HD plan- stay guard at top of stairs?

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rambling post

I know I'm the minority in this thread but like I said in my earlier post: it does really depend on the individual, house, scenario, etc. (paraphrase). I just wouldn't feel comfortable on the stairs IN MY HOUSE. Sitting behind a closed door in my master bedroom, the dude is absolutely toast if he tries to cross the threshold of that room. I'm guessing he can't be stupid enough to try and open the door when my family is in there, but I'm sure most of you have seen the commercial(s): "This is your brain on drugs" (zoom to picture of eggs frying in pan:D). I also have a window if I need an escape, and I am not getting distracted wondering/worrying about my family. trust me, if your wife or kid screams when you aren't in their presence there's a better than good chance you might get flustered(flustered = not keen andor not on the ball). It takes someone thirty seconds tops to go underwater when they panic(become flustered) while swimming
 
I live in typical eased ranch. My MB and my kids bedrooms on one side of the stairs.LR , DR and kitchen on other
Plan is to get wife and kids with the gun in MB and me in the hall by the stairs. Covered by the Halley wall , fire on anything coming up the stairs. And after they are own , yelling " get out, I've Caled police ...." Since NY sucks. :D
 
There is no way to make a set plan. No situation will present itself to mirror your scenarios. Statistics show most home envisions are at night. So 're-enforce the bedroom doors and everyone stays in their room unless you and the wife can get to the kids room safely. Bar the door and defend if you must. Then yes indeed wait for the cops. If you go out looking for bg and get messed up then you have left your family unprotected. This isn't a movie! Don't get your family killed by being stupid.
 
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I agree that there are more instances of BnE during the day light hours. This is because most instances are for stealing purposes. Therefore the intruders work while no one is at home. Most instances where intruders intend to do bodily harm, kidnapping, etc... occur at night usually between midnight and 0200.
In the daytime scenario against the average thief, just your presence alone will cause the intruder to leave. Not saying everytime so don't everyone jump me...but in most cases yes.
Wherein, the night time intruder is far more likely to put you in a situation to where you will legitimately have to "defend" your home and family.
 
Most, but not all, of the break-ins of occupied homes that have been reported in suburban St. Louis County, MO in the last couple of years have occurred during daylight hours--either morning or afternoon.

All that I can remember involved two criminal actors.
 
If I had a two-story house, I think I might tend to want to defend the stairs, assuming you have at least concealment ... a bright light and an accurate weapon also are key ... we live in a one-story house with a door leading from our bedroom to our patio ... the backyard is fenced and the gates are locked ... but that means I have two avenues to defend ... the bedroom door leads into a short hallway which passes the bathroom, and the bed is set in such a way that I can use it for concealment for an attack from the hallway or the back door ... my wife has our bedroom cellfone and pepper spray (she's not much of a gunner) and can also hide behind the bed ... One thing I was taught was that you gain an advantage if you're dealing with your attacker from someplace he doesn't expect you to be ... I dry-fire lying on my side, facing the hallway and with a good angle on the back door ... most people assume they will be facing a vertical opponent, and firing from a low angle, I think, gives me the advantage in the early seconds of any attack ...]
 
The stairs are a choke point. If the BG (s) are coming for you they will be forced to come through a narrow space.

I would also recommend that you install a motion activated light which will illuminate the bottom of the stairs. This will back light any BG while keeping you in the dark.

The light will also allow you to make a positive ID on the individual before you engage.
 
Wouldn't a strong light pointed top to bottom of the stairs make your target well light an blind the target looking up the stairs?
 
The stairs are a choke point. If the BG (s) are coming for you they will be forced to come through a narrow space
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the target zone for the perp(s) is also much smaller and he can even improvise if necessary.

in your bedroom he has no clue where to shoot and really cant except thru the door anyways. he(or they) is absolute toast if he tried to enter. I am outside naked on a cold morning with the stairs scenario...the odds are upped bigtime but I guess its doable....
 
Posted by youngunz4life: in your bedroom he has no clue where to shoot and really cant except thru the door anyways. he(or they) is absolute toast if he tried to enter.
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True--and true for any other safe room with one door.
 
Elapd. Concur with your suggestion of the spot light shinning down the stairs.

It will give you a chance to verify your target.

Young gun. Like my position to be forward of my family treasures. The bad guy has more options when coming through a door way. They can move side to side in the hall way outside the bedroom or dive through the door to the floor. If he takes the second option you are in a hand to hand shoot out.

On the stairs he cannot move laterally. His options are retreat, drop to the floor or charge. In any case he is still in a limited target area.

The stair also keeps you mobile. In other words you can retreat to an alternate shooting point should that become necessary.

I also would recommend that as part of your preparations you go to a safe place and shoot from a height which simulates the difference in elevation between your shooting position and the point were you intend to engage the BG.

I once lived in a house which had a landing half way up the stair. The point I intended to engage the perp was when he reached the second step above the landing. Roughly a drop of 6 feet. My shooting position was prone concealed behind the wall at the top of the stair.
 
