Why? Where did you get the idea to carry your gun that way when checking out your house for a possible intruder? What do you gain doing it that way? How does carrying your gun like that improve your chances of winning if there is a hostile intruder? Are there circumstances in which carrying your gun like that could put you at a disadvantage?Lohman446 said:...I do so with my handgun behind my leg and out of plain view to anyone who would look my way....
So I guess that means you thought this up all by yourself, and that you have no experience or training in clearing a house in which a hostile intruder might be present.Lohman446 said:I believe in effectiveness of action vs speed of action....
Are you sure? He doesn't have to stand still. He can move, and being aware of your approach, from the lights tripped by the motion detectors, sound, or a combination, knows you're coming and from where. He can take a position from which to ambush you. And how do you know there's only one intruder?Lohman446 said:...A threat, who will be in a lot area looking into darkness...
So someone who has already committed a serious crime by breaking into your house will be less likely to attack you if he thinks you're unarmed? How did you arrive at that conclusion?Lohman446 said:...may not see the gun and take less aggressive action...
But the risk is not only to yourself. If you are taken out of the picture by a hostile intruder, you family is left to his (or their) mercy.Lohman446 said:....I see it as avoiding some risks while accepting others
pax said:Unless you have family that needs to be secured, lights on or off, I don't think going searching for the BGs is a great idea.
The mistake is more likely to be going to investigate, not whether the lights are on.
This. It bears repeating.
When a criminal breaks into your home, the smart thing to do is to get yourself and your loved ones into a locked room with your weapon out and ready to fire the moment the criminal comes through the door. Once your family is safe behind that locked door, don't go looking for trouble! Call the cops and let them find the intruder for you.
Waiting in a secure place while keeping your family behind your protective firearm is not cowardly. It is not an act of surrender, and it isn't even "hiding from the crooks!" It is simply setting up a well-planned tactical ambush.
This tactical ambush tilts the odds in your favor and puts you in the best position to directly protect the most valuable things in your house: your life, and the lives of the people you love.
Of course, you may surprise the intruder while you are moving to secure your family. That is why we train how to move through the house, how to "pie" corners, how to retain the firearm if attacked, etc. -- not because we will "clear the house" by ourselves, but because we may need to move through danger to protect family members....
As long as you understand that, fine. Also, of course, others should realize that your way of doing things should not be taken as a model.Lohman446 said:Let me note a couple things. The way I do it is not the most tactically sound way of doing it. I'll be right up front and admit that.....
How would you know?Hiker 1 said:...All of this "house-clearing-is-for-the-professionals" is nonsense....
And I thought I was a light sleeper...However, if I clear the house once a month