TexasCHLforum.com

I think my big issue is if a BG gets up the stairs (towards the kids' rooms) before I have chance to intervene.

I have a multi-layered security system, without going into a lot of detail (for obvious reasons), my security starts with neighbors, then the dogs, the monitored alarm (which is also layered within itself), and finally self/home defense pistols...I need to add a plan of action to this layered system. I will say that I do have an alarm control box in the master bedroom, so if it does sound…then I will know immediately which zone the breach occurred in assuming the alarm was tripped (upstairs is covered by the alarm as well). If the breach occurs down stairs, and I react quickly enough, I think I would have things fairly well covered as a BG would not be able to go upstairs without going past me. If the breach occurs upstairs…tactically...things will be much different and I think I would be compelled to move upstairs to protect the kids.

All that being said, I might have another advantage. The dogs, mostly my German Shepherd, will not let anyone in the house without me formally introducing him to the visitor. He will corner the visitor to the wall until I give him a verbal and hand signal command at which time he will back down. After backing down he will continue to keep a watchful eye until he is comfortable with the situation. This goes for any visitor, even those who have been at the house a hundred times. I think my pup will alert me to the location of any BG in the house. That being said, I do not want to rely on that assumption as a BG could possibly take him out somehow, therefore I need a plan to fall back on.

A few days ago my wife and I were at the store. While she was shopping I went to the magazines and picked up a copy of combat handguns (I do not recall what issue). I read the “It happened to me� section. In that section there was a story written by a guy who claims to be a firearm and self defense instructor. The story is summarized as follows: In the middle of the night the house alarm goes off. The home owner grabs his pistol and makes his way to the top of the stairs. The alarm company calls and talks to his wife who is in the bedroom with their child. The alarm company tells them that a kitchen window (which I presume is down stairs) was opened. Because they live in a rural area in a small town he did not expect the authorities arrive for quite some time (10 or 15 minutes). The home owner then makes the decision to head down stairs and clear the rooms. He does so but finds nothing and at that moment he began to question himself about missing something. He hastily clears all the down stairs rooms again. Still, after finding nothing the second time, he became fearful that a bad guy could have slipped past him and went upstairs where his wife and child were waiting. He went back upstairs. All worked out and it appears that the would-be bad guy was scared off by the alarm. In the lessons learned portion of the article he mentioned that next time he would stay put at the top of the stairs and control the choke point until authorities arrive.

Now to my question…In his situation he has a natural choke point to control and I would assume that from a tactical standpoint, controlling the choke point is a good thing. Family members are up stairs already and it makes sense to do so. My situation is slightly different. We have a two story house, but the master suite is down stairs while all other bedrooms are upstairs (two teenagers occupy the upstairs). Given a similar scenario with the house alarm going off in the middle of the night I do not have a natural choke point that I can think of.

Walking out from the master, to the left is the living room and dining room…open floor plan and I can see the back door. To the right is the office, stair case, foyer, and the front door. So I can see both doors from the master bedroom door way.

So, from a tactical stand point, what is the best thing to do? Do I get the wife up and out of the bedroom and proceed up stairs and protect from the top of the stairs. Do I clear the down stairs first…then go upstairs? My wife does have her own gun on night stand duty…do I leave her to fend for herself as I go upstairs to protect the kids?

Tactically speaking…how would you defend?