So you hear a noise, now what?

[gym]

Then what? Do you get up and grab a firearm and start going room to room, or stay put, call 911, and wait for help. What if there Is no phone in your bedroom, how about lights?
I just want to hear how members react? I keep 2 pistols next to me, and a shotgun and rifle within reach, also 3 tacticle lights and one on my handgun.
Alarm and dog are on and ready.
After several incidents, lately it's time to have a clear idea of what you are going to do, if you haven't already done so.
I sleep well.

 

[Carter]

My first "scary" noise situation happened recently. It was a series of noises with the last one being my timid lab mix dog going crazy and barking from my daughters room. He never does that. I grabbed my handgun and a flashlight and went room to room flipping on hall lights as I went because my flashlight sucks. Turned out to be nothing, but I did learn a lesson. Relying on hall lights and room lights sucks and so does using a hand held flashlight with a handgun. My ar with surefire is now my primary "bump in the night" gun.

As far as calling the police or not.....my wife can do that if she hears a shot, shouting, or crashing. I'm not going to call the police out to my house over an unknown noise.

 

[gspn]

Depends on the nature of the noise...but they all get checked out and I never go without my surefire and my handgun. Like you...I also like the "layered defense" approach of an alarm, a dog, and then me.

How I respond after that depends on what I find.

 

[gbran]

how about lights?

I'm not a big fan of tactical lights, especially in my dark house. If I was a bad guy, I think I'd aim behind the light.

As to my reaction, I'd definitely arm myself, prolly call 911, investigate (no kids at home). Even dark, most people know their home better than a perp.

 

[X-JaVeN-X]

I have a master switch in my bedroom that can turn on any/all of the lights in my home. Depending on the type of noise I heard would depend on what I do. Sometimes, you get one of those startled awake type noises, where you aren't really sure if you heard a noise or not....in those cases, I flip the master switch and then wait to see if I immediately hear another noise. If not, I take a handgun and go through the house, room by room just to ease my mind.

If I hear an obvious string of noises (never happened thus far thankfully), then my wife will be going to our master bathroom with her phone and the 1911 on the stand. I will then, just as before flip all the lights in the house on from the master switch and take the nova H2O and go find out what the noise is. My wife will obviously call the police if she hears something that deems the action necessary (yelling, gun fire, etc) and will be ready to put several holes in anything that may make it to that last door.

 

[M2 Carbine]

So you hear a noise, now what?

Since I live alone and my dog is 20 inches high, I'm going to shoot everything over 20 inches high.


Really it just depends,
what kind of noise,
is the noise in the house,
outside,
coming from one of my out buildings'
etc, etc.

But basically, I'm prepared to shoot anything that doesn't belong here.

All my defense guns are equipped with Streamlight TLR-2 laser/lights and I'm practiced with them, so the possibility of a "noise" doesn't bother me much.

 

[Grmlin]

I will listen to the sounds before venturing forth, lights stay out, I have a small house so it's quick to see if something is wrong. Used to have a dog I could count on. I really miss that dog but he was to dangerous to anyone but us. I didn't worry when I was away and the wife was home alone. The two we still have will still warn us but lack the attack and defend ferocity.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Then what? Do you get up and grab a firearm and start going room to room, or stay put, call 911, and wait for help. What if there Is no phone in your bedroom, how about lights?
I just want to hear how members react? I keep 2 pistols next to me, and a shotgun and rifle within reach, also 3 tacticle lights and one on my handgun.
Alarm and dog are on and ready.
After several incidents, lately it's time to have a clear idea of what you are going to do, if you haven't already done so.
I sleep well.

What I want to know is after what the heck kinda sounds are YOU hearing that makes you want to keep two pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun next to you?



As for myself, what I do depends entirely upon the nature of the noise I hear and the circumstances I find myself, and my family, in at the time. There is no single best, or correct, answer to such an open ended question.

But I, for one, do not have two pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun next to me at all times.

 

[wrs840]

Hear a noise?

Relax and listen. It's probably nothing... and you're practiced and armed after all anyway... right?

 

[Onward Allusion]

If the alarm isn't going off and the cameras don't show squat, I would check on my boys. If all is well, then I would go and investigate. My wife knows how to shoot so she would be covering my 6.

If the cameras show something or alarms are going off, I'd check on the boys and hunker down and wait for a while.

These kinds of situations are fluid. There isn't a correct answer, just what not to do.

 

[Twiki357]

I have a remote controlled lamp in the living room that I can turn on from my bed room. (It's a remote unit for $11/$12 usually marketed at Christmas time for turning tree lights on/off.) That gives me the advantage of putting an intruder in the light while I'm still in a dark hallway with my 1911.

But on a realistic note, every time I hear a bump in the night, It's my neighbor stumbling home drunk.

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Im blessed to have a solid group of dogs... truley. My lab knows when he hears a noise in the night to wake me up... no barking.. just nudging. Instantly when he bumps me i go into the grab my glock 17 with tac light and move on. Me and my three killer buddies clear every room together. At this point its happened so many times that my little furry buddies think its a game. But i know my boxers would jump on a stranger.. so they all play a role.

Those are my buddies. There on my side no matter what.

 

[Reefinmike]

1911 stays tucked in a cheap holster screwed into the wall inbetween the bed and sometimes i throw my carry 357 snub under the pillow. Dog is the early warning system- she sleeps in the loading room/spare bedroom and is very good at alerting me to any noises or unexpected knocks at the door. Only once did she have me clearing the house in the middle of the night- 1911 in hand and no pants for dexterity lol. turns out it was a stray cat trying to get into the trash can.

