How quickly can you reach your gun inside your household?
 

There has been a story in the news here in western Washington about a young couple who was found shot to death in their home. The bodies were discovered when a neighbor noticed that the victims' front door had been kicked in. Here are some articles about the story in chronological order:

http://www.komotv.com/news/11541841.html
http://www.komotv.com/news/11657071.html

Essentially one of the victims' neighbors, who had been released from jail after stabbing his own mother to death, wanted a $50 debt back and when this did not occur he murdered the couple.

What stood out to me was that the door was kicked down, which may mean that if the husband had a weapon to defend himself, he could of have had enough time to go get one. Generally things tend to escalate, with initially the door being slammed to the murdered (this is pure speculation on my part), possibly the murderer pounding on the door and yelling, and finally the murderer kicking in the door and then killing the couple. Or maybe it all happened instantaneously, who knows.

I know there are many advocated of keeping a firearm in each room of your household, but how much time do you budget for yourself to get to your gun, and then be able to fire rounds at an intruder? Thank you for your input.

I really feel like your best bet is a solid steel reinforced door.

However if someone comes into my home trying to do harm to me and mine it will not be pretty for the paramedics.

Good question. As far as the gun goes, I would say assume 1 minute of prep time. I had a pocket knife opened up and stuck into my bedframe, so if anyone barged into my room the knife would fly at their face immediately.

...but yeah if you take care to lock a gun, unlocking it would probably take too long in a sudden intrusion. It should be loaded and at your side, but then it also depends how far the front door was from the bedroom. If he kicked it down and ran towards them the only way they could've survived is if the dude sleeps with it in his hand, and that isn't wise, of course. A female cop used to sleep with a 9mm under her pillow. Imagine how scary it was when it went off one night and shot her hand! Loud, painful, and during sleep... That's a heart attack waiting to happen!

as to how my wife and I keep our firearms, most of the collection is in the locker, but a few are kept within reach should they be needed- gun locks defeat the purpose, and can get you killed- not saying that there is not a need for something to separate kids from guns, hence my gun locker, but getting murdered while trying to unlock a weapon is sad and a little dumb....essentially, our child is not even crawling yet, so we keep a few guns beside the bed, and various blades throughout the house, easily grabbed if not easily seen..... and we put the guns in the locker when we leave the house, so as not to be murdered by our own weapons should we come home and surprise a burglar....... so if someone comes in at night forcefully, we would both be armed in seconds, but anywhere but the bedroom its a blade instead.......

A properly fortified house (dead bolts, solid core doors) is absolutely crucial.

Sane people that work for a living generally don't have enough money or paranoia to put a respectable firearm in every room of their house. One in the bedroom and one by the front door might be a more realistic option.

There are two factors that cause me to keep my guard down. One: my mom is vehemently anti-gun, meaning that she only knows about one of the five I have. The other is that I live in the second safest neighborhood in 2006's second safest town in the US. There has never been a home invasion in the neighborhood (although the new neighbors got into a fight that ended with a SWAT raid when he took her hostage in the bedroom after arguing over building permits.) My chances of needing a gun at home might be slightly lower if I lived on a deserted island, but not by much. I doubt that the wild coyotes will be enough of a problem to warrant shooting them, but that's really the biggest threat. I still keep it in mind because two summers ago, two coyotes were standing on the edge of a 15' mini cliff in my neighbor's back yard, staring at her through the screened-in porch until she went inside.

I still keep an AK by my bedside, a shotgun in my car, and the rest downstairs.
I vaguely remember you saying that you have to be heavily armed and extra prepared for home invasions because your wife testified against a white supremacist group, leading to your house being firebombed. That was you, right?

Yeah, the answers in this thread are based on where you live.

I live near one of the highest crime areas in the US. I stay guarded.

I live in a low crime area (in a house on a college campus with frequent police patrols), and there are never any children in my house. It's in my nightstand next to the clip. If I'm in bed, 30 seconds, liberally? I'm almost never home during the day.

