[dmg1969]

I fully agree with what wolf said. If you are not willing to take someone's life when yours is threatened, you should not have a gun for self defense. Hesitation will cause it to be taken from you and used against you.

The only problem with a knife or other "short" object for self defense is that you have to get get close enough to the threat that your weapon can be removed from you or they can hurt you with their weapon (knife, club, etc.).

If you are dead set (no pun) against (or unable to own) a gun, I would recommend a POLICE strength pepper spray in a cone fog. Fox Labs makes a good one that I keep by the bed. One blast of that and the person should be out of commission for a short time so you can escape and call the police. Also, a weapon with a little longer reach like a baseball bat or golf club. This is all assuming the other party does not have a gun. You know the joke about bringing a knife to a gunfight....