How do you handle these situations?

[larryschwartz]

As I develop my home defense plan two questions came to mind that I wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on.

First, keeping a handgun or shotgun secured but accessible in the bedroom is a no-brainer in the event of a home invasion during the night when you are sleeping, but what about something that happens during the day, maybe someone barging in through the front door after you open it? Maybe another handgun or a short barreled shotgun downstairs either a few feet back from the front door or somewhere central on the first floor? How do you store it so that it is safe but still readily accessible? I’ve read stories about folks who empty one handgun in a confrontation and then have to fall back to a second one when the bad guy comes back or starts doing something outside the house. What do you guys do?

Second, what do you store with your gun for that midnight visit or front door intrusion and how do you plan to carry it when you need to use it? I’m talking about things like a flashlight, an extra magazine or two, and maybe a trauma kit like a D.A.R.K. Angel kit. I am trying to think this through and one magazine may not be enough, if someone gets hurt I don’t want to have to go back upstairs “under fire” or while I’m bleeding to get a compression bandage or a TQ. I have this mental image of me in my boxers with a gun belt and holster sneaking down the stairs looking for what made that noise. So, how do you guys plan to “go into battle” so to speak?

 

[feralmerril]

I simply put my model 40 in a drawer that is near my front door. When I leave the house it go`s with me and is near me while sitting in my recliner.
In a drawer by the bed I keep a old m&p. Seems simple to me.

 

[Dot_mdb]

I carry concealed from the time I get dressed until I go to bed. The reason I like a handgun for HD is that it is easy to conceal. A shotgun in the closet is not going to be as useful as a .38 carried IWB or in the pocket of a bathrobe. The simple fact is that for almost all HD situation high capacity is not required nor is magnum power or the devastating power of a 12 gauge.

I hadn't thought about a trauma kit, but really, a cell phone to call emergency is probably more important. In my opinion there is a limit to how much preparation needs to be done for something that happens very infrequently.

If you don't carry a concealed weapon than possibly a few guns placed strategically around the house might be a good idea if it can be done safely.

Bill

 

[amazingflapjack]

#1 - don't open the door
#2 - make your home undesirable as a target, and hard to get into.
#3 - Most important at our house-we ask the Lord's protection, and exercise Psalm 91

 

[Arik]

You are way over thinking this. If you plan on using bandages or whatnot, under fite, in a home invasion chances are you are barricaded and it's the police on the other side of your door. Home invasions are to steal and run. No one is gonna stick around to have a shoot out with you and if they are its either the Cops or you really screwed over the wrong Cartel boss.

And they type of question sounds like another pearjamfan.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[feralmerril]

Location, location, location as they say in real estate. Obvisley, my HD is going to be different if I live miles from the nearest neighbors than it would be in a condo or a house in the burbs. In the boonies, you would want a rifle and shotgun handy besides a handgun. At arms reach in a neighborhood a handgun should suffice.

 

[S&W45Colt]

Gun magnets under tables and drawers are very convenient.

 

[Smoke]

There are have been some good point already mentioned the only one I would really stress is if I don’t know you I don’t open my door to you pretty much period.

 

[SweetMK]

99% of the time, bad guys go where bad guys live.

I know it is a tough call, but, rural living relieves 99% of the concern.

NOTE: Maybe bad guys do not come to our rural neighborhood, because 100% of the homes are armed!



Or maybe the bad guys can hear virtually 100% of the homes target shooting virtually EVERY weekend.

And I thought I moved to the country so I could get better tomatoes!!

My wife's tomato canning bench is 50 feet from the house;

 

[feralmerril]

In today's world you probley are right smoke. I was raised in a safe world and old habits are hard to break. My door has always been open to anyone and will stay that way. It could be Ed Mc Mann or whoever replaced him. Seriously, I am in my twilight years and probley dont have 50 years ahead of me yet to lose. No kids at home.

 

[Doug M.]

MINDSET FIRST. Make up your mind that the well-being of you (and yours) is important. The well-being of others is not, if they present a risk to you. Their feelings sure as hell are not. If you can avoid hurting people who might need it by offending them, good. If you think offending people is too harsh, go find R. Lee Ermey's rant near the beginning of Full Metal Jacket on YouTube and un-(screw) yourself. By nature I demonstrate something that looks like the intersection of Asperger's and Tourette's, except I am really showing the difference between Tourette's and a choice.

Equipment: Layers. A good fence, with a locked gate. Locked doors and windows. A large alert dog. Hands free phone capability. Then the guns and stuff.

My first choice will be my AR, but frankly, with my dogs, they will be in the way working on an intruder, and if I use a firearm, it is likely to be a contact shot, for which a long gun is not the first choice. We have several good flashlights (mostly Surefires, of course, preferably Fury models). The best first aid is to kill your assailant quickly, and almost all the time the problem has to be resolved before you can can use the medical trauma gear. (I do need to take a good emergency trauma class and get more gear of that nature, and it is on my list.)

