Spooky noises and things that go bump in the night

[Bill Stewart]

Some anonymous forger allegedly replied to Petro along the lines of:

> > The subtle click of the cocker engaging will
> >(a) be lost in the other noises and
> >(b) is innocuous enough that they probably won't.
>
>Yes, since the invaders have not learned what's 'normal'.

That's the fun of the traditional pump-action shotgun.
*Everybody* knows what one of those sounds like,
though if you need to swing it around in your house,
it's easier if it's a sawed-off, at least if the
Feds weren't the ones who talked you into sawing it off.

>If it was something I worried about (I don't keep a loaded
> >firearm in the house for home protection at this point,

Nor do I.  If the neighbor's kid wants to steal my
overweight television or 233-MHz PC, it's not worth killing him for,
and I think he's got the sense not to sneak in when we're home.
And the time cops broke into my house, they were looking for him,
not me, and it was much safer to deal with them by
yelling at them about not letting the cats out than shooting them,
though it was way out of their experience band...

I do keep a loaded fire extinguisher by the bed.
Most people don't know the sound of one of those going off,
or the effects of getting hit in the face by the blast,
though they may know how to react to the blunt end of one
if the previous effects haven't distracted them,
and I can shoot first and ask questions later.