Home defense concepts and equipment

[Failure2Stop]

I am posting this due to another thread regarding equipment selection for training that brought up the concept of home defense. I am in no way an expert on civilian home defense (I don't even know what would make one qualified in this skill set anyway), so I have based this on my experience with defense of buildings in a military context.

I am not talking about defending your compound from marauding hordes of Chinese ATF Agent Zombies, but rather response to a "bump in the night", breaking glass, barking dog situation. There are of course circumstantial differences that will drive the individual in their response to a potential home invasion which will determine if the individual will be better off barricading themself, securing family members, or actively looking for invaders. I am interested in how different people envision themselves responding, the traning that supports this response, and the reasoning for their response method/equipment.

Here is my view-
When in my home I do not carry a firearm. This could be viewed as poor mindset I guess, but I don't. I usually have a loaded firearm within arm's reach or at least in the same room, but it is rarely attached to me unless I have just returned from the the outside world where I was carrying, before changing for exercise/shower/attention to the GF, etc. In the event of a suprise breach it will probably take me a few seconds to get a gun in hand. I will just have to hope the invader(s) will trip over my coffee table while I scramble for a weapon.

When I am sleeping I have the ubiquitous "pistol on the bed-stand" with a light attached as well as a hand-held light and my cell phone. The primary purpose of that pistol is to deal with something that has entered the room. It is the only firearm I will reasonably be able to bring to bear should the attacker be in extremely close proximity and allow me to fight with both hands and still deliver effective fire.

I keep a M4 clone in a "cruiser ready"/"condition 3"/"loaded but not made ready" state with the safety engaged. It's application is for anytime I have time/opportunity/need to grab it and charge it. It is kept in cond 3 for a few reasons, not the the least of which is impeding the immediate use of the weapon by someone that entered my bedroom.

I see an invasion worthy of immediate investigation. This is not to say that anyone else should do so, simply that in my general situation I reason that it would be better to do so than to barricade. The faster I respond to the invasion the more initiative and suprise are on my side. I want to make contact before the invader(s) have had time to orient themselves or gain deep placement inside the enclosure. Hopefully I will be able to catch them before thay have completed entry. This requires speed.

Due to my need for rapid action I will be limited to tools and equipment that I can hold or use while closing with the suspected breach point. Target identification and discrimination are critical to the success of home defense without endangering non-threatening individuals, so I will need to have a light, which are mounted on my go-to guns. I want to close with the breach point as quickly as tactically possible, so I will most likely not have the time to dress in anything more substantial than my bunny-slippers.

While I have armor available I think that speed of action is more important than protection level. Same with spare ammunition- I don't have anywhere in my boxers to retain a mag, so I will go with what is in my gun (another reason I like a Redi-Mag).

I have had a couple of times that I have responded to what seemed to be attempted break-ins as I have described and at no point did I think that I was doing the "wrong" thing (one was nothing, the other was a drunk guy that mistook my front door for his and kept trying to get his key to turn). I was able to quickly identify the location of the "breach" even when awaking from deep sleep and quickly move to that location.

When working alone you are exponentially more vulnerable than even working as a pair. Since you are more vulnerable from the rear I reckon that keeping your back to a know safe area while controlling deeper movement by the invader and minimizing frontal exposure to be the safest concept, while closing down the breach point as quickly as possible will resolve the incident the fastest. Situation and layout will play a large part in what concept will work better.

From the other thread I see that some are taking the time to put on armor and belts. While I decided against it, there may be merit in it, and I am curious as to how those items have worked in actual use, or how their absence would have made a difference.

[Iraqgunz]

F2S,

I see alot of common sense and thought in your plan. When I am home my scenario is as follows;

1. G19 or G22 on night stand with Surefire X300 attached. Next to night stand is an AR with a light, sling and one fully loaded PMAG. Chamber is empty, on fire.

2. Lots of factors involved assuming that one wakes up and is coherent. Basically if I hear a bump in the night I'll grab the pistol, do a look, listen and observe and go from there.

3. If the front door is kicked in and SHTF then I will go straight for the AR, take a position at the bedroom door which has a view to the pantry/garage and my sons room and a view down the hall towards the main part of the house. In this time my wife will be calling 911 and manning the Glock and heading towards the walk-in closet/ safe room.

4. As for armor and belts and all that jazz probably not. I would rather stop the threat immediately then be dicking around and get caught with my pants down.

[Jay Cunningham]

This is an excellent topic for discussion.

