How prepared are you for a home invasion?

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  • DD214

    Founder
    Apr 26, 2005
    14,080
    St Mary's County
    I had my door kicked in while I was watching TV. Idiot neighborhood kids. Anyway, in the moment I realized that I had to pass by the freshly kicked front door to get to my nearest firearm. Poor planning. I fixed that.
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,158
    I had my door kicked in while I was watching TV. Idiot neighborhood kids. Anyway, in the moment I realized that I had to pass by the freshly kicked front door to get to my nearest firearm. Poor planning. I fixed that.

    Do most people here live behind locked doors? My front door stays locked but the side doors are generally unlocked when we are home. No one needs to kick my door in when I'm watching TV, they can just walk right in. If someone did walk in (or even approach the house) my dog would light up like a Christmas tree to give me warning. During normal hours though, I doubt I'd go retrieve a gun unless there was someone very deranged looking in the driveway or on the front porch.
     

    DD214

    Founder
    Apr 26, 2005
    14,080
    St Mary's County
    I live in safe neighborhood, or whatever you choose to define as safe. Low crime anyway. Either way, I made a firearm more accessible after that event. I have a dog now so the situation would be different if it happened again.



    Do most people here live behind locked doors? My front door stays locked but the side doors are generally unlocked when we are home. No one needs to kick my door in when I'm watching TV, they can just walk right in. If someone did walk in (or even approach the house) my dog would light up like a Christmas tree to give me warning. During normal hours though, I doubt I'd go retrieve a gun unless there was someone very deranged looking in the driveway or on the front porch.
     

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    paperwork351

    no error code for stupid
    Mar 7, 2008
    868
    Gaithersburg
    Disturbance at night, turn on lights. Could be a test to determine if occupied. YMMV
    I saw a picture of Mas Ayoob and his gear from his book. Get dressed, electronic earmuffs, light and the other things.
    Once I left my keys in the door one Sat afternoon taking a nap. Heard doorbell, then heard the door open on its creaky hindge. It was someone I knew but he didn't announce. I was not prepared.
     

    Scrounger

    Active Member
    Jul 16, 2018
    357
    Southern Maryland
    Having no kids around makes things a little easier. The primary bedroom firearm is a M14s, loaded 20 round mag in the rifle, round chambered. Battle pack with ten extra loaded mags, Peltor Tac 7 hearing protection, safety glasses, and a Streamlight PROTAC HL-X light. One more thing to add. The ammo is clad steel jacketed rounds.
     

    wilcam47

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 4, 2008
    25,976
    Changed zip code
    Both of them phone home. I bought a wyze cam, found out they have to be activated through an account on a web site, threw it in a drawer and haven't touched it. I understand there are 3rd party flash updates that let you turn it into a stand alone or local server cam, but haven't looked into it yet.

    I wouldn't want anything that depends upon outside internet or talks with manufacturer's servers. When the net is down they are useless.

    So no good then if you arent using it?
     

    Glaron

    Camp pureblood 13R
    BANNED!!!
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 20, 2013
    12,752
    Virginia
    Having no kids around makes things a little easier. The primary bedroom firearm is a M14s, loaded 20 round mag in the rifle, round chambered. Battle pack with ten extra loaded mags, Peltor Tac 7 hearing protection, safety glasses, and a Streamlight PROTAC HL-X light. One more thing to add. The ammo is clad steel jacketed rounds.

    I will let it slip I have a Saiga 12 with a 20 round drum... ready. ;)
    Crowd pleaser, even if I miss.
     

    308Scout

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 27, 2020
    6,545
    Washington County
    I've had a few similar episodes in the past 12 months. All three due to a specific sensor faulting and activating the home alarm on one of our doors. Was up and armed within seconds each time, but each time realized there were things that I could have done much better (from a starting point of knowing only that a burglar alarm was tripped but no indication of which door or window). Thinking though it thoroughly "post game" each time has helped. I memorized the sensor codes on the alarm system so a quick glance at the keypad gives immediate additional data. I've found dry runs/dedicated walkthroughs thinking about the house from a tactical perspective also help. Also looking forward to having a dog again in the next few months. Adrenaline is great jolting you awake from a solid sleep in the middle of the night. Getting past the adrenaline to clearer thinking/action definitely takes practice and preparation.

