At what point - if any - do you leave the gun in the safe?

For example, if from the noise you suspect that there are more than one or two criminals involved? At what point (if any) do you make the decision that pulling the gun might escalate things in a way that works against you?
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Are you, in essence, asking at what point do you surrender to the armed intruders or just say - hey here we are, we are at your mercy? It almost seems that way to me. There may be times not to defend yourself but remember if you choose to do that, you have put yourself at the mercy of the bad guys and all to often they are anything other than merciful.

All the best,
Glenn B
 
OK, I'm the original poster. Some of you guys have just been killing me over what was, I admit, a dumb question. That's ok - in fact, reading all the discussion has been educational. For someone like me - no history of gun ownership, and just got my first HD weapon - the realization that pulling that thing out now means that a) I might be using it and b) an intruder is going to respond to me, for better or worse, as a guy who is about to shoot him - that thought is actually pretty intense for someone not used to it. But reading this thread has helped crystallize for me the reality that the intruder escalated things when he forced his way into my home. I'm not escalating anything by having a gun.
I have a safe by my bed b/c I have kids ages 6-14. Maybe I will get a bedside holster for overnight use. There's alot of responsibility that goes along with all this, but heck I knew that when I signed up to be a dad.
 
My father had guns all over the house, my brother and I never touched them because we knew that to do so would invoke a wrath worse than what's apparently contained within the Ark of Covenant.

Show your kids your weapon, take away the mystery, and teach them never to touch it without permission, and you probably won't need the safe until your collection grows to large to fit in the nightstand :D
 
I have a safe right next to my bed, its called my holster and as soon as my feet touch the floor its on or near my body. :)
 
My HD handgun is mounted on my bed frame so at home I can't imagine that I would not have the opportunity to get to my gun before they were too close to get it safely. They have to defeat multiple layers of security first.

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If there is no question that there are multiple attackers in my house. They've probably cut the phone lines. My cell phone is not by my bed. I keep a semi-auto 30-06 with a fully loaded 20 round magazine in my closet. I'm going to come out blasting, and have my Glock as a backup.
 
"My father had guns all over the house, my brother and I never touched them because we knew that to do so would invoke a wrath worse than what's apparently contained within the Ark of Covenant.
Show your kids your weapon, take away the mystery, and teach them never to touch it without permission, and you probably won't need the safe until your collection grows to large to fit in the nightstand "

This is how I was raised, how my nieces and nephews are raised, and how my kids will be raised. Guns are in a cabinet, with a closing door, but that cabinet is off limits unless supervised by an adult.

Point is, safe's are a waste of time, especially in this scenario...IMO
 
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assuming you have a handgun in a safe by the bed

Personally, I don't keep my handgun in the safe at night. Too hard to access.
 
"Sorry, but this proclamation is based on the idea that most intruder/burglars make decision based on common sense and a balance of threat-vs-gain-vs consequence. I agree that it is entirely possible that if you shout at a criminal, they will leave but to claim that this will happen or is likely to happen is just wishful thinking. It is more fair to say that this action may help, and may not."

I agree that MOST criminals make decisions not based on common sense. I do believe, however, that unless they are legitemately insane, or on something, that faced with an armed, equally determined defender that just happens to have the huge tactical advantage of obvious knowledge of the lay of the land (not to mention the time gap for success/escape is shrinking),
fight or flight instinct will likely (there's that word again) push them toward escape. There are no guarantees, in this scenario, or in life, and if the small percentage wants to enter my funnel, I'll gladly do society a favor.

Think about it: go looking for an armed intruder that may hear your approach and pick an ambush spot? Poor choice. Wait quietly to ambush them and hope when you decide to light them up that they are what they appear to be, and not a loved one/someone you know? Slightly less bad, but filled with potential disaster. If I had to shoot an intruder, I would rather face a jury in our over litigious society armed with the fact that I tried to avoid taking a life before doing so. Even an obvious ****'s.
 
I don't think it's a very good idea to announce that you're armed and the cops are coming, etc. If someone is in the house I think you should take a position, quietly and kill the intruder(s) when he presents himself.
 
Think about it: go looking for an armed intruder that may hear your approach and pick an ambush spot?
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That's why you learn and practice good room clearing technique for your home, and try to think about tactical movement when you set up your furniture.
Never leave your laser on, and never ever keep your flashlight on when moving through the house. Gun hand up on the crossed under wrist of the light holding hand with hands back to back. You can then toggle the light from the butt end on and off, click-check and click-off, then move all while keeps a stable platform to shoot from.

That's how I was taught anyway, and that's how SWAT and the sheriffs dept. does/did it.
Chef
 
Mods- forgive the language. Just copspeak for a bad guy.

