[EdNerd]

Only about 6 months into my gun journey, so I'm probably still asking some stoopud newbie questions. Thinking through what home defense might look like.

So something goes bump or crash in the middle of the night. I wake up, and that twisted feeling in my gut says I better grab my gun. This is not a paper target at 3 yards at the range! I know what to do there .... how about here and now??

In the fuzz of waking and the surge of adrenaline and fear, will I remember where I put my gun? Glasses? Flashlight? Phone? Should I put pants and shoes on? (Might be much more scary without the pants!!)

Will I remember to check on my wife? If she's hard to rouse, do I take the time to get her safe? Or do I use the time to end the threat?

I'm in AZ, so anyone inside my house in this situation is fair game. But I'm used to "when you can't think, you will not rise to your intententions - you will fall on your training".

What does your home defense scenario look like? Are you a grab-n-go person? Or have you crafted and trained a plan of action? (Any "been there, done that" stories to share??)

Ed

 

[Russ D]

I feel sorry for anybody that breaks into my home. I want to revisit the word "break", because they just did damage I'll have to repair. More than likely, they will make me grumpy, by waking me up. More than likely,
they don't have medical insurance. More than likely I know the layout of my home much better than they do. And, more than likely, it will take about half an hour to 90
minutes, for the ambulance to come pick their suffering carcass up off the road, outside my house, where i will drag them to, by the ankle. More than likely, they'll be lucky, if I don't find some blunt object to painfully subdue them with, first.

I guess it's all a matter of attitude and outlook, dude.

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

Smart folks do not go clearing their house if it is only you and your wife in the same room. Know your home layout, your angles of shooting. You should have things like thorny bushes under windows, security/motion lighting, dogs, extra locks, etc.

 

[gvaldeg1]

Since we're both in Arizona, I'm sure that you know it's a constitutional carry state. Irrespective of that, I seriously believe that you need to seriously think through all of your questions and have self-satisfying answers before you consider using a gun for self-defense. Shooting someone even if it's a burglar or prowler is something you'll have to live with the rest of your life. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you shouldn't use a gun for self -defense. I'm a strong second amendment supporter and I keep several guns for self-defense. However, right now, you seem to have a lot of uncertainties that you need to eliminate. Good luck and happy New Year!

 

[ArthAnsgar]

There's not a whole lot of planning needed for me. My apartment is a renovated front porch, 30 feet long by 7 feet wide, with a single interior door (to the bedroom) that is usually kept open. Given that layout, there are really only 2 possible scenarios: 1) intruder sees we are home and armed so they flee/surrender or 2) the intruder proves to be an immediate threat and is dealt with accordingly. There is no searching the house, if someone is inside, I can see them from the bedroom.

 

[EdNerd]

I know how to make my house secure. And I have no misgivings or uncertainties about using a weapon in self-defense. That's why I bought this, why I practice with it, and why I ask questions around how to properly train. Punching holes in non-moving paper is only practice -- it's not realistic training. If I only practice and don't train, then in any kind of situation where stress overrides thought, I will only do as I have always done. And it might not work.

 

[ArthAnsgar]

Safely training for such a scenario in the way you describe would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible. You can practice shooting under stress, even develope a plan of action, but when push comes to shove, there really isn't much you can do to actually emulate a home defense scenario.

 

[KILTED COWBOY]

I have done my best to secure my home,but I am prepared for a break in.
You need to lay out your weapon, light and glasses where you can reach them.
practice finding them in the dark over and over until it is part of your memory.
Cal 911 ASAP.
Then you need to evaluate the situation. To you hunker down in a locked bedroom, or do you go out and confront the threat.
As for me I will confront the threat as I want it as far away from my wife as possible.
We have two shotguns.one on either side of the bed and my 1911 and an AR15 in the bedroom.
sorry but I can live just fine if I have to kill someone invading my house.

 

[Stamps6]

The only safe thing you should do is be in a secure room and call 911. Don’t go after the intruder. If the intruder enters your safe hiding place, (IE you’re bedroom. ) then you can make the decision to kill or not. If you go looking for the intruder you’ll expose yourself and even put yourself in greater danger. If you’re in you bedroom with a barrier ( dresser table bed ) between you and the door and the intruder enters he will be at a disadvantage. After you kill him, the police will not see you as an aggressor. If you go looking it can be used against you in court.

 

[Popeye]

I know how to make my house secure. And I have no misgivings or uncertainties about using a weapon in self-defense. That's why I bought this, why I practice with it, and why I ask questions around how to properly train. Punching holes in non-moving paper is only practice -- it's not realistic training. If I only practice and don't train, then in any kind of situation where stress overrides thought, I will only do as I have always done. And it might not work.

Get training. Check the Sierra Vista area. There should be training offered near there.

The US Army says no one can predict what anyone will do the first time they receive incoming fire. Some freeze. Some run. Some defecate their trousers (that's why boots are bloused). Some get angry. The vst majority will revert to training, some after experiencing one or more of the other reactions.