I used to live in a very bad neighborhood in VA, all neighbors were hoods.
my ex-husband insisted we keep loaded (chambered with safety on)
guns in every room of the house. I was sick and tired of opening the kitchen drawer to get a spatula and having to gingerly poke my way around a loaded gun, always checking to make sure the safety was on.

I insisted it was foolish IMO to keep them chambered, considering some of the safeties were not of the best design, and the trigger lb. pull on most of them were fairly light.

I live alone and keep one short sword handy at bedside for now until I can afford another handgun.

I dont have a firearm, I have a medeival style 10/15 lbs ball and chain with 4 inch spikes all over it.

figure if I'm going to make a mess and protect myself, might as well do it in style.

that said, i don't own a gun, but if someone is coming in the front door and I'm aware that they intend to to me harm, i may be at a slight disadvantage to someone in the same scenario with a gun.

however, in either scenario, gun or without, if you have no idea someone is coming to do you harm, neither situation matters, you'll be caught unaware.

mine sits in my holster on my belt the entire time i'm awake. when i'm asleep, it's right next to me on my nightstand. i'm prepared.

15 seconds. I live in a small apartment. I have no special provisions for access. That is how long it takes to leisurely walk into the bedroom, open up the safe, and take one out.

as a side note.. If they take my guns away some day, I'm a machinist-tool and die person, I can always make one.

Yeah? Well, I know kung fu!

...

...

...

(okay, so I don't... but I'm not half-bad at karate)

my ascerbic tongue aint half bad ass either, It has sent many a critter scurrying.

I dont have a gun and my door could be booted open in about a second. I have a 2 foot length of copper piping by my bed for which to treat any attempting house breakers with though.

As for having a gun in every room... well, it is possible that it might come in handy one time, but I think it is unlikely and the kind of atmosphere of feeling under siege to that degree that you feel you need that cant be much fun. I'd spend the money all those shooters cost on moving somewhere safer!

Guns are cheaper than golf or SUVs.

and heavy tools are cheaper still!

In the immortal words of Dizzee Rascal

"Kick off your door
I ain't got a .44
I'll have to make do
With a long metal bar"

The time it would take me to grab a gun is much shorter than the time it would take me to get to my phone, call 911, and then wait for the police to get here.

... and possibly get hurt while the cops take 5-10 minutes to respond.

911: Government sponsored dial-a-prayer.

I take care of myself. Copper pipe or handgun or kung fu grip or stinky feet... whatever works.

One thing that should be mentioned is that the best thing to do is have a strong first line of defense.

-Heavy doors with deadbolts that anchor into a reinforced frame are a must, so is actually locking the doors.
-Ground floor windows should be drilled and pinned for a mix of easy opening and security
-Impact resistant glass coating will prevent someone from punching through a window and unlocking the door or window from the inside.
-Ladders and anything else that could help a burglar get to a higher window should be locked up
-Bright, motion-activated lights should cover the perimeter of the house.
-Anything hidden from view by privacy fences or bushes should be extra secure.

Haha, didn't Jeff Cooper have blueprints on how to build a modern urban castle?

I have it around here somewhere. Anybody want pictures?

I can make it across my apartment and get to my pistol in just a few seconds.

would be a little bit longer to get to my AR, its out of sight in a zipper bag.

You should trade priority places with your pistol and your rifle, bro.

Seems most gung-ho males have a "be-all-end-all" handgun fetish.

A compact shoulder arm with a flashlight is 100% better than any handgun for a "oh shit someone is in my house" situation.

Ammo is a huge factor, of course... but we're all intelligent here so let's not start that debate.

IMHO: Pistols are what you use to get to your rifle or for concealed carry.

...

Or get a shotgun. Any major brand will do and they're cheap piece of mind.

Oh god... MY GUNS ARE GONE!
Wait. Never mind.

