Alternate title: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...
There's an interesting discussion over at Northeastshooters forum (which is apparently down right now, securing tinfoil beanie about MA AG finally carting us off...) about events leading to the title of this post. In a nutshell, one of the posters at NES had heard something late at night and had gone to investigate. The thread basically outlined his plan, armament, etc.
In theory, I disagreed with his plan. My plan is simple: Secure everyone in their rooms (the kids know to stay put), Mrs. G. calls 911 on her cell and keeps them on the line, I cover the stairs with the first object I can get before the barbarians breech the second floor. If there's time, I'll retrieve one of the many firearms in the G. arsenal from their secured locations; if not, there are several blunt or pointy sharp objects close at hand.
In theory.
Reality, as we all know, is much different than theory. I've *heard* the random odd noise late at night. Rather than call 911, though, I grabbed my trusty .38 and went off to investigate. Turned out to be nothing (never did find out what it was), but the simple fact was that my instinct overrode my best plans. Since there was no dynamic/immediate threat - no one kicked the door in, broke a window, etc. - I didn't elevate the threat to "call the cops" level and chose to respond in my own way.
Intellectually, I know this is the wrong thing to do. If I suspect there's someone in the house, I should stick to my original plan and call the cops, plain and simple. Why give up the tactical advantage of knowing the layout of my house, the concealment of the bedroom, and the known backstop (where I'd be covering would be the front of the house, and across the street is an open field with deep woods behind it).
But what about when you're not really sure what's going on? I'm not about to call the cops every time I *think* something's amiss - with two little kids in the house, there's bound to be random bumps from piles of toys falling over, or lights left on when I know I didn't turn them on, etc.
I don't know the answer. All I know is that when I heard that loud thud, I ran to the gun safe, grabbed a gun, and went to check it out. Instinct kicked in. Reason had no part in the discussion (heck, the simple fact that I went for a .38 over a 12 gauge tells you that right there...).
What kind of training can you take that overrides the gut instinct?
Just something to think about.
That is all.
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11 comments:
Help! I'm going through NES withdrawal.
We need a support group.
Gary
(selfishly thinking of cranking up stats)
Well, we could have a discussion here in my comments... ;)
+1 on the NES withdrawal. I don't think going for the 38 over a 12 gauge is an irrational decision. If you're staying in one spot and covering the top of the stairs, the 12 gauge is the way to go. If you're going through the house to investigate, it's much easier to move with a handgun.
It isn't practical to call the police whenever there is a strange noise. 99%+ of these will be nothing. Every time you call them needlessly, you are decreasing your chances of getting a rapid response if you really need them.
Also, I'm the one responsible for my own safety, I should take the risks.
Just try to remember if the door is kicked in then that means it probably is the police so just be very still and make no sudden moves.
If they kill you then you are dead.
If you kill them you are going to be tried for murder.
So just be very, very still and do exactly as they say.
Once they figure out they are at the wrong house you will have plenty of time to clean up the mess.
And if it's NOT the PD but a smart home invader, you're dead if you hesitate.
No good answers in this situation. OTOH, you cannot call the cops EVERY time you hear a thump; you'll get a reputation on the force as a chronic whiner, and likely, response time to your place will go down.
If they don't start charging you for false alarms like they do to burglar alarms that go off all the time.
How about a dog?
I used to have a bullmastiff which I thought was the perfect guard dog. He looked like a middle linebacker with 4 legs. He was calm around the house and not a pain in the ass like the Golden Retriever my wife bought last year.
He had an enormous deep bark that scared the piss out of people - but he very rarely used it. The one time he went nuts in the middle of the night, our neighbor's house was being robbed. Our house was never broken into while he was around - even though we lived in higher crime neighborhoods in LA and Las Vegas.
If we were really broken into, he would have raised the alarm to wake me up and confronted the intruders. By the time (if) anyone got by him - I'd be awake and locked and loaded.
I will probably get another dog of the mastiff type before long such as - another bullmastiff, boerboel, or a dogue de bordeaux.
Tell this doesn't make the average scumbag hesitate?
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images15/Bullmastiff16montholdbrindledoodoo.JPG
Try that again:
www.dogbreedinfo.com/images15/Bullmastiff16montholdbrindledoodoo.JPG
Fuck it - look up your own pictures
You shouldn't just have one plan, its like having just one gun!
My "Home Invasion Drill" is similar to yours. Gun gets loaded 911 gets called and the Mrs. Stays on the line with them, and we both hunker-down and wait for the next move.
A random noise is just somthing that happens, and more than likely its one of the Mrs. light catchers loosing cup suction and bouncing off a window sill, or the dishes in the draining board shifting or god-knows-what but it isn't a goblin thirsty for blood....but it COULD be. In that instance my plan is the same as you. Gun comes out, I do a quick sweep of the house, then go back to bed. If there's a goblin, I'm better prepared for it, and if it isn't, I get to go back to sleep rather than explain to the cops that I stacked the dishes too high after dinner.
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