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

[dieselpower]

I would never go outside... if I heard a noise out back it would put me on alert... any further noises and I am moving my kids to the back of the house with the wife and a pistol, telling her to call 911 and I will be in a room ahead of the room that has my family peeping at the stairs with my rifle waiting for someone to walk into view to meet Mr Jerry H. Price (JHP for short)

My advise would be next time, call the police and stay inside the safety of your house.

I see too many folks here who take unnecessary risk, we are not cops, we are not trained as cops, IMOP your actions prove my point, even a police officer would have waited for back up.

I would say if you felt the need to protect your family, call the popo get your gun if you feel it is necessary and place your family somewhere in you home in a defense able position.

Just my thoughts, I'm glad it worked out safely for you.

I don't know which is worse, lying in wait to kill some 16 year old kid trying to steal a DVD player, scaring the crap out of your family over a noise out back, or go hide and call Police, Obama and his boys will save us.

Just my opine..no reason to get all defensive. Do as you feel best doing.

[racerx2oo3]

Wow! You just gotta love these Cal-Guns pile on threads. I honestly can't believe the responses I've seen on this thread. Now don't get me wrong, I think a lot of this stems from the choice of words the OP used in his thread title. A more appropriate title might have been "Checked out a noise in the yard". There is a time honored tradition of "checking out noises in the back yard", (usually with a flashlight and 9-iron or baseball bat '"just in case") and if people called the cops every time there was an odd noise in the yard, or the dog barked strangely the cops would be booked solid until Christmas.

Let's be clear here this isn't a case of someone seeing a shape in the backyard, or a flashlight. It was a strange noise. Now, if the wind is blowing up a fit and I hear a noise, chances are pretty damn good that I can expect to find a "wind related noise" when I check it out. If in this instance your first instinct is to call 911, I'd say your threat assessment system is serious in need of some re-adjustment. Now is it possible that it's a bad-guy and I've just stepped into it big time? It's possible, also possible that its a rabid dog, or a mountain lion, it's just not very probable.

Now the question of does a noise in the yard merit an armed response? That's a real question. On the one hand, given your chances of finding a real threat, you might be better off with that 9-iron, but if this is the day for Mr. Murphy to show up, I'm not going to criticize anyone for bringing something more serious with them (provided they are being safe about it).

I really honestly wonder given the number of odd noises and unexplained barking I hear in my neighborhood (suburbs, but with a very active possum, raccoon and skunk community), just how often people are really waiting indoors at the end of the hallway with guns at low ready waiting for the police to "clear their yard."

[fiddletown]

...I really honestly wonder given the number of odd noises and unexplained barking I hear in my neighborhood (suburbs, but with a very active possum, raccoon and skunk community), just how often people are really waiting indoors at the end of the hallway with guns at low ready waiting for the police to "clear their yard."

Actually, I've never heard a sound in the yard that, after waiting and listening for a bit, I've not been able to identify to my satisfaction, or at least conclude that it wasn't likely a threat or anything that needed my immediate attention. So I've never had any reason to hide in the corner with my gun or call the police or do anything else other than go back to whatever I was doing at the time. A little peeking out of windows, waiting and listening can provide a lot of information.

I've also never had any reason to go charging out into the night with my gun and flashlight like a wannabe operator to "clear" my yard.

...Don't let the "wannbe" crowd get the better of you....

Funny how the folks suggesting staying inside, waiting and observing are somehow "wannabes." "Wannabe" what?

[The Virus]

If LEO showed up with a shot "Badguy" in the backyard, guess who's going to jail?

[racerx2oo3]

Actually, I've never heard a sound in the yard that, after waiting and listening for a bit, I've not been able to identify to my satisfaction, or at least conclude that it wasn't likely a threat or anything that needed my immediate attention. So I've never had any reason to hide in the corner with my gun or call the police or do anything else other than go back to whatever I was doing at the time. A little peeking out of windows, waiting and listening can provide a lot of information.

Sounds like you a method that works well for you. Prefer to know what's going on around my property. In the past I've found: Possums running the fence-line driving the dog and neighborhood dogs crazy, my dog in the backyard killing baby possums (that was an odd one), a section of fence that got blown down in the wind, failed sprinkler valve causing the sprinkler system to start flooding sections of the yard, lattice from patio cover getting blown onto the roof in high wind. In some cases turning on the lights and looking outside gave a good indication of what was happening, in others it was time to get the flashlight. Never felt the need to bring a firearm, but I'm not going to fault anyone who does so (again providing that safety is followed.)

[racerx2oo3]

If LEO showed up with a shot "Badguy" in the backyard, guess who's going to jail?

Hmmm. When investigating "an odd noise" in my backyard I'm going out to determine what is going on, not planning to confront or shoot anyone. However, if the unexpected occurred I'd rather be carrying than not.

If I think someone is in the yard, I'm calling the cops, end of story. If however, I'm just checking my property and expecting to find nothing other than a section of fence blown down in the wind, I'm not sure why anyone would argue about being cautious.

[TeddyBallgame]

Actually, I've never heard a sound in the yard that, after waiting and listening for a bit, I've not been able to identify to my satisfaction, or at least conclude that it wasn't likely a threat or anything that needed my immediate attention. So I've never had any reason to hide in the corner with my gun or call the police or do anything else other than go back to whatever I was doing at the time. A little peeking out of windows, waiting and listening can provide a lot of information.

