Break in - hunker down or clear the house

[perry]

I'm starting a new thread to discuss what was brought up in this one https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/carry_issues_and_self_defense/218651-someone_broke_in.html

Say you heard the bump in the night and think someone made entry.. You hear a window break and / or door open. You gather the family and are in one the kids' rooms. Do you go explore the house while someone stays back to call 911? Do you barricade the door and call 911? Feel free to adjust your answer according to your living situation.

Do you live somewhere that would have a fast police response, or out in the county where there may only be one or two deputies miles away?

 

[youngda9]

If I was sure enough of the noise(window break or door open) to gather the family in a room. I would stay in the room with my shotty pointed down the fatal funnel while calling the cops...let the professionals clear the house.

 

[mrp010]

I my house if I heard a break in, it would be more likely I would meet the crook on the way to the kid's room. So I would have the wife dial 911 and hunker down with the shotgun and then head out with the 9mm.

I'd be sure to tell her not to shoot me when I get back tho!

 

[K_W]

If I hear it and know that someone's inside... Hunker down. Wife goes under the bed with handgun. I'm on the far side with shotgun. Anything that comes though the door is getting perforated.

If I just hear a noise, I investigate with the handgun.

 

[VUPDblue]

bunker down with the shorty and wait for the boys in blue. no reason for me to clear the house alone.

 

[lovemachine]

I have a 130lb Rottweiler in the house. I'll let him take care of it while I'm in the bedroom calling the cops while keeping a shotgun pointed at the door.

 

[Bruenor]

The main problem that I have with my house is the split floor plan. The front door leads into the living room. The master bedroom is on one side, and the other bedrooms (i.e. nursery) is on the other. If I hear something in the night, I'm heading out to check. I'd much rather have all the bedrooms on the same side of the house. That would give me the option of staying put.

 

[kawtech87]

I live in a small one story house. There are only 4 rooms but two ways inside.

Through my garage into the kitchen, or the front door into the living room just outside my bedroom.

If they come in the front door I will only be about 10ft away with a 590 and 6rnds of 00.

If they come through the garage, then as soon as they round the corner I will be in the kitchen again with the 590 and 6rnds of 00.

 

[Cam]

I'll never tell....I'll keep my plans a surprise for the bad guy.

 

[Ziggy01]

Secure family together, call 911, and pray tbat the perp does not walk through the door forcing you to use force.

 

[Que]

The only thing of real value in my home are my wife and children. I'm securing the stairs and the wife is on the phone with 911.

Whenever I see one of these threads, I wish I had a dog, but the wife is not going for it. If you can have a dog, gun, and alarm, use all three!

 

[williamsburg]

I live out in the "country" the only law out here is a county sheriff. And they are stretched out in my area so response time is long. I'd have the wife call 911 and I would explore. I've taught my wife to shoot if need to but not at a distance so I would have time to make myself known to her.


(A few months ago I was asleep and my wife was watching tv. She wakes me with a gun in her hand and says hey I think someone is snooping around the house. Gotta love a woman like that)

 

[nirol]

bunker down with the shorty and wait for the boys in blue. no reason for me to clear the house alone.

This was always my plan too. However, it got me thinking this a.m. What do you do when the police arrive?

I doubt they're going to kick in the door and clear the house for you. So, you have to go let them in, no? This concerns me a bit, because then in essence you're still clearing the house to let them in....OR you're not clearing but going straight to the front door (don't really like that either).

If you do decide to clear the house to let them in, you're walking around with a gun when there might be officers on the other side (know what's behind your target) of your bad guy depending on where you run into him. You also might be making the officers more and more nervous by taking 5 minutes to answer the door--are you still on the phone with 911 personally? Not sure I like taking focus away to hold the phone.

Of course there are a lot of possibilities, the bad guy flees as soon as he hears them pull up, or a cop sees you through a window with the gun clearing the house and mistakes you for the bad guy etc.

I'm not saying it is better to clear it before the cops come, it just got me to thinking as I never really considered what I'd do when they showed up...

 

[Indy317]

I would stay put and get in a position that gives you the best odds of survival. This would be behind a locked and reinforced door (likely a bedroom door), and maybe behind cover (bathroom wall, furniture). This way you force the person in the home to pass through the fatal funnel, which is the doorway. One also needs to be yelling to the person to get out of the home, the cops are on the way, and that you are armed. Just keep repeating it.

This leads to another thing: There are wired and wireless indoor cameras that can be had for cheap anymore. You could place them in common areas of the home (looking down a hallway, in the kitchen, garage, etc.). Some you can even check on-line, so those with fancy cell phones could likely bring up live feeds to see if there are actually people in the home. Others could wire this into a splitter device (usually uses RCA cables) and run it to their bedroom TV.

 

[perry]

Well, you could tell the 911 operator that you are barricaded up stairs, armed, what you are wearing, and for the police to go around back and you will drop keys down to them. You do have a phone in the kids room, right? Deactivated cell phones can call 911 if the phone line is cut because your cell phone may be down stairs on the charger. And that set of keys? Few extra shells and magazines too? You won't grab that stuff after grabbing a gun and going down the hallway to secure the kids. Just stuff to consider.

My house is small enough and laid out in such a way that I'd be screwed if someone came in the front. Hopefully the tv would distract them enough and give me time if they came in the back. I'm still formulating my plan and may end up rearranging furniture to make barricading a door easier and quicker.

 

[halfmileharry]

Every situation is different. I've done both. A known threat in the house is different than a "noise". I assess the situation and decide from there.
Family in the house will always be first priority and defense of them is paramount.
I know my dwelling well and know my areas of defense vs offensive capabilities and opportunity to be aggressive.
911 is always an option. Sorry, I don't put my fate into an unknown time period for the "calvary to show up" and save me. They're great guys with a thankless job but my ultimate defense rides on my abilities to fend for myself.

 

[Vic_Mackey]

spray through every wall in my house, and shoot through the holes with my uzi until the noise stops all while being hunkered down and calling the cops

 

[TheRude1]

First the 3 70lb+ dogs will be the first line of defense,so so in size but they have the advantage in #'s, 2 of them will go after someone and the third will go for the throat.
Then me and the double eagle will go see if anything is left of them

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

I hear a noise, I look at the video. I know what's coming at me. All entrances are covered, inside & out, along with other things. All the bedrooms are clustered at the end of a hallway; there's no way out the back, but no way in except a fatal funnel at the entry to the hallway, and I mean a long one. If LE has to bust in, the BGs are either between us or peripheral, plus with the video I can provide intel to the dispatcher. Our 911 response is a couple of minutes, and I'm sure with shots fired, they'd be on it. Pretty well set up here

 

[TD12]

My reaction is respond to the noise, grab the flashlight and the M&P and start to cut the pie on every door way. I also am a single male and slightly trained in room clearing and know every room in my house like the back of my hand.

After the burglar is either taken down or assessed to not be there, I either return to my room and call it in from my phone or go back to bed.