Incident this morning

[lovemachine]

Every night I always leave a light on in my living room. To switch it up, sometimes I'll leave a kitchen light on instead. To really mix things, I'll keep both on. Last night, only the living room light was on.

About 5'am, I woke to my dog growling, very loud. He never growls. So I jump outta bed, grab my Glock 19 out of the holster, toss an extra mag in my pocket, and grab my EDC Nitecore light.

My wife stays in the bedroom, and I slowly open the bedroom door, step into the hallway, close the door. From where I'm standing, I see the living room light is off. I just stand there, listening. Not hearing anything, I walk to the end of the hall.

When I reach the end, keeping my gun down at the ready position, barrel pointing down. I raise my light up, keeping my elbow tucked in. I turn the corner, entering the living room, flashing my light around.

The only thing I see was Barney at the front door. I tell him to move, and I turn on the outside light. And open a blind, and use my light to search the front yard. Nothing.

I think Barney scared whatever it was away. Later, I find the living room light had burned out. I changed the bulb, petted Barney,'and went back to bed. Laid there awhile making sure it was alright.

I still think Barney scared it away. And I don't believe it was an animal. I know him enough to believe someone was out there. Like I said, he never growls. Barney fell asleep outside our bedroom door.

Thinking about what happened as I type this, I know I probably made a lot of mistakes.
Can anyone guess them?

Also thinking, I NEED to take that Low Light Class by ACT.

 

[JetGirl]

Not gonna critique your actions...just asking if there were tracks in your snow...

 

[lovemachine]

I had put ice melt on the porch and walk. So no tracks there. There were tracks in the drive. But that could have been the intruders, or family. It wasn't snowing by then.

 

[KillStick]

Sounds like you did the responsible thing to me, I am not one to pick on the small stuff especially when I wasn't there or in that situation. But it sure does get your adrenaline pumping.

 

[E5RANGER375]

why did you name your dog barney?

 

[IndianaResident]

I'm no expert, but standing in a doorway is rarely a good idea....even without the light showing you opened it probably made a sound.

But we can do that all day. Good asset utilization, that dog alarm.

 

[lovemachine]

why did you name your dog barney?

My favorite show is The Andy Griffith Show. So, I named my dog Barney Fife

 

[LawDog76]

When I reach the end, keeping my gun down at the ready position, barrel pointing down. I raise my light up, keeping my elbow tucked in. I turn the corner, entering the living room, flashing my light around.

Thinking about what happened as I type this, I know I probably made a lot of mistakes.
Can anyone guess them?

Also thinking, I NEED to take that Low Light Class by ACT.

My two cents.

1st, If it's only you and the wife and you know where she's at, don't keep your weapon pointed down. You are now in a situation where milliseconds count. You don't want to waste anytime adjusting your weapon to acquire your target.

2nd, Never leave your flashlight on constant unless you have acquired your target. Use "burst" of light. Yes it may mess with your night vision a little but being hit in the face with your beam of light will mess with his night vision even more.

3rd, When you bring your flashlight up to turn it on, bring your weapon up with it. Soon as you turned it on, you give the bad guy a target to shoot at(another good reason to use burst of light). Again this is a situation where milliseconds count. Chances are the first couple of places you feel the need to check for the intruder is going to be the place you find him. You know where cover/concealment is in your home and your valuables. An intruder in your home will be looking for those exact things.

 

[safarihunter]

I am sure this forum or others will have posts where issues like this are discussed. It is worth Googling to see what is available.

 

[ruger1800]

Is barney afraid of the dark? maybe he started barking when the light burned out.

 

[BearArms]

Your house is haunted.

 

[SMiller]

What Lawdog said x2!

 

[paddling_man]

Your house is haunted.

By the ghost of Don Knotts.


That or Floyd the Barber. I tell you, if there was ever a child come up missing in Mayberry, I'm tearing apart Floyd's house. Floyd wasn't right.

 

[DaKruiser]

It sounds to me like you done everything pretty good! The only thing I would have done is make sure the wifey had a gun handy! Hotpocket has her pistol handy, and knows how to get to the others fast!
I'm glad everything is/was OK!

 

[lovemachine]

It sounds to me like you done everything pretty good! The only thing I would have done is make sure the wifey had a gun handy! Hotpocket has her pistol handy, and knows how to get to the others fast!
I'm glad everything is/was OK!

I keep a Mossy 500 20 gauge and a Glock 21 in the bedroom

 

[clgustaveson]

Every night I always leave a light on in my living room. To switch it up, sometimes I'll leave a kitchen light on instead. To really mix things, I'll keep both on. Last night, only the living room light was on.

About 5'am, I woke to my dog growling, very loud. He never growls. So I jump outta bed, grab my Glock 19 out of the holster, toss an extra mag in my pocket, and grab my EDC Nitecore light.

My wife stays in the bedroom, and I slowly open the bedroom door, step into the hallway, close the door. From where I'm standing, I see the living room light is off. I just stand there, listening. Not hearing anything, I walk to the end of the hall.

When I reach the end, keeping my gun down at the ready position, barrel pointing down. I raise my light up, keeping my elbow tucked in. I turn the corner, entering the living room, flashing my light around.

The only thing I see was Barney at the front door. I tell him to move, and I turn on the outside light. And open a blind, and use my light to search the front yard. Nothing.

I think Barney scared whatever it was away. Later, I find the living room light had burned out. I changed the bulb, petted Barney,'and went back to bed. Laid there awhile making sure it was alright.

I still think Barney scared it away. And I don't believe it was an animal. I know him enough to believe someone was out there. Like I said, he never growls. Barney fell asleep outside our bedroom door.

Thinking about what happened as I type this, I know I probably made a lot of mistakes.
Can anyone guess them?

Also thinking, I NEED to take that Low Light Class by ACT.

You moved too quickly, your unarmed wife was left in the room. If you are going to leave someone unarmed, you need to clear the rooms better. Maybe you did but the story didn't really tell us if you utilized proper room clearing techniques.

Not saying you DID anything wrong, and really it's only a suggestion. I would much rather protect then make an offensive action against a burglar. When I know everyone IS safe then I can proceed to make sure that the threat has been eliminated.

 

[JDonhardt]

Good dog!

 

[mjrducky]

So I jump outta bed, grab my Glock 19 out of the holster, toss an extra mag in my pocket, and grab my EDC Nitecore light.

You have pockets? I don't I should look into that more.

 

[Primetimeclimber]

I'm assuming Barney is your profile pic? If he's got a deep growl I wouldn't be surprised if whoever/whatever was out there heard him and ran scared. I've got a couple large mutts myself and honestly I'd say their growls are even more intimidating than the sound of my mossy 500 :-P

 

[bigiron]

You have pockets? I don't I should look into that more.

i thought the same thing. when did BVD start making boxer briefs with pockets? i gotta get some of those. i lived in jamestown for a while, you're more likely to have Otis Campbell stumbling around than Floyd.