How prepared are you for a home invasion?

ADR:

I attended SSET (Shipboard Security Engagement Tactics) while in the Navy. This is gunplay in the extremely cramped confines of US Navy ships.
I shot the hostage in the throat with a paintball.

SkiPatrolDude said:

In that moment I also developed a raging and violent hate for home intruders. The next one who tries any of that stuff in my home is getting put in a coffin.

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You and me both.

I awoke at 2am one morning to find a .40 caliber handgun in my face. The guy tied me up, put a bag over my head. He pressed the gun to the back of my skull for an eternity before changing his mind and letting me live.

He attempted to rape my wife, right next to me in bed. She shrieked repeatedly, he lost his nerve, piston whipped her and ran out. I gave chase with my hands bound but he was long gone.

He was a white male with a bandana over his face. Cops never caught him. We lived in a fairly nice apartment complex. This guy assaulted a couple of other women home alone in the complex in broad daylight and was still never caught.

I vowed that anyone that enters my home uninvited is dead. Male or female, stealing my TV or stealing a loaf of bread to feed their starving family, it matters not. They're dead.

Ponder_MD said:

ADR:

I attended SSET (Shipboard Security Engagement Tactics) while in the Navy. This is gunplay in the extremely cramped confines of US Navy ships.
I shot the hostage in the throat with a paintball.

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It happens to the best at some point in their training and those moments teach you more than the victories do.

I've done confined spaces but never on a ship. Sounds like a mixture of fun and total chaos wrapped up in one.

Our pistol safes stay locked during the day but at night, my VP-9 with 30 round mag sits out of the safe on the night stand just inches away from me. Wife's Q-5 ( soon to be SW EZ 9MM) is also within reach. We're empty- nesters so no little ones about at night. I have a SW M&P 5 inch 9mm that 'travels' with us from room to room and I'm looking for another "traveler" but haven't decided which flavor yet.

[Kev308];6294099 said:

If I didn't have young ones....I need to invest in a better safe for sure.



We have an appt tomorrow. He's 7yo and I think it may be from medication he's on for an ear infection.

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Night table handgun safe. Yes it’ll slow me down. But I have kids too. I trust them a hell of a lot. Oldest is 13, youngest is 9. The older two have been shooting. Younger one I’ll take one of these days soon they’ve all handled guns.

But with most things it is trust, but verify. I don’t leave guns unlocked laying around unless it is something like working on something and I go to take a piss.

Look, if my kid is THAT dead set, they’ll just cut in to my safe when I am away.

The guns locked up are to keep impulsive curiosity at bay. As well as any snatch and grab robbers. If they’ve got time, all my stuff is gone. Also some limited fire protection.

That and my kids friends.

Bedside safe is less safe than the main safe, heck a not stupid kid or adult and a few minutes could get in to. It is just a 3 number combo (<2 minutes if you try one combo a second. Call it 5 minutes taking your time and needing to try the knob to see if it unlocked).

So you’ve gotta at least be dedicated, not just curious.

If I am alert and awake, takes me about 10 seconds to pull it out, open it and charge my G17. Maybe 10 more seconds to pull out and pull on the soft armor vest under my bed. Add perhaps 10 seconds of waking up. That said, I am generally an extremely light sleeper. So odds are excellent less than 10 seconds to react even from dead sleep.

My kids still wake me up in only a second or two and my cats knocking crap over to crash on the ground wakes me up in a heart beat.

Yup, might be 20 seconds I don’t have. But I also have to weigh that against the chance of a kid coming across an unsecured gun.

If someone doesn’t know my house, if they just smash through the front door or a glass slider, or basement door, it’s likely to take them anything from a couple seconds to many seconds to figure out where the bedrooms are and run that way. If a robber has it all planned out and uses a battering ram they could be in my bedroom in probably 3 seconds through the glass of my master bedroom French doors (I like rural residential). Maybe if I slept with a gun under my pillow and it didn’t shift I might react in time.

Otherwise I’ll just have to count on it taking them a few seconds to come through a door and figure out where my bedroom is. If they tried coming through the front door, the latches and hinges are all reinforced. I haven’t tested THIS front door, but I’ve done a lot of demo. Including after I’ve reinforced hinges and latch plates. I takes me as a 190lb, muscular 6’1” gun several hard kicks to kick open a steel door like that anchored with 3” decking screws in to the Jack and king studs of the frame.

Like working on it for probably 30, 40 seconds at least. Even a 12# sledge is going to take a couple hits on the latch to pop it open. You could smash out the glass to try to unlatch it, but the deadbolt is keyed on the inside also.

But of course, glass sliders and windows you could bust out and climb through. Still takes some time there and slider glass is surprisingly tough (not that you couldn’t throw a pretty big rock through it, but a good hard kick likely won’t break it first try).

Ponder_MD said:

You and me both.

I awoke at 2am one morning to find a .40 caliber handgun in my face. The guy tied me up, put a bag over my head. He pressed the gun to the back of my skull for an eternity before changing his mind and letting me live.

