Home Defense Series - During and After

Defending your home from armed or otherwise dangerous intruders is a situation no one wants to find themselves in - but just like any other emergency situation, you prepare the best you can for it now, regardless of its likelihood or potential outcome. Read on as we delve into the ins and outs of ensuring you’re ready for whatever - or whoever - may attempt to invade your home.

Alright - This is what it all comes down to. You’ve put in your time preparing for the absolute worst-case scenario, and it’s finally here. For most people unfortunate enough to experience an armed home invasion, this reality looks astronomically different than you may imagine, no matter what you HAVE imagined - and not in a good way. But, you’ve elected to defend yourself and your loved ones, even if that means responding with violence as necessary. So, let’s talk about what it looks like.

Step 6: During and After

In our previous article, we talked about preparing for drowsiness and grogginess when having to defend your home at night. So, let’s say you’ve mastered that. Let’s say you are able to fall asleep or wake up on a whim, and be 100% ready to go - all the training is there, all the muscle mastery is there, and you’ve worked out all the kinks to be combat-ready on a whim within the confines of your home.

And… there’s the bump in the night. So, what is your first move?

Do you tie on a red headband, grab your explosive-tipped crossbow and go on an action-packed hunt through the house?

Do you lock the bedroom door and hide under the bed?

Do you “fire a few warning shots” as President Biden so intelligently advised?

That was sarcasm. Just because it inevitably has to be said. Don’t shoot warning shots.

You see, having the tools and the mental capacity is great - but it’s not enough. You need a plan of action, and the ability to execute that plan. And in the case of home defense, “less is more” will apply wonderfully for most people. For a vast majority of families, the most ideal home-defense goal and plan should be as follows:

Everyone grouped together in a single, secured room, with at least one firearm trained on a single point of entry or chokepoint, with the police on the phone and on their way. Body armor equipped on those capable of wearing it is ideal.

Do not - I repeat - Do NOT go all Rambo-mode and attempt to clear your own house, unless you absolutely have to; and there are an extraordinarily small number of valid reasons you would ever have to. These may include: attempting to retrieve a family member, preventing the intruder from doing something that will threaten your safety (ie. setting the house on fire with you trapped inside), and well… not much else, honestly. It is NOT your job to clear the house in the name of being a hero, or even preserving your property - let the police and insurance do that. Because let’s be real: you’ve seen the headlines. If a police officer shoots an armed intruder, the legal battle is typically quick and simple, almost always resulting in the Officer getting off easy. If YOU are forced to shoot an intruder, justified or not, get ready for more repercussions than you will ever realize - and I’m not only talking about the inevitable legal battle. Sure, “dead men can’t sue” - but their family can, and will. Think about it - what are the odds of a police officer getting off the hook, versus a random citizen the local government likely doesn’t care about?

It doesn’t matter how prepared you are to face a home intruder - if these guys are available as an alternative… let them.

In short - police have much better odds of winning a legal battle when shooting an armed intruder than you do. And yes, living in a free state that supports the individual’s right to defend themselves and their home most definitely helps to some degree.

To Sweep or Not to Sweep

Back to room clearing: for those of you who have actually had to clear rooms in a combat environment, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It is one of the absolute worst things you could have to do, because there is so much that can go wrong - and that’s with a professionally-trained team. Even the best of the best gunfighters will dissuade most people from attempting to clear a room by themselves, as it is, well… suicide. Especially when you have no idea how well-trained or well-armed your perpetrator is, how many individuals there are, and so on. Let the bad guy make the mistake of entering the room YOU are in, not the other way around. Because chances are, they are not room clearing professionals either. And that means whoever has their weapon trained on the point of entry will more than likely be victorious.

It’s as simple as that.

