What is by your bed?

[Tactical Black Belt]

I actually have a pair of ear muffs hanging on my bedside shotgun.

[KevH]

I also once read somewhere that in the event of a bump in the night where you call the police, in a two story home like mine, it can be a useful practice to tie a house key to a chem light and toss it out the window so LE can let themselves in to clear the house without kicking down the door. Any LE types care to chime in as to whether that's something you would actually do, or am I living in fantasy land?

There is no chance in hell that I, or any other cops I know or work with, would clear any house where an armed homeowner is hiding.

They're going to call you out of the house first and then clear it for you.

Hell, I don't clear houses with an "unarmed" person hiding in them if I don't have to. I think the only time I can think of where we did that was when a nine year old girl called 911 (who never should have been left home alone in the first place) and neither the dispatcher or us could coax her out from hiding underneath her parent's bed and after twenty minutes of trying we finally said screw it and went in and got her (no one had broken in, an aggressive solicitor had knocked at the door and scared her).

If you're that worried about walking through the house have a fire ladder to throw out your window to get out...or move to a better neighborhood somewhere else.

[Casey]

There is no chance in hell that I, or any other cops I know or work with, would clear any house where an armed homeowner is hiding.

They're going to call you out of the house first and then clear it for you.

Hell, I don't clear houses with an "unarmed" person hiding in them if I don't have to. I think the only time I can think of where we did that was when a nine year old girl called 911 (who never should have been left home alone in the first place) and neither the dispatcher or us could coax her out from hiding underneath her parent's bed and after twenty minutes of trying we finally said screw it and went in and got her (no one had broken in, an aggressive solicitor had knocked at the door and scared her).

If you're that worried about walking through the house have a fire ladder to throw out your window to get out...or move to a better neighborhood somewhere else.

Good to know. Thanks for the insight.

[KevH]

Along with active ear pro, this is another good point.

If someone kicks your door down in the night I highly doubt you are going to being to go down a checklist that includes putting on ear pro.

#1: You're already behind the curve since you likely startled away (if it happens when you were asleep).
#2: You are going to have to try to control the massive adrenaline dump that you will probably be experiencing.
#3: You have much more important things to do than throwing on ears...either shooting someone or calling 911

Night break-ins are pretty damn rare and if you're a normal person (not selling weed, inviting over whores, brining home your restaurant's night deposit, etc) home invasion-style ones are even rarer. People break in to steal your stuff when you're not home. They want your stuff, not a confrontation.

Most "normal people" ones end up being the drunk neighbor that went to the wrong house (been to at least a dozen of those). Showing up kitted out like a Call of Duty character will be more of a hinderance than a help on something like that. A handgun, a cell phone, and a calm demeanor will get you farther.

I once went to one where a couple woke up and a straight crazy registered sex offender on parole was standing in their bedroom. The homeowner grabbed the Beretta from the drawer in his nightstand and had the guy prone out (most of us would have shot him) while the wife called us. He had climbed through an open window, eaten left overs from their fridge, and then wandered to the bedroom. The couple hadn't heard anything or woke up until he was literally right there. Probably a good thing that the gun wasn't sitting out in plain view...

I've been to dozens of late night weed and crank rips where someone has been shot ("resident" and invader). It always happens super fast and the resident always has a handgun if he is armed at all.

My advice would be have a gun, flashlight, and cell phone (and somewhere to put them on your body). Have a plan worked out with your significant other and how to get them and your kids out. If you want to really be slick have a way to turn on every light in the house at once and outside (such as a smart home device).

[masternave]

The carry handgun on the bedside table with a surefire light standing next to the rear tritium sight where it's easy to grab in the dark.

A year or two ago the neighbor had a loud domestic. I made a 911 call, and discovered it's rather difficult to manage the gun, light, and phone.

After that there's a Unity Tactical Clutch belt with a holster, handgun reloads, medical gear, and a blade. It's really nice to have a pocket to put my phone in during the 911 call…

…regardless of my pants status.

[That Guy]

The chem lights, I keep a couple in every room of the house as a cheap light source in the event of a power outage.

What kind of chem sticks do you have?

In my opinion the only ones with a usable amount of illumination are the 5 minute ultra bright ones. Everything else is great for marking things in the dark, signaling in the dark, but for illumination purposes only useful for very low light, very close up use. Certainly not bright enough to illuminate an entire room (or really, even a closet) right after normal interior lights go out.

[Robinson]

If someone kicks your door down in the night I highly doubt you are going to being to go down a checklist that includes putting on ear pro.

If you don't have time then you don't have time. But if you do have time, you might as well put them on and potentially save your hearing. My muffs take a few seconds to put on and power up, so there's a pretty good chance that if I am in the bedroom and someone breaks in I will have time to put the muffs on. If not, then that's the way it goes. You do whatever the situation dictates.

[11B10]

If you don't have time then you don't have time. But if you do have time, you might as well put them on and potentially save your hearing. My muffs take a few seconds to put on and power up, so there's a pretty good chance that if I am in the bedroom and someone breaks in I will have time to put the muffs on. If not, then that's the way it goes. You do whatever the situation dictates.

This ^^^ was my point. I wasn't quite clear enough - thought it was common sense that you would only take the time for earpro/clothes.......IFIFIFIF you have the time! If you're awakened by some bozo already IN your bedroom, well....first things first.....flashlight, firearm, action.

[Alpha Sierra]

If someone kicks your door down in the night I highly doubt you are going to being to go down a checklist that includes putting on ear pro.

#1: You're already behind the curve since you likely startled away (if it happens when you were asleep).
#2: You are going to have to try to control the massive adrenaline dump that you will probably be experiencing.
#3: You have much more important things to do than throwing on ears...either shooting someone or calling 911

Night break-ins are pretty damn rare and if you're a normal person (not selling weed, inviting over whores, brining home your restaurant's night deposit, etc) home invasion-style ones are even rarer. People break in to steal your stuff when you're not home. They want your stuff, not a confrontation.

Most "normal people" ones end up being the drunk neighbor that went to the wrong house (been to at least a dozen of those). Showing up kitted out like a Call of Duty character will be more of a hinderance than a help on something like that. A handgun, a cell phone, and a calm demeanor will get you farther.

I once went to one where a couple woke up and a straight crazy registered sex offender on parole was standing in their bedroom. The homeowner grabbed the Beretta from the drawer in his nightstand and had the guy prone out (most of us would have shot him) while the wife called us. He had climbed through an open window, eaten left overs from their fridge, and then wandered to the bedroom. The couple hadn't heard anything or woke up until he was literally right there. Probably a good thing that the gun wasn't sitting out in plain view...

I've been to dozens of late night weed and crank rips where someone has been shot ("resident" and invader). It always happens super fast and the resident always has a handgun if he is armed at all.

My advice would be have a gun, flashlight, and cell phone (and somewhere to put them on your body). Have a plan worked out with your significant other and how to get them and your kids out. If you want to really be slick have a way to turn on every light in the house at once and outside (such as a smart home device).

I'll take this advice over pretty much everything else HSLD that I've read here.

[KeeFus]

Depends on which side of the bed...

Wife’s side: Remington 870 with 00buck and a M&P 45 with extended magazine loaded with 230 grain GDHPs and a Surefire x300b ultra.

My side: Glock 17 with TLR-1 loaded with 124 grain GDHP, Glock 45 loaded with same as G17, and an AR15 loaded with 62 grain GDHP, sporting a Aimpoint PRO and a TLR-1HL.

Cell phone on each side of the bed. Reloads for everything. Flashlights as well.

Three dogs that’ll bark at a mouse farting.

I think that’s about it.