The point of this post is mostly to let others view it, and perhaps see something I did not. (I refer of course, to lessons to learn, not grammatical errors and typos I will make somewhere along the line. Yes, I am stalling. No I didn't like last night.)
Last night was just a bad night to sleep, at 4am I was only finally dozing off, when I hear a thump outside. It was repeated 4 more times, but the 5th wasn't just a thump outside that might be something the neighbors were doing early, it was my front door opening (or it was the door closing with a slam, which is far more likely as it certainly got my attention).
I had been just finally dozing off, so even after 5 loud (to me) thumps, I was still groggy. Tired or not, I knew the front door to my house had opened, and I heard the foot steps of multiple people coming in. Normally, my heart beats about 45-50 a minute. (I know, I have counted.) As I reached for my pistol, I knew it had gone up, I could feel it beating in my chest. (About 5 minutes after it was all over, I checked and I think I was still at about 80. Folks, when the late night get up now call happens, you won't be as calm as you think. I know I never expected THAT much adrenaline.)
Pistol in hand, finger properly indexed (if you know the Glocks, the lever you slide down for disassembly is where my finger rests, I can feel the grooves of it brushing me), I moved towards the bedroom door, which is shut. It is dark in my room, and my night sights are clearly visible. As I reach for my door, I hear the footsteps coming closer, and I am holding my gun point down, not held up at the ready and finger indexed, but down, towards my feet, finger indexed. (This was, to me the first major mistake.)
As I opened the door, I could see the silhouette of a figure not 6 feet in front of me, it was not a shape I was readily familiar with (my sisters friend has wide shoulders and hips, which at 4am give her a manlier appearence due to the lack of light, she looks pretty good when you can see her). I only saw a silhouette because the only light came from behind her, and I had left my flashlight on the computer desk. This was the second major mistake.
I admit it, I was surprised, and nearly stepped backwards as I began raising my pistol, then my little sister stepped into view, and my attention diverted to approaching figure number two, who was in the light, and I realized who these girls were. (Estimated time between my opening my door, and realizing my sister behind her friend, 1-2 seconds.) Though I had thought about it, I never was able to make a sound. I was pretty quiet all things considered, it surprised both girls that I appeared there, but I mentally over-emphasized stealth in defense of the home, and was unable to issue a verbal challenge to them. This was another problem.
As I lowered my pistol (which never rose above the first girls knees) my sister' friend darted off downstairs, she later told me she would have screamed if she hadn't been so tired. Me and my sister growled at each other for a few seconds, and I went back to bed. (For some odd reason, my sister didn't agree with my way of greeting the front door opening at 4AM.)
After the adrenaline dump hit, I fell asleep pretty good. Today, me my sister, and her friend (Mom present as well) had a little chat. No hard feeling over this (and there shouldn't be) and we all learned something. I told my sister 3 simple rules for coming home at 4AM:
1) Don't. If she isn't back by then, sleep in her car. (Edited to add that this was said to them as a joke to break the ice. They knew it was a joke, and we all had a good laugh.)
2) Use the backdoor if she must come in, (house layout, it would be better).
3) If she does come in the front door, she and her friend should talk quietly (not whispering, just a bit under normal), but using each others names, so that when I investigate who came into my home, which will happen, I can hear familiar names that won't make me wonder who is coming.
THE REASON FOR POSTING THIS WAS TO RECIEVE ADVICE, NOT FLAMES.
That said, what I want (and would appreciate recieving) is honest critiques, of weapon handling, ways to prevent this, or anything pertinent. Any lessons I may have missed should be posted. I want this to be a learning experience for myself, and any other young guys who may not know all this stuff. (For whoever is reading this, thinking he is billy-badass, and that I shouldn't touch a gun, you can hit the back button, and we will both be happy.)
Mistake(s)?
I now know that I should not have the gun pointed down when opening doors. Big mistake. Should have had it at the ready.
Have a light.
Be able to shout commands AND be quiet, don't make yourself just one or the other.
Learned/reminder -
Finger indexing. One of the best points in all this was I know I never even inserted my finger into the trigger well.
Were there any other mistakes or lessons I should have taken from this? Thank you.
Edits made: Included part about voice, noted that part one of our talk (sleep in car at 4am) was a joke. Noted that I forgot a flashlight.
