When things go BUMP in the night. What kind of person are you?

Bu-bye

Sorry, I'm kind of in the middle of your three types...I don't close the bedroom doors because I am a light sleeper (being a 'Nam vet...learned to sleep light when things go bump in the night.) Depends on the assessment of the sound, I will either check out the house quietly(outside or perimeter sound), or I will hunker down just inside the doorway and lay prone with semi-auto rifle(at this position I can see straight down the hallway and partially into the two bedrooms adjacent to our bedroom), wife will have 12 gauge in fall back position....this is when I am responding to unexpected inside the house sound.
Wife and daughter have responded well to training and have reacted to get to "safe room" while I am "covering" the hallway in the dark.
We also have an alarm system on all doors and windows, motion detector lights outside the house so I know where the movement is coming from and a remote control hallway and living room/family room lights to "back light" folks...now if I can just get some Claymores......hmmm.

A really good friend recommended a dog to walk "guard." Mean to take him up on that suggestion.

I guess that if you want to cut down your worries, layer your defenses....that way, you just make the odds better for you. Name of the game, right?
 
I would just assume avoid a physical conflict if the BG is only in a position to damage or steal objects. ie. downstairs. I would certainly be waiting to take him out if he started up the stairs. If the intruder was already upstairs I'm sorry to say that I would just go ballistic using whatever means I could to neutralize the threat. I'd be as fast, loud and as violent as possible. I have young children in adjoining rooms. I'd worry about my consequences later.

In Canada it's illegal to have a firearm of any kind that is not secured (locked up) when in storage. Ammo has to be stored separately. This renders firearms pretty much useless for defensive purposes.(legally)

One word of advice, (I heard third party) from a peace officer is to make sure you fire warning shots into the wall. Whether you do that before or after shooting the villian is up to you.
 
LA, for some reason I thought you were younger than that--a lot younger! Guess not. :)

Until I had kids I said I'd stay in my room, but the one time it happened in this house I didn't do it. Now that I have the boys, I don't think I can do that anymore.

Anyway, what I actually did was to arm myself with a gun and light and announce loudly from the top of the stairs that I was armed but would allow anyone downstairs to leave without harm. Turned out to be a house-settling noise or something.

Now I don't know. Might have to be a little sneakier until I get to the kids, then camp out there.
 
Hi Don

Younger? Nah, Don, I think I haven't grown up yet or my wife says it's senility. Haven't figured it out yet.

Maybe because when I post I ask obvious questions? Mostly, I'm just trying to learn from everyone else.....used to think I knew the answers, but I've had my world turned upside down a bunch of times when I just thought I had it figured it out....kind of humbles you and makes you not take things for granted.

So, I'm just one of those "glad to be here guys" if you know what I mean and I know you do. From your posts, sounds like "you've seen the elephant, too."

Peace, brother, peace.
 
I would go with the barricade in room/call 911 (cell phone) scenario. Property can be replaced (homeowner's insurance), your life or your loved ones lives cannot. If BG broke into the saferoom, I would perceive that as a threat to my life as well as my family, and would shoot. The way Ohio's self defense law reads, I am sure it would be a justified use of deadly force. As other's have said in this thread, I pray to God, it never happens.
 
The only time I've thought someone might be in the house, I listened for more noise, hearing none I grabbed the .45 and went to look (shouldn't have left the gauge in the truck). Cleared every room until I was sure no one was in the house. False alarm.

If intruder is known. Call 911. leave door open to bedroom. Turn off all lights to bedroom and assume a low position gun trained on a door. Do not make myself known unless I hear them coming down the hall. Then vocalize that cops are on the way and I am armed.

Instance 2: Same scenario as above but kids are on other end of the house....I'm going hunting. Pie the doorways. Low, stealthy position at the high ready. First one I see is going to get the verbal to stop if he advances or makes a threatening movement I have no doubt I will shoot him.

(FYI: I have looked down the barrel of a 12 gauge at a human being and pulled the trigger.)

Another notation for clarity. The gauge is loaded this way....bean bad round is first out. followed by 4 buckshot and 2 slugs.

The individual I shot was hit and incapacitated with the bean bag round. Bean bag rounds show preclusion in court. And they will stop many people. And I don't have to deal with taking a human life. (I can deal with breaking a few of his ribs) Check into bean bag rounds if they are legal in your area.
 
quote:
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to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and he reasonably believes that: the land or property CANNOT be protected or recovered by ANY other means; or the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
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from what it looks like it says you can only shoot to protect property that can't be replaced, what that says to me is that if you shoot a bg for taking your VCR the jury will bury you if you've got insurance or can afford to buy a new one, it seems that you could only protect things that are completely irreplaceable.
 
