Generally speaking, protecting your home and family is a very important activity, but today it seems to be more important than it has ever been. Although the protests we’ve seen have been mainly limited to commercial areas and restaurants, in suburban areas, there have still been some demonstrations. It’s just a matter of time, as it looks right now, before rioters start breaking into homes and looting.
Of course, for those with a criminal mentality, it doesn’t take a riot to enter your house. Each and every year, an estimated 3.7 million burglaries are committed, with family members being targeted in at least seven percent of the cases.
It is generally believed that there will be a lot of people who resort to theft and crime to find food and other vital resources in the aftermath of a major disaster, based on previous experience of theft after disasters.
We would assume that offenders would be able to notice it and take full advantage of the situation if there is ever a breakdown in law and order, as there will be nothing to prevent them, nor any apprehension they may have of armed homeowners.
In fact, it has always been a personal duty to defend ourselves. They are unable to protect us due to the constraints that the police are under. Instead, they are working in a reactionary fashion, coming in to prosecute who committed the crime and punish the wrongdoers after the fact. Yet, as we’ve seen in the recent protests, at times of crisis, the police have an even tougher time doing so.
This is at least part of the Second Amendment’s justification for allowing us the means to protect ourselves and our homes. Our greatest security is our right to own and carry weapons, but what if we don’t want to make the noise of a gunshot?
Why don’t we want the noise to be made? For the same cause, when they break into a house, criminals don’t want to make noise: to avoid attracting attention. That intruder who just broke into your home might have friends, so you might not want to draw their attention if you have to deal with him (or her). What would you use if that is the case?
Stun Cane
Tasers are also touted as a perfect tool for self-defense. They have one big downside, however, they’re a contact weapon.
In fact, you have to get the taser in touch with the individual you want to hit, which means they’re going to have a chance to get their hands on you, maybe even grab the taser out of your hand.
It also makes more sense to use one that qualifies as a “melee weapon” if you’re going to use a taser. In other words, a taser that you can use at the length of the arm, allowing you the benefit of scope. Better still, make the taser in such a way that they’ll get zapped if they try and grab it, to take it out of your grasp.
Essentially, that is what a stun cane is. There are various kinds of these, some of which look like a walking stick that might be used by an elderly person, and some of which look like a walking stick that might be used by a hiker. They do the same thing either way, zapping the offender, and allowing you an opportunity to get away.
Excellent In Close Quarters
If we’re talking about a knife or a sword, right before people start peeing in their pants, there’s something about a blade that can make their eyes go wide.
With naked steel, people who can look down the barrel of a gun may not be able to do that. There’s just something scary about staring at the blade and thinking that the person holding it wants to plunge it into your guts.
Even so, if you do not know what you are doing, you do not want to try to protect yourself with any kind of blade. In close quarters, both knives and swords are great weapons when they are in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing. But the person who only expects to be able to strike fear at the heart of their adversary can easily take them away.
The Most Fearsome Melee Weapon
Swords fall into the “melee weapons” category, which are medieval weapons meant for use in a melee or at the length of an arm.
In this group, there are many other weapons we might look at, such as clubs and arrows, but the axe is perhaps the most formidable melee weapon there is.
The benefit of using any melee weapon is that an attacker can be held at arm’s length. If they’re carrying a knife and you’ve got a club, even if they have a more dangerous arm, you’ve got an advantage of distance. So you have a clear advantage if they have a knife and you have an axe.
A berserker weapon is the axe, which means you can just go mad with it. I’ve seen people go up with an axe against skilled swordsmen and dominate them completely. Although it would not be much use against a pistol, any day I would grab an axe to protect my home from a thug carrying a knife or club. In the process, it could create a few holes in the wall, but that’s all right; you can always fix them.
Used For So Many Millennia
The bow is a marvelous weapon, explaining why it has survived for so many centuries.
With great accuracy and a reasonable range, it is a silent weapon. It is as lethal as a weapon in the possession of someone who really knows what they are doing. The problem with a bow is that, unless you are in a wide space, it is difficult to use it indoors.
Even though it is quiet, shooting a bow takes even more space than a weapon. If, on the other hand, you try to protect your property from an attacker instead of just your house, and you want a silent tool, the bow is certainly the way to go.
Related: Alternative Weapons For Survival
Martial Arts Weapons
The majority of martial arts weapons also classify as melee weapons. Many of them seem to have derived from instruments used by ordinary workers who were not authorized to own swords and spears. So they learned how to use the instruments available as weapons. This has grown, when in the hands of someone who knows how to use them, into a variety of very effective weapons.
However, that is the issue with martial arts weapons; you have to know how to use them. Unlike the hammer, which anyone can catch and start throwing, it takes quite a bit of time and a lot of experience to become even moderately proficient in them. Even so, it is certainly worth your while if you know how to use martial arts weapons or have the time to practice.
Related: Top 10 Martial Arts for Self Defence
A Less Lethal Option
If you want more versatility than just the length of a cane, then a taser gun should be considered. Originally designed for the police as a less lethal alternative, in most states, the taser gun is now available to civilians. With wires trailing behind, they fire two darts, providing the electric charge.
Driven by compressed nitrogen, rather than the bang of a regular gun, the taser gun produces a slight pop. They are a one-shot weapon, however, requiring reloading before they can be used again. Yeah, and the police will know that it was you who shot it, because it’s a serialized marker.
Wasp Spray
Pepper spray is another popular self-defense device that’s dangerous to use. Although more effective than chemical mace, pepper spray, much like a taser, has to be used at contact distance. If you have to use a weapon to get so close, there is always a risk that it will be taken away and used against you.
Unfortunately, irrespective of what the packaging suggests, there is no effective pepper spray that works at 20 feet. Wasp spray, on the other hand, is built to work at that distance, so we can destroy the nests of wasps without having to get close enough to the animals. Wasp spray, used in self-defense, is just about as efficient as pepper spray, especially if you strike them in the face.
When using wasp spray, however, there is one threat. That is, it can cause the eyes or lungs to sustain permanent damage. It is considered illegal in some countries for this reason. In court, it can certainly be argued, but it will need to go to court. So if you pick this option, make sure that you’ve been thinking about that chance.
Suppressed Pistol
A suppressed gun is just not quiet, so if you’re trying to avoid attracting suspicion, it’s not the safest weapon to use.
The suppressor doesn’t do anything like what we’ve all seen in the movies to make the gunshot sound; rather, it decreases the pistol’s sound by around 30dB. Typically, that’s enough to conceal what the sound is, but it’s not silent, and it’s definitely not quiet indoors.
However, if you do not have the skills required to use some other form of firearm, a suppressed pistol is a better choice than an unsuppressed one. A noisy television or music can cover the lower volume; at least enough to confuse any partner lurking outdoors or in another part of the house.
What other silent weapons can you think of? If you have one in mind, please l eave a comment and post them below.
