Practical Home Defense Discussion Thread.

[L84CABO]

Second line of Defense to buy me 15 seconds to get me to third line of defense.

Holy crap! Is that your dog? Geez, if something gets past that you've REALLY got a problem on your hands!

What's he weigh, like 140 lbs?

[Lonestargrizzly]

Typical first line of defense (not my house, but down the street).


Second line of Defense to buy me 15 seconds to get me to third line of defense.



Third line of defense sprinkled around the house (secured in lockboxes/safes).

Ain't you got the bullet in there backwards?

[KrisDSA]

Off the top of my head:

1. Harden you home.
All you have to do is be a more inconvenient target than the next home.
Security doors, ADT stickers, etc.
A simple dog dish by the front/rear door (even if you don't have a dog) is a good (cheap) first step. Maybe a "I love Dobermans" sticker by the back door.

2. Get a dog.
Serious. Great deterrent and early warning detection. Doesn't have to be a big dog, just one that barks.

3. Get a good flashlight.
Rule #4 of firearms calls for "Know your target and what is beyond it." I would rather get got shot myself than shoot the wrong person.

4. Keep a phone by your bed.

5. Have a plan
This one is #5, but it not because it is lower priority. Know what you are going to do in the event of a home invasion. Train your family what to do. Treat it just like a fire drill.

6. Firearms (If applicable)
If you are going to have a firearm for this purpose, get training. If you are not the person that could bring themselves to USE a firearm on another person (that's fine) then don't count on one. Use something else (bat, pepper spray, dog, golf club, taser, etc).

7. Non Firearm
Get training. If a bat is your primary tool, know its limitations and how to swing/jab with it.

8. Draw the line.
Know when and how you are going to act.
It will be different for everyone.
Define, as best you can, what the limits are. Maybe somebody rummaging through the garage is a 'call the police and wait' moment (other action not required). Where as a kicked in door is a 'direct action required' moment.
I, personally, will announce my presence and issue a warning to an intruder. Maybe its my dopey neighbor or someone I know that needs at some weird hour of the night.
Examples:
(After issued warning) He steps through the window, I act.
He kicks open the door and charges in, I act.
I hear someone in the garage, I call the cops, prepare for encounter (should one arise), then wait.


There is probably lots I left out.
Looking forward to reading the responses on this thread.

I have always been a more 'practical, less tactical' kinda guy.

this is a great start. Just add med kit next to the bedside for a shooting. Motion lights and camera

[tanks]

Ain't you got the bullet in there backwards?

Inside HK owner joke from the HK shot show catalog some years past.

[tanks]

Holy crap! Is that your dog? Geez, if something gets past that you've REALLY got a problem on your hands!

What's he way, like 140 lbs?

Tibetan Mastiff and trained as a guard dog. Last vet check he was 135 pounds of solid muscle and bone. Looks heavier due to all the fur.

Here he is being groomed, the groomer looks tiny compared to him.

[Librarian]

Whereas, if you call from a cell phone, it goes to the nearest CHP dispatch center. They then have to connect the call to the local agency, wasting valuable time. Also, when calling from a cellphone, you're location will not show up on dispatches computers.

That used to be always true in CA. A few years ago some cities began acquiring the equipment to 'intercept' 911 calls within range; San Francisco appears to have done so, and Fremont was in progress.

So it's only mostly still the case. Check with your local agencies about "Public Service/Safety Access Points".

[EvoXguy]

I keep 3 guns around my new apartment. If I was to have people over I would store them of course. But I keep one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, and one in the bathroom. I currently don't have that much ammo, probably 37 rounds between my 3 guns. I guess I would have to use my bedroom gun to fight to the kitchen gun and from there I would escape through the sliding glass door in my living room.

I'd say you need more ammo bro.


Great thread btw.

[calif 15-22]

If it's an HK VP9 . . . you can load it either way works just fine!

Inside HK owner joke from the HK shot show catalog some years past.

[1LL1]

+1
Yes the Laws!
Foolish of me to leave that out.

The use of deadly force can get tricky.

A good rule of thumb is the '3 part test':
1. Opportunity
2. Ability
3. Jeopardy

The bad guy must have both the opportunity to hurt you, the ability to hurt you and you must be in jeopardy of great bodily harm/death.

If they have the ability to hurt you (knife in hand) and are threatening to kill you (read Jeopardy), but are on the other side of the locked door they do not have the opportunity.

really good advice....save yourself a lot of headache afterward

If it's an HK VP9 . . . you can load it either way works just fine!

USP as well?

