To "clear" your house, or hunker down.

[Mad_Squirrell]

The way I see it.

1. All the lights out in the house

2. Move to a location thats puts me between the wife, kids and BG

3.Wife calls cops

4. Wait for them (they did not come in the house just to check out one room)

Most times robberies are snatch and grab . The smart /professional thieves wait for you to leave then clean you out .Home invasions have other sinister deeds in mind . Those are the ones that scare me where I know if they enter my home I will have to use deadly force to stop the invasion . Im not going to sit quietly and wait for them to come in my room while my kids are in another room . Their safety is my #1 priority .I feel if I do not exhaust all resources at my disposal to protect them then I have been negligent and have failed my first duty as a parent (even if it means losing my life in their defense) .All wild animals protect their young as their first and foremost priority .Mess with my young'ns and just see how wild I can get .

Edited April 7, 2010 by Mad_Squirrell
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[JAB]

Most times robberies are snatch and grab . The smart /professional thieves wait for you to leave then clean you out .Home invasions have other sinister deeds in mind . Those are the ones that scare me where I know if they enter my home I will have to use deadly force to stop the invasion .

Very well put and I kind of see it the same way. As was mentioned in another post, coming home to realize that there are intruders who have entered the house while you were out and deciding to try and clear the house on your own is one thing. Already being in the house and having intruders come in is completely different.

If someone comes in the house knowing that we are home then at best they have obviously accepted that they might end up killing us and at worst have already planned to kill us. To my knowledge, we have given no one a motive to want us dead but some lowlifes don't need a motive - stealing our stuff and leaving no witnesses may be motive enough. Heck, the 'thrill' of killing someone may be the only motive some nutjobs need. Whatever the case, they are probably equipped for just such a purpose. Further, in my area it is at least as likely (probably more likely) that at least one occupant of the house will be armed, so they would already be expecting that. For all I know, they will try and set a fire somewhere in the house to force us to come out of wherever we are hole up on their terms. I figure that the best way to make sure they don't kill us is to beat them to the punch and confront them more on my terms, at least as much as possible - which involves not holing up in the bedroom.

One other thing I must consider is that anyone planning a home invasion would be smart to cut the phone line, meaning the land line could be out of service. We have cell phones but because of the topography of our location cell phones do not always work well inside the house. There is a very real chance that we wouldn't be able to call 911 until the whole thing was over - and there is an equal chance that even if we call 911, the whole thing would be over by the time help arrived, anyway. In other words, I would have to consider the likelihood that we would be on our own to deal with people who weren't going to try and avoid us but, instead, were actively looking to kill us. In such a situation, I'd feel like a sitting duck if I just tried to wait in the bedroom.

Edited April 7, 2010 by JAB

[Il Duce]

Most times robberies are snatch and grab . The smart /professional thieves wait for you to leave then clean you out .Home invasions have other sinister deeds in mind . Those are the ones that scare me where I know if they enter my home I will have to use deadly force to stop the invasion . Im not going to sit quietly and wait for them to come in my room while my kids are in another room . Their safety is my #1 priority .I feel if I do not exhaust all resources at my disposal to protect them then I have been negligent and have failed my first duty as a parent (even if it means losing my life in their defense) .All wild animals protect their young as their first and foremost priority .Mess with my young'ns and just see how wild I can get .

im going with as wild as a mad squirrel

[Mad_Squirrell]

on steroids even

[crashgordan]

There's so much to consider here...

but back to the original questions: Clear or Hunker Down

best case scenario is as follows:

if you are in your home and DO NOT have children/dependents in other parts of the house suggest the following:

1. Secure your firearm

2. Secure your cell phone. call 911. tell them your address and location in the house. DO NOT HANG UP. everything will be recorded from the moment they pick up until you hang up.

3. if possible, turn on the light in your bedroom or hallway just outside of your bedroom to illuminate the doorway. if that's not an option, the bazillion lumen light you have next to your bed or mounted on your gun will do. do not leave your bedroom. or bathroom if you have retreated to that level.

4. move to concealment (the other side of the bed away from the doorway or similar) Cover is better, but not many of us have true cover in our homes...

5. call out LOUDLY: I HAVE A GUN. I HAVE CALLED THE POLICE. THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY. This is also why we don't hang up. it's on tape.

6. Cover the door with your firearm and shoot anyone who comes through it.

The police will know you are armed, they will know where you are in the house.