 

[Texan Scott]

If the Scottie barks, I wake up ... if the Russell/ Dobie barks, I GET up. If they KEEP barking, I get a gun and look out the bedroom door.

Every member of the family has a cellphone by their bed.

 

[allaroundhunter]

Depends on the noise. If my dogs are barking then it means that they have found an animal, at which point I usually grab the 12 ga and fix the problem if it needs fixing. If they are growling then there is a person somewhere close at which point I will try to grab the AR, call the dogs, and then call 911 if there are any further noises inside. If I get woken up by a noise and the dogs aren't reacting then I can usually get back to sleep just fine. If I can't, I grab my bedside gun with a weapon light and go "investigate" with my dogs.

 

[Sentryau2]

If I heard a noise at night and woke up (unlikely because I'm a night owl and by the time I am going to bed someone is getting up) I would listen carefully to see if I heard heavy foot steps, glass breaking or object being bumped. I'd grab the gun and go look, leaving the lights off. (dont want em knowing im looking for em.) I'd clear the house and if I found nothing I'd be heading back to bed after double checking the locks again. If i did find something 30 rounds of hollow point should take care of anything that needs being taken care of.

 

[M-Cameron]

Like others have said, it depends on the nature if the noise....

If it sounds like breaking glass or someone trying to kick my door down, I'm grabbing my shotgun, have someone call 911, and I'm going to investigate...

If it sounds like something rustling around outside or something knocking over trash cans, ill probably slip a revolver in my pocket and go take a look.... I'm not going to be too concerned as given my location, it is most likely a 4 legged intruder and doesn't pose a huge threat.

In both cases, my dogs will likely be on the threat before I am so their actions will be a good indicator as to what to expect.

 

[JVaughn]

But I, for one, do not have two pistols, a rifle, and a shotgun next to me at all times.

Why not?! You aren't one if those "I understand wanting to protect yourself, but why do you need 30 rounds?" Types are you?

 

[tomrkba]

I'm not a big fan of tactical lights, especially in my dark house. If I was a bad guy, I think I'd aim behind the light.

Easily solved. Buy a rifle plate and tape the 200 lumen light to it. Get a good steel plate that weighs over eight pounds so you can get a workout while house clearing.

 

[Blackstone]

I'll just grab my double barreled shotgun, go outside and fire two blasts.

 

[hedrok]

With our situation, the alarm is first line of warning if the "bump" is actually an intruder.
2nd line of defense is a very strong and protective English Bull Terrier .
3rd line is a Vietnam era trench 12ga shotty complete with bayonet backed up with various handguns...with ALL of the firearms requiring at least 5 steps from the bed so as to be actually awake and not dreaming.
I really don't want to shoot my wife...and, if there's a for real bad guy...I don't want to miss the fun.
I almost forgot...The REAL first line is motion detector lights that completely encircle the house to about 20 ft out. Bad guys HATE lights.

We'll call the cops when it's over 'cause I don't wanna be shot as an intruder in my own home.

 

[swalton1943]

A fluorescent light overhead in the kitchen, put there when my elderly mom would get up in the night to get a drink or a snack, stays on all the time. Cheap electricity usage and good inside security light. Large mag light and my cz52 beside the bed, and two ankle-biters on the bed with me and the wife. If I get up to check on a noise the dogs are usually in front of me. If they are barking from behind me I get very nervous.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

I think the key is more that you have a plan than what the plan actually is because that is going to be situation dependant.

In my case the house is laid out such that the bedroom is at one end and the entrances are at the other end with a back lit LR between them. No children in the house that I need to get to and I can see the entire house from the bedroom door. So I’m better off positioning myself in the bedroom door and covering the LR while I assess the noise.

 

[gym]

My bedroom is also at the far corner of the house, with two exterior walls meeting. For the gent who asked why I have a shotgun and 2 handguns, it's because I actually had a home invasion in 79, and the the shotgun is in the closet with an AR, not by the bed.
There was no warning, or noise, but in those days we didn't have alarms, I lived in a High rise, and no dog. A dog would have tipped me off that there were people in the stairwell. An alarm also would have triggered, and put a quick end to getting them out fast, instead of spending 45 minutes with 5 strangers me who you weren't sure would kill you or not, regardless of what you did.
They just came in like a swat team, one behind the other.
It's good to see that many of us have a plan. By the way I had a 5 shot revolver that did me no good whatsoever, as if I would have pulled it, I could have got 2 or possibly 3, but by then they had my girl friend in a bathroom with 2 armed men, in a small apartment. I had to make a snap decision, and hope I could talk my way out.
Another reason why you need at least 10 rounds.

 

[herrwalther]

The trick to using a light and/or laser is to not use it as part of the search. A weapon or hand held strobe or constant light is best used to disorient an opponent rather than light up a dark corner. A bump in the night situation, your natural night vision is at the advantage. Using a bright 100+ lumen light will take away that advantage. The only "tactical feature" that is important on a flashlight is a hard body case. Strike bezels make good back scratchers and unless you plan on snorkeling with a light, 30 layers of O-rings aren't required. But I have seen many a light break simply from dropping from pocket height so a hard case is a must.

I have gone after a few "bump in the night" sounds. None of them have been the evilness I imagine they are at the start. No invasions or burglars casing the apartment. We live in a relatively high crime area, close suburb to a large crime city. Clearing your dwelling is a must for an armed homeowner. Take classes and practice. Because if you barricade yourself in your bedroom, call 911 at every sound you hear, your local LEO will get aggravated with you. Don't be the guy who cries wolf. Go around to your doors and windows when you are in a heightened state of alert to make sure they are closed and locked. Don't go outdoors if it is not necessary. Look out the window if safe for anything suspicious and survey your property such as did someone try breaking into your car in the driveway etc.