Had to "Clear" my Backyard Last Night....now a Question

[negolien]

meh

No, it's called "serious tactical error."

Solo clearing is an extremely dangerous activity. Those who have training in doing it have been convinced by their experiences in training that it is not something to do unless absolutely necessary. If one goes to investigate, he (1) doesn't know how many adversaries, if any, he might be facing; (2) becomes an easy target for ambush or being flanked; (3) you leave your family defenseless if a bad guy gets around you and into the house. If in fact you go looking and come upon one or more bad guys willing to engage you, the odds are overwhelming that you will lose.

It's a good idea to get some training in clearing, however. While it's generally a bad idea, but sometimes you might have no choice. For example, if you are separated from a family member, then you really have to go find him/her and get then get to a place of safety.

The OP was successful here because no one was there. If a bad guy had been there, and if he was willing to fight, things most likely would not have worked out so well.

Tactically, the best plan is to (1) arm yourself; (2) make sure everyone is together in a defensible place of safety; (3) look and listen as best you can; and (4) if you can't identify the sound as benign, or have identified it as most likely a threat, call the police, stay on the line and wait.

Not really. You have the same concerns about getting ambushed, flanked or the BG getting by you and to your unprotected family.

I concur.. I might look outside but going out there armed not knowing the situation probably was a bad idea. Live and learn though you should use this to your advantage and find a defense plan that works better for you. More than likely turning on lights outside would scare away 99% of intruders. The other 1% are comming in then you can do what you have to I guess.

[dieselpower]

I concur.. I might look outside but going out there armed not knowing the situation probably was a bad idea. Live and learn though you should use this to your advantage and find a defense plan that works better for you. More than likely turning on lights outside would scare away 99% of intruders. The other 1% are comming in then you can do what you have to I guess.

really, can you prove any of that...

I am trying not to be a jerk, this isnt a snide comment... please explain to me what he did wrong...what was the bad idea or action...please show me briefings that prove 99% of intruders would run away rather then wait a bit before doing _________. Please show me data that proves the possible intruder will at that point come into the home directly after making a noise?

Please show me data that suggests calling 911 is the better option here.

again...reading the OP in line form....
1) I tell her to turn off ALL lights inside so if somebody is in our backyard, they cant see in and I can see out.
2) So I rush to get basic clothes on and quickly grab my surefire tac light and my loaded Kimber.
3) I slowly creep up and peer out the window....it's lighter outside than inside now since the lights are all off. I see nothing moving and hear nothing else.
4) I need to get outside to verify, but decided against opening the sliding glass door because tactically speaking, it's not in the best placement: Middle of the yard....If I looked right first and someone was to my left, they'll get the jump on me.
5) So I quickly move back to the garage and out the side door to the side yard.
6) First thing I notice is that it is really windy. Then I see our gate is fully closed and locked. Phew! That tells me that it is much less likely that someone is back there because our gate would make too much noise to risk closing, let alone opening.
7) Still suspicious, I shine the light down the side yard towards the back. WOW!!! 260 Lumens is freaking BRIGHT when you just wake up. It took my eyes a second to adjust and understand what I am seeing.....all clear.
8) Proceeded down the side to the backyard and turned the corner, lit up the backyard again. BRIGHT. All clear.

again...
he did everything correctly. he turned out the lights and checked the yard from a window...not seeing anything he exited the house from the safest place and only proceeded into the backyard when he was confident it was nothing, but needed to make sure.

[TAK]

Statistics aside?

How much training have you had in an urban environment?

The first rule is never clear anything alone, unless there is literally no other option. Most people also probably don't know how to clear things properly anyway, how far should you stand from walls? What should you avoid? How do you approach an area with multiple places of cover/avenues of fire? There is no rationalization for 'clearing' your backyard when you could have your family inside, safe. Even clearing your house is dangerous and stupid and should be avoided unless there is a situation in which a family member is trapped in a room between you and where you think they bad guy may be; I can honestly say in that case I would probably go get them. Not to mention if you fired on someone in your backyard you would be arrested, plain and simple. In California no jury will see you as in the right for shooting someone whom wasn't directly threatening your family. Especially if you waited to contact the police until after you shot them, or even at them.

My credentials-
I have cleared areas with real bad guys and been to multiple urban warfare courses, both meant to counter military and civilian threats.

[1 SIG fan]

i saw a few people said they wear a headlight to be hands free..????

this is FULL OF SO MUCH FAIL... that is WORSE then going outside in the OPs case. a target on your head that you can't instantly control is a horrible idea!

and +1 to everything Fiddletown said.

[1 SIG fan]

i saw a few people said they wear a headlight to be hands free..????

this is FULL OF SO MUCH FAIL... that is WORSE then going outside in the OPs case. a target on your head that you can't instantly control is a horrible idea!

and +1 to everything Fiddletown said.

[vintagearms]

I am trying not to be a jerk, this isnt a snide comment... please explain to me what he did wrong...what was the bad idea or action...please show me briefings that prove 99% of intruders would run away rather then wait a bit before doing _________. Please show me data that proves the possible intruder will at that point come into the home directly after making a noise?

Please show me data that suggests calling 911 is the better option here.

again...reading the OP in line form....

I know from a LE background that issues like this are done either with a partner or with a K9 unit. Officers typically DO NOT check backyards without a backup/partner. Its officers safety. I would ever suggest than a homeowner does this, even thinking he knows his backyard, because the intruder does have the advantage as you will be coming out with a directional light source or be perfectly lit to take down.

