I doubt if Ralph would have felt confident that he could disarm Sheila, but I think he would have felt utter desperation that he HAD to, as long as he was physically capable. I think he would have tried anything - kicking her legs from under her, throwing something at her - she wouldn't have had the element of suprise that I'm assuming Bamber did when he burst into the bedroom, thinking that he could kill Ralph and June in bed but overestimating the power of the rifle.
It's back to the old question - what do you think Sheila was doing while Ralph phoned Bamber? &%+((£
(If you don't like that question, you can have this one. Who do you think has got the best bangers, me or Andy? It's actually Andy. It really is. 
)
I don't know what SC was doing if/when NB phoned JB. Here's what FE said in a similar situation:
“During the call the phone went dead. Sheila suddenly became hysterical, mumbling about the phone being bugged. She became like someone possessed ranting and raving. She was striking herself and beating the wall with her fists.
I tried to calm her but she did not seem to hear me. I became extremely frightened not only for her but for myself. She kept talking about the Devil and God, and stated that God was sitting opposite her and unlike what her step mother said he in fact loved her. I contacted her ex-mother in law and asked her to come round. This aggravated the situation and Sheila became even more violent and abusive. Her mother in law called and found a prescription for Sheila’s drugs and asked me to get them for her. I went to the chemist and when I retuned I was met at the front door by the mother in law who was leaving. She told me Sheila had kicked her out. I went in and tried to pacify Sheila but was unable to do so. I became extremely concerned for my own safety. I telephoned Sheila’s Doctor and a short while later one of her partners arrived. Sheila refused to let him examine her shouting that he was trying to poison her. By this time she had become completely irrational. The doctor eventually left without being able to do anything. Being unable to do anything I contacted another doctor who arrived shortly afterwards. Again he was unable to do anything because Sheila would not allow him near her".
If NB made the call was SC aware? See FE's experience above. Bearing in mind it was only dialling 4 digits (WHF to Goldhanger) and potentially "Sheilas gone crazy shes got the gun". If it was the first time NB had witnessed SC in such a state if was probably very upsetting for him to witness first hand how unwell she was.