He attempted to rape my wife, right next to me in bed. She shrieked repeatedly, he lost his nerve, piston whipped her and ran out. I gave chase with my hands bound but he was long gone.

He was a white male with a bandana over his face. Cops never caught him. We lived in a fairly nice apartment complex. This guy assaulted a couple of other women home alone in the complex in broad daylight and was still never caught.

I vowed that anyone that enters my home uninvited is dead. Male or female, stealing my TV or stealing a loaf of bread to feed their starving family, it matters not. They're dead.

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Hmmmmmmm

I hide a Claymore under the welcome mat. Nobody's gotten past the door.

Loud largish dogs.

Various arms distributed about the domicile since the peaceful protests last year.

With cellphones an unexpected knock on the door is an on alert. No not cuz i/we are scared...no one we know just comes by. They either text first or come over at a selected time. Im carrying 99% of time. If we are home its going to be a bad day for any perp.

Alan3413 said:

I hide a Claymore under the welcome mat. Nobody's gotten past the door.

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Dang, either that claymore has done a good job of rearming itself or I misunderstood your meaning and you have a pretty magical sword out front.

oberyn said:

Dang, either that claymore has done a good job of rearming itself or I misunderstood your meaning and you have a pretty magical sword out front.

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I went through a few welcome mats. But word gets around. Now nobody bothers me anymore.

[Kev308];6294080 said:

How prepared are you actually for a home invasion? Last night I had a scenario where the cold hard facts slapped me in the face. My wife and kids were asleep, I had just laid my head down for a few minutes and I was already in la la land. Suddenly I hear the front door shaking violently. "WTF is that!?" I sit up in my bed for a second and the sound continues and I think, "f&%k this is the real deal! I need my glasses!" I grab my glasses. "Which gun do I grab? What if it's one of the kids? Damnit the guns are locked up and it's dark!" So my instinct was to run towards the noise unarmed like a berserker and either football tackle someone or confirm it was a break in and retreat and unlock my safe.

It ended up being my dog having a seizure in his crate in the living room. I figured it out halfway when running into the room cuz he had had one a week ago and at the time I wondered what it would sound like if he had one while in his crate.

I give my performance a 3/10. One for actually finding my glasses and two for not being a total chicken shit.

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Please don't take this the wrong way. 3/10 was being generous. I think it was more like 1/10. If that really was an intrusion you would probably be dead or very very lucky. A well laid out plan and practice will doesn't guaranty life but should greatly improve your odds. I don't think most people really know how they will react until it actually happens. You learned a valuable lesson that could save you life in the event an intrusion really happens next time. I hope I never find myself in that situation but plan to be prepared for the worst. Hope your dog was ok. I love dogs. i have a golden retriever.

bratgirllcp said:

WOW thanks for sharing, after reading these posts I see we have to do some fine tuning around our home

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My house will light up like day light from every side. They also have dry contacts to hook to smart home system. The only issue with that is the deer. I have installed my own home energy smart home system. It is called Z-wave and I run it off a laptop. It has motion and cameras inside and out provides alerts to my cell, not to a central command. I do not pay a monthly service fee and can configure everything from lights, receptacles and doors. I can even shut off the main water supply. I have a UPS on the laptop with cell so if power is shut off by pulling your meter or cutting you cable I get the info and can call the police. This is real handy especially when on vacation. You can set up your lights to randomly turn on or off so it looks like your home. I have alarms set on windows, and doors including my gun safe.

Ponder_MD said:

ADR:

I attended SSET (Shipboard Security Engagement Tactics) while in the Navy. This is gunplay in the extremely cramped confines of US Navy ships.
I shot the hostage in the throat with a paintball.

Click to expand...

Yes and they learned the tactics from the USCG as we have been boarding ships for custom checks and drugs for many years.

We were teaching the Navy when we were on attached LED teams. When the LED teams where going on a boarding the Navy ship would hoist the USCG Eunson. Then the Navy ship would not fall under the Posse Comitatus Act. This prevented an act of war, while boarding foreign flagged ships by the US Navy.

I made the mistake of only being prepared for a night time intrusion when everyone was home. I didn't think I had to worry about a daytime home invasion. Well, I was wrong and my son suffered a concussion as a result when they tied him up and beat him. Two german shepherds later, he finally feels "safe" again. The one dog that stays at his side is a real S.O.B. to anyone but family. By the way, the intruders were caught as a result of electronic surveillance (one of their phones showed up on my wifi router).

Harrys said:

Yes and they learned the tactics from the USCG as we have been boarding ships for custom checks and drugs for many years.

We were teaching the Navy when we were on attached LED teams. When the LED teams where going on a boarding the Navy ship would hoist the USCG Eunson. Then the Navy ship would not fall under the Posse Comitatus Act. This prevented an act of war, while boarding foreign flagged ships by the US Navy.

