Need opinions on Home Invasion defense...

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Logistar

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I guess Ari's thread got me thinking again.

I , too, have "planned" for a late night "home invasion". The problem is that *I* am thinking you won't have TIME to execute any elaborate plan.

The way I see it is like this: The BG(s) probably KNOW you are home late at night. If *I* were them, I'd want to "take-out", restrain, (whatever) the residents to keep them from resisting/hurting me. I am thinking they would likely know where the bedroom might be and head straight for it.

Me... OTOH, I was just awakened by a loud noise... "DID I REALLY HEAR THAT???? hmmm..... I guess so since I still hear it:what: Now, I reach for my gun but I figure the BG might just be right on top of me already.

My point is... if a BG breaks down a door and heads straight for you (you are asleep) I think he will be "on top of you" before you can "come to" and gain access to your weapon. ANY strategy other than rapid weapon access and an immediate firing stance seems like a bad gamble.

Are there any statisics that might predict how long the average home invader takes to reach the residents during a late night home invasion?

My strategy is (if awakened by door being kicked in, etc) grab revolver as I roll off the side of the bed. (for cover) Watch for entry into the room. If entry occurs, immediately identify intruder, fire immediately if intruder is determined to be a threat. - may use weapon mounted light if necessary to determine threat.

Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks!!!
 
Get a good sturdy bedroom door. It will buy you at least a few seconds and will probably suprise the heck out of the BG when he nearly breaks his foot/shoulder trying to knock it open. Another advantage here is that you can reasonably assume anyone trying to break that door down intends to harm you once they get through so you can be ready for immediate target aquisition and neutralization as soon as the BG steps through.

If you want to know how long it would take to get into your bedroom just do a little experiment. Walk in your front door and go straight there, if the BG knows your house it isnt going to take him much longer than it took you.
 
Yes, I agree it's a good idea to turn the master bedroom into a "keep" or inner sanctum, a retreat of last resort. However, if you have kids or loved ones in other rooms you have to go about the dangerous task of going out to get them.

Do you have a dog? Even a dog that couldn't fight off a determined hamster can awaken you ahead of time.
 
The strong bedroom door is a GREAT idea! - Never thought of that. (Thats why these forums are so good!)

It takes about 3 seconds to get to the bedroom from any entry point. I'd be lucky to GET my gun and be ready by then. That was kind of my point.

No kids to worry about and no dog. I feel pretty certain that any intrusion would wake me (any noise seems to wake me up.)

I was just thinking that any plan would have to be simple and FAST. Otherwise you may be caught unready while trying to execute your plan.

I was just wondering (and I guess no one really knows) statistically... do intruders "look" for residents before stealing, etc... or are they more likely to just start carrying stuff out. I guess it doesn't really matter anyway since you should always prepare for the worst case.

Thanks guys!

Logistar
 
Search for "safe rooms".

A safe room should have:

A strong door with a deadbolt.
ANother way out.
Phone (preferably cell)
Firearms
Other stuff determined by your situation and needs.
 
I met a guy once who was a victim of a home invasion...they're prolly next to impossible to plan/train for. His family was watching TV when he got home from work (about 8:30 - 9pm). He opened the garage, parked, got out & was immediately assaulted by 2 armed intruders. By the time they dragged him into the house his family was already tied up in the family room by a few other BG's. How would you defend agains that?
 
10-Ring, for a family, ALL must have a clue. Not just Daddy. Mommy and the kids need to know something of Condition Yellow, and what to do if any strange noises are heard.

There are many inexpensive ways--mostly labor--to harden almost all doors and windows in a house or apartment. There are a lot of inexpensive alarm/warning methods, as well.

Art
 
Yeah, good point-they will be on you quickly! If they crash the door, they either think the house is empty or they plan on overpowering the occupants, huh? Seems like good exterior door and windows should slow that kind of attack.

A few years ago my mother-in-law had a stroke. It took her 2 hours to get to the phone. She was a big believer in dead bolts and multiple locks. At the first kick the door seemed to spring a foot or more then close back!? The second kick took frame and all. Then I got a key. Decorative steel doors/frames are available. Just make sure they're solidly mounted. Not so knowledgable about windows.

I keep a pistol atop the fridge, and my wife and I have one on each night stand. No kids at home to worry about. But we live in a quiet (mostly) rural area. When we watch TV in the living room, I usually have a pistol handy.

