Poll: House Clearing Drills?

[ghostdncr]

I'm wondering how many of you run house clearing drills in your home? This turned into a somewhat heated discussion at dinner last night, with opinions ranging all over the place. Extremes of the argument ran from the young fellow who said his wife would lose her mind if she found out he was doing something like that, up through mine, as I run such drills several times a week when I end up home by myself for a few minutes. The motivation for this comes from having a child sleeping on a different floor on the opposite end of the house. Should a hostile entry occur in the night, the Mrs. will barricade in our bedroom and hold her own. I'm going for the kid and fully intend to unleash the fires of Hell on anything that gets between her and me. One typically does not unleash the fires of Hell by stumbling naked through the house and tripping over furniture while waving a pistol.

It's my strongly-held belief that in the middle of a hostile event is a horrible time to be developing a plan. You have a decided advantage when going up against an intruder in your own home, so it makes sense to me that one would do everything possible to optimize that advantage. Knowing how many steps are between floors (and which one squeaks), likely points of concealment, fields of fire, obstructions, and so on, in advance, is an enormous asset in such a confrontation. An intruder will likely be operating in a totally unknown environment, buying you valuable seconds as they process their surroundings upon entering each room. Having ran these clearing drills over and over and over, I can clear my home in something of a full-auto state. Instead of forcing my brain into solving the numerous complex puzzles presented by moving through a house in the dark, I can focus instead on what's out of place, threat identification, and reduction.

Your thoughts?

 

[the1kidd03]

You're on the right path. However not including the rest of the family in your practice could prove harmful if you ever did need to put your gear and skills to use. Right away it can introduce issues such as letting everyone in the home know where you are and possibly where the rest of the family is. Hence, why you should include all of of the home dwellers in your practice, utilize specific scenarios, and see if you can find a like minded friend to come over once in a while and act out the part of the "bad guy." Also, pick yourself up a training knife and a couple airsoft guns which mimic your typical defense weapons when you can. Then you'll really be getting somewhere in simulation.

Eventually, you'll get to a point where your like minded friend seems to have brought up all of the learning points he can. Unfortunately, most people can only think of a handful of ways to tackle an issue. So, when you reach such a point, try mixing it up with some other friends who would be willing to act the part. They'll move differently, use different tactics or angles of attack, etc. You'll be forced to address different things this way and open up the doors to learning some new things that you may not have considered before.

Of course, don't forget safety is #1. Unload all ammo from the area of live weapons before training like this. If possible, put a training barrel in or some other inexpensive aid for everyone's peace of mind. If you incorporate airsoft then make sure everyone is wearing the appropriate eye pro/face shield.

Good luck and keep learning.....it never stops.

 

[Magnum]

Trainers will tell you that house clearing is exceptionally dangerous and unless you have absolutely no other choice then you want to leave it to the police. Everyone's house and property is different, and having children in the house changes things a little as well, so it's hard to make generalizations. Still, I would focus on the low light fighting element and try to practice using a tactical flashlight to your advantage. Knowing how to use your light to blind an intruder, mask your movement, buy you time and distance, or as an opportunity to fight back, is important. On a level playing field, house clearing favors the person lying in wait- AKA not you. The dynamic is reversed if you are skilled at using light to give you an advantage. Mindset Lab teaches two great classes on flashlights, one of them being scenarios where you actually get to put it to the test.

 

[Jackson]

For those of you indicating that you practice "house clearing", how many have training or real experience in this area? Is that training as an individual or a team? If no specific training, what is the basis for your techniques and approach? Are you really "clearing" the whole house in the manner of a complete building search? Or are you just moving to a specified location where your family should be? How do you validate the techniques you're using?

I think there might be a difference between "clearing" and "moving through quietly, safetly, and undetected to meet up with my family or get a beer". It may require a different approach and a somewhat different set of techniques. I think there is a difference between a slow search for an unknown number of people who may be hiding and moving directly toward a known objective in a relatviely well known area. I think there is a difference between doing this as one or even two people and doing it as a 5 or 6 man team. Just some thoughts and questions.

 

[SSGSAD]

I will NOT say what kind of drills, I do, but I do different kinds of drills....... to practice clearing the house .....

