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Seems like a good weapon to actually inflict lots of pain and make a person retreat / run.
Looking around it seems that many of the better ones are over $100 - $200.
Since this is mainly for keeping at home, maybe I can make a DIY baton?
Something that is one piece and sturdy and can be kept in a few rooms.
I'm assuming I can just use some thick rolled steel? Then maybe fashion a comfortable handle around it.
26" sounds about the right length for an all around baton?
Or, just buy a solid, longer, old style crow bar with one essentially straight prying end, and one curved end for pulling nails. Essentially the shape and length of a typical cane. But MUCH heavier and sturdier, and very easy to hold by the curved end. I've got one about 36" overall length, with about a 5" curved claw on one end, and made from about 1" octagonal solid steel.
^^Also good to have in a vehicle for self defense. It might be questionable to keep a katana or machete in your car near the driver's seat. A crow bar or tire iron, not so much. "Hidden in plain sight"
I still have my daddy's 'tire knocker', a baseball bat whose end was drilled out and filled with lead. He was a forest ranger who frequently traveled alone to remote areas. Never used it, never want to use it. I keep it in my car.
At home, I have a dog that has large, white teeth and barks a lot. And, yes, I am armed to the extent state law allows.
Even at my age, if frightened, I can put on some serious speed. I would rather run than stand my ground. But, it all depends on the circumstances.
Get a gun and keep it near if you're worried about this. But the best options is to live someplace where that sort of thing is not happening. It doesn't happen most places. But still, just buy a gun if you're worried. You can get a license probably, and if you can't, it's easy to buy one at a gun show or from an individual. Nothing works faster or more reliably than a gun.
I just finished reading every comment on this thread. I got some random thoughts:
-Keeping some kind of weapon by your front door…why would you want to do that? Most doors can be kicked in rather easily. Assuming you are awake and near your front door, it would still be a dubious proposition at best to run toward the front door (where the threat is coming from) to retrieve a weapon. Never mind if you are asleep in your room when the intrusion happens. If you have a weapon for home defense, keep it in a place where you can retrieve it quickly and safely.
-Baseball bat: seems like a bad idea. First of all you need plenty of space to swing one. Second, I’m going to guess that unless you have a very powerful swing and you strike the head, you won’t disable the attacker, especially if he is drugged. There’s a pretty good chance that your attacker would use his arms to shield himself from the bat. Sure, he might end up with a broken arm but if he’s drugged he won’t even notice it.
-Katana: like with a baseball bat, you need space. However, it would inflict much more damage. You can also stab with a katana, which you can’t with a bat.
-Shotgun: I have hearing damage (permanent tinnitus) so I try to be very careful with loud noises. I have fired a 12 gauge shotgun many times, outside, with hearing protection. They are extremely loud. I cannot even image the kind of damage it would cause to my ears to fire one indoors without hearing protection.
-Dog: I have one. I think my dog would be very useful as an alarm to wake me up even before the intruder has kicked the door, but I am very skeptical that my dog would actually attack the intruder. She is very protective and distrusting of strangers, but also she’s a wuss in the right circumstances. So I really don’t know how she would react to somebody kicking the door in and stepping inside.
Out of all the non-firearm options, pepper spray with a good range seems probably like the most feasible. But you have to practice. However you decide to protect yourself, PRACTICE.
I read it when we first began commenting here. After a few pages of discussion I feel it has changed though.
A cattleprod is not going to knock down five attackers at once, but neither will a ballbat.
Realistically if five men pounce on your front door with no warning and no warmup, you have already lost the game. Just as when a swat team comes in through your doors and windows all at once and shoots every lump on your bed or couch.
There are a lot of suggestions here....some good, some not practical. Bear spray WILL incapacitate a person....in fact, multiple persons and it has pretty good range. It will put a serious hurt on you. That said, in my case I have a dog (KNPV Dutch Shepherd)....a dog that will defend as she has been trained as such. However, 95% of the dogs WILL NOT defend....most, even breeds like GSD, Malinois, Cane Corso, Doberman, Rotties WILL back down. Also keep in mind that a real protection dog is a definite liability in many ways. What a dog will do for you is give you an opportunity to flee and in most cases that is better than confrontation. Don't want a dog? Put a large dog bowl where it can be readily observed. Bats and items as such can and will be taken away from you when there are multiple intruders!
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