Need some advice for actual HD

[shappy0869]

First, here is a basic layout of the upstairs of my house:

In the case of an intruder in the middle of the night, and if my dog doesn't scare him/them off, my plan is to hold up in my bedroom, shotgun at the ready and on the phone to 911. I have no illusions about clearing my house, as I know it is not the smart thing to do. However, there is the dilemma about what to do about my daughter (17 months).

The way my house is arranged, an intruder would have to come up a staircase that is essentially a vertical square with the stairs rounding clockwise as you ascend. At the top of the stairs is a long hallway that leads straight on to my bedroom. For lack of a better term, this is my kill zone. The distance is about 7 yards from the top of the stairs to my bedroom door and an intruder would have to present himself to me in order to move ahead.

Of course, he can also move to the left towards my daughter's room if I don't get to him in time. However, my big concern and question is that if I hear someone downstairs, do I run to my daughter's room, grab her and move back to my bedroom, or do I just set up an ambush to take out anyone rounding the top of the stairs?

The big problem with me getting my daughter is that the area around the stairs is all vertical wooden slats, like this picture:

Basically, I would be pretty exposed to anyone downstairs looking up at me, and I would be unable to defend myself if I have my daughter in my arms as I retreat back to my bedroom.

Plus, my second floor has a wooden subfloor, meaning someone downstairs will hear me moving upstairs if I try to retrieve her.

She sleeps in a crib and the wall that faces the stairwell has her dresser, so there is more than just sheet-rock between her and a bad guy.

I feel pretty paranoid thinking about such an unlikely event (I live in a gated community that has never had a robbery in the 10 years since it was built), but I feel that if I have taken the precaution of having guns for HD that I should be prepared for the unlikely possibility of having to use them.

My wife would think I am nuts to think about things (she hates guns and thinks nothing bad will ever happen), which is all the more reason I need to have a plan ahead of time.

So, the question, do I leave her in her room and wait for the ambush, or do I try to get her and risk being a target myself?

 

[imprezagm4]

To me the logical plan would be, run to kids room with gun, close and lock door... call 911. Wife could lock herself in bedroom with another gun if necessary or go with you.

My wife would think I am nuts to think about things (she hates guns and thinks nothing bad will ever happen), which is all the more reason I need to have a plan ahead of time.

I hate this way of thinking, I know it all too well as that is how my mother, older brother and younger sister all think. They get frusterated with ME when I lock the door when we leave because "we are just going to be gone an hour"... :banghead:

 

[WolfMansDad]

Stop visualizing a gunfight in your own home, and get another dog. Better yet, get two more. Two or three dogs are WAY more effective than one at deterring break ins, and they'll keep a bad guy occupied long enough for you to get your daughter to safety, grab your gun, and call 911.

If, after that, you're still worried, switch bedrooms so you can cover the stairs.

 

[ZeSpectre]

If the picture is an accurate one of your house (not just an example) and I was pretty sure the badguy(s) were downstairs, I would probably do the following... (Disclaimer, I don't know squat, just throwing some brainstorming out there).

Before trouble...
See if you can arrange the daughter's room so that shots fired on the stairwell won't go near her crib. (just think about it, I wouldn't really discuss this with the wife).

Have a phone/cell phone in the bedroom near the bed.

Have a sidearm and a GOOD flashlight (Surefire, Night-Ops, etc) in a quick-access lockbox.

Practice getting the weapon out of the box in a hurry (MAKE SURE NO LIVE AMMO IS PRESENT WHILE PRACTICING!)

In the event of trouble...
1) Have the wife call 911 (cell phone by bed in the bedroom?) while I got armed.
2) Get down low and open the door. Announce loudly that the police are on the way, everyone upstairs is now armed, and all valuables are downstairs, take what you want and get out. (they don't need to know it's just you who's armed).
3) Keep the stairwell covered.


I knew an alarm company guy who had a layout like that (with the spiral stairs) and rigged a pressure sensitive pad on one of the lower stair treads so it would set off an alarm by his bed and a light at the bottom of the stairs to wake him if someone came up the stairs at night. He finally stopped using it when his oldest boy turned 14 because the boy kept sneaking down to the 'fridge for snacks at night

 

[shappy0869]

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the ones we don't think about.