 

[Jackson]

I will NOT say what kind of drills, I do, but I do different kinds of drills....... to practice clearing the house .....

Are they secret? Or are you embarrassed about them?

 

[ghostdncr]

Some of my thoughts on what's been posted so far::


However not including the rest of the family in your practice could prove harmful if you ever did need to put your gear and skills to use. The remainder of my my family will remain in a static defensive position. The wife will barricade and handle communication with local law enforcement. The kid will hide and wait for my arrival.



Trainers will tell you that house clearing is exceptionally dangerous and unless you have absolutely no other choice then you want to leave it to the police. Several years ago, I dealt with a stabbing that occurred next door to my old residence. It only took the police twenty-three minutes to respond from their substation three blocks away. If these trainers are comfortable leaving their child isolated with an intruder for twenty-three minutes while they cower and beg the police to hurry, well, I don't know how to respond to that.


On a level playing field, house clearing favors the person lying in wait- AKA not you. Why on earth would one fight on a "level playing field?"



For those of you indicating that you practice "house clearing", how many have training or real experience in this area? Army, here. I think once you get the fundamentals ingrained, it's a lot easier to adapt other disciplines (LE, for example) into your knowledge base. Couldn't you trained LE guys watch/read about military techniques and understand the concepts being used?



Are you really "clearing" the whole house in the manner of a complete building search? Or are you just moving to a specified location where your family should be? How do you validate the techniques you're using? I would be essentially clearing my entire house to reach the kid, short of doing the basement. I don't care if they steal every single thing on the ground floor so long as the kid is secured.



I think there is a difference between a slow search for an unknown number of people who may be hiding and moving directly toward a known objective in a relatively well known area. I think there is a difference between doing this as one or even two people and doing it as a 5 or 6 man team. There's a huge difference, based on my experience with 4-6 man teams in the military. As I've never had an extra 4-5 guys in my bedroom, I know what we're discussing here will be a solo op. Different tactics and mindset altogether.



I will NOT say what kind of drills, I do, but I do different kinds of drills. ​I see nothing wrong with NOT advertising your drills/plans/strategies on the internet. Why reveal your playbook to the opposing team? My drills amount to moving from my bed to the child's bedroom, clearing rooms as I go. When you contemplate clearing a room without stress and in full daylight, it's easy to map out a strategy for each room in sequence. You slice the pie and mentally tag your blind spots. This ingrained strategy will be the one you run when you're awakened by breaking glass at 2:00am. Plan your strategy carefully and wisely. Execute the strategy without hesitation.

 

[YoungMilsurpGuy]

Personally, for use inside my house, I use my AK with the stock folded, sling on the shoulder, and bayonet attached. I keep the thing tight to me and if someone tries to take it their gonna get stabbed.

Also, wouldnt you want to instead make it very clear and that you will kill the guy in your house would be better then sneaking up on a guy and possibly startling him and having to fight at close quaters. I figure, most people that break into houses just want to steal stuff and 95% of the time, they will just GTFO. And that 5% or so of people that are crazy enough to fight you, well just use good cover and care a more powerful weapon like 00 buckshot or 8m3 7.62x39mm.

Also, is there any shotguns you can get that can slamfire?

 

[ghostdncr]

Also, is there any shotguns you can get that can slamfire?

Winchester Model 12 and Ithaca Model 37 come immediately to mind. I've had several of both but only the Ithaca in an honest-to-God military configuration. Letting go of that one kinda haunts me.

 

[88GT]

For those of you indicating that you practice "house clearing", how many have training or real experience in this area? Is that training as an individual or a team? If no specific training, what is the basis for your techniques and approach? Are you really "clearing" the whole house in the manner of a complete building search? Or are you just moving to a specified location where your family should be? How do you validate the techniques you're using?

I think there might be a difference between "clearing" and "moving through quietly, safetly, and undetected to meet up with my family or get a beer". It may require a different approach and a somewhat different set of techniques. I think there is a difference between a slow search for an unknown number of people who may be hiding and moving directly toward a known objective in a relatviely well known area. I think there is a difference between doing this as one or even two people and doing it as a 5 or 6 man team. Just some thoughts and questions.

We clear. I figure I know my house better than any LEO. We even have strategies for outside issues.