You leave your rifles and shotguns with one in the chamber? I do for my carry pistol, but leave chamber empty for everything else.
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Someone breaks in - Do you yell that you're armed or not?
- Thread starter Rockrivr1
- Start date
having woken up to someone in my home before (a rental, years back), i'd encourage people to think this stuff out ahead of time.
I'm reading too many people courting a confrontation rather than avoiding one. "I don't want to lose the element of surprise"?????
I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to have to shoot somebody. Make no mistake, anybody who breaks in and is looking to harm me or mine after he knows I'm armed; he's getting dumped and I won't lose a minute's rest over it. But, anybody WANTING to do that needs mental help.
I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to have to shoot somebody. Make no mistake, anybody who breaks in and is looking to harm me or mine after he knows I'm armed; he's getting dumped and I won't lose a minute's rest over it. But, anybody WANTING to do that needs mental help.
I haven't seen anybody here say they wanted this to happen to them. What I've seen is a diverse set of opinions on how people would respond if it were forced upon them.
I imagine (hope) it's a minority of people (if any in this forum) that are jerking off over the idea of getting to shoot someone.
I'm in the camp of not giving a home invader any information like the location of me and my family, what they're facing, or that they found a house they can burgle later to obtain a firearm. It's not my problem if some lowlife is gambling that he won't get shot. It's not the responsibility of the victim to make the fight fair or de-risk things for the criminal.
Grendizer138
NES Member
Much of it is internet bravado, but some of it is for sure a disturbing blood thirst. There’s also a percentage of people here that foolishly think Castle Doctrine insulates them from massive legal battles. And almost all haven’t reeeaaaally thought this through; like how they’re going to quietly call 911, or if they’re not calling 911 how that will play out in court. Better hope the methhead is white…
Many people here are more likely to shoot little Jimmy making a sandwich at 2am than prevent an intruder from attacking them.
If true, then this is a good place to talk about strategies to make sure that doesn't happen. For my house, that's proximity lights, cameras, and a plan that involves my wife getting the kids to a safe part of our house completely away from where rounds from me and/or the unwelcome guest are going to travel -- as well as making sure any rounds that miss don't travel towards a neighbor. If I have to fire a gun in my house, the legal battle that comes after is far less scary to me than what happens if I lose the first fight.
Grendizer138
NES Member
Sure. I’m curious as to why you wouldn’t prefer to have your family with you though. Are you planning on clearing the house? Why?
It’s definitely a useful discussion to form strategies.
I have cameras and proximity lights that would tell me where someone is hiding, what they're holding, and what I'm facing, but "the plan" isn't for me to clear the house.
The reason for my family to not be behind or next to me is because I think it's safest to assume anyone willing to do a home invasion is also armed. The angles are just safer for them to be locked in another room and talking to police, while any violence is directed at me as I keep aim at a chokepoint that gives me a massive advantage.
Grendizer138
NES Member
Ok. But if they’re safe locked in that room why not lock yourself in there too?
My plan is a lot different, but at least you have a plan!
Rockrivr1
NES Member
Funny you say that. Many years ago I was living in Natick in a duplex near the old baseball factory. We went up to bed, never heard a thing but the next morning we knew someone had broken in. They didn't take anything, but they made themselves a sandwich and did their laundry in our washer and dryer. Only reason we knew is that when they left they let the cat outside, which we never did. Then we noticed the other stuff. Called the cops, but not much they could do seeing they didn't take anything other then bread and lunch meat.
Probably would have been a bad thing shooting someone sitting at my table eating a sandwich.
There's interior doors that can get kicked in and some lowlife with a gun shooting at me would then also be shooting at my family. Worst case, my family could be harmed or killed. Awful case, access to the part of the house where my family is bunkering in means potential for a shitbag to barricade when the police arrive. Bad case, they have memories of a gunfight or watch someone die. Best case, it's just "that scary time mommy hid with us while daddy and the police made the bad man go away". I want the best case.
My plan boils down to my wife rounding up the kids and communicating with police. I buy more time for the police to arrive and make it easier for people who are (hopefully) much better at violence against felons to handle it.
I'm curious about your plan.
Rockrivr1
NES Member
Not meant to be a slam on my local LEs, but I live in a sleepy town with one cruiser on overnight and he's usually in a side road sleeping. I have no idea how long a call to the dispatcher will take to wake him/her up and have them get to my house. Lots of things could happen in that time. I'm basically staying upstairs. They have to come up the stairs right into my line of fire before getting up there. Hopefully me yelling down to them makes them run off. If not, they are not making it up the stairs.
Absolutely and not a slam at all. I'm assuming it will be *at least* 5 minutes in my town until help arrives and maybe longer to wait for backup if the dirtbag didn't make a run for it.
Depending on where the sole overnight duty cop is cooping, response time here can approach a half hour.
Not a lot of home invasions in the exurbs (but the two horrific ones have left a long-lasting impression), however the city has problems and criminals do travel:
Man accused of entering stranger's home, lunging at woman with knife, Manchester police say
Man accused of entering stranger's home, lunging at woman with knife, Manchester police say
The first line is to detect approach and deter entry (perimeter lighting, motion-triggered floodlights, loud dog, etc). That said, once a visitor has chosen to break through an exterior door and ignores the klaxon and other responses, they've indicated their intentions towards the occupants.
Home automation can help with that, as well as with situation-dependent response. When in "Armed- Stay" the response to any door or window sensor trigger is to bring all interior non-bedroom lights to full brightness, and extinguish bedroom hallway lighting.
OTOH, in "Armed-Away" it's disco night! (LED area lighting strobes nicely with the right lamp controller).
LT5
NES Member
Couldn’t just give them scurvy huh?
Lmao
LT5
NES Member
I just yell from behind the door that the ole lady has herpes and I’ve got mpox.
Then dueling banjos starts, I put in a pinch of redman, I pull on my tighty whiteys with the yellow dot stain on the front and it’s game on mfkrs!!!!
BuT mUh oPsEc…
No plan survives first contact. You plan, in general terms, for the most probable course of action and the most dangerous course of action. You develop an intent, a desired end state that everyone understands. Something simple. And then you rely on everyone to meet that intent in whatever way seems best at the time.
Would I always shout a warning to the BG? No. Would I never do so? No. It depends on the situation.
Yeah, exactly. Wife and kids go to their spot and lock doors. Wife calls police. I open a safe and keep a red dot on a choke point. Wait for police and hope they're not the uvalde type.
chris_1001
NES Member
If it’s forward, how can it go more forward?
I like the + 1 of an extra round in the camber and a full mag.
chris_1001
NES Member
No, I don’t use rifles or shotguns for home defense (except during all the pandemic riots. Then I had my ar on hand)
I prefer pistols for home defense. Easier to deal with in the house. And yeah, all chambered.
Asaltweapon
NES Member
I expect nothing less than a 20 minute response to any 911 call.
It’s just a cold hard fact.
I’m betting I have more fire extinguishers per square foot than anybody.
When I pull it back? Which would be relatively quiet. You don't ride the bolt forward unless you like misfires.
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