    Note to self - still need to call alarm company because false positives at 2AM are not fun.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie
    Middle of the night, I'd do ok - I have a pistol sitting on top of my dresser with a spare mag sitting right next to it. Pick it up, rack the slide, and I'm ready to go.

    Middle of the day? I'm generally not packing in the middle of the day - I'd have to make it to the bedroom where the pistol is sitting.
     

    axshon

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2010
    1,938
    Howard County
    YMMV is the key phrase. Each home and situation are different. There have definitely been times when I came nose to nose with danger and walked away knowing that if it had actually gone south I'd have gotten my butt stomped. Nobody is 100% prepared 100% of the time but planning ahead helps. What are is the most expected scenario? What is the worst case non-movie scenario? Have a plan for both. Work the plan. If there is a noise at night, the dog goes ape, the alarm goes off or something shows up on a camera, I always walk the perimeter outside with a good flashlight, my shoes tied and my HD weapon. I don't use the same pattern for clearing the area and I don't go in at low ready. I don't want to freak out the neighbors but I do want to make my presence known and there is a round in the pipe. I know what should and should not be on my little property. That said, if someone wants to bust open the door at 3:00 am I am 100% sure the dog will help but I'm only about 50% sure I'll be able to wake up and get the weapon from the safe.

    Turn on your alarm clock for 3:00 am some time and give yourself a task like flossing or checking the mailbox. You'll find it's HARD to wake up and be coherent and have reasonable fine motor control. It takes practice and if you pull a gun on someone in the dark you had better be aware of what's happening.
     

    Yellowdog

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 4, 2011
    257
    Columbia
    A few years ago my wife and I went through this very scenario. We were upstairs watching tv when we heard a very loud crash downstairs then our alarm going off.

    I immediately went into react mode and went charging downstairs. Saw a man at the foot of our stairs and then grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him out the front door. Followed him outside to be sure he left.

    I did several things wrong and have since corrected. Such as unarmed, didnt turn lights on and went outside. Today, there is a handgun in my nightstand, we have security cameras and lights downstairs are left on.

    The message here is that I was in fight/flight mode and never had time to think about my actions. One just reacts based on training or inner makeup.
     

    Goldslammer

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 10, 2010
    710
    Brooklyn Park
    I have some physical issues. Sometimes my hands are numb when I wake up, can't even turn off the alarm on my cell phone.
    So I'm not sure I could rack a slide if I had too. I keep a 38 next to the bed for that reason.
    I have a Glock 22 with a light and a 12ga pump with a light, in the corner for the times my hands aren't bothering me...
    Sucks getting old....
     

    WeaponsCollector

    EXTREME GUN OWNER
    Mar 30, 2009
    12,120
    Southern MD
    Ring cameras(and other brands) are fairly cheap and easy to install anywhere. They are motion detecting with night vision and send real time alerts to your phone whenever something moves around your house.

    Battery operated so no wiring and they need to be charged every few months but very simple and effective! Subscription for each camera is about $7 per month.
     

    Bullfrog

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 8, 2009
    15,160
    Carroll County
    So no good then if you arent using it?

    Did I say that was all I had? :)

    It requires a remote server.

    I already have multiple cameras that upload to a local server I set up. The local server runs scripts I wrote that create web pages, one showing current view and most recent motion, others showing previous activity. It also emails me. There's a backup server, both on small UPS's.

    Email obviously won't work with internet out, but everything else will work even with power and internet off, at least for a short time.

    Ring and Wyze require both internet and power, unless they and your router are on batteries, but they are still both dead if the internet is down because they require a central server.

    The Wyze is in a drawer because it doesn't fit in my setup.
     

    axshon

    Ultimate Member
    May 23, 2010
    1,938
    Howard County
    Ring cameras(and other brands) are fairly cheap and easy to install anywhere. They are motion detecting with night vision and send real time alerts to your phone whenever something moves around your house.

    Battery operated so no wiring and they need to be charged every few months but very simple and effective! Subscription for each camera is about $7 per month.

    I don't care for their data sharing policies. If I want you to have access to video of my family arriving or leaving from my house I'll send it to you.
     

    Bullfrog

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 8, 2009
    15,160
    Carroll County
    I don't care for their data sharing policies. If I want you to have access to video of my family arriving or leaving from my house I'll send it to you.

    Yet another reason to use cameras that push to a local server in your house that you control.

    Then block outgoing traffic from the cameras at the router so they can't phone home or be accessed by hackers.
     

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