[feedsasquatch]

It's quiet, and dark. As it should be at 4 am in the morning. Suddenly, there was a horrific crash, the sound of metal clobbering wood. In two seconds I'm on the side of the bed, with my wife next to me, and I grab my Glock 23 with nightsights, loaded with Remington Golden Saber jhp's. I kneel between the door and bed, 100% expecting to see an armed robber or meth-filled junkie coming through our small hallway. 15 seconds (which felt like an eternity) pass, no noise. I put on some shorts, take a deep breath, and go into the dining room/living room area, just outside of our bedroom. I breathe a sigh of relief, our entire over-the-door pantry rack had collapsed on the hardwood floor, no armed robber, no meth-filled junkie. Needless to say, it took a long time for our heart rates to go back down...

I learned some valuable lessons last night. First, I did some things right in my preparation:
- I kept my gun loaded and chambered. I would have been even more worried had I had to waste precious seconds loading a magazine and racking a slide.
- I kept my safe open at night. I shaved precious seconds not having to fumble with a key or combination.
- I had a Glock, with no external safety. Last night, I didn't want to think about manual safeties, I just wanted to grab a gun, and be prepared to shoot it.
- I had run through the scenario in my head once or twice, and knew where I would kneel in the room, if our house was broken in to.
- I had recently gotten the number for a local defense attorney, should I need one in a self-defense situation.

Now, some things I completely screwed up.
- I didn't have a flashlight. I really need to get a tactical flashlight.
- I didn't keep a pair of shorts near my gun safe, so I had to go the dresser to get them...
- When leaving the bedroom to clear the dining room, I had the gun pointed up and not down, not wise given that we live in an apt with neighbors upstairs.
- I didn't ever tell my wife what my plan was given a break in, which means I had to tell her last night to grab a phone, instead of it just being part of an action plan.

Other things I learned through this experience:
- I want a .45 ACP. Yes, the thought actually went through my mind last night "d*mn it, I need a .45, not a .40 S&W."
- I need training on clearing rooms
- I need training on firing a gun one-handed while using a flashlight
- I need training firing a gun while kneeling
- I need a tactical flashlight
- My Body Alarm Reaction is good. I can still hear, I didn't get tunnel vision, I saw my 3 night sights perfectly fine. However, my fine motor skills were non existent, as I was shaking and had a vice-grip on my Glock.
- 911 is useless. Had someone broken in, we would have called when we heard footsteps. It would have taken that person 3-5 seconds to get into our bedroom. That's enough time to enter and shoot, stab, whatever.
- Laser sites could be very beneficial for my home-defense gun, if the need arose to fire the weapon from a less-than-ideal angle...

I pray that we will never be awoken by an intruder from without, but if we are, I am now that much more prepared, and know the training that I need to be even more prepared.

[CA357]

I'm glad you're both okay and that it was a false alarm. It's also good that you had a real world opportunity to check out the positives and negatives in your plan.

Number one on the flashlight. I keep a small Surefire right next to my pistol.

[ktmboyz]

Glad it worked out ok and you picked up on the +/- of youre situation. You can never run enough drills to prepare for the real thing. I too need to work on firing grips with a light just incase

+2 on the flashlight I always keep my .45 and the surfire side by side on my nightstand or in the drawer

[feedsasquatch]

Originally Posted by CA357

I'm glad you're both okay and that it was a false alarm. It's also good that you had a real world opportunity to check out the positives and negatives in your plan.

Number one on the flashlight. I keep a small Surefire right next to my pistol.

I'm going to be purchasing a Surefire or something similar very soon. I'll start practicing at the range with a one-hand grip and light in the other once I get it.

Now to start researching which flashlights are the brightest that use AA batteries. 120 lumens should be a good starting place...

[RL357Mag]

It don't sleep very much or very well, so when I finally do fall asleep it would take a nuclear blast to get me up...and with the A/C running I can't even hear the dogs bark!

[Succinct]

Thanks for sharing that experience. Your learnings are now mine too!

One thing a co-coworker recommended to me is a Pelltor (spelling?) headset, which protects your hearing in case you have to shoot, yet at the same time it amplifies low-level sounds so you can hear the "bad guys" planning their next move. Sounds like a great idea to me, and Amazon has what seems like two suitable models, a "tactical 6" for $70, and a "tactical 7" model for $110. Seems like a good investment to me. Anyone else know about this?

[canebrake]

Originally Posted by feedsasquatch

I'm going to be purchasing a Surefire or something similar very soon. I'll start practicing at the range with a one-hand grip and light in the other once I get it.

Now to start researching which flashlights are the brightest that use AA batteries. 120 lumens should be a good starting place...

Before you go cashing out for the surefire take a look at this 300 Lumens R2 CREE 5 mode tactical light I got for ~ 60$.

Spiderfire R2 CREE LED 5 Modes Combat Torch Set SF-X666

I've had this flashlight for almost a year and it has proven to be a great asset.

It's not a AA but uses CR 123A lithium, a fact I have not found to be a disadvantage.

I have purchased several items from this vendor with no problems.



Save some money and buy more ammo, or a 45ACP!

[IGETEVEN]

Thanks Cane for the information, I have been looking for a torch just like that for a while and they have come down in price too.

Jack

[orangello]

Kitchen appliances generally scare the crap out of me too.

I'm glad it worked out & it sounds like it was a great "shake-down" drill. I wonder how well one of those $15 headlamps would do; i wouldn't really want a lighted "shoot here" sign on my noggin, though. Though my pistol is right beside my bed, i would probably grab the Mossy pump12 right beside it if possible; i'm considering some kind of light mounted on it for late night problems.

Have you considered leaving some holiday bells hanging on the door or "easy access" entryways?

[stalkingbear]

What I don't get is why you took the time to put shorts on. I'm positive the sight of somebody my size naked & holding a large handgun & light would scare the bejeebers out of a burglar.