Anybody ever practiced clearing their house?

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

With your weapon of choice(unloaded of course), and with your lights? 3 in the morning (and you are doing it for real) is not a good time to discover you have a tricky corner to negotiate. Would you prefer to announce "I have a gun and I will shoot your ass if you don't get the hell out of my house!" and give away your position? Would you prefer to just stay in the bedroom and call the cops and wait for an eternity till they show up? With your children in other parts of the house? Think about it and play the "what if?" game.

[Anvil]

I clear the house for real, loaded gun about once every two weeks when I hear a strange noise I can't account for. I've never found an intruder but with two small children and my wife who is legally deaf, I'm the only responder. I don't call out to anyone, I don't want them to suddenly feel threatened and backed into a corner. I just tell my wife to stay in the back room with the children and me and my 870 / Guide gun or whatever fills my hand goes to pie slicing. It's just a reality of living in a city where Crime is the norm and shootings are barely news.

[sparky241]

i have swept the house at night to get a feel of the place but once i had to do it for real.I came home from work to find the front door open about 4 inches.After walking around the outside of the house looking thru the windows i went in gun drawn. I came in quietly and just stood in the doorway listening and didnt hear anything so i proceeded to sweep the whole house after all was said and done i think the front door just didnt get pulled tight enough so now im in the habit of pushing the door once its closed.

[glock27mark]

i"ve practiced daytime and also at night(lights on sometimes.sometimes with
flashlight,lights out) ya never know if bg might pull out meter. hopefully i"ll
never have to but better prepared for such an event. practice-practice.

[killarbb]

i have done it before.......i have a hell of an intersection...


hall way that leads to 2 bedrooms(opposite ends) and the bathroom(centered between beedrooms, hallway has about a 2 foot jog and opens into kitchen on one side, and living room on teh other..........


i figure i will just have to hide and wait, i would get shot trying to clear that mess on my own.

[GLOCKENNBOOMER]

We're getting a new house and will be moving later in the week, can't wait till about 2 in the morning and everyone is asleep and figure the house out. It's a 3,075 square foot house, So I'm gonna have LOTS of room to play.

[D. Manley]

Clearing one's home...or at least, doing the mental gymnastics of encountering an unwelcome intruder is "good training" and in the event it becomes necessary, can save your life. The homeowner (or in some cases, the occupant) will always have the advantage of site familiarity provided that, he knows of the presence of an intruder. The gravest risk IMO, is for an intruder to gain entry undetected. I have to say, I'm a big believer in high-quality home security systems for a number of reasons, this one among them. Residents can both reduce the risk of a break-in by a number of simple things such as deadbolts on exterior doors (those with glass keyed for entry and exit), critical area exterior lighting, storm windows, etc. Its very easy to arrange inside and outside night lighting to optimize observation lanes which if need be, become shooting lanes allowing the homeowner to see without being seen. Common sense goes a long way...

[Jammer Six]

I just open the back door, put a round through the floor, wait five minutes, then close the door. So far, they've always seemed to be in a hurry.

[CJStudent]

I've done a lot of it in the Army of other places, and done it a few times with wierd stuff happening in my house. Got a few problem places (and 2 dogs) to make it more complicated. Frankly, I think I'd be better off just holding in-place unless I've got a pressing reason to clear the main floor upstairs (i'm in the basement in a house that is one story in the front, 2 in the back, with the basement door leading out to the patio). Rest of the family is upstairs, and my mom's got her gun handy too. I REALLY don't want to catch a .38 +P Golden Saber that way.

[Steve Koski]

I used to. Now I think I'd just toss a few frags and go back to sleep.

[CJStudent]

I used to. Now I think I'd just toss a few frags and go back to sleep.


I knew there was something I liked about you, Koski! :yesnod::bigun2:

[Bush Pilot]

When I first glanced at the title I thought it said "cleaning your house" and the first thing that came to mind is why would you practice that, nevermind, it's really late.

[Glockgirl]

With handgun and long gun, with the SO and without, starting from the bedroom and starting from the garage door...

[creophus]

I practice staying safe in my bedroom and calling the cops to have them check it out.

[918v]

I cleared other people's houses yesterday morning... found a BB hun and a knife.

[chewy]

Sonetimes, since I only been in this hut for the last 7 months or so. But I can't stop "Oooh"-ing like one of them cave men on "Quest for Fire."

I usually have my XD-45 5" jobber with a Streamlite on by my bed. I have a modified safety-blok thinga' ma'jig in it cuz when I was livin' in me old Aprtments my Lesbian neighbors had a party and a fight and right when I was hosting a "Girls Gone Wild" show in me coco-nut they started slammin' against my side of the wall. Loader than hell! It woke my ass up, (I'm a light sleeper) startled an all, I grabbed my chambered G-22 with boobies still bouncin' around in my head and honstly don't recall if I had my finger on the trigger. That could've turned out bad.

[freakshow10mm]

I do it twice a day. Mason is a messy boy.

[Pitmaster]

I prep by having a couple of bowls of beans and some cabbage. Everyone leaves, even the dogs.

I'm staying where I'm at and not clearing the house. I'm normally in one of two places the basement or the bedroom. The stairs creak going upstairs from the basement. If in the bedroom I can use the bed for cover with the .12 gauge pointing at the bedroom door.

[45auto]

I did once... for real...
That's one day I was damn happy to be packing...