[Richmond10mm]

Back to lights.......I set up the interior lights that are by all the ground floor doors on nice dimmers and put in those Philips 60w LED Warm Glow clear bulbs that are on sale at Home Cheapo for $7.......before I retire for the evening I put them on real low.....very nice warm color....
The sides and rear of the house are covered by massive motion-sensing floodlights.......and the cherry on top is the front of the house has floods aiming back at the house......so when a visitor/intruder approaches he casts huge shadows all over the front windows....

I can attest to how nice nestcams/dropcams are.....but I don't think the install is done until every point of possible entry is stickered with ADT and surveillance camera warning stickers......

I'm a dog guy too......but I got lucky......rescued a junkyard dog.....bat**** crazy hater vicious snapper aligator crocodile chainsaw.....total liability, can't be enjoyed like a normal dog, no walks near any other life-forms possible, has to be caged when guests are over, etc.....but a most excellent layer of home defense.....

[BennyAdeline]

Back to lights.......I set up the interior lights that are by all the ground floor doors on nice dimmers and put in those Philips 60w LED Warm Glow clear bulbs that are on sale at Home Cheapo for $7.......before I retire for the evening I put them on real low.....very nice warm color....
The sides and rear of the house are covered by massive motion-sensing floodlights.......and the cherry on top is the front of the house has floods aiming back at the house......so when a visitor/intruder approaches he casts huge shadows all over the front windows....

I can attest to how nice nestcams/dropcams are.....but I don't think the install is done until every point of possible entry is stickered with ADT and surveillance camera warning stickers......

I'm a dog guy too......but I got lucky......rescued a junkyard dog.....bat**** crazy hater vicious snapper aligator crocodile chainsaw.....total liability, can't be enjoyed like a normal dog, no walks near any other life-forms possible, has to be caged when guests are over, etc.....but a most excellent layer of home defense.....

Good point on the stickers. I'm going to pick some up!

[BennyAdeline]

With the addition of our first child weeks away, I've been thinking about the transition from my bedroom to the nursery in a situation where someone has breached the house. The intruder will most likely be in our living room area after getting in. I'm assuming I'd pump lead while I cross the hall with my wife behind me, have her grab baby and hit the deck (while armed) and I'll continue fire if needed using the doorway as cover. Thoughts?

[rugershooter]

I'd like to pose a scenario I've been thinking about. I'll leave out the answer I came to so as not to bias the topic.

Bad guy comes in. You shoot him and he's down...weapon is out of reach and he's bleeding fast. Wife call the cops. Bad guy begins sobbing and begging for help. Your ears are ringing. Your kids are crying. What do you do?

Wife can deal with the kids to calm them down. I'd keep my weapon pointed at the BG until the cops get there. Play stupd games, win stupid prizes. There's no way in hell I'm going to administer medical help to someone I just shot. The only reason I'd shoot someone is because I believed he was an imminent deadly threat to me or my family. He just tried to kill me or my family. I'm not going to try saving his life, doing so is just plain stupid.

[BennyAdeline]

Wife can deal with the kids to calm them down. I'd keep my weapon pointed at the BG until the cops get there. Play stupd games, win stupid prizes. There's no way in hell I'm going to administer medical help to someone I just shot. The only reason I'd shoot someone is because I believed he was an imminent deadly threat to me or my family. He just tried to kill me or my family. I'm not going to try saving his life, doing so is just plain stupid.

There is where I stand 100%. Buy the ticket, take the ride. No way I'm getting close enough to have a knife make a guest appearance in my body.

[RandyD]

I was just thinking of similar scenario, where the bad guy(s) were gotten under control.
While I have the gun on him, I'd ask wife to get 3 rolls of heavy duty duct tape, and the first aid kit. Get him to sit in a chair or next to a sofa, and tape him down to it, hands first then feet/legs. Then after he's totally secured & immobilized, would offer to give him first aid (wound seal, tourniquet, whatever).

The threat was eliminated when the bad guy was shot and incapacitated. If he's still alive, and unable to continue being a threat, then I'd do my best to lock him down for the EMT and cops.
My initial gut thought would be, "why not eliminate the problem, while I can?", and pull the trigger. But in front of kids and wife, and having to live with that? Honestly, it's important for a family that we do the right thing as a family. You have to live with consequences of your actions, and I don't want my kids living with mistakes I made (dad in jail for murder, living with guilt of a murdered person, always having to hide the secret).

I just wanted to add a couple of comments. Instead of using Duct Tape, purchase a set of handcuffs and a dog leash. I still have my Peerless handcuff that I used when I was a LEO, and they are available for as little as $22.00. The dog leash, can be wrapped around the ankles, then between the ankles, then hook the leash's clip to the link on the handcuff and you have a hog tied suspect all wrapped up ready for his free ride to the nearest jail. It would also be a benefit to learn how to employ handcuffs appropriately, but if you have the ability to tape someone down, handcuffing them is far superior; it takes less time and its more effective.