interesting night

[Frank Ettin]

sorry to the poster complaining about the paragraphs. I tried indenting but the post has default indent setting. will try doublespacing between paragraphs next time.

Double spacing is the way to go. That's what I and most others do.

...leaving the loaded gun out of a safe is not an option for me...

Get a lockbox for the bedroom. Here's one example --

​

We have several around the house, each with a loaded gun, extra ammunition and a flashlight. They can be opened quickly without looking using a keypad combination lock (so there are no keys to fumble with or lose). They can be mounted to something solid so they can't "walk away."

Those who've trained for it, done it with sims, and had to do it in real life tend to say what scaatylobo says. Those who haven't, and/or who've studied it exhaustively on TV and in movies tend to suggest that it is worth doing.

Which perspective to listen to? Hmmm...a conundrum....

And of course we all know that Sam didn't mean that it really is a conundrum.

Solo house clearing is generally a very bad idea unless absolutely necessary to get innocents to a place of safety. That's been discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

 

[herrwalther]

Lots of armchair quarter backing going on in this thread. Some of it good, some of it bad, and some of depending on who you ask.

I, too, have been woken up in the dead of night by something going thud or one of my dogs barking. Dogs can be the best security or the worse one. If you have dogs that bark at a leaf blowing down the road, they will raise plenty of false alarms and it will be the "boy who cried wolf" or in this case "the dog who barked bad guy." My dogs are not this type, when they bark there is a reason. Typically a car on our very rural street, someone at the door, or they hear something in the yard.

Layer security. This is an armchair suggestion that is useful. Anything that gives you time to shake off sleep and ensure safety is worth the investment. You have a security system? Good. Solid doors, locks on every door, and interior cameras are all good choices to add to it. I am a big fan of a motion detector kit you can get for around $20 at Home Depot. When the motion detector is tripped, it turns on whatever is plugged into the included wireless outlet. Typically a light. I prefer this much better than a motion activated outdoor light.

Practice. Practice opening your bedside safe if you use one. Practice a plan with your family to get them safe. Practice clearing your house. House clearing is a perishable skill, especially doing it solo. It can be safely done by yourself, especially in your own home since you know the layout better than your standard smash and grab. Never clear your home if it is not necessary and you have not trained for it. Walking quickly through your house a few times a week in daylight at the low ready does not make you trained, it takes hundreds of hours to become even remotely skilled. Clearing is in my professional skill set, so I am unlikely to barricade in my own house to wait for police. Just not my style.

 

[mavracer]

I'd agree clearing the house is a bad idea but the dog already said nobody was there, so take the gun (should be loaded in the safe) and the flashlight (should be in the safe with gun) and see why alarm is going off.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Too, some criminals are intelligent enough to switch off the power and cut phone and cable lines outside your home before entering. Unless your alarm system uses battery backup AND a cell phone transmitter then there is no COM to (or from) the alarm company. You'll need a cell phone and gun light... or a good mini flashlight you're trained to use along with your firearm.

And that's why there are standby natural gas generators backing up the alarm's battery backup, and cell backup to the land-line. Of course, all of this is pointless if someone really wants you. They'd just burn your house down with you in it.

 

[Mauserguy]

I've been following the local police log where I live and honestly, about one third of their calls are false alarms. False alarms are very common.

Frankly, if all that indicated that there was an intrusion was a tripped alarm, and there were no other indicators of trouble, I think it's perfectly reasonable to watch, listen, then take a look around.

If, however, you hear heavy breathing in another room, or your dog continues barking or you get some other indicator of trouble, then absolutely dial the police and stay put.
Mauserguy

 

[roval]

actually the hornady rapid safe looks interesting to me it has a rfid bracelet.

the bedside gunsafe has always had a 125 lumen flashlight magnetically attached to it and I've shot in the range bringing my 6 cell maglight to practice with using a harris hold and shoot the same at least at 10 yards. the 6 cell is always next to my bedstand.

if there was broken glass we would've called the police or obvious signs of break in. my wife heard from one of her friends that the lapd used to charge them $450 for false alarm calls. I don't know how many calls before they charged but the bad side effect was they turned off their alarm. I'm in NM not in CA.

 

[medalguy]

Find out what the typical response time for the police is for home alarms. I'll bet it's pretty slow, it is most places. They rate those at the bottom of their responses.

Another suggestion I discovered helps: spray insect poison around your motion detectors. I had two false alarms due to spiders walking across the sensor. Police were called and response time was in excess of 30 minutes.

 

[docsleepy]

Hey, folks, what exactly are you supposed to do to LET THE POLICE IN when they get there, if you have locked yourself into your bedroom????


My bedroom is reasonably secure, but we would have to traverse a very large and open and un-defendable living room and foyer to make it to the front door.

It is POSSIBLE that we could hand the police a key to the front door through a window..... best solution??? But if we had the 2nd lock locked.....it can only be opened manually, no key accesss at all from the outside (huge bolt lock).


So what do you do?

 

[Dinosaur1]

Handled a lot of B&E's. You may not be out of the woods. This may have been a dry run. Happens all the time. Bad guys lay back and see what happens then plan accordingly. Motion activated lights inside are a good idea. Infrared baby monitor cams properly placed will let you see what's going on from inside your bedroom. Walmart sells 250 lumen Ozark Trail lights that will blind you. They're cheap but solid, get two. A .22 revolver for your wife. They don't jam and no recoil. The trigger pull will be heavey and if that's an issue then go with Ruger MK 3 or 22/45 Lite. They're the easiest to operate for non-gun people and they're reliable. If you're in the right spot, a no-glo trail cam hidden outside may be of use but don't let anyone see you set it or check it. A small hand mirror kept in the bedroom could come handy too. These are just some small things for what it's worth.

 

[scaatylobo]

WHEN the police arrive

When the LEO's are on the scene THEY can and will see if there is ANY POINT OF ENTRY,and then use that to enter and clear the house [ been there,done that ].

So if they call you back [ or your still on with the 9/11 operator ] the police will tell you that it is ok [ or NOT ] to come open the door.

WORST case scenario = the police have to break in, to save you and your family from a DPF incident in your home = I say its worth the cost.

But in the few hundred calls I went on,and the actual busted down doors/windows etc,there was never a time that gaining access was a problem.

 

[Mike1234567]

When the LEO's are on the scene THEY can and will see if there is ANY POINT OF ENTRY,and then use that to enter and clear the house [ been there,done that ].

So if they call you back [ or your still on with the 9/11 operator ] the police will tell you that it is ok [ or NOT ] to come open the door.

WORST case scenario = the police have to break in, to save you and your family from a DPF incident in your home = I say its worth the cost.

But in the few hundred calls I went on,and the actual busted down doors/windows etc,there was never a time that gaining access was a problem.

So we have plenty of time (maybe ten seconds) to call 911, connect, establish COM, the operator to investigate... and then clarify what is happening. What's that? Two minutes... five? How long did it take for the break-in and shooting to occur? Dead cop... dead homeowner...

How long?

Knock on my door or stay the hell out of my house!!