It's 2:30 am. You hear glass breaking...

I

Icopy

New member
Here's the scenario: You live in a two story Colonial-style home with an attached garage and no dog or cat. It's 2:30 am. You're upstairs in bed and the sound of glass breaking awakes you from a sound sleep. You recall that your only child, a 16 year old daughter, is sleeping at friend's house. And your wife is in bed next to you. There's a (GUN OF CHOICE) in the closet on the top shelf, properly secured. The only phone is downstairs in the kitchen. What do you do?

[This message has been edited by Icopy (edited July 13, 2000).]
 
I would feel a lot of pity for the intruder because my dog will rip him to shreds (Pit Bull). If my dog got shot, I would have my Remington 870 ready.

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Son
1911 Addiction
"No man is so poor as to have nothing worth giving."
 
Pick up my Colt .45 automativ, insert a round into the chamber, drop two loaded spare 8 round magazines into my payjama pocket, pick up my Laer Surefire combat flash light. Wake up my wife and be sure she has her SIG_Sauer P220 in her hand, and then go practice house clearing and cornering.
If I encounter someone (or someones) who "put me in fear of death or grave bodily harm" aim high center mass and start shooting.
 
First -- two seconds -- I would kick my own butt for not having a phone upstairs (if a can afford a two story colonial home, I certainly can buy $25 telephone for my bedroom).

Second -- two more seconds -- I would offer a prayer for the soul of the soon-to-be-departed intruder.

Third -- fifteen seconds -- I would quietly take my "nightstand" piece (currently a Smith 627 loaded with six .357 magnum 158 grain Hydra-Shoks) and stealthfully head downstairs (I know ever feature and creak in the house and the BG doesn't).

Finally -- ten seconds -- I'd get VERY low and concealed behind some heavy furniture, challenge the BG, and if he even twitched wrong I would fire to immediately disable him.

[This message has been edited by RWK (edited July 13, 2000).]
 
You grab your gun and a flashlight and wait at the top of the stairs for a minute or two for additional noise. If you don't hear anything, I would call out your daughter's name and see if she responds or another voice that you can identify responds. If not, I would call out that I am arm and prepared to defend myself and my family.

Being upstairs gives you the tactical edge as you can keep the stairway secure from behind cover. However, not having a phone in your bedroom (including a cell phone in case the house phone is taken off the hook -- thus preventing you from using it) places you at a disadvantage since you can not call for help. Sooner or later you're going to have to go downstairs. The question becomes: "How long do you wait?" because even with proper training, it's not a good idea to try to clear a house alone.

I had a very similar situation actually happen to me about a year ago -- we heard a loud thud followed by the breaking of glass. The only difference was that our toddler was sleeping in her bedroom and, as parents, we needed to secure her safety. I grabbed a flashlight and a gun while my wife grabbed the phone and another gun (to back me up). We made our way to her bedroom and after seeing that she was fine and after not hearing any more nosies for several minutes, I slowly cleared the rest of the house (not a good idea) and discovering the one of those spring-loaded shower shelf things got undo and went flying into the widnow.

Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
fud-nra.gif
 
Secure a position with a good view of the stairs, challenge the person, and declare I'm armed. Since I can't get to the phone, fire a couple of rounds down the stairwell into the floor to wake-up the neighborhood, scare the he!! out of the perp, and just for the fun of it! :)
 
Wife would already be awake.

1. Obtain CZ-75 and extra clip from push-button safe. No flashlight. Clear bedroom/bath/closet area. Calm wife, ask her why cel phone isn't in the bedroom in her purse like we've agreed it's supposed to be (I think I'll remind her about that tonight.). Install her in bedroom closet with double-action FEG .380.

2. Peek around corner to hallway, at floor level. Listen for several moments in silence.

3. If source of noise identified, shout warning and prepare to engage target. No shooting without identifying target.

4. If noise not heard further or identified, listen in silence. Move toward phone in kitchen in silence. Obtain phone. Call 911 as required.
 
