Wait and see or Go and investigate?

[pitcrew]

Hello all, I want to get some feedback on what kind of plan you have for dealing with and intruder (besides the obvious ) For instance, My wife and I have decided that if we ever did have a home invasion that- She would go into the master bath lay low and dial 911 while I took a strategic position (with firearm) in the bedroom and would only engage an intruder if they entered the room. We decided we could take the loss of a tv or furniture etc., but not the loss of one of us going to investigate and getting "pearl harbored" by an assailant. However, when we have kids We decided that I would go and investigate anything that would possibly endanger our child/children, and that she would continue with her part of the original plan. Do any of you have any sort of plan? Any suggestions or comments? How does our plan sound for now?

Thanks in advance for all previous and future responses
Pit.

 

[JitsuGuy]

Your plan is the exact same as mine and my wife's. I've always heard that you NEVER go investigate, but with kids down the hall, I don't see that as reasonable. I don't have kids, but I don't think I could just hang out in the bedroom while my kids could be in possible danger. Maybe I'd bust out of the bedroom Punisher style, I dunno...

J

 

[Nickotym]

That is our plan.

In our next house however, all bedrooms will be on the same level. BG's will have to get past ours to get to the kids. May even put small doors into closets the go from room to room so all kids can retreat to the master bedroom in emergency.

 

[hso]

Bedrooms clustered together with none of them in line of fire from a position of defense. Bedrooms on a second floor is best. Stairs make a great "fatal funnel". Keep the cell phone in the bedroom. Call the cops. Tell them you've secured your family in the "whatever" and that you're armed. Never go to the goblins.

 

[WEPS]

i know that it isn't the smart choice and it could get me killed but being the impatient, cocky , overconfident,self centered son of a b&*ch that i am i would go investigate.

 

[mtnbkr]

My House: 3 story townhome with the bottom floor being basement and garage space. Middle floor is den, dining room, and kitchen, top floor is the bedroom space. The staircase is the type where you climb a few steps, turn 90degrees, climb a few more, turn 90, then make the final climb to the next floor. Basically an encased spiral staircase. On each floor, you have plenty of space around the opening of the stairwell. It makes defending much easier than attacking, assuming you know the attackers are coming up the stairs...

I have cellphones, guns, and lights in our bedroom. We would take a wait and see approach (along with calling 911). Except...our daughter is sleeping down the hall not even 10ft down the hallway and directly across from our bedroom door. My plan is to have the wife get into the walk in closet that is inside the master bathroom. There, she'll have three doors between her and the attackers. My daughter's room is trickier, but since attackers are going to be in the open if they come upstairs I can deal with them for the short distance I'd have to travel.

That said, nothing on the first two floors is worth defending in a life or death scenario. And, if they came up the stairs to the third floor, they have no choice but to pass by our bedroom door. They won't even get to the top of the stairs before I could see them and pin them down. Also, my daughter's room is out of the direct line of fire if I engaged BGs on the stairs.

I don't want to spend the money on this house, but the entire upstairs could become a "saferoom" simply by setting up a security barrier like those used in storefronts. Hear a threat downstairs? Drop the barrier and seal off the top floor.

Chris

 

[Blackhawk 6]

Your plan sounds good for now. I would recommend that when you have children you adjust your plan to strongpoint in your child's room.

The advantages:
- You retain the ability to protect your wife as you move to secure your child.
- You have two adult's moving once vs. one adult moving once and then an adult with child moving again.
- There are fewer restricitions as to which directions you can shoot without injuring your wife/child.

You may wish to consider getting your wife a firearm of her own. Two armed adults moving once to secure a child would be preferable to a lone armed adult moving with an unarmed adult. Most dwellings can be negotiated successfully by two competent, armed individuals.

 

[Trebor]

You DO NOT want to move through your house looking for an intruder. Even though you know the house better then he does, it is much easier for him to stay motionless and wait to surprise you than it is for you to move through the house and still get the advantage over him.

The only reason to move through the house if you suspect there is an intruder is if you are moving to collect your family or to check on them. In that case, you aren't looking for the intruder specifically. You'll still want a handgun in case you accidently run across him, but you aren't specifically trying to confront him.

Once you get in the safe room and everyone is accounted for, stay there and make him come to you, if he chooses. Remember, it is much better to be the ambusher than the ambushee.

