[300cpilot]

I am glad you are safe and no one was hurt.

When I was a kid, about 13, I was staying at a friend’s house for the night, his parents were in town and 3 guys broke into the house with a machete. My friend’s dad was a gun collector. We locked ourselves in a bedroom with all the guns. The guys never tried to get into the room we were in after they saw that the door was locked. After a while we thought they had left so we made a run for the truck. On the way out we saw one running by the horse barn and I drew a bead on him with a .357 magnum, the only thing that kept me from shooting him was my friend was afraid I would hit a horse. So I did not shoot him. We ran, got in the truck and drove to the neighbors (about 4 miles away) when we got there they took all of our guns so the sheriff wouldn't see them. We had at least 10 guns; we looked like Mexican Bandito’s. I had 2 .357 magnums with western holsters and a box of ammo, plus a shortened 12 gauge shotgun. I don't remember what gun's my friend and his brother had, but they were pistols & shotguns.

Later when the sheriff got there we were riding around identifying these guys, but we had only seen the one guy I almost shot. He was easy to identify, he had crapped his pants and was riding a 10 speed bike on a gravel road trying to get away. The sheriff asked us point blank why we did not tag these guys. I was not sure what he was talking about so my friend said wing them. I piped up and said that I almost did but they were afraid of me hitting a horse. I also said he was running away and it was not right to shoot someone in the back. The sheriff stopped the car and said, "Look those guys hacked through your front door with a machete, next time you shoot them!"

So since that time I have not had any cause to put his wisdom to the test, I never hope too. If someone meant me or my family harm I would do what I needed to do, but I would not like it.

Idaho has a law that if someone has/is robbing you then you can shoot them. It is also an open carry state, if you have a firearm and it is in plain site then you can take it most public places, without a permit. However if you take it to a police station, school or a bank, you will most likely not live to exit the building.