An interesting morning

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Norton

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So about 4:30 this morning I'm laying in bed in that "toss and turn" mode, half-asleep/half awake and I hear what sounds like a huge crash inside of the house.

Jumped and got the GunVault open in the dark on the first try (practice makes perfect after all!) grabbed the MagLight and the USP9 and assumed my position at the top of the stairs ready to repel boarders, as they say.

I racked the slide to chamber the first round (I still like to leave the magazine out of the gun when in storage since I'm a new owner) as well as to give that "extra special" audible clue to whomever may be committing mischief downstairs.

To make a long story short......the cat was taking his early morning survey of the house and got up onto his window perch which finally gave way, taking the perch, the cat and one unfortunate African violet on a path towards the floor.

"After action assessment": What I did right.....1. got the gun and light from the safe in less than 10 seconds, 2. went through the loading procedure correctly even in my semi-comatose state 3. Decocked the hammer to prevent against accidental discharge 4. Put the gun back to safety and assumed a covered position.

What I know I did wrong: 1. Left the cell phone downstairs on the charger.....if it had been an real "incident" and the phone were disabled.....we'd have been in a bad way to call for help.

All in all....not a bad practice run.....
Any thoughts?
 
//
Sir, I believe you're overly paranoid. Put your gun away before you get someone killed!

-DF
 
Get rid of that cat!:evil:

What you did wrong? Just an opinion here but..............................

Racking a slide or shucking a shot gun may strike fear into the hearts of most folks, but it also give an intruder a good idea of your location what you've got with you.

You pop around a corner and he's already got his weapon aimed...................well, hopefully you get my point.

I learned a good lesson playing paint ball in the woods.
Don't go searching for them, let them come for you.

:D
 
good point MD......just to clarify...I was at the top of the stairs when I racked the slide, but then I moved back to another room where there is a good line of site and a little bit more cover.

As far as the cat goes.....he's pretty good as far as felines go and my wife would be quite upset if he mysteriously disappeared ;)
 
In a strict survival situation, you'd send your wife to investigate. ;)
 
Yohan,

The only person that's going to get killed is the person who is in my house, who should not be in my house.

In fact, two houses behind us through the woods there was an incident in which a RANDOM druggie smashed in the sliding glass door and brandished a gun at an UNARMED mother and her daughter. After they had retreated to the farthest point in their home that they could (which is where the father was) they shut the door. The bad guy started shooting through the door and struck the mother in the leg.

Figuring that there was no other choice, the family opened the door and rushed the assailant and successfully disarmed him.

In other words, there was no police, no backup, no firearms....no NOTHING. These people had to make a terrible decision that should never have to face a family.

And before I hear the "why don't you move" cop out, this is in a neighborhood where the cheapest house is $500,000 and many are several million. So the question is: Where to next? If I can't live within sight of a military installation and the state capitol and expect a modicum of peace of mind, where should I go in your expert opinion?

The word paranoid, as you use it, implies that I am incorrect in believing that are people out there who would do harm to me or my family. Your assertion is incorrect.....there ARE people in this world who would like to do harm to my family, your family or anyone else if they feel that they have something to gain from it.

In this particular case, I was not being paranoid. I was being alert and cautious. In fact, the first thing after retrieving my pistol was to check the location of my wife (who was finally in bed after pulling an all-nighter to work on a paper) as well as the offending cat (who was staring up the stairs with the classic "wasn't me" look).

So sir, before accusing me of being either "paranoid" or dangerous (by your implication) you need to consider that I took this situation with both due alarm and caution and acted in a reasonable manner commensurate with the scenario presented to me.

It is my responsibility to defend my family. I had no intentions of confronting someone downstairs in a tactical manner. I have neither the training or the inclination to prevent someone from taking my television. Only after I became to suspect that this was a false alarm did I venture down the stairs to confirm this conclusion. However, if someone started coming up the stairs this morning they would have gotten a belly-full of Gold-Dot before they ever made it to the third step.

Stepping off of soap box.
 
4v50 Gary,

Like many wives (but by no means is that meant as a sweeping generalization), mine was not too keen on the gun-in-the-house idea, but she was sure happy to hear the magazine slam home on the USP this morning. She was also equally glad (as was I) that it was just the attack of the falling african violet.
 
Baron,

That does throw an interesting twist into things, does it not?

I believe that would have almost been preferable for the current living situation that we have.

Being a townhouse, someone would have had to make it up the stairs without being heard on our wooden stairs that squeak and groan like crazy. I, like many people I suspect, know the "normal" night sounds of my home and would have been alerted before someone got to the top of the stairs.

If said noise had come from within the bed room without the requisite stair noise, my first suspicion would have been mischief from our four-legged friend on his nightly prowl.

