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System test = We Suck.

XTAV750

XTAV750

Joined
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So last night, I got home from work around midnight. I made a quick snack, checked the mail my wife left for me, armed the alarm system and went to bed. I got to sleep around 0100 and just before 2, we were woken up by the security alarm. Up out of a dead sleep we could hear it telling us that the garage door was where it tripped. My wife threw the light on, and I reached for my Glock 19 which is normally ony my night stand. It wasn't there.. Ok, it's in the safe. I go to the safe, and in my recently awoken stupor, it took two attempts to get the safe open.. No G19. So I grab the LC9s, which wasn't ideal, but I knew it had a mag in it. Now the phone is ringing from the monitoring company and they're asking a million questions. Shes on the phone dealing with that and I ask her where the motherF the Glock is. I forgot that when I travel she keeps it on her side. She tosses it over the bed and I went downstairs.

No, this is not a post about how I cleared my house.

The garage is attached and I knew I closed the main door after I came in, so I went down to silence the alarm and check the inner door. Much like the safe, putting in the code for the alarm took a couple tries to get right. What I found was this: apparently when I came into the house, I didn't close the door all the way, and with the wind last night there was enough of a draft in the garage to blow it open ever so slightly, which triggered the alarm.

Here's my point, last night our security system was tested by the wind, and it was chaos. The mix between the screaming alarm, the phone ringing and confusion over where the tools were slowed down any response time we might have had to an actual intruder... Which fortunately for us, it wasn't. Looking at this event from a training standpoint, I can see flaws in my system that need to be worked out. I think it's time to get back to keeping a specific gun by the bedside (It's NH, and no kids). Normally, my EDC G19 is there, but on nights like this, it's obvious that doesn't work. Also, set my wife's nightstand up with her G26. Next, I need to make sure when I get home I know where my tools are so I can alleviate some confusion if we're woken up out of a dead sleep when the alarm goes off. And mostly, I think it showed how quickly things can unravel when you don't expect the alarm in the middle of the night.

So no, no condition 1 hero stories here. Just a pretty good learning experience for us that I thought I'd share.
 
Tactical roll with an LC9 = Costa Approved

Sounds like a class A cluster ****! Add kids to the mix and it's even worse. Live and learn.
 
First piece of advice: If possible, move the sensor closer to the magnet. This happened to me at least once and I realized that the magnet/trigger for one of the sensors was literally on the threshold of connectivity. Any shake, vibration, etc. then it would trigger.

Also, keep a routine with firearms. E.g. keep the LC9 here, the G19 there, etc. Make it part of your normal shutdown routine if you keep a regular schedule.

I make it a point to have everything in place before we turn in. It works for me, might work for you.
 
XTAV750 said:
So last night, I got home from work around midnight. I made a quick snack, checked the mail my wife left for me, armed the alarm system and went to bed. I got to sleep around 0100 and just before 2, we were woken up by the security alarm. Up out of a dead sleep we could hear it telling us that the garage door was where it tripped. My wife threw the light on, and I reached for my Glock 19 which is normally ony my night stand. It wasn't there.. Ok, it's in the safe. I go to the safe, and in my recently awoken stupor, it took two attempts to get the safe open.. No G19. So I grab the LC9s, which wasn't ideal, but I knew it had a mag in it. Now the phone is ringing from the monitoring company and they're asking a million questions. Shes on the phone dealing with that and I ask her where the motherF the Glock is. I forgot that when I travel she keeps it on her side. She tosses it over the bed and I went downstairs.

No, this is not a post about how I cleared my house.

The garage is attached and I knew I closed the main door after I came in, so I went down to silence the alarm and check the inner door. Much like the safe, putting in the code for the alarm took a couple tries to get right. What I found was this: apparently when I came into the house, I didn't close the door all the way, and with the wind last night there was enough of a draft in the garage to blow it open ever so slightly, which triggered the alarm.