I had just had my truck broken into that night, they stole a cheap Keltec P11 and some othe crap while at work... I had my P32 in my pocket luckly.

It was late and I was tired and I had a bad night and when I opened the front door I heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen...
I checked every room and closet, and the back doors... I found nothing...
Wife was safely asleep, I upgraded to my 21 with a good light attatched and checked out the yard... I did find some deer but that was it.
I still have no clue what that noise was, but with the crooks having acess to my gun and my truck with paper work with my adress on it I was not taking any chances.

[AdamN]

A good dog(s) will help you clear a house, they seem to hear everything

[Jammer Six]

Thinking you can clear your house because you have a gun is like thinking you can dig a sewer system because you have a shovel.

[creophus]

Thinking you can clear your house because you have a gun is like thinking you can dig a sewer system because you have a shovel.
Whoa.

[nitesite]

One little dog with incredible hearing, and one Lab with unbridled courage. Be it day or night, if someone breaches my home while we're here there isn't any doubt in my mind I will instantly know his location.

If I come home and my dogs are not at the door to greet me, I have my sidearm and will use a cell phone to summon reinforcements before entering.

[Glooooock]

Pretty quiet here , folks put gravel under windows / side gates to hear foot traffic . I have an iron security gate ( from the old folks who owned it ) at the front door . I pull the power on the garage door opener, if break in reports are high
If the Mrs. is in bed , any other life inside the locked house will be revoked .

Outside ,, not much I can do . A Bright light in the face ,a few choice words of the Queen's English , hide behind a corner .

[ept000]

I have done it for real a few times now. Once during the day and a few times at night. Generally I would consider clearing your own house a very bad idea, but our local sheriff department sucks. I had a long conversation with the last captain, who lives up the street from me, about the lack of response from his department. In fact he confirmed I had several calls to 911 THAT WERE NEVER RESPONDED TO. So taking that into consideration, step one is to tell the wife to guard our daughter. Step two is to release the dogs. They sleep in our bedroom. They are hardly vicious, but they will find and bark at anything that moves in our house. If someone is there, they will find them. Step three is I start checking. If my wife hears anything wrong she is to dial Tadjman ASAP, and 911 second.

I have a neighbor that is dangerous, addicted to drugs, and for some reason has made me one of his favorite targets. He has smashed the window out of my wife car, and even came in our yard and pulled a few live chickens apart (back when the dogs were in a pen during the day).

[chewy]

Holy Crap! That is being put in a shady position. Sounds like you are careful, continue to to do so man, cuz one can't be to cautious with neighbors like that.

[UtahIrishman]

I've gone through the house a few times with gun in hand when I've heard a strange noise. There's a few quirks in the layout, but I have a couple lights rigged with remote controls and a strategically placed mirror that help.

[Steviewonder1]

Practice is cheap. Unload and clear the weapon. Get the light and gun and go for it. Interesting things will come to mind as you weave your way thru the house. Where would you want to hide for someone to come find you??? Where would you likely go to the next level?? Go up stairs or down?? Lots of choices here. If outside of the house, I would call the Police and wait. If inside I would have already checked out where to hide depending on the many issues that could be present. Where did the BG come in? How many are there? What do I hear? Inside I will wait for them to come find me and be ready. Depending on where I am at the time I could have a Ruger Mini-14 (scope and laser), Mossberg 500 with Miami Vice Grips, Several types of handguns. Many choices to choose from to Survive.

[psdpower]

Glad to see I'm not the only one to do this. The wife thinks I'm a nutz but better safe than sorry. I think I'd stay put (after getting the chillins and wife in one location) I'd call the calvary and wait in a room wit da tools to exstinguish if need be. The only problem is that all the rooms in da house have mucho windows. Haven't figured out which one would be best yet.

[creophus]

Glad to see I'm not the only one to do this. The wife thinks I'm a nutz but better safe than sorry. I think I'd stay put (after getting the chillins and wife in one location) I'd call the calvary and wait in a room wit da tools to exstinguish if need be. The only problem is that all the rooms in da house have mucho windows. Haven't figured out which one would be best yet.
Sounds like the bathroon would be your best bet.

[psdpower]

stack'em in the tub and point the 870 about 4 to 5 feet from the floor and make swiss cheeeeessseeeeeee

[Fatdaddy]

918V, what's the story behind your avatar. Is it me or is that leg bent in an unnatural direction?

[Slotback]

Absolutely I practice clearing my own home. Just in case.

[helitack32f1]

i have swept the house at night to get a feel of the place but once i had to do it for real.I came home from work to find the front door open about 4 inches.After walking around the outside of the house looking thru the windows i went in gun drawn. I came in quietly and just stood in the doorway listening and didnt hear anything so i proceeded to sweep the whole house after all was said and done i think the front door just didnt get pulled tight enough so now im in the habit of pushing the door once its closed.

Been there, done that too. With the G23 which was on me at the time. Didn't go around looking through the windows first though. Felt like an idiot for leaving the door open in the first place, once I realized that was what I had done. I have also occasionally "cleared" the house for practice when no one is home including at night with hand held flashlight.

[Panhead Rider 1]

Why? If the house needs clearing, I open a beer, put my feet up, give the dogs the search command, and wait. I've already got the number to the carpet cleaning place posted on the refridgerator. An unwelcome guest in the house makes a hell of a carpet stain.