Being as the noise was removed from the bedroom (though still on the second floor) it sounded as if the noise was coming from downstairs.

To find someone already in the bedroom would be surely the most terrifying of scenarios. I'm not sure what the best course of action would be......anyone feel free to chime in and offer solutions?
 
For the record, I don't think you're paranoid Norton. Far from it.

But if I had to guess, I'd bet Yohan was kidding ;)

- Gabe
 
To find someone already in the bedroom would be surely the most terrifying of scenarios. I'm not sure what the best course of action would be......anyone feel free to chime in and offer solutions?
Click to expand...
Why the lockbox? Do you have small children? Dump the lockbox except for when possible 'unauthorized users' (ie. company) are in the house and problem solved.

Can your wife open that box as fast as you can?

- Gabe
 
"After action assessment": What I did right.....1. got the gun and light from the safe in less than 10 seconds, 2. went through the loading procedure correctly even in my semi-comatose state 3. Decocked the hammer to prevent against accidental discharge 4. Put the gun back to safety and assumed a covered position.

What I know I did wrong: 1. Left the cell phone downstairs on the charger.....if it had been an real "incident" and the phone were disabled.....we'd have been in a bad way to call for help.
Click to expand...

Heya. I assume you're a lurker that just came on board, but either way, welcome!

Some constructive criticism. I practice w/ my USP cocked and locked. Once it's in my hand, there's a round in chamber, hammer back, safety off, period. That way, I know it's in the same condition every time. Do you shoot DA on your USP or SA? I can't shoot DA for my life, but guys like 10-ring, it's no big deal to them and know their DA USPs well. I also would have racked the slide when taking it out of the safe.

Glad alls' well.
 
The one thing you could have done better, as you stated is have the phone in your room. You could just get another phone bed side and have a means of calling the cops without going into potential danger. That way if you went down to investigate your wife would be able to have some form of communication if something went down.

One other thing you may want to do is teach your wife how to opperate your side arm, if you have not done so already. That way she is competent in using it while you are away, should the need arise.

You are not parinoid, you remind me of when I first started carrying. I lived in a bad neighborhood; shootings, drug dealing, and theft. The guy next door had a rag stuffed in his gas tank and the kid lit the rag on fire, fortunatelly nothing happened. Once there was a shooting about 2 blocks. Well about a week later 3 noisy guys, drunk, were walking down the street making all sorts of noise, it sounded like they were looking to cause problems so I chambered my pistol in the company of my friend. He was agatated and said that I had no business carrying until I told him about the shooting, drug dealing and the atempted car torch. After I told him he was a little more understanding.

You done good.
 
dude! no night vision goggles?!
no perimeter alarm?!
no tactical bunny slippers?! (sorry to whomever i'm stealing that from)
no body armor strapped on?!

long long ways from being practically tactical. :evil:
 
And before I hear the "why don't you move" cop out, this is in a neighborhood where the cheapest house is $500,000 and many are several million. So the question is: Where to next? If I can't live within sight of a military installation and the state capitol and expect a modicum of peace of mind, where should I go in your expert opinion?
Click to expand...

Virginia. Thats where I'm going as fast as I can. :evil:

Kharn
 
True paranoia is someone whos in possession of all the facts!

Sounds like you did good to me. The only thing I'd do different is my cell phones next to the bed, and I wouldn't of chambered loudly. Stealth mode.

Its almost to the point that 'you take first watch, I'll releive you in 4 hrs'!

Am I joking or am I paranoid or am I already doing that in my house? Hmmm.:D
 
Should have mentioned it earlier, but you did well. Anybody who thinks that it isn't necessary to respond to crashing sounds in the middle of the night is permanently in condition white.
 
The one thing you could have done better, as you stated is have the phone in your room. You could just get another phone bed side and have a means of calling the cops without going into potential danger. That way if you went down to investigate your wife would be able to have some form of communication if something went down.
Click to expand...

All the baddie has to do is take a phone off the hook and this is out.

Get an add'l line into the bedroom only for your "emergency" phone.

Perhaps just keep your cell up there instead.
 
Kharn,

I hear you brother! I'm a Maryland native who managed to escape to Virginia for 15 years but has had to cross the border back to my fine home state because my then new wife had this funny idea about wanting me to live in the same house as her;)

The day she decide she doesn't want to be in her current job, we're heading southwest until I can see mountains and go fishing in the North Fork of the Shenandoah!
 
Jesse (and by extension, Yohan)

If Yohan is going into "tongue in cheek" mode, then it appears that I owe Yohan an apology (though the argument would still hold true) for my somewhat terse response.

It would appear that my sarcasm filter is somewhat skewed after dealing with some of our finest high school students day after day:banghead:
 
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