Concerning civilian home defense, I can only speak for myself. I have heard every argument for or against this approach or that approach and this piece of gear or gun versus the other one... and they can all be valid with an understanding of the context.

For me:

My primary defensive weapon is a modified Glock 19 equipped with an SF x300 light loaded with Speer Golt Dot 124 gr. +P JHP's. This is my "nightstand gun" and is always ready to go. Quite frequently, I am armed with my other Glock 19 while in my dwelling, but I am not always carrying inside.

I have a modified Colt LE6920 in Condition 3 quickly accessible, but this is not what I'm going to grab if someone is inside - this is for a condition that I have at least a minute of advance warning. This weapon is equipped with a CCO, a quick-adjusting two point sling, and a weapon-mounted light.

I do have my "war belt" (which is my training class rig) hanging alongside my LE6920... is this something that I would realistically ever don? I could - it only takes throwing it around my waist and a click to secure it. It is loaded with everything I might ever need for an extended fight. The odds that I would ever need this (or could ever effectively use this) are extraordinarily low, but it doesn't cost me anything to maintain, so it's there as an option. Realistically, you are going to run with what you brung on your gun - which is why I also agree that something like a Redi-Mag is a great idea for a defensive carbine. I have pondered whether a sling is necessary in this scenario, and I can understand why someone might omit it.

I live in an apartment on the ground floor, so I don't really have much margin for error. If I ever experienced a "hot break-in" then I need to be instantly in the fight - I have no choice. Retreating to a bedroom is not really an option for me. I need to confront any intruder with extreme aggression. I know for a fact that I have the ability to be up and armed out of a deep sleep in mere seconds. My wife shook me awake once to whisper "there's someone jiggling the knob on our front door"... I was up and armed instantly, taking cover between an interior wall and the front door, developing the situation. Turns out it was a couple of drunk morons who thought they were somewhere else... all's well that ends well.

I think my wife knows to stay behind me and call 911 - but I have no idea what she'd actually do.

[Zhurdan]

I had a situation a ways back where a guy crashed into the empty lot next to my house and got out and ran from the police. He was drunk and tried running up the hill next to my house. He ran into a wire fence (as it was dark and he couldn't see it) and tumbled down the hill. It was funny to watch him roll down the hill, but I realized that if he'd made a B-line for my sliding glass door (which was open), he'd have been there by the time I got up and looked outside (lazy response because wife and I were pondering what the ruckus might have been). That being said, I carry all the time, even at home. It usually ends up on the coffee table if we're parked in the couch watching a movie or something, but after that, I realized there's little time to actually arm yourself.

At night, my carry pistol goes on the nightstand with my mag pouch that I carry normally. Rifles are in the safe as the houses are pretty close together. If there was an obvious breach into my home, I'd hunker down in the bedroom with the wife on the phone because of the way the house is set up. From the bedroom, it allows me the ability to light up whatever comes thru the door with no worries of over penetration (there's a big hill behind whatever would come thru the bedroom door. If I left the confines of the bedroom, there's just too many other homes across the street and on the left side of the home for me to feel safe about firing. NOT to say I can't shoot, but all it would take is one miss in the dark to irrevokably change things for the innocent people nearby. Besides, the situation puts an agressor at a severe disadvantage being I'll know exactly when they reach the bedroom door (it's locked at night) and I have an off center view of the door. If it gets kicked open without notification, it ain't anyone I want or asked to be there.

If there's just a "scary noise" as my wife calls it, I have a system wired in my house to a central remote. I press a few buttons, and all the lights in the house and outside come on. If someone's coming in quiet, they probably don't want the attention and would bolt. If not, they'll face the same .45 a loud assaulting BG would.

I seriously doubted for a long time that this situation would ever arise in my little old town, but a year or so ago, there were people violently busting into homes for prescription drugs. (they figured out the BG's had a person directing them to homes with recent perscriptions and caught them) It is highly unlikely that this will happen, but it's better to have a plan than not.

As an aside, we charge our cell phones in the bedroom rather than somewhere else. It'd pay to have access to a phone that isn't wired into a wall.

[QuietShootr]

I
As an aside, we charge our cell phones in the bedroom rather than somewhere else. It'd pay to have access to a phone that isn't wired into a wall.

This is a big +1. Wife and I both have charging stands on each side of the bed.

[Iraq Ninja]

I guess I am a big proponent of body armor and here is why. Most people think it is slow to put it on. It is all a matter of technique.

