Put to the test

[Shadez]

At 6:30 am our alarm goes off and my wife panicked and woke me up. I got up and paced at the end of the bed still in a half sleep. My wife had to tell me again what was happening and as my head began to clear I grabbed my sig p250 out of the top of the closet, racked it and shook out the cobwebs. My head was clear and I began to pie the doorway ready to engage whatever was in the house when suddenly I heard my mother-in-law yelling it was her. I unloaded
the gun and put it down and went to turn off the alarm. She was hiding behind my father in law. They were going to surprise my wife for her birthday and make breakfast and drove in from out of town.

My irritation with them was also met with relief as I didn't have to engage in a nasty situation. But this "test" I can call it got me to thinking.

As I reflected on it, it took me almost 20-25 seconds to get up, get clear and prepare for a possible engagement. I have since gotten a safe for this bedroom gun ( as my oldest is turning 5) adding another step to this process.

I can't change the way I sleep, but this length of time still bothers me. My wife now knows that If she is clear to get the firearm first if
she knows what is happening.

What is everyone's thought on this? Don't know If there is much I can do to improve this reaction time.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

A simple verbal challenge can prevent a tragedy. Why wait until you're at the brink of using deadly force to determine if your threat is friend or foe?

 

[JVaughn]

I keep mine within arms reach from my side of the bed, wife does the same with hers. I notice you said

grabbed my sig p250 out of the top of the closet, racked it and shook out the cobwebs

Closet means that even if you were fully awake and ready, you still have to get up and out of bed, that is part of the 25 seconds. Racked it means you didn't have it chambered. This too is part of the 25 seconds.

I agree you can't change the way you sleep very easily; but you can change the bedroom environment a bit.

 

[MedWheeler]

racked it and shook out the cobwebs.

You need to clean that gun more often..

 

[Loosedhorse]

racked it

Consider keeping the chamber loaded, gun in a bedside holster, out of the safe. You can return it to the safe in the AM. Whether or not that would be sufficient child-safety is of course your call: there are always trade-offs between speedy accessibility and security.

The main problem is that the "intruders" were (I assume) inside the house before you knew about them (unfortunately, that's how alarms work, don't they? ). I assume the in-laws have spare keys, and you don't leave you door unlocked.

Suggestions:
--Dead bolted and sturdy front door, locked every night.
--Sturdy bedroom door, with dead-bolt. Since you have kids, a routinely locked bedroom door is not desirable for everyone, but have it available.
--Alarm system that goes off for broken glass or similar noise.
--Dog

Oh, most important part of my post: make sure you apologize to your in-laws for scaring them, and for acting so grumpy.

 

[K1500]

1. If you need a safe, buy a GunVault and leave it on your nightstand. It is MUCH faster than any other option, besides loose, which is not really a viable choice for you.
2. There is a reason the SWAT team kicks doors down in the early morning. No matter how ready you are, you are behind the curve a bit.

 

[Shadez]

A simple verbal challenge can prevent a tragedy. Why wait until you're at the brink of using deadly force to determine if your threat is friend or foe?

With the loud alarm going off and just trying to clear my thoughts, verbal challenge was the last thing that came to mind actually in that situation. I had a concept of time passing at that point and figured if the alarm was going off and they were still in the house they wanted trouble.

 

[Shadez]

Great suggestions so far.

In the safe now I do keep it chambered. My theory before i had the safe was that even if somehow my son found the gun in my closet he did not know how (nor could he physically) rack the slide.

I like the idea of taking it out of the safe during the night and returning it.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Got a home defense plan, to go along with the SiG? If not, you might want to work on one.

See http://www.nrastore.com/nrastore/ProductDetail.aspx?p=PB+01781&ct=e for the textbook...

 

[M-Cameron]

honestly, i think 25 seconds is a pretty damn good time......realistically.

with any half decent alarm system.....the intruder has probably taken no more than a few steps in 30 seconds.......

youll see posts of people who "tested" themselves, claiming they can get up and have a weapon in hand in under 10 seconds........well, those people planned to be woken up and go straight to a weapon....

i would be interested to see how fast their times are under a similar "real world" circumstance to yours.....ide bet my hat they wouldnt be significantly faster.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Shadez
Put to the test

REACTION TIME:
- Keep the gun's chamber loaded while sitting in the safe/lockbox
- Think about taking your gun out of the lockbox before you go to sleep and put it in a high location.