Last night was just a bad night to sleep, at 4am I was only finally dozing off, when I hear a thump outside. It was repeated 4 more times, but the 5th wasn't just a thump outside that might be something the neighbors were doing early, it was my front door opening (or it was the door closing with a slam, which is far more likely as it certainly got my attention).
I had been just finally dozing off, so even after 5 loud (to me) thumps, I was still groggy. Tired or not, I knew the front door to my house had opened, and I heard the foot steps of multiple people coming in. Normally, my heart beats about 45-50 a minute. (I know, I have counted.) As I reached for my pistol, I knew it had gone up, I could feel it beating in my chest. (About 5 minutes after it was all over, I checked and I think I was still at about 80. Folks, when the late night get up now call happens, you won't be as calm as you think. I know I never expected THAT much adrenaline.)
Pistol in hand, finger properly indexed (if you know the Glocks, the lever you slide down for disassembly is where my finger rests, I can feel the grooves of it brushing me), I moved towards the bedroom door, which is shut. It is dark in my room, and my night sights are clearly visible. As I reach for my door, I hear the footsteps coming closer, and I am holding my gun point down, not held up at the ready and finger indexed, but down, towards my feet, finger indexed. (This was, to me the first major mistake.)
As I opened the door, I could see the silhouette of a figure not 6 feet in front of me, it was not a shape I was readily familiar with (my sisters friend has wide shoulders and hips, which at 4am give her a manlier appearence due to the lack of light, she looks pretty good when you can see her). I only saw a silhouette because the only light came from behind her, and I had left my flashlight on the computer desk. This was the second major mistake.
I admit it, I was surprised, and nearly stepped backwards as I began raising my pistol, then my little sister stepped into view, and my attention diverted to approaching figure number two, who was in the light, and I realized who these girls were. (Estimated time between my opening my door, and realizing my sister behind her friend, 1-2 seconds.) Though I had thought about it, I never was able to make a sound. I was pretty quiet all things considered, it surprised both girls that I appeared there, but I mentally over-emphasized stealth in defense of the home, and was unable to issue a verbal challenge to them. This was another problem.
As I lowered my pistol (which never rose above the first girls knees) my sister' friend darted off downstairs, she later told me she would have screamed if she hadn't been so tired. Me and my sister growled at each other for a few seconds, and I went back to bed. (For some odd reason, my sister didn't agree with my way of greeting the front door opening at 4AM.)
After the adrenaline dump hit, I fell asleep pretty good. Today, me my sister, and her friend (Mom present as well) had a little chat. No hard feeling over this (and there shouldn't be) and we all learned something. I told my sister 3 simple rules for coming home at 4AM:
1) Don't. If she isn't back by then, sleep in her car. (Edited to add that this was said to them as a joke to break the ice. They knew it was a joke, and we all had a good laugh.)
2) Use the backdoor if she must come in, (house layout, it would be better).
3) If she does come in the front door, she and her friend should talk quietly (not whispering, just a bit under normal), but using each others names, so that when I investigate who came into my home, which will happen, I can hear familiar names that won't make me wonder who is coming.
THE REASON FOR POSTING THIS WAS TO RECIEVE ADVICE, NOT FLAMES.
That said, what I want (and would appreciate recieving) is honest critiques, of weapon handling, ways to prevent this, or anything pertinent. Any lessons I may have missed should be posted. I want this to be a learning experience for myself, and any other young guys who may not know all this stuff. (For whoever is reading this, thinking he is billy-badass, and that I shouldn't touch a gun, you can hit the back button, and we will both be happy.)
Mistake(s)?
I now know that I should not have the gun pointed down when opening doors. Big mistake. Should have had it at the ready.
Have a light.
Be able to shout commands AND be quiet, don't make yourself just one or the other.
Learned/reminder -
Finger indexing. One of the best points in all this was I know I never even inserted my finger into the trigger well.
Were there any other mistakes or lessons I should have taken from this? Thank you.
Edits made: Included part about voice, noted that part one of our talk (sleep in car at 4am) was a joke. Noted that I forgot a flashlight.
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Know your target!
But my sister got a dog and this dog has gotten to where she'll tell 'em if something's out there.