The intruder will know you are armed and that the police have been called.

Any intruder who enters your room with the lights on knowing you are aware of their presence, knows you are armed and have notified the police, is there for one thing; to do you harm.

Suggest that for legal issues, this is a very defensible scenario.

it becomes a bit tougher but If there are children/dependents in another part of the home, if possible follow steps 1-3 but move directly to their room/upstairs, wherever they are....

I know that the big balled man in all of us wants to clear the house, but let's consider for a moment this: when i'm on the move, even though i know my house, i'm a much easier target then the turd who has hunkered down looking for a way outa there or is waiting for me. If i'm clearing with a lighted firearm, he knows i'm coming.

and if, maybe just maybe, he gets the jump on me, things could get ugly or worse for at least one of us, and it's possible it could be me.

I cannot imagine a worse nightmare then being injured and knowing my wife and/or family is now at the mercy of some turd...

If you've gotta clear the house, let the dog lead...

and i know we all have dogs in our house at night correct??

the best early warning device known to man...

this is just my humble opinion...

and i'm open to critical review.

Edited April 8, 2010 by crashgordan

[crashgordan]

didn't mean to shut the thread down....

just my opinion.

i'd like to hear from the collective here....

any critical feedback??

[RedSuinit]

Due to the layout of the house, I have no choice BUT to clear it. It's all one floor, but the sons room is on the other side of it, but it's a small house so it's easy to clear.

[strickj]

didn't mean to shut the thread down....

just my opinion.

i'd like to hear from the collective here....

any critical feedback??

Your an instructor, right?

Your advise sounds sound except for turning on the bedroom light and yelling.

If someone breaks in my home, there's no way I'm doing either of those.

Suggest that for legal issues, this is a very defensible scenario.

They showed their intent when they came in.

They further showed their intent by coming into my bedroom where anybody would be in the middle of the night.

No need to put me in any more danger because of what I think an attorney might think.

[RedSuinit]

There is one easy way to ensure you're legally covered, kill. Then it becomes your word agains no ones. If someone breaks into my home while I am there, he means to hurt me and my family, and he IS going down. I won't hesitate to pull the trigger and put one between his eyes.

[huntingman]

Your an instructor, right?

Your advise sounds sound except for turning on the bedroom light and yelling.

If someone breaks in my home, there's no way I'm doing either of those.

They showed their intent when they came in.

They further showed their intent by coming into my bedroom where anybody would be in the middle of the night.

No need to put me in any more danger because of what I think an attorney might think.

X2

I'm also NOT yelling and giving my position away. BG is going to have to find us. I have no children living at home so.....my plans are a little different.

[Il Duce]

if they come in they have a bison frise that will wake everyone at first then the husky and mean as hell boxer are on alert. IF they dont leave after them two theyll be leaving with assistance of a bodybag

[Guest smileyguy]

didn't mean to shut the thread down....

just my opinion.

i'd like to hear from the collective here....

any critical feedback??

Very sound, IMO. I've stated basically the same in previous threads, for a few reasons.

1. Home invaders usually travel in packs, 5 perps attempted a home invasion in Knoxville a few months ago. Clearing a house against unknown odds without backup is suicidal, especially if it turns out there are 5 armed thugs in your home. (The exception: kids are located on the other side of the house.)

2. These thugs are cowards who prey on the weak. They will usually flee at a show of force. In most cases they will leave upon knowing you are armed and the cops are coming. You succed at really "clearing" the house with no shots fired. That is a good thing. Bullets go through walls. Even if you defeat the intruders, their shots could easily go through walls and strike your wife/kids.

3. In the case of the psychotic and/or drugged invader(s) that is intent on killing you a gun fight is all but inevitable. I like my odds of defeating the goons as they try to enter the bedroom door against an onslaught of 00 buck.

[Mad_Squirrell]

One other scenario that I did not cover . If the family and I were out and came home to being robbed or in the process of .In no way shape form or fashion am I entering the house until our Trained uniformed public servants have done their duty. No sense in putting my self and family in danger if not necessary .

I come home and family is inside and see something afoot different story .Totally different story I'll take my chances and put my total faith in my God to protect me while I wreak havoc on those that wish to do my family harm.

[Guest BigMikeFromOleMiss]

Your buddy said that he was an MP in the Airforce, but aren't Airforce police called SP's?

you are right. SPs since the late 60s! But Sps are Mps