No offense intended but why do these "scenarios" keep coming up in HG&PC as opposed to in the Close Quarters Combat forum above? I'm not complaining. It is simply that CQC is a slow forum and the scenarios are much more suited to that forum.

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Gunslinger
 
OK. I won't mention the fact that you should have a phone upstairs, something bigger than a handgun ready, that I'm not married or the fact that a 16 year old daughter would mean I had her when I was 11, but I'll go with your scenario.

Anyway, I'd pull out my gun of choice (probably my stainless P13.45 loaded with Black Talons and two extra hi-cap clips) and put a round in the chamber, leaving the safety off.

Then I'd quietly and carefully make my way to the daughter's room with my wife, barricading to where I have a good view of who's coming my way. If the intruder made his way into (or near) the room, and I didn't immediately recognize him as someone I knew who had an even slightly legitimate purpose to be in my house in the middle of the night, I'd send a few black talons his way towards his center of mass without warning.

How's that? By the way, this is in line with the Florida use of force laws (including the Castle doctrine).
 
branrot: "If . . . I didn't immediately recognize him as someone I knew . . . I'd send a few black talons his way towards his center of mass without warning."

Whoa there, Tex. "Immediately" happens pretty damn fast.
 
As I grab my Colt .45 1911 and head toward the noise I heard, I would be thinking.....God, I hope I can get to whoever broke the glass before my two dogs (Jindo) kill the poor SOB. :D

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"Lead, follow or get the HELL out of the way."
 
From every article I've ever read on the subject, it is tactical stupidity to try to clear the house. You may know the house, but the intruder has already had time to find cover while you were recovering from your unconcious stupor. You are supposed to get everybody into a "safe" room, take cover, and wait for the intruder to come to you.

[This message has been edited by houndawg (edited July 13, 2000).]
 
House clearing is extremely dangerous business. Even trained coppers hate it. It ain't like in the flicks and teeeeveeeee.

I strongly suggest the above is good advice: secure the other members of the family, then WAIT for the bad guy (and cops, providing you've called them) to come to you.

Use your ears. They are your best weapon, aside from your firearm. If you're a hunter, remember that most often, out in the woods, when an animal is comparatively close (as a b.g in a house), you'll usually hear that animal before you see it.

You may know your house, but the bad guy only has to know where YOU are coming from, and he can be waiting behind anything, just kinda benchrested, and ready to smoke you when you appear.

As for yelling at the bad guy, in my opinion, that is a bad idea. I don't want the bad guy to know where I am. He just might start shooting at your voice. Nope, I believe in surprise!

Besides, today, you will have to yell it in English. Then Spanish, then Ebonics, then Vietnamese, then Chinese, then Russian, then French, then Lithuanian, then Swahili, then Brooklynese, then.... well, you get the idea.

FWIW. J.B.
 
I have heard a noise before. I live in a one story home. Forget the house clearing. I heard someone outside. I turn on the flood light outside. Walk out the door and fire my shotgun in the air once. Some poor kids had decided that my pasture was a good place to park and drink a few beers. Didnt know that at the time or I probably would have joined them :D
 
Step one: put on pants. :)

Get flashlight, 9mm Ruger and extra hi-cap, give Mini-14 to wife. We both go to the top of the stairs. She lays prone aiming downstairs, I go down hugging one wall (treads will creak less and it will leave her a firing lane).

Do NOT use the flashlight until you know where the person is.

At bottom of stairs, listen for more noise. If heard, go towards it using available cover and room-clearing procedures. If not heard, start working toward most vulnerable windows. Be as quiet as possible. Wife stays at top of stairs to cover line of retreat.

If you find someone, flashlight them with Harries technique and order "Show me your hands!" If it's the daughter slipping back in, read her the riot act and stop her allowance. If bad guys, and you don't IMMEDIATELY see empty hands, shoot until all bad guys are down and motionless.

As soon as she hears shots, wife should switch on the stairway lights so she can see bad guys if the get past you.