I think it makes a lot of sense to announce to the BG that everyone upstairs is armed and the police are on their way. Burglars tend to not like guns or cops or losing the element of stealth and surprise.

Chances are he would run away as fast as possible.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Shappy,

It's good you're working on a plan, it's the responsible thing to do. The dog should be a big help, having a cell phone upstairs as well as the landline is a good idea. Also, remote control lighting set up downstairs that can be switched on from upstairs might be a help- look at Radio Shack for X10 components that plug into your existing electrical outlets, or Google X10 online to get an idea what's available. You'll want to keep the upstairs as dark as possible to give you the advantage.

Given the layout you have pictured here, were I you I would shift my 'bunker point' out of the bedroom/saferoom to a place where I could 1)still have cover/concealment, and 2)cover the head of the stairs. In other words, shift the 'fatal funnel' from the door of the bedroom to the head of the stairs. The less moving around you have to do the better, but you definitely need to protect everyone in the family. A throw rug or carpet in the hallway will help quiet your movements there.

Note that if you assume a sitting/kneeling or even prone position at the corner of the hallway, you should be able to see anyone coming up the stairs without being seen from below. Someone climbing the stairs will have their head in your sight first as they come up the steps.

Get your wife (or a friend) to try climbing the stairs as you wait (w/o the gun) so you can get an idea of what you can see and when. If you don't crowd the corner, one eye and the muzzle of the gun should be all that can be seen by a potential assailant as the stair climber comes up. If you're in the dark, you should be pretty much invisible in that position.

Stay safe,

lpl/nc

 

[shappy0869]

Lee,

As always, you offer good advice. Now to add a bit of brevity to a serious situation, how about a lay out a few of these on the stairs?

 

[nemoaz]

Not sure that I'm understanding this currently because you mention the badguy going to the left to go to your daughter's room. I guess that means your left as you look towards the stairway, as opposed to his right as he climbed the stairs and entered the halway. Perpahs just a perspective thing.

Anyway, if you can cover the top of the stairs, you should. Walking in front of the stairs probably exposes yourself and apparently walking down the stairs will attract the attention of the bad guy. Someone climbing a stair like the one pictured won't be moving that quickly, even with lighting. And their head will present first. It's not like they could dart across the hallway and give you no time to fire as if they were running from one room to the other.

I think you have a very defensible position. No reason to move to the kid under this scenario that I can think of.

The other tactics mentioned make sense. Turn on the lights if you can do so preferably so that the bad guy is lit and you are not. (I always arrange my lighting that way. In your case some lighting downstairs always, especially so that anyone who enters through the most likely entry points must move from a lit area into an unlit area.) A panic button on an alarm system would let the turd know it's time to vayanse without disclosing your position, but in an unknown home layout, the bad guy may not know exactly where you are if you just yell. Like others mentioned, most criminals will simply run away at the first hint their stealth has been blown.

Just thinking ahead of time will make whatever action you choose more decisive and likely to succeed than something you concoct off the cuff.

Take you wife to a range and let her play with a .22. It cures antigun-ism in most people. Make it easy and fun. And stress safety so she feels confident.

You may not know how to clear a house, but it's a skill you should probably learn. It's not that it is ever advisable, because you simply cannot properly clear a building with only one person, but there are nevertheless times when one must move or investigate. Do you people really call the cops every time a pet makes a noise? Really? I didn't think so. Neither do I. In your instance, just understanding how to cut the pie (both horizontally around that corner to your daughters room and vertically down the stairs) can lessen your own danger. Note: your house would present a complex problem because of the multiple threat locations, both to the left around the daughters corner-- maybe the bad guy snuck upstairs before waking Fido and you-- or down the stairs.

EDIT: Still not sure I understand your drawring. Is the white area open to the first floor? If so, you still have two threat areas, the stairs and that expanse below. But the area below is very large. You'd have trouble covering that area and crossing it without danger even with three other swat team members.