But hopefully it doesn’t come to that - because you should have the police on the phone as soon as possible. This is coming from someone who isn’t the biggest personal fan of the… quality of my local police force. I am not saying the police are a total alternative to a solid home defense plan - because they are not to any degree - but as long as your plan can buy you enough time for law enforcement to arrive, you should be good to go. Of course, there are those reading this who personally cannot or will not rely on the police due to any number number of unique circumstances (they may be hours away, they may be too small of a force to react appropriately, or they may simply not trust the police in their area) - but it is almost never a bad idea to have them on the line as soon as you are certain an unwelcome guest is in your home. If shooting is involved, they’re going to need to be involved eventually. And if there’s going to be a gunfight, it is much better for YOUR sake if that gunfight is between the perpetrator and the police, rather than you and the perpetrator.

When push comes to shove…

We get it - occasionally, that “last resort” does become reality, and you’re faced with having to move through your home while an armed intruder is lurking inside. How do you approach this situation? How do you survive, and maintain the drop on the perpetrator? The answer is simple: with extreme caution, an understanding that you know your home’s layout better than them, and a touch of luck. If you ever foresee the need to sweep your house, you owe it to yourself to understand basic close-quarters gunfighting techniques - such as slicing the pie and violence of action. Do whatever you can to discover the intruder’s whereabouts and tactics if possible, and decide if it is worth giving up your own position to do so. Most burglars are not the brightest, but you may be able to use that to your advantage in attempting to negotiate with them if they’re within earshot. By “negotiate”, I mean reminding them that their life is very much on the line if they do not leave.

Ultimately, remember that any interaction with the perpetrator introduces the potential to escalate the situation, when it may have otherwise not have happened. You should take every opportunity to prevent things from escalating. It is much better that a thief makes off with your TV, than a gunfight opens up in your living room. Replacing a TV is much simpler than spending the next few years in and out of courtrooms, or prison, if things didn’t go as well as they should have, or if you live in a… “less free” state. Not to mention if you have children or a spouse, who would more than likely prefer to go without that TV for a few days than live with the trauma of knowing people were firing bullets at each other one room over from them.

Shot Placement

We all know to go for that sweet headshot, right?

Wrong.

Any shooting professional worth his or her salt will tell the average shooter to aim center mass, as it provides the best chance of actually hitting your target - especially if you’ve never shot someone before, and especially if you are hyped up on adrenaline when faced with that prospect. After all, your goal is NEVER to kill - the lawyers will eat you alive if you ever claim this is your intention - your goal should be simple: stopping the threat on your life. Center mass has the greatest chance of accomplishing this goal.

Remember - where you aim won’t matter much at all if you don’t take the time to practice.

Shot placement doesn’t just involve where your bullet strikes the intruder, either; it also involves what is behind your intruder. If you plan on firing a weapon within the confines of your home, you better make damn sure you know exactly what (or who) is behind the person being shot at - as well as what is behind you, if you are on the receiving end of gunfire. We’re talking number of walls, family member locations, how close your neighbor’s home is, and so on. You can bet your ass every one of these items will be brought up in a courtroom or police interview, and you do not want to be the guy saying “I wasn’t sure” to any of these inquiries.

Which is an outstanding segway to the next crucial point:

The legalities of home defense

We’ve touched on this in more than a few articles, because it is one of the most important aspects of self-defense in general, but one of the least talked about among the 2A community. If you want a more drawn out explanation, we’ve actually done an article exclusively on it already. You see, when you shoot someone or otherwise utilize deadly force against another human being, the chances of you being arrested are sky high - often higher or lower depending on where you live, but it is a very safe bet that you will be detained and/or arrested once all is said and done if anyone fired a weapon at someone else.

That does not mean you are guilty of murder. It does not mean you are guilty of anything. It means one thing, and one thing only - it’s time to shut the hell up and take advantage of your Miranda Rights.

Think about this from a police officer’s perspective: If you’ve gotten a call that unnamed people are shooting each other in a house at night, you’re not just going to frolic up to the residence, tap on the door and say “yoo hoo, anyone home?” You’re probably going in with extreme caution, weapon drawn, and you’re probably going to detain every potential suspect you see - and anyone that looks like they have the ability to cause harm is going to be considered a suspect in those moments, and will likely be detained or arrested. Fair or not, we aren’t here to say, but the initial detention or arrest is typically part of the police trying to sort out the situation for themselves and their own safety until people have been properly identified.

