Had the "Get out of bed" Angel visit me (long story)

[spartan55]

The safe thing to do

Staying put armed in a safe room is definitly the safest thing to do, however my home is my castle, I will defend my castle if need be. You may lay in wait while the BG makes off with whatever, good for you, you will live to be victimized another day.

I believe some things are worth fighting for. I may fight, I may die, but I die defending my home and my family. I can not afford to lay in wait while some BG searches the house and finalies finds my daughter's bedroom, I have said before, I do not wish for someone to come into my house nor do I wish to kill anyone.

You come into my house, see me and MR. SCATTERGUN, you drop the tv and run, you may live. You go upstairs and get between me and mine, you will be bag and tagged.

Sounds tough? I do not wish to prove myself right or wrong, however everyone in this county has the right and should stand up for thier freedom to live without fear and to live free by protecting thier own. With or without deadly force.

The only alternative is to be a good victum.
Do not look for trouble, avoid trouble, but when trouble finds you, you give it some trouble

 

[Working Man]

Had a false alarm happen one night.

When I would spend the night at my gf place I always put my CCW on the stand next
to me. I would be there maybe 2 or 3 nights a month. So I was familiar with the layout
but not can find everything in the dark kind of familiar.

Anyways. This is fairly early in my time staying over so I'm not real familiar with her
sleeping habits. It is about 2 am and I'm in that half awake half asleep drifting off
phase when I hear a noise and some one say something... from in side the room .
The door is on my side and locked to keep the dog out and the window is on her side.

Immediately I roll over (yanking my arm from under her head) and grab my CCW, pull from
its holster and point in the direction of the noise. The room is small and the lighting from
outside spotty at best (she is on the side of the light switch) so I did not want to take the
time to verify what it was first before I pointed my CCW in that direction.

No one is there and she (groggy and annoyed) is asking "what the hell are you doing"? I told
her and she said it was probably an animal out side the window, says I'm funny, and to go
back to sleep. That is also the night I found out she sometimes talks in her sleep.

Even though it seems to have been nothing it took me quite a while to get back to sleep. It
was hard to shake that feeling that someone was there. I am glad I was able to react in a timely
manner even though I was not yet conditioned as to where I was let alone where my CCW was.

Question to those that have cleared an area. Do you look in the shower if you have one that
has a curtain instead of a glass door?

 

[shotgunkevin]

A few years ago I was asleep with the former fiance, when I awoke to hear a gigantic crash in the living room. I scooped up the Glock 23 and Surefire and went out (we had a tiny apartment - the living room was immediately outside the bedroom) and the cats, which normally would've been asleep somewhere, being useless as always, were absolutely frantic, which further enhanced the pucker factor. I was trying to look at the front door, the sliding balcony door, and the kitchen area at the same time, point my gun in a 360 to cover everything at once, and yelling something incoherent to the fiance about staying where she was unless someone was coming through the window. It took a few seconds to realize what had happened - the cats had knocked over my flimsy CD rack and a 4 foot tall speaker.
I paused for a second while I contemplated Silvertipping a cat. Didn't.

The next day I had to take one cat to the vet. He had fractured a paw, probably when a speaker fell on him. It cost me $300. :banghead:

 

[gp911]

Why do these strange noises always occur when you're naked?

New-to-me house, taking a shower around lunchtime (hey, it was my day off), suddenly there's a sound like a cautious footstep outside the bedroom. My sheepdog goes crazy barking, and I'm soaking wet in a remote corner of the single-level house. I'd left the front door unlocked :banghead: so I knew somebody could have done a test-knock and come in, although they'd have had the big shaggy licking machine pounce on them in a heartbeat.

Dog stops barking and I hear him milling around, but since he's so big it could also be an intruder walking around. I peek out the bedroom door, air-drying, then dart into the next room where the guns are still in the cases from going to the range . I grab the first thing available, a stainless Blackhawk .357 and start feeding it Hornady 158 grainers, as again they were right at hand. I had just sold my AR so the only long gun I had available was an NEF .410 with no ammo :banghead:

Long story short, I peeked back out in the hallway and saw the dog looking at me like I was an idiot, with his head cocked to the side. I did a quick scan of the area before heading back to get dressed. It turns out the FedEx guy showed up and spooked the dog. Needless to say I don't shoot up all my ammo at the range anymore, the NEF is getting more barrels fitted and will end up with a 22" 12ga barrel on it as one level of security, next to the AK... The Blackhawk may look intimidating, but if three guys are ransacking my house and carrying weapons then I would have had a hard time defending myself with a single action revolver. I keep a couple speedloaders ready for the SP101 as well. Talk about getting caught with your pants down, I would have been the saddest looking corpse if something serious was actually happening... Naked guy with a huge stainless revolver next to him...