I've also never had any reason to go charging out into the night with my gun and flashlight like a wannabe operator to "clear" my yard.

Funny how the folks suggesting staying inside, waiting and observing are somehow "wannabes." "Wannabe" what?

I am a wannabe...I wannabe alive tomorrow by not doing anything ill advised the night before

[Dooligan]

force recon/LRRP is a 10 month old dachshund,he checks things out. if he needs backup,he runs and gets the 88 lb german shepard reactionary force. .

I L'd OL at the "Force Recon" dachshund...the visual was classic...

[biglou]

I would send out the hounds. They are actually chihuahuas. If they go bonkers then I call 911 and wait. If a bad guy comes crawling through the window, then he gets the aluminum little league where it counts. I'm thinking most crack head thieves are looking for something to grab and go. Power tools out of the storage shed, etc. If they hear the owner coming out or flood lights turning on, I'm guessing they would rather flee than fight. Move on to an easier payday. However, if it's a hired assassin, tier 1 operator type, then it's game on.

[10mm]

Ghost maybe. Guns are useless against ghosts.

[Kestryll]

its how you said it ... that is what I take issue with.

And you might want to listen to your own words.

I DO NOT like the snarky crap you post, you have a history of being a jerk to people you disagree with and you've been temp banned several times for it.

So.

Knock it off, learn to post like a civil adult or don't be surprised when the next time you act like a jerk you end up banned forever.

[Smoke&Rattler]

you clear a room, you avoid a yard

↑This↑

Even when I hear something around my cars, i'd look, listen, then if I felt the need, I probably call and wait it out until PD showed and I am 'ex LEO. Case in point, I heard tools hitting the ground, woke me up. I listen, nothing. Went back to sleep. Happen again, I woke up and thought, ok, time to check. Grabbed firearm, has tactical light. Called dog, he came up stairs. He usually barks at noises. 60lb. pound puppy (adult now). Ok, he wasn't bothered by it. I then went to the window, looked. Nothing. I still didn't exit my house. Waited. Happen again. Like someone was removing parts, something. Looked again. New neighbor had decided to move in at 4am! Retuned to bed. All good. If you see a crime in progress, video tape it, call 911, admire the nice firearm you have, and wait for PD.

99% of time I don't even wake the wife. Usually, the next morning she says she heard me get into the safe. Maybe once or twice, when I thought I may have something, have I woken her and layed the phone next to her and said here, I hear something.

I read last month, about a father, who shot his own son! Daughter calls him, she hears a noise. She is babysitting next door. Father grabs the gun, run over, see someone by the window, he rushes up on the kid, the kid spins around, father shoots him. It was dark. Father backs off, calls 911, PD shows. Asked the father if he knew the perp, father looks and realizes he shot his son! They assume, the son was teasing his sister while she was babysitting.

[dieselpower]

And you might want to listen to your own words.

I DO NOT like the snarky crap you post, you have a history of being a jerk to people you disagree with and you've been temp banned several times for it.

So.

Knock it off, learn to post like a civil adult or don't be surprised when the next time you act like a jerk you end up banned forever.

I have no issue with that Kes, I would just like it applied equally across all members, not just the ones who stand up for themselves and others.

PM inbound on that issue, as its not relevant to this warning.

[fiddletown]

...Prefer to know what's going on around my property. In the past I've found: Possums running the fence-line driving the dog and neighborhood dogs crazy, my dog in the backyard killing baby possums (that was an odd one), a section of fence that got blown down in the wind, failed sprinkler valve causing the sprinkler system to start flooding sections of the yard, lattice from patio cover getting blown onto the roof in high wind. ...

I agree that some of those things might require immediate attention. But it looks like you can probably get a pretty good idea that what's going on is benign before going out.

The problem, and serious risk, comes when you think it might be a bad guy. If you seriously suspect that kind of mischief, going outside, even armed, is a high risk activity.

Folks confronted by strange noises outside need to make some kind of assessment of what's out there and what they need to do about it. But if someone is going outside with the idea that there might be a threat there and that if he takes his gun and flashlight with him he'll be able to deal with a threat if there is one, he's pretty much fooling himself.

If you've concluded that it's a sprinkler or windswept brush perhaps causing damage, you'll need to go out and do something about it. But if you really are suspecting that there's someone out there who might do you or your family harm, going outside is a lousy idea. So it becomes an exercise in how much can you figure out about what's going on before you go outside.

[Aldemar]

I think you are discrediting how much a dog can turn the tide in a situation like this. Some have commented about trained protection dogs but most people really don't need to go to that level. For most home protection an average sized dog will do just fine. They don't need to attack on command. Many dogs will come to the defense of their owners without hesitation when it really matters and really just the barking is good enough to stop most criminals. If something goes bump outside our house I have told my wife to be sure the dogs are allowed free run inside the house to confront anyone that could try to come in. Most dogs will respond to genuine fear in their owners and react.

+1.....My dogs wouldn't hurt a fly but someone who is attempting a break in doesn't know that. If someone is still intent on breaking in after hearing the racket they make - well, let's just say it may not end well for them.

Additionally, a barking dog is just not another physical layer of defense; it's also a legal layer should you have to drop the hammer; it shows bad intentions on the part of the intruder when they ignore a dog's warning.