Here's my point, last night our security system was tested by the wind, and it was chaos. The mix between the screaming alarm, the phone ringing and confusion over where the tools were slowed down any response time we might have had to an actual intruder... Which fortunately for us, it wasn't. Looking at this event from a training standpoint, I can see flaws in my system that need to be worked out. I think it's time to get back to keeping a specific gun by the bedside (It's NH, and no kids). Normally, my EDC G19 is there, but on nights like this, it's obvious that doesn't work. Also, set my wife's nightstand up with her G26. Next, I need to make sure when I get home I know where my tools are so I can alleviate some confusion if we're woken up out of a dead sleep when the alarm goes off. And mostly, I think it showed how quickly things can unravel when you don't expect the alarm in the middle of the night.

So no, no condition 1 hero stories here. Just a pretty good learning experience for us that I thought I'd share.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the share. I think you're moving in the right direction with keeping your wife's gun on your wife's side. And a plan to divide labor on the 'clear/check the house' vs. the 'talk to the alarm company' issue might be next.
 
derek said:
Good test though, thanks for sharing your experience.
Click to expand...

+1, thanks for sharing this experience. Too often we hear the hero type stories, but it's awesome to have a reality check every now and then, especially in a harmless way such as your experience. Also remember, there is a very good reason why SWAT/.mil type raids are conducted at "0 dark 30"...
 
As Mike said, have a routine.
As the old saying goes, in an emergency you don't rise to the occasion, you fall back on your training.
 
Since you're in NH with no kids, consider keeping the safe unlocked at night. That wy you have quick access to additional firearms, as well as extra magazines.
 
This is a great lesson to everyone why guns should never be locked up and they need to be immediately accessible.

Glad this was a false alarm. And stop sharing guns! If you both like the same gun get two.
 
mikem317 said:
First piece of advice: If possible, move the sensor closer to the magnet. This happened to me at least once and I realized that the magnet/trigger for one of the sensors was literally on the threshold of connectivity. Any shake, vibration, etc. then it would trigger.
Click to expand...
Definitely happens more in the winter, when the dry cold air makes everything shrunk. Another workaround is to upgrade to a stronger (usually larger, but not always) magnet. A thumbtack can give the same results for a mechanical switch.

XTAV750 said:
The garage is attached and I knew I closed the main door after I came in, so I went down to silence the alarm and check the inner door. Much like the safe, putting in the code for the alarm took a couple tries to get right. What I found was this: apparently when I came into the house, I didn't close the door all the way, and with the wind last night there was enough of a draft in the garage to blow it open ever so slightly, which triggered the alarm.
Click to expand...
With the above solutions, you make the door sensor less sensitive to a slightly ajar door, which actually makes this situation (door did not latch) worse, makes it easier to arm the alarm without noticing the door isn't latched shut.

A low-tech solution would be to install a quality door closer on this door, so that if you forget, it shoves the door the rest of the way shut, look for a model that mentions "Latching speed adjustment" in the instructions. Or if you want to spend lots of money, you can buy networked deadbolts that will tell you if you they aren't latched; some can be remotely thrown (and remotely unlocked also, aye, there's the rub....)

XTAV750 said:
I think it's time to get back to keeping a specific gun by the bedside (It's NH, and no kids). Normally, my EDC G19 is there, but on nights like this, it's obvious that doesn't work.
Click to expand...
It's NH, so my preference would be to keep a full-capacity carbine by the bedside. If you have neighbors you like, make it a pistol caliber carbine with a suppressor.
 
Good share, thanks! Yeah, factoring kids into the madness makes me realize I need to practice our plan!
 
look at the bright side, you got a wake up call that you learned from and it wasn't the hard way.
No one's perfect .
Live and learn.
 
Terminator03 said:
+1, thanks for sharing this experience. Too often we hear the hero type stories, but it's awesome to have a reality check every now and then, especially in a harmless way such as your experience. Also remember, there is a very good reason why SWAT/.mil type raids are conducted at "0 dark 30"...
Click to expand...

Nothing more disorientating than being jolted away from dead sleep in the middle of the night with alarms blaring...have had it happen at home and in hotels (fire alarms). It certainly can take some time to shake off the cob webs and get mind working. Nice to OP for posting as it is a good reminder to all of prep and training to respond in less-than-ideal circumstances.
 
kalash said:
Since you're in NH with no kids, consider keeping the safe unlocked at night. That wy you have quick access to additional firearms, as well as extra magazines.
Click to expand...