Yeah, I've made a few mistakes in my time...


gp911

 

[gezzer]

How about an alarm system? Thats what they are for.

 

[thexrayboy]

You guys are overreacting. 99% of all bumps in the night are just bumps in the night.

Exactly, that means 1% of all bumps in the night are bad things getting ready to ruin your night. I will always, and I mean always, investigate a strange noise be it day or night. You only have to blow it off once and be wrong to become victimized or even dead. It is possible to create a living space that will minimize such midnight adventures but to ignore strange noises especially at night is to invite potential grief.

 

[Headless]

Another post in favour of a dog. Dogs smell other humans and can tell the different between random sound and an intruder...watching your dog when you wake up groggy can give you an idea of what type of threat if any you face. Growling/snarling at the door...grab the gun and get ready. Just standing there at point...probably not an active threat. Still asleep and barely paying attention, or watching YOU intently and wondering what you're doing? Probably nothing at all and you're imagining things. Dogs sleep with 1 ear open and both eyes cracked

 

[Todesengel]

My Story; One night my wife and me woke up around 3 a.m ...there was a youg woman not far from our property whining and screaming something like "what are you doing what are you doing!?!" We first checked if we could see anything out the bedroom window...nothing. I got dressed, armed myself with a surefire and the closest gun at hand & went out the backdoor going towards the street having bushes and brush between me and the road. The screaming was gone, it sounded horrible, kinda like she wittnessed her husband or boyfriend or whatever do something really horrible to somebody. I was hiding out in the bushes for a while trying to see or hear what was going on. Nothing.
I should add that we do not have any contact with our neighbors because we both agree that neighbors are generally a pain, which is why we live out in the country.

 

[Caanis Lupus]

Man's Best friend for a reason

Headless
Another post in favour of a dog. Dogs smell other humans and can tell the different between random sound and an intruder...watching your dog when you wake up groggy can give you an idea of what type of threat if any you face. Growling/snarling at the door...grab the gun and get ready. Just standing there at point...probably not an active threat. Still asleep and barely paying attention, or watching YOU intently and wondering what you're doing? Probably nothing at all and you're imagining things. Dogs sleep with 1 ear open and both eyes cracked

I also recommend the dog early warning system if you don't get an eletronic alarm. A nice dog in the 25-40 pound range that has a fairly even temperment can also be a great family pet and not a drain on your loose cash. Dogs for centruries have been sentries for us. I sleep better with our dog "on duty". Not to mention the companionship of a good dog is always good to have. He has his moments of barking at neighbors walking out front, townhome, but to him they are to close to the front door and it is annoying when I know who it is but he is just doing his job. He also does not calm down until I look at what he is barking at.

 

[Dave88LX]

Very similar thing happened to me 2 nights ago. I was reading this forum for the first time in a couple years when I heard a WICKED LOUD crash. I too of course was naked (aren't we all?) So I jump up and throw some pants on, shotgun is next to the bed, unloaded at the time, I forget why. Had to load it up, and walked out into the living room to see *** was going on. Turned out a package of paper towels fell off the top of the cabinet down onto the washing machine. :banghead: Glad of course that's all it was.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

dogs

the best thing about 3 dogs is that i use them to sort out real threats from noises. as well as the fact they can sense things that get under my radar coverage

 

[Tearlachblair]

Naked man with a gun! Ahhhhh!

This is why I never sleep naked anymore. ..or at least have a pair of light cotton pants sitting around someplace close. For one, you're not going to make the bad guy laugh when he sees some naked dude with a big gun (or two, in my case) come running after him. Also, it has added advantages when you come back to the bedroom, long gun slung over your shoulder and looking like Rambo. Oh yeah.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

naked fighting

very bad! hada fight a g/f's ex boyfriend once like that fight ended up in yard cops came and there i was exposed. did i mention it was february? its hard to fight well

 

[secamp32]

Been there, done that

Last year I woke up after hearing a glass sounding crash downstairs. I cleared the upstairs and worked my way down to the kitchen where I found a glass platter had fallen out of the dish drain into the sink. I was wide awake the instant it happened. My wife and kids never budged. A few months ago the smoke detector in our bedroom malfunctioned and went off. I popped up and searched the whole house for any fire or smoke. When I came back upstairs and disconnected the alarm my wife and kids was still sound asleep. If there was a real fire they would have been toast. (or toasted) Another reason why I don't sleep al natural.