 

[Mad Scientist]

I apologize for being off topic, but one of the best defenses against someone breaking into your home is a dog (preferably large). Criminals don't want to mess with dogs and the risk being bit. A dog will also distract a criminal, while giving you advanced warning that something is wrong.

 

[RaySendero]

I apologize for being off topic, but one of the best defenses against someone breaking into your home is a dog (preferably large). Criminals don't want to mess with dogs and the risk being bit. A dog will also distract a criminal, while giving you advanced warning that something is wrong.

Yes!!!

My GS dog sleeps on a mat in the bedroom doorway. He can go from a deep sleep to condition yellow on to orange in 1/2 second! Yellow he's up and listening. Orange he's either smelled or heard something a second time and he's growling and whining for me to wakeup. He's training to stay at door way until I give a command otherwise. It still amazes me how he can hear and smell things OUTSIDE the house.

 

[Rivervalley0311]

Being armed gives you a chance, it's not a guarantee.....get some training.

 

[Russ D]

Being armed gives you a chance, it's not a guarantee.....get some training.

...and a very bright flashlight...

 

[Square target]

Well i guess it depends on how clear headed you are when you wake, some people it takes awhile while others can be wide awake in an instant which is how i wake up. Once i had to "clear" my house when i woke to a loud noise. Found nothing, house secure so i went back to bed. The next morning i found a tree that fell over in my back yard and a branch hit my AC unit in my bedroom window. I want sure how i would act but it went calm and well but of course i didn't find anyone in my house either. Like popeye said, no one knows how they will react until it happens. Even people with massive training freeze and others with none do it right. Everyone is different.

 

[Fitasc Shooter]

Yes!!!

My GS dog sleeps on a mat in the bedroom doorway. He can go from a deep sleep to condition yellow on to orange in 1/2 second! Yellow he's up and listening. Orange he's either smelled or heard something a second time and he's growling and whining for me to wakeup. He's training to stay at door way until I give a command otherwise. It still amazes me how he can hear and smell things OUTSIDE the house.

My rescue half lab/half Rhodesian Ridgeback is the same. She HATES the mail truck. She can hear it 2 blocks away through closed windows and goes running to the front door with a growl that means "I wanna kill something"...She is VERY protective of my wife and myself; yet she will flop on her back for a belly rub and want to play fetch all day long.

 

[jjordan33]

I have two guns: a 9mm and a 12GA. From day 1, I slept with my nine right beside my pillow, and I take it with me into each room all day. There's no rule saying criminals can't break in while you're in the bathroom or cooking.

The first day after buying the shotgun, I kept it on display in the living room in a stupid moment of pride. I woke up in the middle of the night with the realization that a gun isn't decor, it's a weapon, and all I'm doing is arming anyone who breaks into my home before they make their way into the bedroom.

Now, the shotgun stays in the bedroom, out of sight, but easy to reach, and my pistol still stays by my side always. Every morning I first check every room and the windows. Then I take a walk around the outside looking for any indication someone was sniffing around.

I reverse that order when I'm coming back home from being gone. Every single time.

I have an alarm, door wedges at night, and glass bottles balanced at each window. Security cameras and smart lights that I can control with my phone are next.

First priority is not being caught unaware and helpless. Second priority is killing them. If it happens, I would want to end it right then and there as opposed to them getting spooked immediately and running.

 

[ArthAnsgar]

First priority is not being caught unaware and helpless. Second priority is killing them. If it happens, I would want to end it right then and there as opposed to them getting spooked immediately and running.

From my perspective, if someone breaks in, them getting spooked and running away is still a net positive. The threat is gone, they're not likely to come back, and if they do, I'll still be prepared.

 

[jjordan33]

From my perspective, if someone breaks in, them getting spooked and running away is still a net positive. The threat is gone, they're not likely to come back, and if they do, I'll still be prepared.

Very true. I should have said, MY priorities. It's not like I'd be upset that they run off immediately. However, killing them would prevent two possibilities: the unlikely chance that they'd return (not all men handle being humiliated or scared off by another man when they're safely back home), and the higher probability of them breaking into someone else's home who isn't prepared at all. Peace of mind is a much bigger thing to be taken from someone than a lot of people realize. It's downright evil. I hate anyone that would violate someone's home. Literally. Hate them.

I would just rather kill them than allow them to breathe. They don't deserve it.

But I realize that is a super extreme stance that few take. Probably for the best if I'm being honest.

 

[Kobs]

I will be prosecuted and probably go to jail if I use a firearm or what ever else on an intruder but I'll be damned if I get beaten up like a dog for a couple of bucks and do nothing to prevent it. What ever the stupid liberal laws say, no one is going to kick my door down like an animal beat me and/or my wife and walk out to laugh about it.
My house is secure the only way you can get in is by breaking in, I hope I will live the rest of my life without this problem but if it ever arise I will do what my sig. down there says