I would test the hell out of one, to make sure the scanner is discriminating enough.

Well then I'd undress and get myself wet, claim I was taking a shower and he came at me while I was picking up my soap:eek: That's gotta be defensible in any state.;)

I wouldn't worry about the fingerprint scanners being discriminating. The technology is pretty well advanced. However, I've used some of the fingerprint type door locks and they seem to be quite finicky. Some often require repeated attempts to get a match. So, IMO, they may not be as fast as the mechanical fingertip/tactile type locks.

Sounds like they would try you for a "crime of passion"!

Any time you kill someone you have some explaining to do. And rightfully so.

Here in Georgia, if someone is in your house stealing in the middle of the night and they're shot to death, they tend to side with the homeowner. All you need to say is he lunged, it was dark, I was startled. Heck- you could say he verbally threatened and that would be enough.

It wouldn't hurt that I play poker with a few local cops.