Thought I might be kicking the hornet nest. Since the nest is stirred up, I’ll shamble forth with other opinions.
First important point - in my mind, there is a dividing line between tactics when you don’t know if someone is in your house and when you know for certain they are inside
.
Pax’s remarks are prefaced by her statement “When a criminal breaks into your home…;” therefore, the good advice she gives is directly tied to the known presence of an intruder(s). In seems the golden rules are hunker down, stay put and call the law, but is that the advice applicable to all situations? As stated in my first post,
...It wouldn't be too smart to go back to bed if there was an intruder inside...
I used the word “if” on purpose. “If” is not the same as pax’s “when”. It is an unknown versus a known. When the night comes that the intruders are ripping, snorting and having a party in the front of the house, the golden rule is good; arm up, set up, send wife to bathroom to make the call.
However, the opening post was concerning an unknown noise. That is where I would diverge from the norm. A couple of times in the past year, both of us were awakened by loud noise (which was tree limb dropping on the house in one case and a dish falling out of place due to the earth’s rotation in the other, but these were unknowns at the time).
Our house has a great setup for static defense for the two of us. Small pane windows set at least five feet above ground level. Master bedroom, in rear, can only be reached by traversing common hallway. Rooms feeding into the hallway have pocket doors, which are closed and chocked with wood wedges at night. Entry through one of those doors is possible, but would create significant noise. Tiled bathroom is hide hole for wife.
Even with this layout. I am not about to call the law on the basis of a single noise. After picking up the bedside weapon, we’re going into quiet mode to see if there are any additional unknown sounds. Check the clock and lay still for 15 to 20 minutes listening. After I feel confident there is no intruder, I will do a search so we can get back to the business of sleeping.
Why not call the law first thing? Might work out good if the intruder is only after property; however, I don’t want to reveal my/our location to anyone prowling around inside the house. Same theory applies to racking a shotgun or chambering an AR round, which gives away my position.
Then let’s assume there is no intruder and never was and I have called the station. Now the law will have to break into my home through solid wood, dead bolted doors while I hunker down in the rear (and hope an overly amped up enforcement officer doesn’t let off any rounds)
Third lovey thought is this – call the law and they get there quick enough to trap the intruder(s) inside. Dicey for sure!
My tactics – I’m going quiet, waiting and will only move to room clearing when I feel confident the room is already clear. Will have to give some thought to the tennis ball thing mentioned elsewhere.