IMPROVE IDENTIFICATION OF YOUR TARGET:
- Mount a light on the gun if you can, otherwise get a flashlight to go with the Sig.
- Install a remote camera or two.

OTHER:
- Why does your in-laws have a key to your house and use it if it wasn't an emergency? They should only use it for an emergency or let you know first. Let them know that it could have turned out badly. Say it in a nice way...

 

[JustinJ]

A good dog will go from sleeping to "intruder for breakfast" in no time flat.

Aside from that, keep the gun by the bed and loaded. Get one of the biometric handgun safes if kids are a concern.

 

[Shadez]

OTHER:
- Why does your in-laws have a key to your house and use it if it wasn't an emergency? They should only use it for an emergency or let you know first. Let them know that it could have turned out badly. Say it in a nice way...

I can guarantee they don't do this again. Funny that my father in law told my mother in law walking up the driveway " shouldn't we call them first?". Mother in law wanted it to be a surprise. LOL

 

[bigfatdave]

Questions in no particular order:

Why couldn't the in-laws have surprised the birthday girl and asked you to help, rather than trying to surprise the both of you?
Seriously, who sneaks in to make breakfast without warning someone in the household? Just from a practical standpoint, they might want the waffle iron handy and some eggs in the fridge ... or to know which coffee the Mrs likes this week.

Your 25 second estimate is hardly a calibrated measurement, why are you focusing on that instead of putting delays between you and danger?
A non-keyed lock operated from inside, for example.
A way to light up the entrances from elsewhere, for starters.

If your wife was awake and alert, why did she go to the trouble of getting you to arm yourself? isn't she a competent adult? where is her gun?
(if my Mrs was awakened by an intruder and I was out cold, she'd simply arm herself, wake me, and wait for me to do the same or deal with whatever caused the ruckus ... and we're hardly tactical ninjas)

Is the gun out loose or in a holster? Is it a carry gun, or "just for home defense"? If it is a single-purpose gun, why isn't it a long gun?
(I use my carry guns for HD first because they're there, they're the guns I'm most skilled with, and they're right there ... if I had a dedicated HD weapon, it would be a shotgun or compact rifle)

Have you taken any steps to gun-proof your kid(s)?
corneredcat: Safe Storage Around Children
corneredcat: The First Lesson
corneredcat: Disarming Kids' Curiosity

 

[Shadez]

Questions in no particular order:

Why couldn't the in-laws have surprised the birthday girl and asked you to help, rather than trying to surprise the both of you?
Seriously, who sneaks in to make breakfast without warning someone in the household? Just from a practical standpoint, they might want the waffle iron handy and some eggs in the fridge ... or to know which coffee the Mrs likes this week.

Your 25 second estimate is hardly a calibrated measurement, why are you focusing on that instead of putting delays between you and danger?
A non-keyed lock operated from inside, for example.
A way to light up the entrances from elsewhere, for starters.

If your wife was awake and alert, why did she go to the trouble of getting you to arm yourself? isn't she a competent adult? where is her gun?
(if my Mrs was awakened by an intruder and I was out cold, she'd simply arm herself, wake me, and wait for me to do the same or deal with whatever caused the ruckus ... and we're hardly tactical ninjas)

Is the gun out loose or in a holster? Is it a carry gun, or "just for home defense"? If it is a single-purpose gun, why isn't it a long gun?
(I use my carry guns for HD first because they're there, they're the guns I'm most skilled with, and they're right there ... if I had a dedicated HD weapon, it would be a shotgun or compact rifle)

Have you taken any steps to gun-proof your kid(s)?
corneredcat: Safe Storage Around Children
corneredcat: The First Lesson
corneredcat: Disarming Kids' Curiosity

1st question. My in-laws are in-laws.

2nd My focus on time is because for one reason or another the house has been breeched. Once this happens (regardless of my delay measures) my reaction is what I'm reflecting on.

I mentioned above my wife and I have talked about the importance of her getting armed first if I'm out.

The Sig is also my carry gun.

I have taken steps and feel conformable, thanks for the links, this is helpful.

 

[sidheshooter]

My head was clear and I began to pie the doorway ready to engage whatever was in the house...

I think that your reaction time and ability to get clear is pretty normal, not much to add there that has not already been said. My only beef with your 'test' is that part, above. If you really believe that someone has breached your defenses, stay ensconced. (Search this forum forum for "house clearing" for more opinions on this.)