Hope all this stays hypothetical--for all of us!

Bob
 
Police and military entry teams work on the same concepts described in the original post. Surprise and speed are big advantages. These are further enhanced with the use of tools like flash-bangs to further slow the response of those being entered on. Assuming it is an organized entry into your home, such as by a team, and you are in bed, there is a really good chance you won't be able to compensate enough to recover from the surprise of the entry, speed of travel, and then the flash-bang.

It has been mentioned that you get a good bedroom door, a strong one. Keep in mind that the door is ONLY as strong as the hinges, locks, and framing. More often than not, it is the framing that is the biggest weakness of a door. A hollow door may break apart easily, but in some cases the hollow door simply breaks before real damage to the frame occurs and the framing of the door is often very light weight.

Also consider the aspect of armored doors. Armored doors are really cool, conceptually. Many folks feel secure because they have a steel inner door that is armored against handgun or even rifle rounds and they have the reinforced framing to really do the door some justice. Nobody is going through the door without considerable effort and delay. So there is the massive door and frame that nobody is going through, but they fail to then armor the walls. If your intruder is wishing you harm and comes to the armored door and can't get in, losing rounds through the dry wall in seemingly random fashion may work very well to find a victim - you. No, the person isn't coming through the door and neither are his rounds, but the dry wall isn't going to slow him down in hosing your bedroom.

Assuming you have armored walls and doors, if this is known, then count on entry being made from the ceiling. Aside from vaults, prisons, and a few other specialty buildings, ceilings often are an overlooked security weakness. They may not be traditional points of weakness, but they are weaknesses.
 
If you're serious about making a safe room it's not too hard.

Once you've picked the room, strip the drywall off (ideally). Reiforce framing around the openings as well as the jamb to framing connections.

Screw 3/4" plywood onto all surfaces. Not only is this strong in and of itself, it'll tie all the framing together making it stronger as well.

Now you can hang and finish your sheetrock and make sure the door you put up is beefiy enough to be worthy of those walls :) . Stock the room with all the anti-badguy survival goodies and you're set.

Now all you have to do is get there in time.

:(
 
1. Make sure all your doors and windows are locked.
2. Get a BIG MEAN NASTY DOG.
3. Have a shotgun or your trusty .45 very close and a good flashlight.
4. Have 911 on your #1 speed dial on the cell phone.

Personally I think a proactive approach to deter home invasion would go a long way. Make sure you always lock your doors even if you live in "Kansas", make sure you have plenty of outside lighting and few dead spots. Cut over grown landscaping lower and away from the house to prevent hidding places.

Bad guys are like rats and cock roaches IMO.
 
If you're concerned about accessing your weapon quickly (and who isn't), perhaps you would consider sleeping with an ankle holster?
 
Make sure my family is armed and knows what to do
Click to expand...

If my family has to sit around watching TV in their own living room armed, I'd think that would be a clue to move to a better neighborhood!
 
The dog advice is the best one. It doesn't even need to be a big mean nasty dog. Just one that barks loudly whenever anyone comes onto your property. I have a Chihuahua mix that sleeps in the hall outside the bedroom. If someone even walks by the house on the sidewalk outside the fence he barks loudly. That way no one can surprise you. Besides that, keep a loaded 12-gauge with a tactical light right next to your bed like I do. A reinforced door and jamb can't hurt either.
 
Get a dog - it will warn you if someone is trying to get in, and if he does not come to the door when you get home, something is wrong.
 
#1. Get a dog
#2. Plant cactus and other sharp spiny plants under windows.
#3. Get stronger doors and door frames.
#4. Cover windows with "burglar bars"
If al else fails to make you feel secure resort to
#5. Move to a safer area.


Bill
 
Seems to me it's all extremely situational. A friend of mine lives in an interesting area of Seattle where a few of these have happened. In -that- particular neighborhood the attacks have all been evening, not late. Also, the lots are not large, it doesn't take more then a few seconds for someone to go from street to front door.
So it's like Refuse to be a Victim class, you have to learn the tools, like having a dog and solid doors. In his case a dog might not work since there's lots of folks walking by. But a better door and jamb might (these guys all just kicked through front doors). One of the posters mentioned a garage ambush... a holster with something in it where possible or maybe an automatic door closer that you close before getting out of the car would be a choice... and another poster mentioned moving (not a bad option some times). But once you've digested the ideas, what really counts is how you apply them to your situation. All just IMHO. If you know people who are curious about personal security at this level, check out a RTBAV class in your area.
Boyd Kneeland Refuse to be a Victim instructor.
 
