In the Defensive Shooting Fundamentals course, one of the last drills we do is the Home Invasion Simulation. If there are multiple students in the class, they are brought away from the range so they don’t get to see whats going on in advance of their turn.
As the instructor running the simulation it’s my job to introduce stress, anxiety, words and actions to cause panic and confusion during the sim. This is accomplished by yelling verbal descriptions of the ensuing encounter, banging on training tables, flipping over a table, throwing full drink cups at targets down range,
The student achieves success by properly identifying that a threat has/is occurring and is able to stop the threat with the LEAST amount of force necessary.
So, you maybe saying, “… this sounds easy”, “… what could he do/say that would cause me to not be successful, I’m confident he couldn’t trick me…” Well, to this date I have never had a student achieve success on the first waive of this drill yet. The following is a spoiler alert if you take a course from me.
At the start of the drill, the scenario is described to you as; you are sitting on your bed talking to someone on the phone. You hear a frantic pounding on your front door, your hear yelling and someone calling out, the front door is opened and slammed back, you hear more panicked yelling as someone is running down the hall to your room. At what point do you take action? What is the action you take? … As described a crazed man comes running through the door into the bedroom, Now what action do you take? How many of you are thinking present your firearm and fire at the perceived aggressive threat?
Know your target. In the first instance of running this drill it is purposely not said WHO the person is that just came in the door. All students have presented and fired on the target. It is then quickly and strategically described as your 75 year old good neighbor who is panicked because his wife next door is choking and unconscious and needs help. Ooops.
Other scenarios progress from kids sleeping over, relatives visiting, to home invasions, aggravated burglary, and finally a hostage situation.
After the first scenario, it’s explained to look, listen, think and be aware of the totality of the situation prior to reacting. Think about your OWN situation, everyone’s situation could be different, you may have no neighbors, or visitors, these are just examples and scenarios.
In conclusion, think about scenarios that could happen in your home, in your garage, out in your yard. Don’t panic, have a plan, know your level of engagement or action. And finally, take the USCCA Defensive Shooting Fundamentals course so you can actually get your adrenaline running as you run this drill for yourself.
