Good lesson.
Don't just enter a house you don't live in, even if you used to live there, and answer clearly when the homeowner asks who you are.
In Texas, I was taught you shoot first and ask who's there later when there's an intruder in your home.

Is that what you'd do IRL?

I can't imagine a worse policy - no wonder there are so many -accidents..... they're not accidents.
Just Gun-related-on-purposes.

Depends.

If there was an intruder in my home I knew wasn't my wife, cat, or dog (the only ones with any business being here) that didn't announce themselves and entered my bedroom, absolutely 100% they're getting the 12 gauge. It's way easier to get out of jail than out of the morgue, and my wife won't be raped or killed, nor both of us eaten (we have bears here) because I was afraid to protect us.
Because I don't live alone, I would likely call out to be sure it wasn't my wife unless I could actually see her there with me. Because I don't WANT to kill someone, I might fire a warning shot but with a pump action that's not necessary, and my first load is low power bird shot...the second is buckshot, third on are slugs.


Full disclosure, I live in California now, where the law isn't on my side. A few years ago a man in my town shot one of three armed home invaders inside his house and was actually prosecuted. I'm fairly certain he was acquitted, I'm 100% certain he was in the right.

So, the short answer is, you wouldn't do what you were taught in Texas?

The short answer is "it depends on the circumstances".
(Edit: because you have a legal right to do it doesn't mean it's warranted in every instance.)
The longer answer is "Yes I might if I knew for certain it wasn't someone who should be in my house, and Yes I would for certain if it was multiple unannounced intruders or a single armed intruder."

To be technical, in Texas they taught us someone only had to be unannounced on your property, not in your house (explained as a holdover from when horse and cattle rustling was a problem and a capital offense), so in that sense I would not do what I was taught in Texas. I have no qualms whatsoever about killing a known intruder inside my house....with or without warning.

Just going by your original statement I was hoping you were just being vague.

In times of stress it can be difficult to know if you own a gun or if the gun owns you.

*fist bump*

If you know it's an intruder (not family or a guest) that's not an accident, it's self defense.
If you don't know but shoot anyway, that's criminal negligence.

Is it me or is everything these days is labeled "breaking news"? It reminds me of the pager days when I would get a text ending in 911 when it was not an emergency.

I still live in Texas and the answer is pretty much yes. If you come in my house, refuse to announce yourself, and continue moving around after I have told you to stop, I am probably going to shoot you.

I won't be shooting to wound either, you will be on the receiving end of a center mass shot from either a 12ga loaded with buckshot or a .357 mag hollowpoint.

I would have thought that the first rule of shooting anything is to identify your target.

Personally, if someone came into my house, I wouldn't shoot them.

A) I don't have a gun.
B) Unless they were a threat to me or my wife, someone stealing my TV is not worth killing them over. I'm insured, I'll get over it.

On the other hand, if I felt they WERE a threat to me, all bets are off.

This is the best way to get away with murder in the US.

"Hey, remember that ring you lost when we were living together? Well I just found it behind the couch. Come on over tonight and pick it up, you don't need to knock, just walk right in. I'll be waiting...."

*wtf *fail

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