 

[Shadez]

I think that your reaction time and ability to get clear is pretty normal, not much to add there that has not already been said. My only beef with your 'test' is that part, above. If you really believe that someone has breached your defenses, stay ensconced. (Search this forum forum for "house clearing" for more opinions on this.)

This brings up a good point. With 3 small children in rooms across the hall, my thought would be to pie the bedroom door, look down the hall which is 25 feet long. It has one entrance point and I could light up anyone coming down. I worry about staying put and having to try to engage them In one of my kids rooms eventually.

Good thing to think through. Thanks.

 

[Serenity]

If all your bedroom doors are in the same hall, put a door at the entrance to the hall.

 

[WardenWolf]

I recommend getting a biometric safe for your gun. They make wall-mounted safes that drop open as soon as you put your thumb or other finger on the sensor. No getting it out of a closet, no having to load it and rack it, no fumbling with keys or codes. Jam your thumb on the sensor, it drops open, and you grab your gun.

 

[Mainsail]

A door bar costs less than $15 and would buy you plenty of time from either friend or foe.

 

[JustinJ]

Last night we had heavy thunderstorms. A very close lightning strike resulted in what sounded like a mortar landing in the yard next to our bedroom window early in the morning. I was up and lucid before the house stopped shaking. I'm not advocating a noise that loud but perhaps having the home security system altered so that an alarm goes off right next to your bed and results in a bright bedroom light coming on automatically. That or have a water line pointed at your bed with a solenoid valve controlled by the alarm system.

 

[rEVOLVEr VII]

I would suggest first, keeping your firearm in a closer location to you, if it's safe enough to do so of course. I would assume you wasted the most time actually going to your closet and loading your firearm. I understand you have a young child but i'd say nows the best time to teach him about firearms, they all need to learn at a young age anyway.

Which leads me to my second suggestion, keep your firearm loaded if you don't do so already and if it's safe to do so.

As for reaction time from waking up it's something that everyone does different, I'm a light sleeper, so i'm more or less ready for action if I'm woke up suddenly. Try running home invasion drills in your house, I do so and it's helped with my reaction time greatly.

 

[scaatylobo]

No alarm while home

I am a fairly [ very ] light sleeper and I can and do awaken fully alert.

I do not turn on the alarm when I am home as it will not tell me which door/window was breached.

My hearing is very good and my home is a brick ranch,allowing me to hear all that can transpire in it.

If the alarm were screaming,all I could hear would be that sound.

Its possible that the alarm might scare off an intruder,but I wont bet my life on a burglar that is committing a 'hot' [occupied home ] entry to be scared off by a alarm.

I have to assume that he knows we are home and is looking to take advantage of that.

Ergo,no alarm for me while home.

When I am gone and wife is alone = alarm.

Gun is in condition one with flashlight next to bed on nightstand.

Done the drill many times in the dark at O dark thirty.

 

[mljdeckard]

I'm going to go against the grain a little bit here.

Everyone's situation is different. My best friend can leave his 1911 on the nightstand. His wife is well-trained, and they almost never have any kids in the house. It works for him. I DO have kids in the house, I can't just leave them lying around for the kids to play with and learn the hard way how many levers and buttons they can get away with playing with before it goes bang. If yours needs to be up high or locked up, then that's where it belongs.

Everyone sleeps differently. I sleep very heavy. My wife makes fun of me, in that the war will be over before I wake up and react to it. There was a time (mostly in basic training) when I learned to sleep light, anticipating a shocking event. I was also exhausted all day, because I was not getting enough sleep OR GOOD sleep. Some people can function like this regularly, I'm not one of them. BUT, if you're not fully awake, should you be up and ready to fight? Should you be clearing rooms and identifying targets when your processor is still warming up? I don't think it's always a bad thing if you need to force your brain to go through a few complicated processes if you need to think before you are awake. If you have to remember a combination, or find a key and unlock something, it means that you are forcing your brain to function a little bit before you have a gun in your hand.

There is no such thing as perfect tactics or a perfect plan. But I don't think that it does you any good to have a gun in your hand before you are ready, or that you gain anything in making it more accessible if your kids aren't ready for it.

 

[Plan2Live]

You mean that security company that advertises like crazy on TV didn't ask the intruders to identify themsleves then demand they leave the premises? That's how it's supposed to work, right? Yeah, I'm beign sarcastic.