 

[MP1SG]

my 9c rides on my hip 24/7 (literally). Thats 13 rounds of Gold Dot 124 grain +P with a spare 17 round mag.
That should get me to my 870 or my SOCOM16.
Plus the 85 lb German Shepard that usually warns me if the wind blows.
I feel pretty confident that what ever threat or someone that means harm to me ot my family members comes through my doors will be met with dire consequences.
The front door is locked for the bad guys/girls protection NOT mine.
1SG
Out

 

[jent]

It has been said a couple times before, but I will say it again. I just CC inside my home as well.

I think the chances of someone trying to break in during the day are rather unlikely. But concleaded carry is always the most flexible option, being discreet while being close and ready.

 

[worm5932]

if someone were to come in my home, I am armed while there. while asleep I have a 45 in the nightstand, I will be able to guard the hallway from the master. I would guard the hallway entrance and yell to them the police are on the way and they need to leave, let them know I will do anything and everything to stop them. my wife would be behind the safe on the phone with 911 armed with my everyday carry, if shes not there id be on speaker with them.
my plan may not be typical but I live in a small house and that is what fits best. i would not go out in the home if i KNEW someone was out there. if i went and found someone i would do my best to get back to the master.
you can have anything you want, come to the hall for my family or I, all youll get is stopped.

 

[hotrod150]

99% of the time, bad guys go where bad guys live.
I know it is a tough call, but, rural living relieves 99% of the concern.......

That's what I thought, when I moved from L.A. to rural western Washington 21 years ago. 3 or 4 years ago, a well-liked and well-respected older local couple was murdered in a home invasion robbery about 4 miles from where I live. That's when I decided to start carrying every day. Violent crime CAN and DOES happen everywhere these days.
An older guy I know recently had someone come into his house in the night. It all ended OK, but it turns out the mentally-disturbed intruder has some history of violence. His daughter tells me that the doors were always unlocked when someone's at home, maybe even when nobody's home. I haven't talked to him since it happened, but I hope he rethinks that policy..

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Several years ago: In Columbus, Ohio a thief broke into the police chief's kitchen door, while the chief was home, So Chief Jackson shot him...twice. We considered it an indictment of poor education, I mean really stupid crook.
The shotgun (870) by my bed has a rail mounted Surefire flashlight. No fumbling around for more than 1 item. When my teenagers lived at home, I NEVER KEPT A LOADED FIREARM WITHIN HANDS REACH, I had to get to the dresser (and wake up) first. Keeping my 4 kids alive was worth more than everything I own. Ivan

 

[Rastoff]

A gun, or any defensive tool, that is not within arm's reach when you need it, might as well not be there at all.

 

[Don 73]

Several years ago: In Columbus, Ohio a thief broke into the police chief's kitchen door, while the chief was home, So Chief Jackson shot him...twice. We considered it an indictment of poor education, I mean really stupid crook.
The shotgun (870) by my bed has a rail mounted Surefire flashlight. No fumbling around for more than 1 item. When my teenagers lived at home, I NEVER KEPT A LOADED FIREARM WITHIN HANDS REACH, I had to get to the dresser (and wake up) first. Keeping my 4 kids alive was worth more than everything I own. Ivan

Nice anecdote ... and I have to agree with you about the kids, I was scared to death that I would wake up to a "bump in the night" and I would find myself drawing down on one of my kids ... presently they are both Autistic (and the one is bigger than me) so they live at home and will for the foreseeable future, so I can't go by size of the "intruder" to tell if it's one of my kids or not. THAT is why my #1 home defense tool(s) are my dogs, they won't/don't bark at the kids if they get up and move around, but let anyone walk past the house and they go ballistic, giving me plenty of time to get up, wake up and assess the situation AND 99 times out of 100, them going off, eliminates the situation before I'm even out of bed. IMO a perfect scenario, the threat is gone, no one got hurt and all I lost was a few minutes sleep.

 

[cmort666]

Home invasions are to steal and run.

Home invasions are to steal. How long they stay is a matter of the home invaders' intentions, or even mere whim.

How long did Hayes and Komisarjevsky stay in that doctor's place in Connecticut? They stuck around for some "fun".

 

[Smoke]

A gun, or any defensive tool, that is not within arm's reach when you need it, might as well not be there at all.

I think that’s a little situation dependent. If I’m in a second floor bedroom and I hear you kick in the front door I don’t think the gun being on the dresser is going to make that much difference.

Similarly if I wake up with you literally on top of me (happened to a friend of mine)I don’t see that the gun is going to change things until I get you off of me.