Editors Note: Another guest contribution from Scott Hamilton to The Prepper Journal. Always an interesting prospective and I know Scott would freely admit a couple of these can be exceedingly lethal.
Home defense is something that should be on the back-burner of everyone’s mind. Even if you don’t ever need to break out your home defense weapons, it’s better to have them and not need them, then to find yourself in need and not be able to defend yourself. Let’s take a look at some of the best non-lethal weapons for home defense because a gun isn’t always the answer to your problems.
Gun Ownership Statistics
Individuals focused on home defense often default to the purchase of a gun, and they’re not alone. Twenty-six (26) percent of gun owners classify themselves as protectors — people who aren’t necessarily outdoorsy but want to own one or more guns to protect themselves or their families. Another fifteen (15) percent of gun owners are known as “Debbie Defense” — female gun owners who are also protectors but may only own a small and lightweight firearm to carry with them for their protection. There is a male version of Debby Defense, known as Guardian Gary. These gun owners make up fifteen (15) percent of firearms purchases, but these individuals usually don’t enjoy recreational shooting, preferring to own a gun solely for defense.
Sometimes though, you may want something a little less powerful than a firearm, because firearms are a binary weapon, only giving you two choices – brandish and hope for compliance and deescalation of the situation or deliver deadly force. Hopefully these less-lethal options offer something that can still stop someone in their tracks before this most serious of choices.
Pepper Spray
Have you ever cut hot peppers, then accidentally touched your eyes or nose? If you answered yes, then you have an idea of what pepper spray feels like. After a blast of this, all you want to do is find the nearest gallon of milk and pour it over your face, and if you’ve hit the person breaking into your home, this gives you time to call the police, escape, or disable them.
Be careful with traditional pepper spray inside your home. The chemical cloud won’t just affect the home invader. It can blind you too, or even get pulled into your home’s HVAC system. For confrontations inside your home, pepper gel is a better choice. It’s more accurate, just as debilitating as the spray, and doesn’t leave a chemical cloud behind that you could potentially walk through.
Baseball Bat
You can’t go wrong with a good old-fashioned baseball bat when it comes to home defense. Home invaders will think twice when they see you wielding a length of wood, aluminum or polypropylene as they open the door. Our favorite bat for home defense isn’t one that you could use on the field — it’s a bat made of solid polypropylene. It’s solid, but not too heavy to swing.
Bats do have a shorter swing distance than say, a sword, but if you prefer non-lethal home defense, a bat can be a great option. Just be careful as you swing, or you might find yourself destroying your china cabinet alongside the intruder. (Editor’s Note: Good advice but I have always had faith in the tried and true Louisville Slugger.)
Baton
There’s a reason that police officers carry a baton to disable criminals. They’re practical, lightweight and take very little force for an effective disabling shot. These weapons come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from a small whip-like baton that concentrates the kinetic energy of your strike into a tiny area, to traditional expandable police batons and even wooden ones. As Clint Eastwood said in Pale Rider, “There’s nothing like a good piece of hickory.” Eastwood’s character delivered this line after taking apart a group of bad guys with a hickory ax handle, but the point still applies.
Batons can be a little awkward to use, so if you’re planning on employing one for home defense make sure you practice with it, so you’re familiar with how it swings and how to hit what you’re aiming at. It’s no different than practicing your marksmanship with a firearm, though the initial result is normally less lethal.
Scarves
This home defense tool might seem like something you’d only see in the movies, but a simple scarf can be a handy and unobtrusive home defense tool. With a scarf and some practice, you can potentially disarm an opponent or even choke them into unconsciousness if you can get the scarf around their neck.
Scarves shouldn’t be the first thing you reach for when defending your home because they require you to get very close to the home invader to be effective, but in a pinch when you don’t have anything else handy, the scarf around your neck could save your life.
Kubotan
A kubotan is a small stick of wood, metal or plastic that can be held in the fist and used for self-defense. Using a kubotan requires you to be close to the home invader, but if you can land a good strike with your kubotan, you can disable your opponent. The goal is to inflict enough pain to allow you to escape or to disable the attacker. In spite of its size, a kubotan is very effective for this. This is because, in the human body, nerves are very close to the surface — especially in bony areas — so even a glancing blow will hurt.
Kubotan’s are small enough that you can easily attach them to a key chain or carry them in your pocket, so you’ve always got one handy to protect your house even if you’re away from your primary home defense weapon.
Taser
Tasers are an old mainstay of home and personal defense. These devices deliver a high voltage, low amperage electric shock that is extremely painful but not fatal. You’ve got two options when choosing a taser — a handheld model or shock stick that requires you to be close to the home invader, or a stun gun which shoots two electrified darts. Stun guns have a more extended range, but owning a stun gun is illegal in some states, and in others, you’re required to have a firearms license to own one.
Tasers and stun guns are inherently non-lethal — they’re designed to disable your opponent so you can escape. Stun guns allow you to repeatedly pull the trigger to deliver additional shocks until the battery runs out, but you’ll have to reload it before you can fire again. Once you’ve disabled your home invader, you’ll have enough time to call the authorities or remove yourself from the situation.
Guns might be the go-to home defense option for most people, but if you prefer a non-lethal home defense option, there are plenty to choose from. One thing to remember with all of these options is that you need to practice with them — don’t expect to be an expert the first time you pick up a taser or a baton. And whatever you do, don’t taser yourself. Trust us on this.
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