WOW! GREAT IDEAS!

BTW, Bacchus, my sister basically lives alone and has been sleeping with an ankle holster for some time now. Originally I thought that was a bit extreme but no doubt she can access her gun much more rapidly than I can.

- and if she had to move QUICKLY, the gun would still be with her....

Hmmmm.

Logistar
 
Get a dog - it will warn you if someone is trying to get in, and if he does not come to the door when you get home, something is wrong.
Click to expand...

Not always a cureall. More often then not, when somebody walks up the driveway to our house I see them before the dog notices; and every time a noise wakes me up that I have to investigate (even the time when some little $hats tried to get into my car), the dog sleeps through it.

Damn dog came with the wife. :fire: :barf:
 
I and my family were victims of a home invasion in 1991. I had just returned to the US from a tour of duty in Germany. Because my personal belongings had not cleared customs my handguns, a CZ-75 and a CZ-50, were not available to me.

I'm going to shock a lot of people with this comment but it needs to be said. I'm glad that I didn't have the weapons in the home at the time. I'm especially glad that I didn't have one on my person. Only one of two things could have happened, they would have either have been stolen or they could have contributed to me being murdered.

This is what happened, decide for yourself whether you agree.

We were living in a townhome at the time in Houston, basically it was a big two story apartment with units on either side. It was about 9 pm on a weekend night. My wife, my inlaws, 3 children and I were at home. We had just finished eating and were cleaning up. Without any warning both the front and back doors of the townhome were busted in (they were locked) and 8 individuals (6 men and 2 women) armed with sawed off shotguns and handguns basically invaded our home. There was zero reaction time and zero warning. Sometimes the BGs just have the drop on people. This was one of those times.

While I was pinned to the floor, literally with a shotgun to my temple (I had a nice round scab the exact size of a 12 GA barrel on the side of my face for about a month), the BGs, a gang actually, ransacked my home stealing what little valuables I had at the time, sexually assaulted my wife and butt stroked my father-in-law a few times (he was hospitalized for a day due to some internal bleeding). The BGs were in our home for about 20 minutes. A neighbor called 911 when he heard what was happening (a lot of yelling, etc.). The police arrived 5 minutes after the BGs had gone.

Lessons learned.

Does this mean that I don't believe that one should prepare for one or more bad guys busting into one's home? HELL NO. I realize that what happened to us was not typical and that more often then not, with a good home invasion plan in place, proper planning makes perfect sense and could help avert a tradegy. We were very fortunate that nobody was killed.

The reason I'm telling my story is try to suggest that a good home invasion defense plan should include planning for how you would react in the event that you won't be able to execute plan A or plan B. How will you react if you don't have time to get to a weapon? How would you react if you awoke with a BG standing at the foot of your bed with a weapon trained on you? How should your family members react and what should they do? etc. Most of the planning is simply mental excercises and conditioning but I think they are important.

Good luck in your planning. Pray that you never need to execute it.

MaterDei
 
A wilderness safepacker. Great little things. Tactical man-purse, a toss over the shoulder holster and grab your long gun.
 
Thats vile MaterDei; your right, there is nothing you could have done in that instance.

Even if you were holding your loaded gun when they burst in, the best thing you could have done is shot a couple of them, and most likely had yourself or another of your family members killed in the process.

Worthless scumbags that would pull a mass hostile home invasion like that should be lined up and shot in the stomach. :barf:
 
Strong doors for important rooms is a great Idea. Also get in the habit of keeping it closed and locked. One other tip, Keep the hall light on. It provides a few things,(1) shadows are thrown by intruder which can be seen under door. (2) If he turns it off you know he's there also. (3) If he is dumb enough to leave it on and gets into your room, he is backlit very well. His eyes wont be acclimated to the dark as fast to locate you either, which buys you some time. And again, a backlit target is real nice for groggy eyes.(4) A light on might make him second guess breaking in (somebody is home) unless he is a REAL bad dude.

A dog is also A GRRRRRREAT!!!!!!! Idea. They are called man's best friend for a reason.

Keep your gun concealed but in fast reach.
 
There is a device, that some pawnshops use, that fill the house with pepper spray. I don’t have a link but something of this sort could be a good last resort. You would be gassing yourself, but at least you would have called the shot.
 
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