For us working in Iraq or Astan, rocket or mortar attacks can be common. You learn to get your armor on quickly. I found that putting on my full "work" vest to be slow since you normally have to use two hands due to the weight. In the dark it is even harder and things can get hung up as you are throwing it on. So, I went with a simple plate carrier with just a med kit on the front. I draped it over my night table with the rear plate flat on top of the table and the front plate hanging down in front. Since the rear plate has no kit on it, it lays flat. The inside portion of the carrier is facing up.

When I put it on, I simply grab the rear portion off the table and throw it over my head. This action can also be done with one hand if needed. Another way is to roll out of bed onto the floor (commonly done during attacks) and walk on all fours until your head goes goes into the plate carrier. I never sleep in a totally darkened room due to these constant threats. I want to see just enough to get to my kit. Oftentimes, this means nothing more than the glow from my laptop's screen.


People think putting on armor is slow because they only put it on for shooting courses and it is normally fastened. It is really a matter of a lack of training with the vest. You do not have to buckle the plate carrier right away. The weight will let it hang naturally over your chest.

[Mr.Goodtimes]

if someone breaks in, ive decided i will be meeting them at somewhere in the house. my house is a two story house and my stairs are at the front of the house. and the way me home is set up, its very easy to clear the house from the stairs, starting at the front and moving towards the back. this is also ideal because 5 feet from my bedroom, is a balcony that overlooks the front door.

[ColdDeadHands]

I live out in the country and police needs an average of one hour to respond around here. I have 3 German Shepherds around the house in Kennels - 1 to the left side of the House and 2 behind the house. My Doberman is running the place as he doesn't go after the horses or cats (he does like to kill the annoying possums tho...).
In the house I have a black lab mix that tries to go thru the window if somebody enters the property. There is also a pit bull in the house next to the main entrance in a cage during night. I know he would go completely nuts and tear his cage down if somebody enters the house.
All this gives me plenty of warning and I know by the way the dogs bark if it is a serious situation (somebody on my property trespassing) or not.
We have a pistol on each bedside and a shotgun in the bedroom. If the dogs go completely nuts I will go to the window and see what's going on and then go outside to check it out, most of the time armed with the 12 Gauge. I know I shouldn't but I love my dogs and will protect them, they will do the same for me. I need to get used to leave the house thru the back door as it will give me an advantage at night.
IF I would see 2 or more BG's in my front yard thru the window I would grab as many mags and ammo as I can and wait for them in the kitchen (as I can view both doors from there) and deal with the threats there.
My dogs will tell me a lot about potential positions of the BG's by the way they bark, where they look at & which window they try to get thru.
Sometimes when I forget to let the Doby out at night and something is going on I open the front door a bit to let the pit bull out. Anybody trespassing WILL RUN when they hear him come. I can't imagine a more frightening noise at night as him stomping the ground while he runs after something and growling at the same time. Even if they don't run it's enough of a diversion where I can gain advantage over them.
As you can tell I rely a lot on my dogs to keep my property safe and to help me in the situation of a Home Invasion. People have done so for centuries. I do need to invest in a surveillance system so I can see from the inside of the house what's going on outside.

[Selftest]

My house has three entrances, two of which are back sliding doors. One goes directly into a bedroom. While the person in there has no relation to me (she's the woman I rent from) her safety is still important to me. The other person in the house is a former S. Korean military sergeant, and he's pretty handy with my AR.

I am the only one armed in the house. I have my Sig 226 on a nightstand with cell phone and 3 flashlights (haven't bought my x300 yet). I have my AR within arms length, but I am between it and any entrance.

I have had two "bumps in the night" that the dogs (a shepherd and a boxer) have woken and alerted to. I cleared the house, sat in the dark for about thirty minutes (I could see/hear all three entrances) and then went back to sleep.

I don't know what, if anything, I could do different. If I need more than 60 AR rounds, or 60 pistol (all loaded and within arms length) then we're all ****ed anyway.

In my opinion, which isn't much, a pistol would be MY best home invasion defense. I'm proficient with it, well trained, and have cleared buildings with it, and only it. Shotgun/AR is too unweildly in our tight hallways (all three bedrooms are in very tight hallways), but if I had to set up to defend the other occupants, I have the option. I also have pepper spray and handcuffs, if a less lethal approach is needed.

One thing I will be doing is familiarizing the roommates with where I keep my weapons and ammo. I have left a key to my room with my roomate, in case I am at work (I work security for my neighborhood, anyhow... lucky me!) or otherwise absent.

[dancinzen@hotmail.com]

shotgun by the bed is my option! but in the case of not wanting my spray to hit anything beyond my house i have a g19 there as well...