[dieselpower]

I know from a LE background that issues like this are done either with a partner or with a K9 unit. Officers typically DO NOT check backyards without a backup/partner. Its officers safety. I would ever suggest than a homeowner does this, even thinking he knows his backyard, because the intruder does have the advantage as you will be coming out with a directional light source or be perfectly lit to take down.

and I am sure if the OP saw a person in his backyard, he would have called 911 and not gone running outside. The fact he saw nothing, heard nothing and suspected it was nothing is the point here.

There is no reason to hunker down with the wife and kids hiding in the bathroom while you take up a defensive position and call 911.

I think he did the proper thing and exactly what everyone should do. He had a firearm with him for the extreme, not the norm. We can not live our lives worrying over the extreme.

He could have encountered a rabid bunny...or a pissed off Opossum...

I read stories every month about homeowners arresting criminals...in their backyards, breaking into buildings, their homes, their cars... Sure sometimes its goes bad...understand that, but you can't live in fear nor should you believe its a job for 911 to check out every sound you hear outside. There isnt enough Officers in any city to do that.

I bet dollars to doughnuts there are 1000 more people checking out noises then 911 calls for officers to do that. I am sure PD gets several calls a night, and I bet they DON'T GET many many more, because people understand what is best...most normal people that is and I believe this OP is a very normal guy.

I also bet the amount of people jumped and murdered, or injured after doing that is very very small.

I am sorry, I just feel sad that the majority of people here advise sheep behavior rather then what the rest of the country would consider normal..going to check out what the noise was being as safe as possible...

[fiddletown]

...The fact he saw nothing, heard nothing and suspected it was nothing is the point here....

Did the OP really suspect nothing? Let's have a look at his first post again (emphasis added).

1. 
   ...Not but 5 seconds later my wife comes running into our room whisper-yelling, "DID YOU HEAR THAT?!? HURRY GET YOUR GUN!!!" ... For the record: I'm not the type of person that would wait for an intruder to come into my house and put my family at risk just so I can have some legal standing.....I'd rather put them furthest away from danger and confront the potential threat far away from them...

2. 
   ...I tell her to turn off ALL lights inside so if somebody is in our backyard, they cant see in and I can see out....

3. 
   ...I see nothing moving and hear nothing else. I need to get outside to verify, but decided against opening the sliding glass door because tactically speaking, it's not in the best placement...

4. 
   ...Then I see our gate is fully closed and locked. Phew! That tells me that it is much less likely that someone is back there because our gate would make too much noise to risk closing, let alone opening...

5. 
   ...Still suspicious, I shine the light down the side yard towards the back....

6. 
   ...It took my eyes a second to adjust and understand what I am seeing.....all clear...

7. 
   ...Proceeded down the side to the backyard and turned the corner, lit up the backyard again. BRIGHT. All clear....

8. 
   ...false alarm...

9. 
   ...All legal questions aside regarding confronting a potential trespasser in your fenced off backyard at 10:45 at night, I am so surprised at how bright 260 lumens is...

[dieselpower]

I think its safe to assume the normal response is to this situation would be exactly what the OP did.

This is probably played out 1000 times every night every day of the year, in multiple cities around the country.

That fact is lost on many here.

[therealnickb]

snipped...

wife didnt see anything. She also heard other noises prior to the loud noise, but whote them off until the loud one happened.

I see nothing moving and hear nothing else.

I need to get outside


the wind blew over my daughters' playhouse wall and it made a bunch of noise crashing to the concrete.


Just wondering what others use as their pitch black tac lights and what you think the optimal light/lumen output is.

1) Never whote off a noises! You never know when a lhoud one will go whoof!
2) When the nothing isn't moving, the moving go back to bed.
3) No, you didn't.
4) The wind is tricky like that. You can't see it, you can't contain it, you can only hope to clean up after it.
5) Ninja skilz. No artificial light.

[five.five-six]

I'm glad nobody got hurt

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2

[fiddletown]

I think its safe to assume the normal response is to this situation would be exactly what the OP did...

What is normal is not always what is best. The normal response to one's car starting to skid is to brake. But that's not the best thing to do.

Education and training is about learning better ways to do things.

....This is probably played out 1000 times every night every day of the year, in multiple cities around the country....

And it usually works out because no one is there. Is that any reason not to try to learn about possibly better, more effective, safer solutions to one's problem.

If the OP, or someone else, does something like this again and only want affirmation that he did a good job, he should now from this thread be able to identify the people who will give that to him. He can contact them privately and get the sort of feedback he wants. But if he posts in open forum, he will get some critical responses he might not like and some suggestions that there are better ways to manage the situation.

[STAGE 2]

But if he posts in open forum, he will get some critical responses he might not like and some suggestions that there are better ways to manage the situation.

Critical responses are only useful if they have the proper experience behind them.

[therealnickb]

Critical responses are only useful if they have the proper experience behind them.

Or if they are as funny as the OP. IMHO.

On the other hand, would you admit that the OP's "response" lacked proper experience and was therefor useless?

[ZirconJohn]

I can't believe you would put your family and yourself at risk over a noise in the backyard. Why try to be a hero when the cops get paid to do that. Slow down on the cowboy tactics and let the professionals investigate the scary noises outside. Inside the house, is a whole different story.

Who is dead asleep at 10:45pm anyways?

That ^^^ is the smart, safe, relevant thing to do.

If your so called perp... who says 'perp' anyway If your noise was a prowler, and was armed (more likely NOT armed)... one of two things happens...,

1. You shoot the guy dead - he is ARMED or NOT, you go to prison. Wife and children lose daddy.

2. The prowler guy shoots you dead. Wife and children lose daddy.

Oh ya... that's a win-win situation alright

Sir... friend... seriously... stay inside, ya sure... arm yourself, protect your family. But please call 911 and let trained Officers deal with the outside stuff. You protect whats inside. NOt worth the possibilities that are just simply NOT in your favor when you go outside with a gun...!