Woman, .357 blazing, chases intruders from home

[Mugu]

By AUSTIN L. MILLER
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OCALA – Firing a .357-caliber handgun until it was empty, an Ocala woman chased two intruders from her home in the 3800 block of Southeast 68th Street on Wednesday morning.

snip

Shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday, 29-year-old Jennifer Ann Hunley; her 27-year-old boyfriend, Michael Joseph Nash; and Hunley's 11-year-old daughter were inside their home when two men entered through the garage door. Nash, who was coming out of a bathroom at the time, saw one of the intruders holding a nail gun near the television set in the living room.

snip

Hunley came into the living room, saw what was happening, returned to her bedroom for a .357-caliber handgun and fired a warning shot into the ceiling. The intruder with the nail gun ran outside, while the other one ran into a nearby bedroom. He then pointed his weapon, believed to be a small-caliber handgun, and fired at least one shot at Hunley.


Then Hunley, who is 5-foot-3, emptied her handgun, firing four shots at the intruder. The gunman ran out the front door. Neither Hunley nor her daughter were hurt during the exchange of gunfire.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080710/NEWS/216986732/0/VOZLATINA">Complete article

[solinvictus]

1. Good job!!

Maybe this will be a de-motivator to the criminals to repeat their actions.

[Bonobo]

2. Here's another gun story that happened near there too!

http://www.wesh.com/news/16561236/detail.html

Toddler Shoots Himself, Mother Charged

A 3-year-old Volusia County boy is recovering after accidentally shooting himself Tuesday morning.

Investigators said Brandon Cardona found his mother’s .40-caliber handgun and pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed his stomach.

"I was worried about the outside and now I’m more worried about the inside," Tracey DeCarr, the toddler’s mother, said.

DeCarr said she kept the handgun in her nightstand to protect herself and her son.

[TrogL]

6. What in hell is with women and these bigass calibres?

A .22 is plenty of stopping power if you hit the right spot and they make enough bang to scare the shit out of someone enough to make them run.

If you think you need a bit more, move up to 9 mm.

[sammythecat]

13. ...and if you think you need more than that,

move up to a .40 or a .357. There's nothing big ass about those calibers. They, and the .45 are pretty much standard nowadays. A 9mm is much better than a .22, but not as effective as the others. You want a large hole that goes deep. A .22 doesn't give you that. A .357 does.

There's nothing at all unusual about having a .357 as a self-defense weapon. I wouldn't feel at all comfortable having to confront an armed intruder with a .22 pistol. Remember, we're talking about someone entering your home with a gun. In a case like that I'd want as "big ass" a gun as I could confidently handle. If I was looking to purchase a weapon for this kind of self-defense I wouldn't even consider a .22. Not for a second, and I don't think anyone else who knew anything about guns would either.

[Pavulon]

15. Disagree.

large caliber wheel guns produce more recoil and tend to be pushed for simplicity, especially to women. 9mm is quite deadly and capable of putting a person on the ground. 357 sig, 40, 10mm, and 45 all are capable but the benefit of 9mm is it is dirt cheap. It encourages range time, which encourages effective use. Glock 9mm weapons are very simple to operate and produce less recoil. I shoot the low recoil federal ammo for just that reason. Recoil is the enemy of accuracy and you so not need the extra energy in hot loads to kill or disable a person.

A shotgun is the preferred weapon for home defense. It is simple and much more lethal than handguns.

[sammythecat]

20. I don't have any problem with anything you said.

I was responding primarily to the suggestion that a .22 pistol would be a better choice.

As far as range practice and cost, I don't know anything about the woman. I don't know if cost was any factor or if she practiced a lot or at all. I think there's probably a 50% chance she bought the gun and a box of cartridges and that was it.

I agree that for many people a 9mm might be the best choice simply because of the lower recoil and a 10mm would be a poor choice. Having said that though, if I was locked in a room with monkey, and he was fooling with a gun, I'd much prefer that gun be a .22 rather than a .357 for obvious reasons.

[Edweird]

27. ".22 is plenty of stopping power"

If you're shooting squirrels, maybe. But for humans, not a chance.

[Fumesucker]

3. B.R.A.S.S

Breathe, relax, aim, slack, squeeze..

Sight picture and sight alignment.

Lady needs some more training/practice.

[TrogL]

4. How in hell could she miss?

A .357 was probably too big a weapon for her to handle properly. A 9mm probably would have been a better choice.

[gateley]

9. Probably better this way --

no one was actually injured, so no forthcoming lawsuits from the "victim" or charges against Jennifer Ann.

[The Traveler]

10. Agree on weapon

.357 is rather hefty ... a 9mm would be better for her. But in combat situations, it is easy to miss. Worse yet, easy to hit something or someone you don't mean to hit. Training ... practice ... can't ever have enough.

[renegade000]

12. Yeah

Glad the situation turned out alright for her and her family. I'm sure things get quite hectic in the heat of the moment, but I'm not sure I would have elected to give a warning by blasting a .357 hole through my ceiling.

[Mugu]

24. The article has the weapon empty after five shots.

If it were one of the small, light-weight snubbies with full house loads, I bet that it kicked like a mule, looked like a flame thrower, and roared loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage.

[IndianaJones]

5. good for her. nt.

[beam me up scottie]

7. I thought this was the woman who blew holes in her trailer trying to shoot a couple of mice.

She couldn't shoot worth a damn either.

[gateley]

8. I totally support Jennifer Ann in this. Hope they get the other guy. nt

[exothermic]

11. Way to go Jennifer!

:D :toast:

[Pavulon]

14. Good for her, but to many movies..

if you are going to pull a gun as a non LEO you should be pointing and issuing a verbal command if appropriate. Basically you should be pretty much committed to using it. If that command is not followed or the person does not run you shoot center mass.

Warning shots are a danger to others.

A .375 is fine if a person is capable of shooting it but it would not be my first choice personally.

[Crowdance]

16. What would be your first choice, if you were a woman who's never

handled a gun before?

I see the poster above recommends a 9 mm.

[Pavulon]

18. Depends on ergonomics and personality.

I would go to a range and try different models and determine what you are comfortable and what fits you hand. There are several good manufacturers of handguns. HK, Glock, Springfield Arms, s&w. Buy a quality weapon, $500 or so.. Buy a common caliber.

Take the CCW course, spend time with an instructor.

Look at how much ammo costs, a handgun that is never fired is worthless. Go to the range once a month to fire 100 rounds. This can cost $20 or $100 depending on what you buy. 9mm is more than sufficient as a handgun round. It has been used by army's, police, and civilians for years in lots of quality handguns and sub machine guns. It does not take a cannon to defend yourself.

My wife went through the ccw course and chose a handgun after speaking to people in the class.

She choose a glock 26 (9mm). Very simple function, small, and accurate.

Budget in a small safe, or some method of securing it if you have kids.

[Crowdance]

21. Thanks. n/t

[exothermic]

23. Maybe she does like I do with mine and loads .38 special ammo in it.

Much less kick...(but less bang too) ;-)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Kudos To Her On A Job Well Done!

[kentuck]

19. Once they enter your home with bad intent...

They are fair game. In my opinion.

[flvegan]

22. She's lucky.

Her gun was empty by the time the intruder left.

Close range like that, I'd have put my .45 in my holster and used my Mossberg as my primary.

[NYC_SKP]

25. Far more deterrent value than death penalty, good for her. nt

[BigDaddy44]

26. Guns are bad

Clearly she should have returned to her room and called the police.

[EFerrari]

28. Big deal, anyone can do that with a gun. Try doing it with your finger

and then get back to me. lol

I'm glad no one was hurt.