That was my experience 3 years ago when a guy had illegally entered my home at 5am.

I didn't have to pull the trigger. The barrel of my .45 pointing at his face from eight feet away was all that it took to convince him that he should leave the premises.

Rather promptly, I might add.

And, given that it was upstairs in a home built in 1914 - with narrow hallways - no room for 'swinging a bat'.