NeverAgain26
Member
Awhile back I posted on either THR or TFL about a bad dream I had where I heard noises in the house, grabbed my gun out of the vault and went to investigate. When I got to the basement, I totally froze in the dream and I was worried how I would react. Well now I know.
Two nights ago about 4:30am, my dog began his low woof meaning something was up. He was all over the house barking and running up and down the stairs. He does this sometimes when there is a car idling outside the house so I usually don't pay any attention to it. But that night he kept it up and I wasn't goning to get back to sleep until I looked into it.
I was pretty alert. I grabbed my gun out of the vault, grabbed a flashlight, checked each of the kids beds to make sure they were where they were supposed to be. My wife was in our room so if there was anyone walking around downstairs it wasn't family and we had no guests over.
I made my way down stairs, checked all the rooms and they were clean. Finally I headed for the basement which is the most likely place for a break-in. That was where, in my dream I froze. But not this time.
I was very calm. I walked down the stairs leading with the flashlight and was pretty much ready for anything. I had my S&W 686 and walked the house with the hammer down, not wanting to have a light trigger pull in case I got jumpy. In any case, the basement was clear.
I had always had doubts about whether I would have the nerve to shoot a living thing, but I was ready. It was the same way when I went hunting for the first time a few months back. I wasn't sure I could pull the trigger when the time came, but it came pretty naturally to me. I am not equating hunting with self-defense and defense of family but looking back, I guess the hunting trip made me realize I could pull the trigger when and if necessary.
The smart thing in almost any case would have been to call the police and just hold the upstairs secure and I would have if I were more certain there was really something wrong in the house. I didn't want to roust the police because my dog was acting funny.
I am glad to know I did not freeze. It's really a relief to know that the dream was just that -- a dream.
NA26
Two nights ago about 4:30am, my dog began his low woof meaning something was up. He was all over the house barking and running up and down the stairs. He does this sometimes when there is a car idling outside the house so I usually don't pay any attention to it. But that night he kept it up and I wasn't goning to get back to sleep until I looked into it.
I was pretty alert. I grabbed my gun out of the vault, grabbed a flashlight, checked each of the kids beds to make sure they were where they were supposed to be. My wife was in our room so if there was anyone walking around downstairs it wasn't family and we had no guests over.
I made my way down stairs, checked all the rooms and they were clean. Finally I headed for the basement which is the most likely place for a break-in. That was where, in my dream I froze. But not this time.
I was very calm. I walked down the stairs leading with the flashlight and was pretty much ready for anything. I had my S&W 686 and walked the house with the hammer down, not wanting to have a light trigger pull in case I got jumpy. In any case, the basement was clear.
I had always had doubts about whether I would have the nerve to shoot a living thing, but I was ready. It was the same way when I went hunting for the first time a few months back. I wasn't sure I could pull the trigger when the time came, but it came pretty naturally to me. I am not equating hunting with self-defense and defense of family but looking back, I guess the hunting trip made me realize I could pull the trigger when and if necessary.
The smart thing in almost any case would have been to call the police and just hold the upstairs secure and I would have if I were more certain there was really something wrong in the house. I didn't want to roust the police because my dog was acting funny.
I am glad to know I did not freeze. It's really a relief to know that the dream was just that -- a dream.
NA26