OK, we could "what if" this forever, but what if the "intruder" is someone you know? Or an injured driver looking for aid? Or a dumb kid doing it on a dare? Most likely, none of the above. How are you going to identify your threat? Start shooting, or challenge when you see them? Reaction time measured in milliseconds may not be enough. My challenge will be made from the forbidding dark unknown, followed by silence. An intruder will expect the owner to be armed and/or dangerous regardless.

I know not everyone has the luxury of reasonably fast police response, and to rely solely on it is equally dangerous. Each scenario will be different. Dogs, security systems (when activated), camera's, etc can all help, but the most important factor should be to have a plan and practice it.

chef- I bet swat trained you to do all these things with a team, or at least with a partner. I also bet the training applied to breaching and taking a known or legitemately suspected hostile environment, not as a single resource. I agree, a light or laser should be only be used to gain a tactical advantage, not the other way around.
 
Get a very loud alarm that ...

You can trigger from your safe room and/or various other commonly used places in the house.

This is in response to the wave of posts on an intruder.

1. I'd challenge
2. I'd ID
3. NO ID - darn it, he is a demon and the Castle Doctrine protects me from shooting a mistaken idiot who entered the house.
4. Silently ambush them
5. Rack the shotgun repeatedly - :D
6. You are a coward and contributing to the fall of civilization if you don't shoot'em dead.

How about - you hear someone doing something to the door and you can start the whole showdown by a very loud alarm that calls the cops.

That way, maybe, you can avoid being a discussion and story.

That's my tac tip for the day, given the recent shoot'em up debates.
 
chef- I bet swat trained you to do all these things with a team, or at least with a partner. I also bet the training applied to breaching and taking a known or legitemately suspected hostile environment, not as a single resource. I agree, a light or laser should be only be used to gain a tactical advantage, not the other way around.
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I can't say Gear, my father was the SWAT officer (in his younger days) not me, so you may be correct. That's just how he instructed me to use a flashlight when doing a dark room clear.
 
No doubt, a good light is an invaluable tool. I never have less than 2 on me at any given time, and 3 when on duty, day or night.
 
Man's Best Friend

A dog is your best early warning system, unless your yard and drive are wired with cameras and trip sensors. Most dogs will warn you long BEFORE the BG is actually in the house, giving you those necessary precious seconds or minutes to gather family, arm, barricade, and call. Not knocking alarms, but they only trip when the BG is already IN the house. Also, even a lap dog can make a lot of noise, and if you know your dog, there is a play bark, an annoyed bark for the squirrels, and a danger bark for intruders. Definitely different sounds. Big dogs may not be practical depending on where you live, but they add a serious physical threat to the would-be intruder.

Gun right beside the head is generally considered very bad juju. Too easy to grab before you actually wake up and shake out the cobwebs, grab it while in a nightmare/dream, etc. Really, the two steps to cross your room could save lives you care about, and won't seriously impact your self defense unless the BG is already in your room. In which case, the two steps don't matter, as your options may be limited to a furious physical attack on the BG.

My situation: because everyone sleeps on the 2nd floor but kids are down the hall, my plan is wife on cell ready to call 911, me hugging open doorway, listening, assessing, and covering stairs, will gather kids if situation assessment allows, and then the barricade-in-the-bedroom is in play. Otherwise, no one will come up the stairs. 13-rd .45 auto, with 12 round spare mag + 500 lumen torch, should present a barrier to climbing the stairs until the cops can arrive.

Would prefer 12ga but safe is in my office, between BR and kids rooms. Besides, the pistol holds a lot of rounds. Unless i remember to unblock the mag, shottie only holds 3.
 
yes better to have it...

and not need it but maybe a better question is how do you carry it as you are searching your house? Having been through this experience once - I'm the only one home - what the heck was that noise? I still had the well publicized case of the father shooting his daughter who hid in a closet and jumped out to scare him in my mind.
Now i have a dog, much easier to let him go first
 
I was seeing a girl a few months ago who decided to pop over for a visit without letting me know. I was at my computer in a spare bedroom when I heard the back door open (I had left it unlocked), my dog going nuts (as he always does with other people), and I came around the corner and ended up almost poking her in the nose with my shotgun.
Always up, always ready to at least challenge with the barrel, if not fire.

I'm not interested in shooting anyone, I honestly had not even racked a shell into the chamber, and it wasn't really her fault since I had let her just walk in before (although I knew she was coming then).

I'm going to react the same way every time. Grab my HD weapon, and go on the offensive to make sure I hold the center area of my house, which is designed like the hub of a wheel.
 
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