Compelled to clear the house...

[SwissArmyDad]

E-wisdom tends to fall back on the old rule of "staying put" when a home invasion may be or is occuring.

Having small children in the house, though, has proven to be a highly compelling reason for me to leave the bedroom of our small house, and traverse the hall checking each kid's room stopping short of the kitchen/bedroom where illegal entry is likely to be made via front/rear sliding and/or garage door.

Anyone else buck the trend of staying put for similar reasons?

I try to give myself the advantage in the way I leave lights on, or not, so as not to be silhouetted. Also, our house is also fairly hardened, and somewhat compact, so I don't actually have very far to go to remove any doubt of who is or is not in my kids rooms.

Is there any formal write-up on do's and don'ts of clearing a house @ night? (other than the obvious, like identifying your target...need to get that TLR-1 on my XD9, ASAP. )

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Another thing that I realized recently having re-assessed our property following my research into home defense strategies, is that our house naturally lends itself to protecting our neighbors from overpenetrating round.

To the south we have a canyon with no targets on the opposite hillside, to the north we have a hill with our driveway on it which swings around to the west, and there would be no reason to be shooting to the east, but in that case we have a CMU wall beyond a normal type five shear wall.

I know it's kind of macabre to be stoked about something like that, and by no means do I think this allows for a lack of muzzle discipline in the event of a shoot to stop scenario, but it's certainly gives me a a fair bit of calm about that type of incident.

 

[Loosedhorse]

do's and don'ts of clearing a house @ night?

Many more don'ts than dos.

Clearing the house expecting to find intruders is dangerous for you: you could get shot.

Clearing the house expecting to find kids could be dangerous for them: they could get shot.

Not seeing a lot of upside here.

If you have a way to manipulate the lights so that the room you're about to enter is lit, but the hallway or room you're coming from is dark, that's best for you. Otherwise, you're lighting the next room with your flashlight, and trying to not cover that same area with your gun until you've identified what/whom your aiming at.

I have cleared my house at night, but only when I expected NO intruder. The first step was to do a bed-check, to account for everyone who should be in the house. The next step was to listen, before moving anywhere else.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

If you have a way to manipulate the lights so that the room you're about to enter is lit, but the hallway or room you're coming from is dark, that's best for you. Otherwise, you're lighting the next room with your flashlight, and trying to not cover that same area with your gun until you've identified what/whom your aiming at.

I have cleared my house at night, but only when I expected NO intruder. The first step was to do a bed-check, to account for everyone who should be in the house. The next step was to listen, before moving anywhere else.

I like the last part of this. The bed-check idea. Maybe I should train having no gun in my hands during this part of it...handheld light only. to minimize any risk to my kids. Don't know what I'd use to carry it though...some sort of belt holster I can snap-on quickly/quietly.

I'm also hearing what you're saying about risking getting shot or at the very least, shot at. Only thing I can think of, is that in that case, if I'm staying put I'd need a way to see in my kids rooms, without actually going in them. This would mean installing a camera system, and having it on at night, which seems somewhat belabored, but maybe I just need to wrap my head around that "next step".

Or maybe, standing @ my door and listening, gun in hand, , needs to be enough, as I'd likely be able to hear any kind of substantial scuffle

 

[Kleanbore]

While 'clearing' a house is fraught with extreme danger for both the defender and for any innocents whom he or she may happen to encounter during the attempt, getting into a defensive position without first attending to the safety of children seems to me to be an extremely irresponsible thing to do. Step one has to be to get the children into a safe room.

That may be the riskiest part of the incident. That risk can be mitigated by having a well understood and rehearsed plan. Another thing to consider is which rooms should be occupied by the children; keeping them close rather than strung out through the house can make the mission of getting everyone together safer and easier.

If we had children in the house, you can be sure that we would already have invested in some CCTV cameras to enable us to see what is going on in various parts of the house.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

I think you just redefined my intent for me.

-Attending to the safety of the children.
-Assuming a defensible position
-Stopping any threat that I'm presented with.


Our house is fairly simple. Sleeping quarters on one half, down a single hallway, which opens to the other half containing the living room/kitchen. Single story.

After checking the room furthest from me I'm only about 10ft from my bedroom door, but fully exposed in that hallway.

 

[conw]

I would try to track down some PDFs Southnarc did called "AMIS*.pdf" - there were 2 or 3. You may have to join TotalProtectionInteractive.com to get them. Come to think of it taking his AMIS class - armed movement in structures - wouldn't be a bad idea.

People can be very 1-dimensional. I'm all for avoiding clearing the house. However, sometimes we may need to move through a structure OTHER than our house, and the fundamentals are not that different (except in the house we may have a home court advantage). Think active shooter, civil unrest, even gas station hold-up. "We" who carry guns need some skills at navigating spaces while armed, not to just rest on the comforting notion that we'll never need to do it since we "don't plan on clearing our houses."

