Easy to say you would just blast someone, could be hard to live with after the fact. Unless you know the intruder is armed and an immediate threat you may want to: Identify your target, tell them to freeze and comply with demands, find out their intentions, call law enforcement. You don't want to accendently shoot a realative, or someone who is not there to do you any harm. Recently a car went into the river, a passenger ran to a nearby business, and broke out a window to get to the phone to call for help. The business owner who lived out back heard the noise and confronted the individual, if he would have just shot first he would have killed a guy trying to save his buddies. I also would rather let an intruder flee if he does not want to fight, I don't need to kill some young guy who has made some bad life decisions just because he wants my dvd palyer. If you know for sure you or your family are threatend, and there is no way out of the situation without using deadly force, then by all means do what you must. If it truely came down to kill or be killed and that line was crossed, I then would have no problem meeting an act and/or threat of violence with uttermost furry and fatal intent.

It is at night. As soon as I am positive he is not a drunken relative, I kill said intruder. I am not a trigger happy sort, but if someone forces his way into my house, he's done himself wrong.

I'd drop him like the ass he is.

I got in on this post a day late so I'm not gonna read all the posts cause I know what most will say.
If someone breaks into my home I'm not concerned if they are armed. In my mind they Are armed. They are here to do no good. Flight is no option. Give 'em both barrels so to speak. Show no mercy, no warning, strike. That's what I'd hope to do to the bastards, at that point I'm not concerned about the police or what they may say. That person broke into my house.

Give him very specific instructions and if they are not followed to my liking, shoot him in a non-lethal area such as the arm.

announce myself if I wasn't sure and tell him not to move. If he does not comply, shoot him.

let him know that if he moved I would shoot him. If he moves, I shoot him, if he doesn't, I hold him there until the police come.

go out guns blazin

rrmont, that is quite possibly the dumbest and most irresponsible thing I have ever heard. Drag the body back in? You moron there's something called forensic scientists and they're not dumb.

As long as I know there is no posibility of it being a friend or relative I would shoot him.

Ka-Boom! then reload. Repeat as necessary.

I'd shoot twice.

Tell him that i am there and if he tried to hurt me or my family or take anything i would shoot him but i would try to make him to leave

I don't know if it's true but I've heard of people being sued by an intruder when they were injured and the intruder won the suite. We've had some break-ins in my neighborhood so I've got a 20 guage pump ready with my 9mm as back up. If you break into my home where I, my wife and three children are I assume you are there to do us harm and dead folks can't sue you. If I am going to shoot anyone in self defense I will always shoot to kill.

The biggest legal thing is, regardless of where they are, is that they have to be a threat. Current threat.

There's been a few cases that have ( justifiably? ) put people in jail...

For whatever reason he's in your house, and HASN'T harmed anyone, and he turns around and runs, you will go to jail if you shoot them in the back. There is no legal defense for that.

But forget the movie and TV trash... it will be hard enough during the adrenaline rush to hold a gun steady. There's pretty much no chance to wound, or shoot the weapon out of his hand, or any other John Wayne things you've watched.

So if you or your family are threatened, and yelling does not dissuade or scare them, and they will not leave or stop, you want to just aim dead center mass and try to hit the biggest target you can.

If it was a pump i would shoot but a single shot I dont know. i would still go after him. but I wouldnt shoot him if he was running. but if I had a pump, lets just say I would need to buy more ammo after that.

Announce myself from cover & concealment. Instruct him to lie face down on the floor immediately. Any action to the contrary and he gets every round in the gun.

In fact, my home got broken into last month and my wife was home that day. They try to come in on broad day light at 1:00 pm. My wife shoot first, ask the questions later. The perpetrator got scared and run away!!!!!!!She report it to the law.......

half the time if you just make the shuck shlick noise they freak and run away but definitly dont be afraid to shoot

If he had the nerve to come in then he's not just coming in to say "hi" so shoot!

Plant a shell in his leg, then tell him to get out, and say the next one is a slug aimed at his head.

i would shoot then ask questions later.