 

[joab]

I have a small 2 bedroom home.
The bedrooms are pretty much right together and there is a hallway leading from the living room to the bedrooms.
I've never heard the term "fatal funnel" before but I guess that is what my hallway would be.
If my BR door is opened I can see the hallway from the bathroom to the dorrway of the 2nd bedroom, without the 2nd BR being in theline of fire.
I can control the sleeping quarters of my home from my BR so I see no need to investigate any noise in the rest of the house.
That's what I got the Pit Bull for

 

[JamisJockey]

The ideal layout puts the Masterbedroom between the home entrance and any children's rooms.
You take your children in order of age into the youngest childs room and that is now your 'safe room'. Barricade yourself inside and call 911.
Keep a deactivated cellphone powered up in the childs room (any defunct cellular can call 911 as long as the phone gets a signal).
Place a dresser close enough to the door that it can be tipped over and block the door.


If you have guns, don't make it known.
If you have cash, " " " " .

 

[dog3]

It depends on so much. But I know what my "kneejerk" reaction is to being alerted at night in the domicile. It may not be smart, and it certainly isn't reasonable, but I charge out like a boar on ice.

Twice in my life, I've ended up confronting a skunk in the kitchen. Fortunatly in both cases, the skunk (in both cases) was totally self confident in his mastery, and just gave me "What's your problem?" look, while I profusely apologised, and backed out the door.

 

[mrstang01]

Dude, you need to secure your house if you have skunks coming inside!

 

[SunBear]

My greatest concern is that someone could get into my bedroom before I woke up. So, there is a very large, heavy dresser beside our BR door and a hickory sledge hammer handle rides behind it which I pull out about 6 inches to block the door. It could eventually be rammed open but not without waking the wife and me (no kids at home). Cellphone and 100+ rounds should allow us to hold out 'til the cavalry arrives.

 

[JamisJockey]

could get into my bedroom before I woke up.

I have dogs....I'd be surprised if someone could get in without setting them off.

 

[reagansquad]

My bedroom is only a few feet from the front door in my apartment, and we sleep with the door open. Not much investigating to do. I just look out there and if the door is open and the dogs are barking s has h the f.

 

[38SnubFan]

My 1-bedroom apartment is pretty much a "straight through" design. You walk through the living room to the kitchen entrance, look straight across (maybe 10-12 feet) and BAM!, you're looking at the bedroom door. Unfortunately, this does not allow me much time to react to a home intrusion.

My bed sits right inside the bedroom door, the left edge about 4 feet to my right. I sleep closest to the door and keep the handgun right underneath the bed, so I can pretty much roll right over and grab it, along with a flashlight. I've told my girlfriend in such case, she should quietly roll to the right and lay down on the floor on the side of the bed opposite the bedroom door. This is where I would roll to, allowing me to keep a "low ready" position should the intruder enter the bedroom.

Since neither myself nor my girlfriend would be able to speak to an emergency services dispatcher without being heard, the cordless phone would be dialed to 911 and left facing up, so at least the dispatcher would be able to hear the background noise should sh** hit the fan. Also, the 911 system in my area allows the call to be immediately traced to the address, so that police will be dispatched for a "911 hangup" or "open line" call.

Once I know I have her hidden and secured from immediate danger, I would slowly and carefully make my way towards the kitchen and living room, using the bathroom (which is at the back of the kitchen area) for cover/concealment. If and ONLY if I can make sure the intruder is not pointing a gun directly at me, will I make my presence known and give him a "rude awakening".

First and foremost, however, is the safety of those inside my dwelling. NO PROPERTY IS WORTH RISKING MY LIFE OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS FOR. Only when I can secure the safety of the people will I look to save the rest of the sanctity of my home.

Furthermore, shots will only be fired ONLY in the case of a DIRECT/IMMINENT threat to my life or the lives of others in my home. If he runs and makes off with my stuff at the presence of my loaded revolver, then I feel the threat is ended and my stuff can be recovered by those who walk that "thin blue line" with the authority to use lethal force to affirm an arrest/property recovery.

I know it sounds trite to tell someone that they should let a BG run off with their possessions as long as they don't get hurt, but that's what I'm going to say to at least one who wrote:

i know that it isn't the smart choice and it could get me killed but being the impatient, cocky , overconfident,self centered son of a b&*ch that i am i would go investigate.

Not only have you put yourself in danger (and possibly the lives of others), in some states/jurisdictions you could be in SERIOUS criminal trouble, with a DA/prosecutor proving you to be the "aggressor", thus making your self-defense case an "unjustified homicide", and convicting you of a manslaughter/murder charge.

Doesn't sound fair, I know. LIFE ISN'T FAIR!

