TexasCHLforum.com

Boma wrote:

cjlandry wrote:Let the cops clear the house. You could end up dead doing that yourself.

As long as you have your family all together, and not spread out all over the house, you have no reason to clear the house. Just keep the entrance to the room you're in covered.

Good point!!!

My CHL instructor told us that it's a bad idea to have a gun within reach. Even under the bed. He said that if a bad guy gets to you before you can reach you gun, you did something wrong. IE: not put on good locks, etc. He recommends it in a safe.

I do not agree with your instructor at all!

Might as well have it locked up in a save with the gun lock cable running through it and have the ammo safely stored in a safe on the other end of the house.

Might as well not have one in the first place.

Russ

Wilson wrote:Sorry I can’t think of one reason why anyone would put their hand on a gun while asleep. Anyone who would do that could just as easily strangle their wife with their bare hands or smother her with a pillow. Anyone who does stupid stuff while claiming they are asleep should make arrangements to be locked up each night.

Allow me to type you a story, if I may.

My wife and I have been married for purt-nia Thirty-Five years. I love the woman.

After we’d been married for three or four years I went to work for a car dealer in a very small town in the Texas Panhandle … the only dealer in town. It was a 3 man 1 woman operation. There was the owner/salesman, the mechanic (who had a part-time helper—his son) and I sold parts and helped in the service department also. The owner's wife was the bookkeeper.

Well one night, while dead asleep—and I DO remember this: I started dreaming. I dreamt that there was old Spanish gold under the parts counter, and I had to get it! I grabbed a shovel and started digging, only problem… the handle was my wife’s leg. And, let me tell ya I was a-goin’ to town on that dirt!

She woke up and in a very droggy state she asked me; “What the (*&)@(&#_) are you doin’ with my leg!

The moral of this short story: Never anticipate what you’re going to dream about and what you will do in your dream!

Russ

txinvestigator wrote:

Wilson wrote:We aren’t paranoid but 12 gauge pump & PLR-16 under the bed, Glocks in the nightstands and P-3ATs under our pillows.

No dsrepect meant, but having a handgun under you pillow is a REALLY bad idea.

+1

Might be better to place the Holy Bible under the pillow!

spud wrote:I use my paddle holster and wedge it between the headboard and the mattress. Works for me. I sleep a little hard and having it not covered up bothers me. If someone sneaks in, then they just found a gun and im still asleep.

I sleep hard also, my wife says that I could sleep through a tornado and an earthquake on the same night.

txinvestigator wrote:…

A handgun (or any gun for that matter) is not good as the only means of security for your home. Lights, alarms, dogs, good locks, etc, are the first line of defense. You want to be able to fully wake up before you would need to access your weapon. I can tell you any horror stories of a droggy homeowner shooting a friendly.

Dogs are the first line of defense. They can hear and smell hundreds and thousands of times better than we humans are able to; and, they can see in the dark. They know when unwanted intruders are roaming around. I know that our ½ Black Lab / ½ Golden Retriever—‘Stormy,’ who is as black as the night—always wakes us up, way before any window would be broken or door smashed in.
This is excellent advice! As I stated before; I am a heavy sleeper, but my dog can wake me up. It does take me several seconds before I’m conscious enough to ‘realize’ what’s up. Then to respond takes several more seconds. By that time, if Stormy’s still barkin’ then the plan goes into action.

txinvestigator wrote:…
A plan for you and your family is critical. Have it and practice it. Include your family in the practice.

We have a plan, how well it works, hopefully we’ll never find out for real.

txinvestigator wrote:…
How will you communicate with the authorities, each other?

First thing we’re doing is dial 911, get them on the line. We will use our cell phone because the wire cannot be ‘cut’ like the ‘land-line’ can.

txinvestigator wrote:…
Do you know that tactically it takes at least 2 people to clear a house? 2 is the minimum, 4 is better. Taking off through your house after a potential intruder is dangerous for you and your family. Depending on the layout of your home, you may have kids you have to go to.

Our plan is: “Dial 911, grab the gun and get into a defensive posture in our bathroom… same basic plan as in a tornado, except for the 911. Our dog will provide the search of the house if necessary.

txinvestigator wrote:…
How is your house set up? If you fire in any direction, even up (for those of you in 2-stories) where will the bullet go if you miss or over-penetrate?

Worst case, the bullet will hit our vehicles in the garage.

txinvestigator wrote:…
Do you have a light? Have you practiced how to handle a gun AND a light? Is your light weapon mounted? If so, remember that to illuminate anyone, including a family member, you will be covering them with the muzzle.

Yes, and yes. I prefer a hand held light separate from the gun. The hand held light is in my left hand… above my head, that gives an intimidating picture of a very tall man using the flashlight. I use the flashlight only to startle… instant on… and instant off. Bright light suddenly appearing in the intruder’s eyes will blind him. The flashlight being held high in my left hand gives the BG a much smaller target, while keeping me much safer some 2.5 feet to the right and 1.5 feet lower than the light the BG saw. Worst case, if he fires, he might hit my arm/hand, my body is much safer. Then… I have a much better target to return fire at.

If the flashlight is mounted on my gun, that’s where he’s shooting and I have NO body armor to protect me as the SWAT teams do. BAD IDEA for the average ‘Joe’ homeowner to have a tactical light on your weapon… IMHO, anyway.

txinvestigator wrote:…
Security vs accessability for the weapon is also an issue. NEVER trust that your kids cannot get to the weapon without waking you. One of our LEO's still has a bullet in his head from thinking such. Never trust that they won't get to the weapon.

I promote the fact that keeping guns a secret is what kills. It’s the ‘unknown’… that curiosity that is intriguing to the children. Teach them, be honest with them, show them what a gun is capable of… have them shoot a watermelon, and have them watch it explode. Teach them that this is NOT a video game, where when you shoot somebody, you don’t just press ‘reset’ to start over again. Teach them that this is for REAL, that when people die they are gone until Jesus comes back!

txinvestigator wrote:…
Below is a posting I made on another site in 2004 regarding
<snip> I quickly made a visual scan of the front windows, no apparent Point of Entry (POE). I made my way to the stairway, where I could see the den windows and the back door, but not the garage door. Again no apparent POE, and the dog was not barking.

Here is the key to this story… the dog was not barking.

txinvestigator wrote:…
<snip>
We then turned on all of the lights and did a more thorough check. There was no indication or evidence of an attempted break-in. It had been raining, and there was no indication anyone had been outside near any window or door. Just a False Alarm.

Now, if the dog had been going crazy, I feel that this would have been a different story.


Russ