1) alarm goes off


2) we've got two doors to the bedroom, one through my office and one at the top of the stairs. the wife grabs the 870 under her side of the bed and I grab the mossy under mine and head into my office.

3) from my office I turn on all the lights in the house (I encourage everyone to get a system like that set up, it's worth every penny) and watch the bg on the cameras, (some hidden some not). if I so choose I can talk to him over the intercom to let him there's a nice video of him on a webserver 40 miles away.

4) if for some strange reason he doesn't leave and decides to come up the stairs it's all over.


I'm thinking about getting a color PDA with wireless connectivity, that way if I need to I can go down the stairs while watching the cameras.
 
from what it looks like it says you can only shoot to protect property that can't be replaced, what that says to me is that if you shoot a bg for taking your VCR the jury will bury you if you've got insurance or can afford to buy a new one, it seems that you could only protect things that are completely irreplaceable.
Click to expand...
How many stolen VCR’s are recovered? I know several victims of theft (including myself) and I have yet to know one person that has recovered the item(s) stolen. Insurance does not constitute “recovered by any other means” by any stretch of the imagination as the law states "recovered" not replaced and case law supports this. Of course it is important to remember that while use of force is justified to protect ones property, use of lethal force has some extra requirements, namely that the use of less than lethal force would subject one to substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm. There are a myriad of instances where lethal force has been used in defense of property (even for small, relatively inexpensive items) in which the case was never even brought before a grand jury, much less brought before a grand jury and no-billed. In most of the instances where this section of the Penal Code is used as a legal defense and fails, “the whole story” is usually of a nature where using such a defense is grasping at straws (meaning there are other factors that this defense is a last ditch attempt and the "victim" usually wasn't exactly a "victim").



None of this is a recommendation to use lethal force in defense of property. Each person must make that decision for themselves, I am merely trying to explain the Penal Code for Illuminatus99. Feel free to make your own decision regarding when you will choose to use lethal force and when you will not.
 
drjones,

I agree that the sound of racking the slide on a shotgun has a definite psychological impact. However, I think that psychological edge is less important than the ability to engage the potential Bad Guy without having to manipulate the weapon system and more than I have to.

I also agree that every bump in the night doesn't deserve an immediate action drill of grabbing a weapon and barricading in place. But if it IS a noise that makes me think a weapon might be necessary, I see no reason for it to be in a condition other than one that's going to have it instantly ready to go when I need it.

Training and consistency are the key (as I'm sure you know). My only concern with your chosen method is safety (yep, the kid thing). My personal feeling is that, if it's not on me (i.e., in my direct control), it needs to be locked up. Of course, that means a setup that would allow for the weapon being stored and ready to go.

Which reminds me, there's a local fellow in Louisiana who has a pretty neat setup for that sort of thing that's as bomb-proof as you can get without a government contract. Take a look:

http://www.hsdh.com
 
I think it depends on the situation.

I have heard suspicious noises more than once. EVERY TIME so far, I grab a gun (chambered and ready - always) and investigate. My logic is that I'd rather "ID" them before they get inside if possible.

If they are inside (at least I believe that they are) then I don't want to walk right into them. I will take a position where they will walk into MY view. (I would have the element of surprise.)

If I was SURE that they were in the next room and I "felt" they weren't aiming a weapon at the doorway waiting for me to walk in.... I might move into the doorway and "get the drop" on them.

None of this is planned. It just happens. I react based on each situation. But no, I generally don't wait for them to come and get me. And- I have never even thought about calling 911. (Although if I saw 5 or 6 BGs with guns on my porch at 2:30 AM I might call 911 then!)

YMMV

Logistar
 
Well, I AM the wife, and something DID go bump in the night a couple of nights ago! :p

My husband was out of town... I was at the computer, at about midnight, when I heard someone running through our yard (we have a gravel driveway and stone patio, and the steps were easy to hear)... now our house is far enough from the street that there is NO reason for someone to be running in the driveway/patio. I grabbed my gun, made sure a round was chambered, grabbed the phone, closed the bedroom door, hunkered down in the closet (there were some curtains open -- bad idea), and called 911. Oh, and the dog? The same one who goes ballistic if the mailman comes, or a meter man is in our yard? She didn't even wake up when three police officers with flashlights were circling the house! I wanted to kill her! :mad:

1. I don't WANT to shoot anyone. I will not hesitate to if I have to, but if at all possible I'd rather not.
2. In Arkansas, you have to "make a reasonable effort" to get away/hide -- ie, you can't run out into the yard and shoot someone.

