What do you to plan to do if . . .

[Burk Cornelius]

This is a strange thread. There is no difference in being home and someone breaking in vs. coming home to someone who entered your house unlawfully.

If someone breaks into your house, the presumption is that they are there to do you harm. Armed, unarmed, is irrelevant.

BC

 

[jbarnett]

i didn't mean that comment towards you, i meant we are talking shoot or don't shoot BG without any other warning.. so it was at that arguement if that makes sense

Yes that makes sense.

 

[aodh]

. . . . So in the future I will try and stick to whatever plan I have in place at the time but I really think it will not matter because when the SHTF everything just happens so fast and you don't have the time to sit there and decide how it is going to play out this is just my opinion from my personal experiences.

This was the point of the post-- I have plans for several contingencies, but had never really considered the "what happens if I interrupt a burglary in progress" scenario. I hoped that the combined wisdom of OSA could provide inputs that I might not think of for the formulation of my "action plan".

Supposedly the first axiom of military planning is "no plan survives contact with the enemy", but that doesn't stop the military from spending an inordinate amount of resources doing it. I'm hoping that by trying to anticipate potential scenarios, my reaction to a real event will be a little less panicked and that I will have a reservoir of practiced responses to draw on.

I have to admit, however, that I have a lingering suspicion that your reaction is probably more in line with what I'll really do if the SHTF. (Sort of a one man Irish Banzai attack with loud noises.) Ah well, at least the planning and practice indoors is a cooler way to spend a weekend when its too hot to go to the range.

 

[ExtremistPullup]

TITLE 21 § 1289.25. Physical or deadly force against intruder
PHYSICAL OR DEADLY FORCE AGAINST INTRUDER

A. The Legislature hereby recognizes that the citizens of the State of
Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety within their own
homes.

 

[Straitup]

I wasn't home like Jon3830 was, but having been broken into three times now, loosing precious memories, a few guns and just plain feeling violated, my plan is not to think, shoot first and wait for the smoke to clear. They are criminals the law is on my side, armed or unarmed they are NOT to be there and they know it. They entered at their own risk, they should pick their friends better if it was a dare. No regrets.

 

[mmchambers06]

If somebody is in my house, BANG. No questions till its over, my house stay out or pay the piper.

More like BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG or however many it takes for them to go down.

Then I'm going to reload. On the 0.001% chance that they're still a threat, they'll get it again. Ammo is cheap, life is expensive. If something's worth shooting once, it's worth shooting twelve times.

The make or break in this situation, like many, is how quickly you can identify a threat. Are you being robbed or is that shadowy figure your family member, landlord, roommate, etc.? You can't make the right decision unless you know what the hell is going on, which is why an EDC flashlight is an exceptional tool. 200+ lumens in the face is going to disable anyone for several seconds, drugs or no.

Mentally preparing yourself by visualizing these situations goes a long way, I think. As does consistent practice with your carry rig.

 

[Glocktogo]

My plan is this: If the house is unoccupied and I believe a burglary has or is occurring, I will stay outside and call the police. Once they arrive, I can see if anyone is still there, with them going in first. If someone comes out in the interim, I will be a good witness and provide descriptions to the police. If they have a vehicle, I will try to block it in with mine. If that can't be accomplished, I'll provide a tag # and description.

I will defend myself from any attack, but I will not initiate a confrontation with a potentially dangerous burglar. No possessions in my home are worth my life.

Now if my wife is in the home, all bets are off. I'll phone 911 and give them the scenario and description of myself so the responders don't shoot me, but then I'm going in.

 

[NikatKimber]

I'll inject a different line of thinking here, how about taking as many steps as necessary to prevent "walking in on someone", such as installing and using an alarm system?

What other steps would be good preventative measures?

We've had dozens of what would you do threads and they all seem to have the same tone, you have the ultra bad ass guys that would kill anyone in their house, and you have others that are at the other end of the spectrum. I for one hope I am never faced with the decision, and can't say honestly how I would react as there are too many factors involved to speculate.

This is probably the most important thing to remember. The possibilities are endless, therefore I don't try to enumerate all of them and prepare for each.

There are two basic options though:
1- retreat
2- stand your ground

Sure, as OP suggested, if you noticed the house had been broken into, move back to your vehicle cautiously.
But, if it came to a face to face, moving away would be trickier. You don't want to fall, which would be bad; but it may not immediately justify shooting.

I guess something I hear a lot, is "I don't want to kill them if I don't have to" which is great. BUT, where do you draw the line for "have to"? I don't want to wait till the BG starts shooting if I have the choice. For me, I draw the line (never been there yet) at them not screaming mommy and running like a bat out of hell. If I stand my ground, and they don't back down, regardless of whether it's in my house, or in a back alley, to me that means they intend to fight. And if it comes to that, there's only one rule: Win at all costs.

Anything can change the equation... do you have family behind you? would you have to back around furniture? what was the BG's reaction? is there more than one BG? was the BG holding something large (tv, computer)?

But it all comes down to- are you willing to fight if necessary, and if so, are you willing to fight to win?

 

[vvvvvvv]

I'll inject a different line of thinking here, how about taking as many steps as necessary to prevent "walking in on someone", such as installing and using an alarm system?

$55+ per month does not offset the $3/month I'll save on my homeowner's insurance, which I made sure covered theft.

Besides, who's gonna hear it if I did have an alarm? I know a few people who got busted for burglary. The alarms on most of the houses they broke into didn't bother them because it is highly unlikely that someone will hear it in the country.

 

[tm8634]

If someone is in my house uninvited, they will be shot. There is no time to decide their intentions.

+1...