Both Sun Tzu and Von Clauseowitz said take the high ground. They would know.
Unless there is some other factor and all other issues equal, defend from the top of the stairs.
 
Don't know where you live but to me you've already lost if they are in your house. Most of the people that climb up to get away from danger live in movies, their friends tend to run down the center of the road...
 
Both Sun Tzu and Von Clauseowitz said take the high ground. They would know.
Unless there is some other factor and all other issues equal, defend from the top of the stairs.
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I would base it on your gut, your own situation, etc. For me it is an easy decision, but everyone's home is different. If at the top of the stairs at least stay out of sight, so you don't get shot.
 
An historic battle concept has ALWAYS been proven by combat that he who controls the high ground, . . . controls the battle.

Secondly, in the typical construction of today's stick house, . . . there are at least 2, 2x4's at the door post of the doorway, . . . and 16 inches or less from it back toward the bg is another, and another, and another, etc. On the angle he has to shoot at you, . . . only a very lucky, lucky shot could get through the wall as he shoots up at you while ascending the stairway.

He presents a full body target, . . . you present half a face, half a shoulder, one hand, and a firearm, . . . raining lead down the stairway.

Only a danged fool, . . . a meth head, . . . or an Obama supporter is stupid enough to try to come up the stairway as I have pictured in the little drawing.

Tactically speaking: prone on the floor will get you killed, . . . you have to present your whole head and shoulders to get a firing picture.

Kneeling allows the bg to ascend half way or more before you have a full sight picture.

Standing, . . . behind one edge of the doorway, . . . you are behind reasonable cover, mostly concealed, and offer a very little target to someone below shooting up through the ceiling.

Retreating into a bedroom, . . . gives the total advantage to the bg, . . . he has some idea where you are, . . . you have no real idea where he is. He can initiate the fight from concealment, . . . slicing the pie into your room, . . . you can only hold your breath and hope you don't have a heart attack waiting for him to come in.

Take the high ground, . . . hold the high ground, . . . defend from the high ground, . . . it has worked for centuries, . . . it'll work in your house.

May God bless,
Dwight
 

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Let's consider the defender's primary goals:

  1. Avoid getting shot
  2. Prevent others in the household from getting shot
  3. Avoid injury to innocent third parties
  4. Minimize the liklihood of having shots occur
Engaging and shooting a "bad guy" should not be among them unless it becomes necessary to do that to meet Numbers One and Two, and unless of his accomplices should be able, and choose, to leave after you have shot the first one, it would not be sufficient to do so. The objective is not to "control a battle."

If the defender fails to achieve Objective Number One, the attainment of Objective No. Two will be at risk.

Fulfilling Objective Number Four will go a long way toward meeting the others.

Only an assassin--someone with the objective of killing the family members--would want to knowingly break into a safe room; he would put himself at extreme risk; and be sure of success, he would likely have to use smoke or explosive devices.

On the other hand, one would reasonably expect any burglar to shoot for his own self preservation if he sees someone aiming a firearm at him.

Every single trainer, instructor, and expert of whom I am aware recommends getting the family into a safe room and defending from there.
 
I'm not buying the high ground 'automatic'...that is more a battleground scenario....

Retreating into a bedroom, . . . gives the total advantage to the bg, . . . he has some idea where you are, . . . you have no real idea where he is. He can initiate the fight from concealment, . . .
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I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Our master bedroom is at the end of the hallway....I have a 100% idea where he is, virtually impossible to be stealthy and he cannot hide from any shots to doorway or hallway. I also have the advantage of the door being closed. He knows nothing except I am behind that door but how many? what room is it(ours is big with two closets and one a walkin, bathroom, shower etc)? if I haven't said anything he doesn't even know I or we are in there? and he can't hear anything like me hearing everything(coincidence with my home,,,squeaking stairway door...literally wakes up baby in our home..etc)

I also have a doorway on the stairs and it is actually like a horsebarn door...the top unlatches and can open leaving the bottom shut if I want(he would have to bust door or reach overtop to unlatch bottom part). I guess I could leave that door closed but any shots fired are sideways as at the top of the stairs you must take a left or right. It would be considerably more difficult and dangerous to fire upon BG from top of the stairs in my family's specific situation+in my opinion)....room on either side of bottom, he could literally reach thru rail and fire upstairs, another hallway andor area at the bottom, he can be stealthy but now I can't etc. also, I have to show myself to get a shot. If I do this and he is waiting I am dead just like that. I feel like this thread was answered right at the beginning stages...there are just differing options, other acceptable tactics, and better options depending on one's personal home left.
 
Compared to many defense situations being somewhat down a hallway but having a line of site to the top of the stairway, therefore a line of fire, is a pretty good defensive position.

Some of my non-gun friends say I am paranoid because I have made a defensive plan for every home I have lived in.
 
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