Luckily I live less than a thousand feet from a police station, so they made it here in about 30 seconds!
 
I was going to add my own unique tactic for home survival until I read pb's post that sums up my point of view, and bears repeating:

Ensconced, armed and having called 911, I would announce loudly: "Intruder! I am armed and the police are on their way! Leave the house NOW!!" . . .
1) The Bad Guy leaves--problem solved.
2) The Bad Guy stays but doesn't approach--the police are better suited for and tasked to resolve this problem.
3) The Bad Guy stays and tries to break in to my safe room--this won't go well for the Bad Guy.
Click to expand...
There are many suggestions out there concerning how to make a good and "hard" safe room. The first priority should be replacing the typically cheap door to the bedroom with a sturdy wood door or better yet a steel door (Stanley makes some that look like wood, and cost less) with a one way dead bolt. A steel door frame with steel door is even better; every home should have one at the main entrance, and at the entrance to the designated safe room, where all family members should be trained to retreat to in a break in situation.
 
I hunker the misses down with the 12, 38, flashlight, and cell phone dialed 91.. And I go out with the door closed in my body armor, 2 flashlights, 2 handguns and cell phone and clear house. If noise is outside I may grab carbine, but never go outside.
 
Does anybody besides me think that the introduction of the split-bedroom plan was a terrible concept with regard to protecting your family?

My daughter's bedroom is on the completely opposite side of my house from my bedroom. In order to get to her room to ensure her safety, I'd have to traverse the entire house -- out of my bedroom, through the living room, past the kitchen and dining room (both rooms open to the LR) and then into the hallway to the other bedrooms.

If attempting to clear a house by yourself is a bad thing, but gathering your family into one spot and then hunkering down is a good thing, I'm just out of luck. Can't do one without doing the other first.
 
A kid slashing tires in some Texan's driveway gets shot at, the antis would go absolutely nuts with something like that
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1. There's always one more perp than you see...so if you observe someone doing something to your car (disabling it? placing abomb under the hood? using it as cover to gove other infiltrators support?), it would be reasonable to eliminate the visible threat and search for the rest.

2. On a purely ethical note, anyone victimizing others ought to remain alive only at the discretion of the wronged party. On a practical note, most sane people don't exclude the possibility of some innocent explanation and so don't shoot until absolutely certain.
 
when the Ex future mrs coonan spent the night , she woke me up to tell me she heard some thing making noises outside of the front of the house I grabbed the lda and the surefire and told her to stay put and make sure the cell was near by , also I told her where the backup was at and not to get it unless shot where fired , all it was was a hungry critter in the trash . needless to say i didn't sleep a wink that night but she did ..
 
when tinhgs went bump in the night

looking through the posts i've seen a bunch of "I'll protect everything I have" {except myself}. If you are really going to go gettem I would suggest taking time to put on the armor I have only seen one post where somebody going to protect what is theirs who wants to protect himself enough to accomplish this. If someone is willing to come into your home know you are home more than likely they;
#1 are not alone
#2 are probably armed in one way or another
#3 Stoned
#4 just plain stupid and should be locked up for that alone..... :D

I have had to leave the safety of the bedroom and go out into the house, the dog alerted and wife heard something waking me up. She stays on oppsite side of bed from the door armed {just in case} first thing grabbed and thrown on is armor { which aside from weapons is beside the bed} then the G23 and maglite. She stands by the phone with 911 dialed in ready to make call should the call need to be made. B4 shooting someone you better be in immeadite danger of "serious bodily harm" {shooting one in the back on his way out your door not a good idea}. MAKE THE SHOT COUNT if it needs to be taken {they can't testify against you in a civil suit {which is sure to follow } if they are pushing up daisies.
 
Bogbabe;

Also if you trade shots with BG who is between you (in your bedroom) and your kids, your kids are downrange.
 
If the dog barks, I'm up. When I open that door there better not be anyone in the house.

I let my dog make that call. If I let her out of the bed room and she keeps barking the pistol is in my hand. If they don't run from her (or God forbid hurt the dog) They won't be bothering anyone the next night.
 
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