Do you keep a weapon by your bed?

BrianD3

A ranged weapon is what you need, unfortunately Ireland is one of the worst countries in the world for owning one. In Britain, crossbows and air rifles <15 joules are unregulated. Here they are both regulated - you can get an air rifle without a licence but it's limited to 1 joule which is nothing.

Are spearguns regulated, I don't think the rubber powered ones are.

Also - don't laugh - slingshots. Imagine shooting someone in the chest with a 109 joule slingshot. TBH these are probably nearly as dangerous to the shooter given what happened at 2:50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0M9lL5tY58

Galwayguy35

I live on my own so if someone broke in chances are he would have someone with him so the odds would be against me from the start and they would be alert I would have just woken up.

They could have the 200 euro laptop and 10 year old tele thats all that would be worth taking.

Strumms

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

A guard once told me "once the scumbag is laying on the path outside when we get there, he can't claim anything happened, and you can say he fell when running away"

Funny, a family member, all be it may years ago was told the same by a Garda

saabsaab

corner of hells wrote: »

I've been hit with shotgun pellets before, I screamed my bollix off with terror and pain.

The above may or may not be true , I just want to keep up with the bollixolgy type of posts.

Well it was reported in the local papers at the time, so may be true. How did you get hit anyway? Not a good idea to go in front of someone with a loaded shotgun.

talla10

italodisco wrote: »

Nope.

In many situations it works. I blatantly lied by saying one of the burglars had a knife the length of his arm, which he didn't, to get off with attacking one of them with a hammer from behind.

You see, these lads are known to gardai, and judges, most of whom will take your side in this situation.

If you ever have to smash the head off someone for any reason make sure you be the one to ring the gardai first, and make sure to say that the accused threatened to 'stick you in the heart' and went for his pocket so you HAD TO defend your life by disabling him before he got a chance.

Trust me, it works every time (unless you've a violent criminal record yourself lol)

But what about the medical evidence?

A report which states the injuries sustained are consistent with a beating? And if Gardaí declare the house a crime scene and an examination shows the burglars blood, DNA etc inside the house which you would have no way of explaining?

Or to turn it on its head if the Burglar is outside, he claims he was walking past the house and you assaulted him for nothing. You are at scene, his injuries are evidence of assault and in your particular case you are armed with a hammer which would be proved to be the weapon involved in the assault and there is no knife on the burglar which affects your credibility? Plus these days a lot of houses have private CCTV, passing taxis with dash cams etc there could be CCTV evidence which directly contradicts your version of events

An Ri rua

Tactical flashlight. Fenix TK15. 400lumens with strobe. Disorientates an attacker.

And a lock blade and various assortments of mood changers hidden about the room and house. A golf club is too long and unwieldy. You need short like a long baton, say a length of copper pipe or similar heft and length.

Awful topic in fairness. Necessary but ugly stuff.

Never pick up anything that you have not thought through fully. I recently went to rescue extended family from an intruder who turned out to be a high junkie.
I brought him to heel with a blackthorn stick and a tactical torch. While waiting for Gardaí to arrive. Never touched him, he was aware of the consequences of action without permission. Bringing anything else to bear would have been immoral and ended in tears for all.
Be sensible, think things through and be prepared to accept the legal, physical, emotional and spiritual consequences of harming another. Even if you are being threatened.

Feisar

An Ri rua wrote: »

Tactical flashlight. Fenix TK15. 400lumens with strobe. Disorientates an attacker.

And a lock blade and various assortments of mood changers hidden about the room and house. A golf club is too long and unwieldy. You need short like a long baton, say a length of copper pipe or similar heft and length.

Awful topic in fairness. Necessary but ugly stuff.

Never pick up anything that you have not thought through fully. I recently went to rescue extended family from an intruder who turned out to be a high junkie.
I brought him to heel with a blackthorn stick and a tactical torch. While waiting for Gardaí to arrive. Never touched him, he was aware of the consequences of action without permission. Bringing anything else to bear would have been immoral and ended in tears for all.
Be sensible, think things through and be prepared to accept the legal, physical, emotional and spiritual consequences of harming another. Even if you are being threatened.

This. Violence doesn’t happen in some fantasy bubble in ones head.

An Ri rua

corner of hells wrote: »

I've been hit with shotgun pellets before, I screamed my bollix off with terror and pain.

The above may or may not be true , I just want to keep up with the bollixolgy type of posts.

The Guards will believe what they see, not what you tell them. That DOES NOT mean you can't still control the outcome.
I lured a scumbag into pushing me a few years ago and then dropped him. He'd been terrorising a local chip shop and 2 men had already reared up on him. Like everyone else, I chickened out. Until he covered my €500 Van Gil's suit in Dutch Gold or whatever fairy juice he was drinking. As the squad car arrived (I'd walked to my car, deposited my chips and burger for my dear Granny, rang them in advance and said come quick there's a scumbag attacking a man in a suit...), They saw him on the ground holding his throat. I'd hit him once, with precision. He started roaring and giving them **** and they asked me was I ok and bundled him into the squad car.
When I looked up and around, I received a wave and salute from a Lituanian bouncer who'd been watching his neighbours (Polish girls) being terrorised.

Life is all about perception. No one looks for evidence when they believe what they've seen. You can take that to the bank.

Potential-Monke

BrianD3 wrote: »

Are spearguns regulated, I don't think the rubber powered ones are.

IIRC, anything rated above 1 joule is considered a firearm. The main thing with defending yourself and your property is that it has to be justified, reasonable and with something that's not illegal in general.