 

[Fred Fuller]

The usual reference is the NRA's Personal Protection In The Home class. See http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx for the class locator, see http://www.nrainstructors.org/CourseCatalog.aspx for the course description. The text can be ordered at http://www.nrastore.com/nrastore/ProductDetail.aspx?p=PB+01781&ct=e and the DVD of the classroom portion of the class is available at http://materials.nrahq.org/go/product.aspx?productid=ES 26840 if you can't get to the class itself.

The standard approach is to get all family members behind cover (not concealment) first. Yours might not be the only firearm present after all. Once all family members are secured then interposing an armed family member in a position of strength to protect the approaches is the next step, while the authorities are being summoned, preferably by someone not involved in protecting the avenue(s) of access to the room where the rest of the family is secured.

Your list -

-Attending to the safety of the children.
-Assuming a defensible position
-Stopping any threat that I'm presented with.

- sounds as if you have begun a good home defense plan. The references above will help you finalize it.

 

[dayhiker]

Anyone else buck the trend of staying put for similar reasons?

Being divorced I only have my son part time.

Even if he isn't here,I don't stay put if I hear a strange noise. Or if my dog is growling or barking from the other side of the house.I always go check to what has caught her attention.

Now if her barking, and growling are mixed with screams of pain from a human. I think I'll stay put and get 911 on the line.

 

[Dr_2_B]

This issue has always made me chuckle. Because if I'd called 911 every time I opted in stead to go see what made a noise in the house, the police would tell me to stop calling. In theory, we know it is tactically more sound to stay put. In real life, though, we don't know what caused a sudden noise. And 999 times out of 1000, it is nothing. The last few things I heard go bump in the night were, I believe:
(1) a small stereo speaker I had attached by Velcro that fell to the floor.
(2) a large, light box of Styrofoam coffee cups that fell over in the garage.
(3) something I had hanging on the wall by a sticker that slipped and fell.

I sure am glad I didn't call 911 and hunker down in my room with my AR15 waiting for the police to come clear the house each time.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I have cleared my house at night, but only when I expected NO intruder.

I clear my house each and every time I come home, if we're both gone. And only if it appears the same as I left it. If something ever appears out of place, other than cat shenanigans, I'd call PD and let them clear it. Likewise, if there's ever a very loud noise that I can't readily explain while home, especially if both cats are on the bed wondering what the hell it was as well, I'd hole up for at least a while before investigating.

 

[BK]

Every time this sort of subject comes up, I fail to get a clear understanding of one particular thing. If an unidentifiable noise happens during the night, but then utter silence follows, what should you do, and for how long? I agree with the wisdom of not walking into an ambush, so that covers what not to do. But while you're being still and listening, your thoughts conclude that the unidentifiable noise followed by silence might only be one of two things.

A. Intruder(s) made a loud noise and decide to sit quiet and wait for however long it's going to take you to start snoring again.
B. It was nothing to be concerned about.

We will all agree that B. is going to be the logical, most likely scenario, close to 100% of the time. Scenario A. is almost never going to be the case. So, at what point do you decide that there are not a couple guys out there waiting for you to go back to sleep, and therefor you decide to go back to sleep? Because it's foolish to go check things out, right? There are obviously more than a few professionals among us here, so I'm most interested in what they advise.

 

[conw]

Have a good alarm system. Maybe a dog or two to alert you, too. If you think it's nothing (the noise), just go back to sleep. If you suspect enough to want to check, but not to call the police (some people have noisy houses and this is a weekly thing) put your warface on, get the gun and flashlight, and clear your house in a tactically sound manner.

I don't really see an alternative personally...other than not sleeping well, every time there's a moderately suspicious noise.

 

[Kleanbore]

There are obviously more than a few professionals among us here, so I'm most interested in what they advise.

Use the search function. This has been discussed numerous times.

You will find that professionals who have been trained to clear structures (1) do not do it alone, (2) use tools, equipment, and techniques that the homeowner does not and in some cases cannot lawfully possess, and (3) do so only when they absolutely have to.

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

Well I can recognize anyone in my immediate family (those that live with me) by silhouette. If I had to clear the house, I know the silhouettes, and I know some vantage points in the house where I can see but not be seen.

 

[Loosedhorse]

I know the silhouettes

No offense, but I hope I'm using more than silhouette-recognition before I decide whether to point my gun at someone. Voice, pre-arranged sign/counter-sign (yes, I'm serious: useful if the friendly you see is accompanied by an unfriendly you don't), and positive ID by flashlight would make me feel better.

more than a few professionals among us here, so I'm most interested in what they advise.

"Leave it to the professionals?" Just a guess.

 

[mortablunt]

Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on planning for a worst case scenario.

Secondly, I'd like to suggest some sort of 'present and unhurt' signal, such as a special pattern of raps on the floor, or versus from a poem.

