@Dawn Hadn’t read that one yet. Interesting. My house is really small. From the tiny hall between the two bedrooms, I can see the rest of the house. I would know at that point what else is going on. My wife says “not Sweep. Swiffer.”
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Grabbing a gun Not in a holster “can” be dangerous.
One solution - Put the gun in a holster. Holstered gun in the Safe. Tie the bottom of the holster down to something solid and heavy - like a safe(even a small one “may” be heavy enough) or mount/or anchor the safe down. Hand on gun - Finger on holster - Draw: Gun comes out of holster - Finger falls on frame like when you naturally draw from a holster. Anyway - you will not have access to the “trigger” - while gun is - “in the safe”.
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I always keep mine chambered even when it is in the safe. My stepdad said I should never keep mine chambered because a negligent discharge can happen way too easily if somebody is startled and just waking from a sound sleep (to which I can agree to a certain point especially if the gun does not have a manual safety or is single action.) The gun I have is a Springfield XDE 9mm SA/DA with a decocker and external safety. I carry mine decocked with the safety off just because that is extra step on the draw I would have to remember. But I will never store it in my safe with the safety off.
Home, I live in California and getting a CCW isn’t easy unless you live in the right county.
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Even in the home/office my daily carry gun is on my hip or within reach.
My wife and I also have defensive weapons strategically placed throughout the house for rapid access in the event they are needed.
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Another great exercise for students,
“Identify the weapons of opportunity in the room or as encountered while walking, and how they might be used”.
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We’ve talked about this, and this is a wake up call. These guys were in the house in seconds by breaking out the glass in the backyard. Both of these houses are in my neck of the woods.
This just happened, I lived a few houses from the nearview home it’s right across from a school.
She is a gun owner but didn’t have time to grab it.
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I just edited and you should be able to see it. We know the reporter Gigi from a mutual friend. She covered the two homes attacked in Canyon Country. The home in Signal Hill is where the victims were shot after they fought off the attackers and followed outside.
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“'Keep your Self Defense tools on you at all times or at least within reach”.
In the typical home invasion you have less than 15 seconds to prepare to defend yourself. If your gun is locked up in another room you have almost no chance of getting to it in time.
With all of the instant access safes etc available today you can easily and safely stage multiple handguns around the house in very inconspicuous places with a little creative thinking.
We’re not paranoid but we have at least one “Hidagun” in every room and unless I’m sleeping I’m probably carrying anyhow.
Every family should take the time to put together a Home Defense Plan, practice it until you have it down pat and can execute it half asleep in the dark and then at least monthly after that.
Be prepared, have a plan, work the plan, self defense is not an accident.
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It’s working now, thank you.
And YIKES!
… and… shot after following the attackers out… oooo, bad choice. I can see how it would happen but bad choice.
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Good points @WildRose, the city Santa Clarita here keeps trying to tout is as one of the safest cities in the US, their tag line is calling Valencia “awesometown”. I call it a wake up call for those in this community who used to think these things do not/will not happen here.
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Yep, do everything right and perfectly legal and you could still be out 50-100k just trying to keep out of jail and then comes the civil suit.
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Take the USCCA Concealed Carry and Home Defense course. It is of immeasurable value even if you’ve had some formal training in the past and I consider it pretty much essential for those who have had none.
Great course.
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To me, “protecting my home” means I do everything reasonable to make it hard to penetrate to BEGIN with. This starts with “hardening” the doors. I used https://www.lowes.com/pd/Door-Armor-Max-Combo-Set-White/3744197 on both exterior and in-from-the-garage doors. The second most important thing is early warning. I have a SimpliSafe system installed with contacts on every window and door (including screendoors) with a separate, hidden outdoor alarm, motion-and-glassbreak sensors. In my opinion, what you need more than anything else is time - time to wake up, time to get your s*** together before you grab the bedside weapon while the outside alarm draws as much attention to the situation as possible. Gun sits on the nightstand, bullet in chamber (and it’s always within arm’s reach or on me while in the home). I’ll admit I’m blessed having just myself and my wife living at home (no worries about kids coming in, etc.). Like I said - to me, it all boils down to time (house hard to get into to start with, requiring lots of noise to breech, all possible entrances alarmed).
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While I am not saying what your doing to the doors doesn’t help, the single best thing you can do to help harden the door entry point is to have a deadbolt properly installed. That means make sure the steel reinforcing plate is in place behind the strike and installed with the 3 to 4 inch screws that come with it (I am assuming a wood frame door and not a hollow metal one). If the deadbolt does not come with the reinforcing plate dont buy it.
You would not believe how many “Professional” installers leave it out because it takes more time and can mean extra work to put it in correctly. The longer screws for the reinforcing plate should be long enough to engage at least 1 inch (more does not hurt) into the stud frame work behind the door frame casing.
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Good point. I didn’t mention the deadbolts because I assumed they were a given with everyone already. The StrikeMaster II Pro’s I have installed on the doorframes all have their own reinforcing plates: StrikeMaster II Pro Door Reinforcement - How It Works To Secure Your Home - YouTube
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Adding an outside “Security Door” instead of just a storm/screen door can be a very good deterrent as well as making it more challenging for a home invader to get past the front door to begin with.
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I’ll add to that. If ;you are building new have your contractor double the studs around the doors and use metal strapping to tie them to the top and bottom plates. That gives the longer screws something really solid to bite into and really secures the entire frame very well.
Also, use the extended screws in at least one hole for each of the hinges. A strike or two near the door locks not being productive and someone who’s dedicated and educated will simply move to the hinge side.
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