Do not have a gun in your hand when that happens.

The real problem occurs when people defend their homes, get arrested, then immediately incriminate themselves out of panic by saying something stupid or egotistical to the police. I cannot say this enough times: SHUT YOUR MOUTH. Give the police any immediate and relevant information they need (the intruder is on this floor in this room, his weapon is in this location, he is currently incapacitated, etc), let them know that you feared for your life and responded in an appropriate manner to stop the threat, then tell them you’d prefer not to speak further without a lawyer present.

Self-defense insurance companies like CCW Safe can help alleviate significant amounts of the burden that comes with the legalities of self-defense.

Yes, you might need a lawyer. You will most likely need a lawyer. We strongly recommend a self-defense insurance plan, such as that offered by CCW Safe. Again, moving to a state more generous with its self-defense laws will help you immensely on this side of things.

Preventing the need for Legalities

You know what we recommend far more than a good lawyer or insurance? Not engaging the perpetrator at all, if possible.

Like we said earlier, the process will be remarkably smoother and easier if the suspect is confronted and/or apprehended by the police, not you. You cannot put a price on human life, sure, but many people have no idea how big of a nightmare the legal fallout of taking a human life can be. Every little detail - where you shot them, what you shot them with, what they were doing when you shot them - has the potential to put you away for murder.

I know an older gentleman here in Idaho - yes, Idaho - who was robbed at gunpoint. When the perpetrator ran out of his home, he ran out after him and shot him dead while he was running away, from 20 yards or so. That older gentleman is now in prison, because the perpetrator was retreating, had left the property and was no longer a threat to the man’s life. Unfair? You bet your ass it’s unfair. Could the gentleman have handled the situation better for his own sake? Absolutely. It doesn’t matter how angry you are, if you shoot someone in the back while they’re running away from your property, you will go to prison almost every time. If they’re running away but still in your home, you have a much better chance of getting off the hook, of course. But even then, ask yourself if shooting them is actually necessary.

If you need additional motivation to not shoot someone, remember this: You will never understand the full mental and emotional implications of taking another human life, until you have done it yourself. It doesn’t matter who it is, or the fact that it was “you or them” in that moment. Taking a life will change you, will alter your brain, in entirely unpredictable ways - and will likely affect you for the rest of your own life. Some people are able to cope with this much better than others, but many people are unable to do so entirely. So, if you’re trigger happy for someone to make the mistake of entering your home with malicious intent… don’t be. Be prepared, but don’t be excited. Because it is a situation you never, ever want to deal with, regardless of the outcome.

Wrapping Things Up

Heavy article, I know. Lots of information, and lots of it will not be what people want to hear. Many individuals want to believe that defending their home will be a simple, noble, heroic ordeal. While defending your loved ones may be both noble and heroic, maintain the expectation that the aftermath will be far from simple - borderline hellish for some, if they said the wrong thing, did the wrong thing, and so on. And for that matter, sometimes your heroism will simply not pay off. People craft elaborate home defense plans, train extensively, and still die in home invasions. It’s unfortunate, and sometimes it really does seem to boil down to bad luck, but it is reality.

Nothing is ever guaranteed - but being prepared sure as hell helps.

So in summary, when creating your home defense plan, make sure to have a “what happens next” addendum. Know ahead of time what you’re going to say to the police in scenarios A, B, and C, decide now if home-defense insurance is right for you, and prepare to be able to handle any legal attack that may come your way. Know your potential shot angles. Know your ammo. Know when to use your weapon, and when to not. Communicate your plan to anyone involved, and keep it hidden from anyone who is not. Learn negotiation techniques, learn how to de-escalate.

Then, train, practice, and live your life as fully as you can. That’s all there is to it.