Justified: You are defending yourself or your property from assault, damage or worse. ie: if the person is caught and starts running, you legally can't run after them and bate 7 shades of shyte out of them. They're retreating, so not considered justified.

Reasonable: The amount of force used has to be reasonable depending on the situation. ie: you can't stab someone 15 times in defence. If you hit them and they hit the ground, you can then control them but can't continue bating them. If they stop swinging, you've to stop swinging, and see above re retreat.

Not illegal: There are some items which have no legal reasoning for having, ie: flick knives, balisongs (butterfly knives) have no legal reason. Its also illegal to have pepper spray, stun weapons and batons (to name a few).

Now, all the above is a general overview. Aside from the illegality of certain items, the other 2 can be bent to some degree and are far more open to interpretation. Just remember that you could be recorded by some cctv (neighbourhood, nieghbours, etc). If you would get in trouble if it was recorded, it's best not to do it. But like others have mentioned, what people see in the aftermath doesn't always have to show what actually happened.

I always said that if someone broke into this house, I'd get the nearest knife and stab them. If they died, I'd place another knife in their hand and then nearby. Thoughts and reality are often different though. Best to use a sweeping brush, hurley or any other item one would reasonably expect to be in an Irish household.

An Ri rua

[Deleted User] wrote: »

First they have to get into your home.

I notice, through watching American TV shows/movies that in Ghettoes mainly but not exclusively there is often a metal locked gate directly in front of the door; or the actual door is metal.

Be hard to break that down, oftentimes bars on the windows too.

Granted, a lot of people wouldn't like to live in such an environment; but, in this Country would they have the option, or is it proscribed?

To date, we've evolved in Ireland towards alarms, cameras even but not burglar resistance.
You can apply a film to window panes to make them unbreakable and install burglar proof front and back door. That's the way with Eastern Europe Vs here. I use cameras myself with motion detection. Simply using 3 Android phones and Alfred app, I protect my place and the home place. Augmented with trail cameras now.

Lewis_Benson

talla10 wrote: »

This is up there with a Garda has to give you his hat to Sh1t in

What are you talking about?
This is about scumbags breaking and entering into our homes when they are not wanted.

Not sure what type of thing you are into...

Lewis_Benson

talla10 wrote: »

But what about the medical evidence?

A report which states the injuries sustained are consistent with a beating? And if Gardaí declare the house a crime scene and an examination shows the burglars blood, DNA etc inside the house which you would have no way of explaining?

Or to turn it on its head if the Burglar is outside, he claims he was walking past the house and you assaulted him for nothing. You are at scene, his injuries are evidence of assault and in your particular case you are armed with a hammer which would be proved to be the weapon involved in the assault and there is no knife on the burglar which affects your credibility? Plus these days a lot of houses have private CCTV, passing taxis with dash cams etc there could be CCTV evidence which directly contradicts your version of events

I felt my life was in danger, your honour.

talla10

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

What are you talking about?
This is about scumbags breaking and entering into our homes when they are not wanted.

Not sure what type of thing you are into...

Urban legends about Gardaí but not to worry :rolleyes:

guitarhappy

Most law enforcement agree the best home defense system is a motion activated flood lights. Either mount them on an exterior wall or.... activate them with a swinging motion when you whack the bad boy over the head with it.

razorblunt

I never got the logic of a baseball bat or golf club, you can’t really swing those with effect on a stairs or tight hallway. A neighbour of mine has a cricket bat, those things are really heavy, can’t get a good swing of that.

I have a small, aluminium baseball bat, luckily my son plays with it on a daily basis and is considerate enough to leave it just by my locker when he’s finished with it and that’s why it’s by my locker, your Honour. I’m lucky he’s a clean kid.

Potential-Monke

A childrens Wavin hurley would be the best bet in Ireland.

dunnerc

Have 2 25kg Staffordshire bull terriers , who sleep on the landing ,better than any weapon

Vita nova

Is the OP subtly trying to find out whose house is safe to rob?

I've a couple of AK-47s but you'd have to get through the electrified barbed wire fence that surrounds the house first before getting sprayed with bullets.

BrianD3

Potential-Monke wrote: »

IIRC, anything rated above 1 joule is considered a firearm.

Given your former job you know the law better than most - but does the 1 joule limit not only apply to pieces with a barrel? If anything that "shoots" a projectile over 1 joule is a "firearm", then every archer and archery club in Ireland is breaking the law. As is any fishing shop selling Black Widow slingshots.

It wouldn't surprise me though. The crossbow situation is particulary absurd. All crossbows are technically regulated there is no 1 joule limit

An Irish idea of a firearm that needs to be regulated.


There are also issues around black powder antique firearms, IIRC the main issue is getting the powder for them. in other countries - even places like NI - there is a thriving black powder scene.

Feisar

BrianD3 wrote: »

Given your former job you know the law better than most - but does the 1 joule limit not only apply to pieces with a barrel? If anything that "shoots" a projectile over 1 joule is a "firearm", then every archer and archery club in Ireland is breaking the law. As is any fishing shop selling Black Widow slingshots.

It wouldn't surprise me though. The crossbow situation is particulary absurd. All crossbows are technically regulated there is no 1 joule limit

An Irish idea of a firearm that needs to be regulated.


There are also issues around black powder antique firearms, IIRC the main issue is getting the powder for them. in other countries - even places like NI - there is a thriving black powder scene.

Archery gets a pass due to the muscle required, whereas crossbows don't require muscle power to remain cocked.

the purple tin

One of those stuffed swordfish hanging on the wall would be a great non-weapon. A swift jab in the bum and the intruder would soon get the point