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Yep, I have some experience with what you describe in your second paragraph.

Your Z-wave system is very comprehensive. Nice work.

I plan so they go to my neighbor's house before mine because of the difference in defense setups. I have led lights under all window on overnight. Three inch screws in all hinges and locks. Double hung window with lots of grids ( hard to get through and make lots of noise). Door kit to put bolt through the slider so it can be lifted off the rail. Emergency cord taken off the electric garage door opener. Dog alarm and an internally suppressed 9MM AR pistol with a considerable amount of ammo in large containers that fit in the AR. Security signs that say we have cameras and alarms at the road and at every door. My neighbor came over and said I must be really afraid to have all this done. I told him I wasn't afraid but what that criminals are naturally lazy and they will come in his house before they hit mine. He has a security company come out the next week.

kenpo333 said:

I plan so they go to my neighbor's house before mine because of the difference in defense setups. I have led lights under all window on overnight. Three inch screws in all hinges and locks. Double hung window with lots of grids ( hard to get through and make lots of noise). Door kit to put bolt through the slider so it can be lifted off the rail. Emergency cord taken off the electric garage door opener. Dog alarm and an internally suppressed 9MM AR pistol with a considerable amount of ammo in large containers that fit in the AR. Security signs that say we have cameras and alarms at the road and at every door. My neighbor came over and said I must be really afraid to have all this done. I told him I wasn't afraid but what that criminals are naturally lazy and they will come in his house before they hit mine. He has a security company come out the next week.

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****Almost everyone in my neighborhood has some kind of security system as it was offered when we purchased the home as an option - mostly camera setups, LED motion controlled lights with cameras, window alarms, and other typical features with a smart hub, and wired and wireless PTZ type cameras wherever we wanted, etc.. as options. House is wired Cat 6 cable throughout so it's easy to do POE type camera setups, etc.. I got a bit of a discount on my homeowners insurance for having the alarm setup.

I figure it's cheap insurance versus having no protection whatsoever. I'm thinking about getting a couple of BLM signs to kind of round things out in case rioting comes out here. Hopefully, they burn and loot my house last...

Obviously, I'll be totally screwed if the Right Wing starts rioting and looting but I'll take my chances that it's gonna not be them.

Ooh, thanks for the reminder about home insurance. I'm going to contact my carrier and inquire about a home security discount.

SkiPatrolDude said:

So, I posted before in this thread but I'll tell my personal home invasion story. It's actually what prompted my interest in firearms. Prior to this I had not ever shot, nor even seen a gun that wasn't being worn by a police officer.

It was 2009 and I was living in Catonsville just outside of UMBC while attending college. I was living in a very inexpensive development (that unbeknownst to me was predominantly section 8) with a roommate, and my girlfriend and her roommates lived about 100 feet across a common area.

My girlfriend and I were on our way home from dinner, I parked the car and she said she was going to grab a shower at her place and be over in 20 or so minutes. So we each walk to our respective houses and I shut my door and locked it. About 15 minutes later I get a knock on the door. I open the door to two very large highschool age boys that immediately start trying to sell me new windows. I explain that this is a rental and begin shutting the door, when the barrel end of a handgun gets shoved between the door jam, and the second kid backs up and pummels the door open.

They quickly enter and hold me at gun point, verbally and physically threatening me in a way that still gives me nightmares. They tie me up with rope they had and start asking where I keep my money/valuables.

Thankfully I had about $300 in cash and a few random electronics to give them. After beating me up pretty good and taking a good pistol whip to the face, they were on their way. My GF came over not 3 minutes after that with not a single clue as to what just happened. I am most thankful of all that she did not come over while this was occurring.

Even after filing a police report, I do not think they ever caught the kids.

I believe they were sitting in their car in the parking lot and casing houses. My neighbor was convinced that I was targeted for being white, but who knows. In that development I probably did look like an easy/worthwhile target.

I was 20 years old when this happened. I have genuinely never feared for my life as much as I did in those moments. The kid with the gun to my head kept repeating "we are going to kill you (racial expletive) just for fun". They very next day I went out and bought myself a Mossberg 500 (not old enough to buy a pistol), but quickly realized I had no idea how to use it and had no friends that really knew either. So there began my quest into firearms, shooting, and taking self defense in the home much more seriously.

I have no doubt that I have moderate PTSD from those events. I am mentally unable to leave my front door open like my neighbors do, even though I live in one of the safest neighborhoods in town, I check every lock in my house before bed and before I leave, my alarm is on essentially all of the time, I've got front and back cameras, and I NEVER answer the door to unexpected arrivals.

In that moment I also developed a raging and violent hate for home intruders. The next one who tries any of that stuff in my home is getting put in a coffin.

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DAMN that is scary SPD. I don't blame you one bit for how you feel now.

With age you learn. I know now that I will NEVER let someone tie me up. It's all over at that point. The time to fight is before that. Now, when I was 20, I wasn't as mentally prepared as I am today, so who knows what I would have done.