-38SnubFan

 

[gigmike]

I'd say you've got the right idea. Consider if you could clear your lower floors without putting yourself at an unacceptable level of risk. I'm sure you're aware if you lose in a confrontation, you may have just armed the intruder and your wife and child are at that much more risk.

There is also the possible criminal and civil implications of if you go looking for an intruder.

 

[JamisJockey]

I would slowly and carefully make my way towards the kitchen

shots will only be fired ONLY in the case of a DIRECT/IMMINENT threat to my life

Your statements contradict each other. By looking for the intruder, you're looking for a fight.

 

[Evil_Ed]

Current layout kind of sucks, we live in a split plan house and my sons bedrooms are on the opposite side of the house from ours. When we build I am looking at a 2 story house with all bedrooms on the upper floor, preferably with the master bedroom near the head of the stairs so I have a clear line of fire without worrying about children stepping into the hall.

If anything happens while we are in the current house I will leave the cellphone and a pistol with my wife and take the flashlight and other pistol with me across the house to the childrens rooms. If I have to I'll throw a vicous attack cat at the BG to distract him! The sheer wight alone of our oldest cat should knock down an average sized man (he's a lazy fat cat).

 

[dog3]

/Dude, you need to secure your house if you have skunks coming inside!/


Heh,

There is a secure area. But it's a tiny "cabin in the woods" off the road which is
off the road. Hot in summer, cold in winter, and skunks and other woodland critters,
can get through a screen door if I forget to latch it.

Yeah, after Skunk II, I'm a lot better about latching the screens.

--

 

[TallPine]

Well, I feel sort of a moral obligation to go downstairs and rescue whatever is left of the intruder(s) from our dogs ....

Being 45 minutes from town and sheriff deputy response, I wouldn't want to call 911 to investigate the cats knocking over something or a porcupine on the porch.

Besides, we are most likely to have something outside, such as a cougar sizing up our ponies for a midnight snack.

 

[38SnubFan]

Atc1man,

The statements may sound contradictory, but yes, I mean both of those statements as they are shown in my original post.

After securing the safety of all persons, I'm going to investigate the source of noise/disruption. At least this way, even if I never come in direct contact with the intruder, I may be able to obtain a good description in order to advise investigating officers. I'd look a little stupid calling the police out if it was some sort of animal or other non-human interference.

As far as confronting the intruder, per PA Crimes Code, Section 507 (Use of force for the protection of property), I would be justified in doing so, and in the use of deadly force if:

(A) there has been an unlawful entry into my dwelling.
(B) I neither believe nor have reason to believe that the entry is lawful; and
(C) the actor neither believes nor has the reason to believe that force less than deadly force would be adequate to terminate the entry.

Now, as I said already, I'm not going to walk right up to an intruder with a gun already in his hand (I'm not looking for a shoot-out). If I don't observe a gun or deadly weapon and he draws one or otherwise agresses towards me in threat of my life and safety (or safety of others) as/after I confront him, then I'll fire shots and put him down......COLD!

I hope this rectifies what you consider to be a contradiction of statements.

Sincerely,
38SnubFan

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I've "investigated" strange noises in my house before. I doubt I would ever wait it out. Maybe, but I'd have to be sure one way or another. But there are things I do to make the house easier to "clean." Formost is installing barrel-bolts. Since you cannot lock them behind you, there is never a question of whether there is someone upstairs when I come home. Downstairs is another problem, as I have cats that must be able to get to the litter. Unfortunately this warrants an investigation every time I come home. Guess I need a cat door. Hmmm....do cats even use those?

 

[one45auto]

I always investigate, if for no other reason than to ensure that I don't wind up calling the police because my cat knocked over a picture frame on the bookcase. It's the old "boy who cried wolf" situation - one or two false alarms like that and the authorities wouldn't take a genuine call seriously.

 

[mountainclmbr]

I would investigate. No children yet, cops are over 45 minutes away, two dogs will be barking/attacking any BG. I have bear risks as well. A bear clawed off the dryer vent and partially broke in a washroom window about two weeks ago when my wife and I were out of state. The claw marks were very apparent where it tried to rip out the window frame and everything was caved in at the top with broken glass everywhere. My dogs probabbly chased the bear away with their barking after the double pane window and screen were bashed in. So if it was a BG (I would not know if BG or bear), the question would be: did I grab my 12 ga loaded with 3-inch mag 00-buck or did I grab my 375 H&H mag loaded with handloads using 250 gr Swift A-Frames (I would also have pepper spray to avoid shooting a hungry bear if possible). It would not be a good day to be a BG.