Big Scare Tonight...

[Redhorse]

All you guys coming up with these plans and i'm wondering what itd hurt to stay in the basement and protect your wife while watching the only entrance(s). What is the real point of "clearing" your house besides to protect your things? Are they worth your life if a bad guy gets you in the back? Infinite amounts of arbitrary "holes" can be found in a plan when us average joes try to make them. Unless you train religiously for such a scenario (which I'm sure many of us don't) then there's no way to be ready. The safest bet is to hold the ground you already have and protect those dearest to you. My $.02 of course.

 

[churchmouse]

All you guys coming up with these plans and i'm wondering what itd hurt to stay in the basement and protect your wife while watching the only entrance(s). What is the real point of "clearing" your house besides to protect your things? Are they worth your life if a bad guy gets you in the back? Infinite amounts of arbitrary "holes" can be found in a plan when us average joes try to make them. Unless you train religiously for such a scenario (which I'm sure many of us don't) then there's no way to be ready. The safest bet is to hold the ground you already have and protect those dearest to you. My $.02 of course.

I see the point in yours and others opinion to barricade. We have just never had this mindset. That is what all this revolves around is mindset.
I still get calls from a few of the neighbors when they hear things go bump in the night. Widows/single moms etc. Have done this since we have lived here.
We know the area/who lives here/who doesn't.

 

[jamil]

All you guys coming up with these plans and i'm wondering what itd hurt to stay in the basement and protect your wife while watching the only entrance(s). What is the real point of "clearing" your house besides to protect your things? Are they worth your life if a bad guy gets you in the back? Infinite amounts of arbitrary "holes" can be found in a plan when us average joes try to make them. Unless you train religiously for such a scenario (which I'm sure many of us don't) then there's no way to be ready. The safest bet is to hold the ground you already have and protect those dearest to you. My $.02 of course.

Well, at some point you have to go find out that it was just the cat. You hear a noise, sounds like someone breaking in, you stay in the basement at the ready just in case. You don't hear anything else for several minutes. So do you just say it was just the cat and go about your business, or do you make sure it was the cat by clearing the house.

 

[churchmouse]

Well, at some point you have to go find out that it was just the cat. You hear a noise, sounds like someone breaking in, you stay in the basement at the ready just in case. You don't hear anything else for several minutes. So do you just say it was just the cat and go about your business, or do you make sure it was the cat by clearing the house.

This is the flip side to barricading. How will you know.

95% of the "Bumps" we have heard were outside. I have so much invested in tools/equipment and such that I have to go and see.

 

[Thor]

This is the flip side to barricading. How will you know.

95% of the "Bumps" we have heard were outside. I have so much invested in tools/equipment and such that I have to go and see.

This is why we installed video surveillance around our house. When we moved in we had a door banger...tended to happen just before someone dropped off an ADTI installation add (no known correlation but hmmmm). Not being one to be a victim I cleared the area and installed our own cameras that week.

 

[88GT]

All you guys coming up with these plans and i'm wondering what itd hurt to stay in the basement and protect your wife while watching the only entrance(s).

Because some basements have only one way out and if there is a bad guy in the house you have increased your chances of having a confrontation with him with limited means if escape. And as jamil said, at some point you have to figure out whether it was the cat or a bad guy.

What is the real point of "clearing" your house besides to protect your things?

Have you not been paying attention? It's to find out what caused the bump. If one finds that it was a cat, one goes back about his business. If one finds it was not the cat, one can decide from there how to deal with the cause.

Are they worth your life if a bad guy gets you in the back?

Nope. I wouldn't put myself at unnecessary risk just to protect things.

Infinite amounts of arbitrary "holes" can be found in a plan when us average joes try to make them. Unless you train religiously for such a scenario (which I'm sure many of us don't) then there's no way to be ready. The safest bet is to hold the ground you already have and protect those dearest to you. My $.02 of course.

This is simply not true. I am infinitely more ready to defend my home, including a walk-through to investigate a noise, than anyone else. There is no special tactical training that is required. I concede that some knowledge and practice make the chance of success higher and the risk of harm to me lower, but it is a gross lie to say that I am not competent to search my own home.

 

[jblomenberg16]

All you guys coming up with these plans and i'm wondering what itd hurt to stay in the basement and protect your wife while watching the only entrance(s). What is the real point of "clearing" your house besides to protect your things? Are they worth your life if a bad guy gets you in the back? Infinite amounts of arbitrary "holes" can be found in a plan when us average joes try to make them. Unless you train religiously for such a scenario (which I'm sure many of us don't) then there's no way to be ready. The safest bet is to hold the ground you already have and protect those dearest to you. My $.02 of course.

Protecting my kids is absolutely worth my life. I know that you were talking about physical items vs. kids / loved ones, but I think that really factors into many of our plans.

Outside of that, like others said, at some point you have to figure out what caused the noise, or accept the fact that you may end up with a police response that clears your house and finds out your cat knocked over a vase.

 

[looney2ns]

Some people sure have some thin walls to be hearing so many bumps outside. Reminds me of my young days of living in a trailer.