If you are still alive after the shooting, holler out to wife and tell her what's happening and what to do (call the cops to come pick up the bad guy's carcasses). If not, wife should stay barricaded at top of stairs until either the shots bring help or daylight comes. If the bad guys come to the stairs, she's got high ground and cover plus a couple of mags of .223 to hold them off.

Then decide to put a phone upstairs and get a cell phone.
 
Ledbetter: You mentioned part of my post, but I'm not sure if you agreed with it or not. Just curious if you (or others) thought it was a good idea.
 
I dont see a reason to go down stairs in this scenario. You supposed daughter is not at home, and you can challenge verbally from above while still having the advantage of the supposed BG having to go through a rather long fatal funnel before getting to you or your loved ones. I'd set up my defense and wait it out listening for any more noises. I would not anounce that I am armed cause I dont want to be the one who is accused of starting the whole mess. Would lie and say the cops are coming. If retard in question decides to come up stairs, he gets dose of flashlight and if I cant ID him/her gets dose of 45. If they try to run up stairs then skip step one and go straight to 45.
 
branrot (is your screen name a reference to ergot?),

Me, I'd go for the phone first if I could get to it. YMMV and it really depends on a lot of variables not articulated in the scenario (how much additional noise, how many perps, is the phone cordless and/or operable, etc.).

In any event, (1) be sure of your target before you shoot and (2) the object is security and safety; not shooting is better than having to shoot, for you and everybody else.

Be safe,

Ledbetter
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TAZ: ... I dont see a reason to go down stairs in this scenario ...[/quote]With no telephone upstairs, how long do you wait? Suppose somebody broke a window. Cut his hand and decided to leave & seek medical attention. I'm the first one who mentioned in this trend that clearing a house is not a good idea but you have to either get to a phone and call for help and see what's going on downstairs if everything continues to remain silent -- you can't stay upstairs forever! <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by TAZ: ... As for yelling at the bad guy, in my opinion, that is a bad idea. I don't want the bad guy to know where I am. He just might start shooting at your voice. Nope, I believe in surprise ...[/quote]First off, you yell from behind cover while having your weaponed pointed toward the stairway and you do this for two reasons:<OL TYPE=1><LI> You want to make ABSOLUTELY sure that it isn't your daughter (either by herself or with a friend) -- she might have returned home due to a fight or something and dropped a glass or something. If it is her, she'll respond to your voice.
<LI> If it isn't, then you notified the intruder that you are not easy pickings and are prepared to throw some lead his way if his decides to come upstairs.</OL>Still say that having some means of communications upstairs would simplify things ... you would call the police and remain safe & secure upstairs without having to expose yourself to the dangers of having to clear your house and if they decide to come upstairs, you fire from cover. Regards,
FUD
fudeagle.gif

Share what you know, learn what you don't.
 
Interesting responses.

FUD's comment is the most telling.

I live near the inner city. Trust me at 2.30am, when you are woken by broken glass you can't tell if it a window in your house, a car window on the street or as is it most often, people breaking bottles on the street. either they're drunk and drop them or they are kids who place them in the streets so cars will drive over them.
[or even the stack of dishes beside the sink has finally given away to gravity :)]

You need to find a balance between walking into a dangerous situation and building trenches in the bedroom every time there is a strange noise.
If I did this I would never get any sleep.

In the above situation, I could just about go back to sleep. I am in the bedroom [it has a solid core door and is locked and has sitting beside it a bar that is wedged between the floor and the door.] In the situation described above all the things of value are in the room with me. If it is a BG and they steal the TV, who really cares, I claim on insurance and buy a new one.

A similar situation occured to me last Wednesday. Was working late in the office [9pm] and I heard noises from the ground floor of our small two storey building. I went to investigate and found two individuals smashing into the building through an external wall with chisels.
What did I do, Ran away from the situation, switched the lights off [I know the layout of the office], fired off the monitored alarm system, went upstairs while dialing the police on my cell-phone.
What did they do ? as soon as we saw each other I ran away, they ran full speed in the opposite direction. I guess in that situation it wasn't a false alarm.
 
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