Tactical Decision Game - A Bump in the Night

[jdhaines]

I would run for the door kicking it open. It scares the **** out of me when a door opens as I'm trying to open it. Hopefully whoever is behind that door would be afraid enough for that second to give me a chance to assess who he/she is. It may knock down someone innocent (wife, kid, etc.) but it should buy me some time.

 

[jmb79]

Train pistol on doorway, if available seek concealment without turning on any lights. I would not announce my presence as I want to have as much of the element of suprise on my side as possible. Observe with pistol on target as the door opens...

Note, I should know whether or not my wife, the only other resident of out house, was still in the bed when I got up. I am assuming that she was still in the bed.

 

[jforrest]

Get along side the door so the perp cant see me, when the timing is right he will be getting the butt of my 870 to his face!

 

[DemolitionMan]

Like many of you I have 2 boys, 9 and 12, and both have been known to be the source of lots of "bump in the night" noises.

After telling my wife I was going to investigate, I would first check their bedroom doors since they're close to my bedroom door. If the bedroom doors were closed I'd be more concerned, but still think it was more likely that it was a kid than a burglar.

I would stand off to one side and loudly ask who was in the bathroom. If I got no response, or one that I didn't like, I would inform the person that I'm armed and that they should slowly open the door and lay on the floor in the hallway.

If it was the downstairs bathroom, I would stay on my stairs because they overlook the bathroom door and I'd have a half wall to hide behind. Otherwise it would be much the same because my kids have been known to sleepwalk down the stairs.

I certainly wouldn't open fire without seeing the person or more evidence that they meant me harm. Too many chances for tragedy there -- what if it was one of my kids and they were too ill to answer me?

I agree with what Hoosier Gun Coat said -- me being in the dark, and the opponent in the light is an advantage for me. Also in my house they'd be in a small room with only one exit that I would be covering. Not good for them.

This is a fun thought exercise, definitely makes you think through scenarios.

 

[jeremy]

This happened last night at my house at around 02:40. Heard voices outside my house a thump on a wall of the house. My dog started growling and my wife's GSD started raising hell. Got out of bed, removed Sig from holster, cleared house. After going though house I opened the front door and scared the living hell out of some kids TP'ing my house.

Not all occasions are life threatening, but why take the chance it is not.

 

[SWAT-DOC]

Secure my wife first...no kids at home but my adult children have access. I can't imagine one of them would be stupid enough to come home at that hour without some contact (they all know it would be dangerous). My well armed wife would be on the phone to PD and I would take up a defensive position at the master bedroom door. They would know that they were in trouble when I loudly rack the 870 and challenge them. I had better see hands first out the door and a loud and clear verbal identification. If they want trouble they found it...lots.

Just a note: If you keep a spare set of keys to your house in your bedroom you can toss them from a window to a police officer so they can gain access to your house and clear it. If you don't feel you can clear it yourself like maybe multiple intruders. The BG may have locked the door behind them.

 

[JNG]

I duck into the spare bedroom where I can watch from concealment. The gun would be pointed in a safe direction, because odds are it's my wife or one of my kids in there. If it's not, I'll have more than enough time to get on target before the intruder knows I'm there.

 

[techres]

Just a note: If you keep a spare set of keys to your house in your bedroom you can toss them from a window to a police officer so they can gain access to your house and clear it. If you don't feel you can clear it yourself like maybe multiple intruders. The BG may have locked the door behind them.

A guy I know who had to toss his keys out to an LEO learned the lesson of attaching a glow stick first!

 

[techres]

Get up, get armed, check on kids. If the Bathroom thing happened before a headcount was complete, I would wait for the door to open, aim high (my kids are all little) and light the suspect up with the surefire. People are more honest when temporarily blinded.

 

[silentvoice71]

Yell to them to identify themselves before the last thing they see is the turd i left in the toilet

 

[Truckerman79]

It is obviously my son taking a leak in middle of the night. All of our bedrooms are upstairs and I checked his room while he was in the bathroom and he was not in bed. He always runs into things when he gets up in middle of the night. If someone came in from outside our home security system is armed and is set to go off immediately.