To hell with the "since you're in NH".....
I live in MA and my guns are NEVER locked up when I'm (or my wife is) at home. Kids? And living in MA? Then store them UNLOCKED but out of reach of the kids. If their reach is four feet, install a "locking" cabinet that's at 6 feet... Build a damned cabinet if necessary. Whatever. Have your safe, where all of your weapons are "always properly stored" just like the moonbats want you to do...

I raised two kids and NEVER kept my guns locked when home. Ever. I kep them in a locking cabinet, yes. But it was never locked, was 6 and a half feet off the ground...wife is tall...and stacked..(I think they call it "statuesque", but those of you who've met her know why I rave about her [wink] )...and the guns, as far as the police and the AG are concerned, were ALWAYS locked up, safe storage according to the commonwealth's stringent ruled and anti-constitutional regulations..(yeah, right). And my wife and I both rehearsed the biggest scenario: the dreaded "what if we had to shoot?" and both of us, to this day, know our story inside and out and would calmly recite it, if necessary, to law enforcement. And we wouldn't dial 911 until we knew for sure that our story jived with the physical evidence, the locks on the cabinet, the trigger locks, etc etc etc...Would the DA poke holes in it or have us sweating bullets, no pun intended, if we were forced to use deadly force? Absolutely. But at least we'd be ALIVE to go through that courtroom "hell" , and not YET ANOTHER ONE of your now seemingly endless list of "tragic stories" of a homeowner invaded, raped, killed etc etc...

And both kids were taught about guns beginning from almost the day they could crawl. Both now shoot, as does my wife. We are a gun family, period. (Yes, Martha and Maura and yes Mr Tolman, Linskey, Ms. Creem, et al, I said "gun family".)

If a scum breaks into my house I am not going to have to worry about finding and/or unlocking my SELF DEFENSE WEAPON. No f**king way, sorry. My one life, and the precious lives of my family, FAR outweigh the wingnut lawmakers and a*shole Nazi law enforcement Chief's "rules" regarding the only posession we have that is irreplaceable: our one life. Your "system" has littered our streets and neighborhoods with absolute scum, and you want us to kneel before you (and them) and just be a victim? And/or "just call 911?"

Screw you, screw that, and screw anyone who is going to tell me otherwise. My house, my guns, and I flat out refuse to give a home-invading sh*tball in search of his next "fix" or next rape victim the upper hand and the advantage of getting the drop on me while I - or my wife - unlock and remove from "safe proper storage" my G22 and/or her G26.

OP: sorry for your experience and glad to hear everything was OK, and also glad you reminded me / reinforced my steadfastness to never lock my guns unless we're NOT home and that, as I speak / as I type this, my wife is home watching TV and the kids are upstairs...and her UNLOCKED G26 is in her pocket or waistband or directlly beside her in the drawer, etc etc. Oops, sorry Ms. Atty General, let me correct that: it's in the safe, locked up, and only to be removed when absolutely needed..

Put me on trial if you wish, but I prefer sitting in judgment in Superior Court over sitting in judgment before Saint Peter. I'm no hero and no Rambo etc etc etc...I'm a law abiding father, husband, son, honest legal citizen...and a gun owner. Matter of fact you can ban em and confiscate em if you want...But I'll still keep some and I's STILL carry one, concealed, even if you tell me you DON'T THINK THAT I SHOULD OR CAN.. Cuz my one life outweighs your unbelievably f**ked up liberal thought process.

(Or, in the Cliff Notes version: F**k you Mr. President, Ms AG, and anyone else who wants to strip me of my ability to preserve, protect and defend my family. )
 
Last edited:
No plan survives the first contact with the enemy. Glad it was false alarm. The first lesson to be learned here forme would be that the wife needs her own bedside gun.
 
or deploy a few claymores at bedtime, just be sure to retrieve them first thing in the morning [laugh]
 

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