 

[boomer1911a1]

DITTO

Mine is the typical story for this thread (naked with the wife in bed, loud crash, subsequent clearing of the domicile in the buff) with these variations:

My Springfield .45 was loaded with a magazine containing only four rounds of ball topped by a single Golden Sabre. It had been loaded with odds and ends the previous weekend after a trip to the range. The reload magazine was properly fed: alternating Golden Sabres and Hydra-Shoks, but for reasons I can't quite explain, only the short load went with me.

My Xenon flashlight (generic Surefire -- just as bright, but a little bigger) rolled off the nightstand in my haste, so I had to use a standard LED flashlight.

The wife grabbed a butterfly knife and followed me out. I hadn't expected that, but then again, we hadn't discussed such specifics before.

My intruder? Our rice cooker had fallen off its shelf in the pantry and rolled through the cabinet door, making a very impressive crash.

LESSONS LEARNED:

Always properly load your weapon.

Keep your movements controlled.

Discuss and practice tactics with your partner BEFORE some thing goes bump in the night!

 

[Whitewolf 508]

3 am

I had worked until midnight one night and got home at 1AM. I finally got to sleep around 2 after checking the house to make sure everything was Ok. Around 3 AM, my dog started giving off this low growl. I heard the front door close and something get knocked to the floor. That was followed my a muffled"aw F*** it"

I grabbed the Detective Special and a light. As a figure went past my bedroom door toward my daughter's room, I reached out grabbed a man's collar, kicked behind his knee and dropped him to the floor. I backed up and pointed the light in his eyes and the .38 at his midsection.

It was my idiot son in law returning from a fire call(he's a volunteer). He was not happy to be on the floor with a gun pointed at him. He was reminded of the house rule that when he goes out on a call in the middle of the night to let me know first so that when he comes in we do not go thru this exercise.

He has had about a dozen calls since then but has NEVER failed to wake me before leaving after kissing the rug.

 

[MikeG]

I'll add one more vote for man's best friend as an alarm system. A few weeks ago the dogs alerted the family to someone trying windows attempting entry while I was at work. They fled and didn't get in.

This past Friday night/Saturday morning at 2am the dogs started barking in a way and tone that indicated it was something serious and not just another rabbit they wanted to chase. Then the sensor light came on.

The wife peeked out the blinds and announced "There's a coyote in the yard!" Yep, just outside the dogs' fence stood a coyote surveying the property. He didn't care a bit about the dogs barking or the light coming on. At first I thought of getting the Mini 14 and shooting him, because he might go after the chickens.

On second thought, I decided to just run him off, because he might eat the neighbor's cats instead. Their cats come over sometimes to practice hunting and claw most of the feathers off of one or another of our poor chickens.

So I grab the 6 cell Maglite and go to the sliding door to step out and invite Wiley to move along. As soon as I popped the lock off on the door and slid it open, he was gone and all I heard was the sound of rapidly running paws receding in the distance.

The next afternoon, one of the neighbors taped a 'missing cat' notice on the mailboxes along our road. The poor thing was declawed too. They shouldn't have put it out.

 

[trainwreck100]

You could get a big black longhorn steer for your yard ornament...we have one that lives in the patch next to the house, and he's nice to Dad and I for the most part, and shys away from most things most of the time, but if you go walking through there in the middle of the night, next thing you know, there's a 1500 pound kid with 40 inch horns wandering up behind you the only thing you hear is his breath, the steps are silent...I feel safe enough around him, but can pretty much guarantee anyone else would end up finding out how fast they can run (which would likely make him see them as a threat and, well, that's not the best thing to do). Anyone know of a dog that has that kind of effect?

 

[AmbulanceDriver]

Trainwreck, I just got the mental picture of one of those old Bugs Bunny cartoons with him bullfighting.... And the stars flying as he gets charged from behind and sent flying.....

To keep on topic, I live in a fairly small apartment. Over the last few months, I've gotten used to the "normal" noises of my neighbors and the building. Now, I'm normally a fairly heavy sleeper, but let me tell you, one "weird" noise in the middle of the night will sure wake me up in one big hurry. And it's that *instant* awake that really throws my brain in overdrive. Make sure door is locked, grab the .45 out of the dresser drawer, move to the closet, get the shotgun (dresser is between me and the closet). Stand there and listen for a minute or three. If I don't hear anything, unlock the door and check things out. Find out it's nothing, put everything away, and try to get back to sleep.

FWIW, I have a spare key tied to a glowstick. If I ever do suspect there really is an intruder, I'm gonna call 911, toss the glowstick out the window when the cops get there. That way they don't have to kick the door, and I don't have to come out of the locked bedroom.