Thirdly, when clearing the house, it's best if you've run through it several time and learned where to best step to make the least noise. Also, a sign-countersign thing could be a good idea.

Fourthly, you are at your most vulnerable when operating doors or entering or leaving a room. Take tactical classes and get "slicing the pie" down.

Fifthly, maybe invest in some basic night vision equipment, preferably the thermal kind; the amplification sort is blinding in the event that you open fire, have a flashlight shined at you, headlights come in through the window, or somebody turns the lights on.

 

[Averageman]

Wouldn't it be nice to have a master switch in the bedroom that could turn on every light in the house?
I wonder how practicle that would be?

 

[USAF_Vet]

In the event of a BITN (bump in the night) I'll listen and if the dogs are going nuts, that definetely raises my level of concern. If the dogs are quiet, I'll be more inclined to roll over and go back to sleep. Three American bulldogs (two adult males and a female puppy) tend to make quite a ruckus. The eldest is normally very quiet, so when he starts to growl or bark, I check. The younger male has a play bark, almost a yip, and a get-off-my-lawn bark (too bad he didn't come equipped with a Garand). They are my alarm system. The puppy is not too reliable yet. She still barks at the cat.

Since all the bedrooms are located on one end of the house, and the kids are in loft beds at face height to me (I'm 6'2") my tactic is to crouch walk down the hallway, stopping at the end so I have a almost full view of the living and dining room. I'll have my .45, while my wife has the 9mm. She stays in the T-section of the hallway, in between all the bedrooms and behind cover.

Staying low would hopefully prevent any shots fired toward that end of the house to impact lower than the kids' beds. The walls are pretty hardened in my old house, but I don't expect them to be bullet proof.

I've only had to clear the house for a BITN a couple times, and neither was an issue. Cat knocked something over, etc. Still, I double check all entry points into the house before going back to bed.

I do have some room clearing experience and training, but I'm not bringing a squad of highly trained and battle hardened soldiers with me, so I try to keep it as simple as possible. I know where the weak points are in my house, and I've shored them up. At this point, the front door is about the only point of entry into my house unless you are the Kool-Aid Man of the Juggernaut and just come busting through the wall.

Also, I give my wife a safe word I will give her upon my return. If don't give the word or give the wrong one, she will assume I'm under duress and act appropriately.

 

[Dr_2_B]

I'll add that I got an inexpensive (less than $100) alarm system that attaches to doors and also includes a motion sensor. If I hear a bump in the night, I know anything of size moving around downstairs will set off the motion sensor which sounds an alarm next to me on my night-stand. I would then hunker down and don my camouflage army helmet & flack jacket.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Take a look at the article at http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/16306/secure-your-home/ . Some useful information there.

Averageman, there are plug-in and battery powered motion activated lights that might help with this- movement in the vicinity will turn on the light. And there are various plug-in aftermarket accessories (like the X10 system) that allow control of various lights etc. from a small control console, or control of whatever modules you install and program from a single or multiple emergency buttons. http://www.homecontrols.com/X10-Pro-Big-Red-Emergency-Button

A mix of plug-in and battery powered lighting is IMHO a good idea, as sometimes intruders will cut electricity and phone lines to a targeted home.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I'll add that I got an inexpensive (less than $100) alarm system that attaches to doors and also includes a motion sensor. If I hear a bump in the night, I know anything of size moving around downstairs will set off the motion sensor which sounds an alarm next to me on my night-stand. I would then hunker down and don my camouflage army helmet & flack jacket.

I've got a system that chimes/ sounds an alarm when the door is opened. No motion sensor to it, that'll be my next security project. It's only the one magnetic break sensor on the front door. Alarm is in my bedroom, chime during the day, alarm setting at night.

I got it for less than $50 at a big box.

 

[T Bran]

I use a slightly different approach multiple dogs, day or night there are at least two inside and two outside. I rotate the order on a regular basis so that it is very difficult to befriend them. If anything goes astray outside the inside dogs know it and drive me nuts wanting to go out and help their buds. My dogs are all strays of the junkyard variety that i've rescued. If you think two are a hand full wait till reinforcements arrive backed up by a well armed owner. I avoid having to clear the house by letting them do it for me. Even a single dog inside would be a vast improvement over ckecking room by room with a gun and your family intersperced with the intruder. The dog knows exactly where the BG is without turning on lites.
LUCK
T

 

[SwissArmyDad]

I very much like the idea of battery-operated motion-sensor lighting and alarms.

Our Elec. Panel is very easy to access on the street side of the house. Be very easy to disable our motion-sensor lights outside by shutting down the our power.

I hadn't thought about that before.

 

[SwissArmyDad]

Oh, and while we appreciate dogs and have previously been dog-owners, we won't likely be getting one soon. Dogs/cats just don't fit in our busy lifestyle, and I'd hate to have a dog crated all day or stuck outside all the time.

I do very much understand the role they serve in security, though.