Consider, if you will, these two very different home invasions.

A woman is home alone when a strange man enters her house. She immediately runs to the bedroom and retrieves her shotgun. At this point, she positions herself strategically, using the door frame and wall for cover and looking down the hallway through which the intruder must travel to get to her. In addition, a strategically placed hall mirror allows her to keep tabs on most of the suspect’s movements.

At some point during the invasion, the suspect turned a corner and started down the hallway toward the lady’s location. At that point, what he saw was the twin muzzles of a Mossberg Maverick defensive shotgun. Accompanying that strong visual experience were the clear and concise instructions, ”Get Out!”

Using what was probably the best judgment in this crook’s entire life, he fled.

In the second home invasion, a man is at home when a suspect enters his house. Grabbing his gun, the homeowner yells for the suspect to leave. In this case, as in the first, the suspect utilizes exceptionally good judgment and beats feet.

Unfortunately, the homeowner decides to give chase. He pursues the home invader off of his property and quite a ways down the street, whereupon, the crook pulls out a firearm and shoots the homeowner.

Read the entire article at Shooting Illustrated.