My antique sword is on display in the living room, and I think my wakizashi is in my closet next to my wooden practice sword. I doubt I'd go for these in case of a home invasion. I'd probably just grab the family if possible. If not possible, I'd distract the invader so everyone else could get out.

Did you just say that you'd arm yourself with your family?

*imagines WillRavel swinging his lovely wife at would-be attacker*

...

Come over to the dark side, Will. You know you want a $800 piece of plastic in a lockbox under your bed.

I can get to my shotgun in less than fifteen seconds. The .22 and 7mm-08 take about twenty. But, the shotgun is what I'd go for first, obviously. It takes about 15 seconds to get from the front door to my bedroom, and if you kick in my front door, it will wake me.

This thread reminds of me Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun.

"Freeze! I got a gun! Not here, but I got one!"

I don't own a gun or anything, and I don't know anyone who has one, so I wouldn't even know where to get one, but I have a quick query:

Is this how quickly you can reach your gun from asleep.... or from awake? Just wondering, because if it's from asleep, I'm assuming most of you would need to add 15 to 30 seconds to your times... that's all. How does that change things? What more can an intruder do in that time do you think? How does that affect your strategy?

Thanks.

Carry on.

I live in Florida, so I'm allowed to shoot anyone kicking in my front door ;)

I have my 9mm fully loaded with hollowpoints in my desk cabinet, 2 feet from my bed. I could actually reach it without getting out of bed in less than 2 seconds.

My 2nd weapon (now my Sig .40) goes with me when I answer the door. If I look out and see something suspicious, the gun stays in my right hand, behind the door, behind my foot holding the door from being pushed in. If I'm not worried, it goes in my waistband in the back before i open it.

If I hear a loud noise that wakes me from my sleep, I can (and will) have my gun out in seconds. My bedroom door is always closed and locked while I'm asleep. If I hear a noise that wakes me, it could be a lot of things. If my bedroom door afterwards get kicked in, I'll be waiting.

As an IPSC shooter I can complete a "home invasion" type course much faster with a pistol then with a rifle. IPSC isn't real but speed is important

Those of us who've spent some time with sand in our faces don't need 15 seconds to wake up to a suspicious noise. Total system shock, though.

Just ask my ex.

Like you were saying... it isn't real. Speed trials are good for games where you're alive if you lose. A home invasion scenario should be cautious, deliberate, and feature a big flashlight followed by a shotgun or carbine and then a cell phone call to The Man for "assistance."

I'd like to see a home-invading badguy get capped with a .38 Super race gun, though. That would be ironic. Have to shoot the guy like 20 times.

...

Meh, what do I know? My house has never been invaded. :)

I own a 12 gauge and keep buckshot hidden in another room. I have kids in the house so I have to keep it unloaded. I suppose I could get a trigger lock.
In any case, I would be totally screwed should my castle be invaded. I'd have to resort to squealing like a little girl.

Hahah, that made me laugh. Anyway we can get a demo .WAV?

I live in Canada and I own no gun. But I do have several throwing axes that are easily accessible in my closet (I wouldn't throw them at anyone but they are certainly still useful for hacking shit up).
I also have a 6 inch blade ka-bar in my desk that I use for backpacking.... it would be a good knife in self defense as well.

Yeah, but bad guys don't live in Canada.

Bad guys do indeed live in Canada. But there isn't a gun for every member of the household (including the pets) up here.

Just because there were four times* more break-ins in Dallas than in Toronto in 2004, it doesn't mean there aren't any bad guys.

It means that socialism works. That's all.




* per 100,000 people

So what... the bad guys in Canada are lazy? Non-violent? Republican?

To be serious Compsin the "bad guys" are a serious thing in Canada. Just down the street from me there was actually a drive by shooting about 3 weeks ago, which is surprising as I live in a really nice area. There are bad people everywhere, its just that it seems that per capita less bad things happen in Canada, like house break ins and robberies. I don't know why the difference but it is there all the same.