I’m not sure if this is the best place to ask, but I want to talk about home defense and clearing the house. Most people who train for this say it’s a bad idea to go clearing your house. But I’ve seen civilians say things like ‘I’ll just grab my defense gun and a flashlight and check out that noise.’ Isn’t that kind of clearing your house? Most defense training says to pick a room with your family and lock yourself in until the cops arrive. But when is it okay to check out a noise? Do you always call the cops and lock yourself down for any noise? I’m struggling to figure out how to balance the advice to not clear the house, but still identify any potential threats. How do you do both?
I think it depends on what my dogs are doing and where my child is.
Aaron said:
I think it depends on what my dogs are doing and where my child is.
Good point! The dog definitely helps with figuring things out.
Aaron said:
I think it depends on what my dogs are doing and where my child is.
Good point! The dog definitely helps with figuring things out.
It also depends on your normal reaction. I always check out weird noises. The alternative is waking my kids, scaring them, and bringing them to our room in a panic, which could be worse. One time, my wife didn’t close the garage door properly, and a gust of wind set off the alarm. If I had brought the kids into the room, they’d have been terrified. But when you’re actually clearing the house in an emergency, the adrenaline is intense, and that’s not ideal if you’ve never practiced. You have to build muscle memory for these situations so your body knows what to do. I’d say if you plan to clear your house, you should practice often.
I’ve always thought about getting my kids and wife into a safe spot, like a closet. The kids can hide under the kitchen island, and my wife can defend the door with a shotgun. If the intruders stay on the first floor, I’m not going to go after them. But if they try to come upstairs, I’ll do whatever I can to keep them away from my family. This is assuming it happens at night when we’re upstairs.
Professionals clear houses as a team with body armor. If you don’t have armor and a team, I wouldn’t recommend trying to clear your house. Just make sure your family is safe and either get out or hide. It’s better to cover the door from a safe spot than to open it without knowing what’s behind it.
I think that if I’m worried enough to clear the house, I should just lock down and call the cops. I’ll tell them I’m barricaded upstairs with my wife and let them handle it. If we have a baby soon, that might change the plan to securing the baby first and then barricading ourselves. But I’m not going to search the house myself; I’ll leave that to the professionals.
You bring up a good point that often gets overlooked. My plan depends on whether I wake up to a noise or if I hear someone breaking in. If it’s just a noise, I won’t bother the police. I’ve had random noises like branches tapping on the roof or a workstand falling, and I’ve learned to assess if it’s worth investigating. If it’s something like a thump with no follow-up noise, I’ll check it out myself.
For me, it’s different. I’ve got ducks, and sometimes they freak out at night because of raccoons or coyotes. When they’re on high alert, I’ll run outside with a gun. But if it’s just a normal bump in the night, I don’t react unless the ducks are going crazy. If someone’s kicking in the front door, I’m just going to cover the top of the stairs and wait.
@Hugh
I can just imagine someone creeping around outside and suddenly seeing my llamas staring at them in the dark. Priceless!
Melvin said:
@Hugh
I can just imagine someone creeping around outside and suddenly seeing my llamas staring at them in the dark. Priceless!
Not the hawk tuah they wanted but the hawk tuah they gettin
@Hugh
Guineas are great for this too. They make a lot of noise if something’s up.
I’ve had a few ‘bump in the night’ moments, but it was usually something small like a woodworking project falling over or my cat knocking something down. The only break-in I had was when I wasn’t home. At 2 AM, everything sounds loud, but I’m glad I didn’t panic and call the cops for nothing. Maybe I’ve gotten used to noises, but I’ll still check them out. I think I need to be more deliberate about it.
A good group of dogs can deter a lot of trouble. If you can, set up a safe room with your family. In some houses, you can use common walls or closets to bring everyone together quickly without having to leave your room. When seconds count, the police might be too far away.
It’s better to hunker down with a shotgun. Clearing the house is an offensive move, and you’re more likely to get hurt on offense than on defense.
When I hear a noise loud enough to wake me or my wife, I clear the house and check the perimeter. I’ve had a lot of training, but even before that, I did this. I can’t just ignore a potential break-in.
@Reynaldo
Respect, man.
Lock yourself in. It works for criminals until the ROV-mounted explosives show up.
Hunker down for as long as possible. Make sure the intruder is well inside the house if you have to deal with them. It’s better for you if it looks like you’re acting in self-defense.
Planning to let intruders into your house unchallenged and then defend yourself is a bad idea. You should secure your house with impact-resistant windows, reinforced doors, and motion sensors. Have dogs, a good alarm system, and even a backup dog. Your home should be ready for anything.