Locking the Bedrom

CMichael · December 13, 2001, 09:38 AM

Locking The Bedroom
A friend who took the CCW said that if there is an intruder they suggest:

1) Staying in the bedroom

2) Locking the door

3) Calling the Police (not hanging up)

4) Preparing your gun and if they break through then shoot

What do you all think?

Michael

C.R.Sam · December 13, 2001, 11:03 AM

Fine in some cases............But.

Where are your kids ? Do you have a safe shot toward your bedroom door ? Do you have good phone/police service ? How did they get in your living quarters in the first place ? etc etc.

Sam

Mad Man · December 13, 2001, 11:06 AM

Sounds like good advice -- if you don't have kids in other rooms to worry about.

Actually, if you are worried about intruders, then you should sleep with the bedroom door locked -- and I mean a good door with a good lock. Most interior doors and locks provide no security -- they're only good for privacy (ie - the bathroom). By the time you wake up and realize somebody is in the house, it may be too late to lock your bedroom door. A good peep-hole on the bedroom door wouldn't hurt, either.

The big problem is that it is not always easy to tell whether or not the noise you hear in the middle of the night is somebody breaking in.

I live in a townhouse right next to a highway. Between the noise from the cars on the highway and the people in the adjacent units, not to mention the noisy furnace, fan, and water pipes, I have a hard time telling whether or not the sounds I hear in the middle of the night are coming from inside my home, the units next to mine, or people in the parking lot.

I don't live in a bad area of town, but it's not exactly great, either -- so a home break-in is a real possibility I might have to deal with some day.

It's rather frustrating -- the apartments I lived in before were small enough that I could tell whether or not the noise was coming from inside my unit or another.

When I had a house, there was still the background noises to deal with (wind, furnace, fan, waterpipes, thermal expansion, etc), but there was not the problem of noise from adjacent units. Besides, I kept several dogs -- even the small ones make great alarm systems (although I could never teach them to dial 9-1-1).

With all of that, throw in the state of mind when waking up in the middle of the night.

There are many, many, nights I've suspected somebody has broken in, and I have always been wrong. Because of this, I am not going to call the police -- they would have gotten sick of me years ago. I will only call them after-the-fact.

coz · December 13, 2001, 12:39 PM

I have this planned and discussed.

The scenario is my son sleeps upstairs. and My dogs will be barking, they sleep in bedroom....

1. quickest access weapon is Ruger p90. In hand while I get shot gun from under bed with Ruger trained on door (hope not to shoot from this position as OH NO if I shoot from there I might hit my big screen in Den! Can't have that.
2. wife and dogs to bathroom with phone dialing 911. (There is an escape route there if I'm dead. wife locks door. There is a secret word to unlock bathroom door. She has p95 in bathroom with her with a full magazine.
3. I move to the right side of the dresser and hide between dresser and TV. Door is on left side of dresser.
I point shotgun at door and rack the slide. This should send typical bad guy into red alert. If I have to shoot when door opens will blast bg, door, window behind door and then out into atrium area which has a 10 inch thick brick wall, so it's very safe and would really not harm much more than bedroom and outside wall. No neighbor's homes either.
4. Son upstairs has escape window route plus a hidden pistol upstairs. He knows secret word too. Dogs barking will have awakened him.

December 13, 2001, 09:38 AM	#1
CMichael Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2001 Location: MI Posts: 1,516	Locking the Bedrom Locking The Bedroom A friend who took the CCW said that if there is an intruder they suggest: 1) Staying in the bedroom 2) Locking the door 3) Calling the Police (not hanging up) 4) Preparing your gun and if they break through then shoot What do you all think? Michael

December 13, 2001, 12:39 PM	#4
coz Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2001 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 261	I have this planned and discussed. The scenario is my son sleeps upstairs. and My dogs will be barking, they sleep in bedroom.... 1. quickest access weapon is Ruger p90. In hand while I get shot gun from under bed with Ruger trained on door (hope not to shoot from this position as OH NO if I shoot from there I might hit my big screen in Den! Can't have that. 2. wife and dogs to bathroom with phone dialing 911. (There is an escape route there if I'm dead. wife locks door. There is a secret word to unlock bathroom door. She has p95 in bathroom with her with a full magazine. 3. I move to the right side of the dresser and hide between dresser and TV. Door is on left side of dresser. I point shotgun at door and rack the slide. This should send typical bad guy into red alert. If I have to shoot when door opens will blast bg, door, window behind door and then out into atrium area which has a 10 inch thick brick wall, so it's very safe and would really not harm much more than bedroom and outside wall. No neighbor's homes either. 4. Son upstairs has escape window route plus a hidden pistol upstairs. He knows secret word too. Dogs barking will have awakened him. __________________ Coz "Yes officer it's loaded, wouldn't be very useful as a throwing weapon now would it?"

December 13, 2001, 11:03 AM	#2
C.R.Sam Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 1999 Location: Dewey, AZ Posts: 12,858	Fine in some cases............But. Where are your kids ? Do you have a safe shot toward your bedroom door ? Do you have good phone/police service ? How did they get in your living quarters in the first place ? etc etc. Sam

December 13, 2001, 11:06 AM	#3
Mad Man Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 2000 Posts: 361	Sounds like good advice -- if you don't have kids in other rooms to worry about. Actually, if you are worried about intruders, then you should sleep with the bedroom door locked -- and I mean a good door with a good lock. Most interior doors and locks provide no security -- they're only good for privacy (ie - the bathroom). By the time you wake up and realize somebody is in the house, it may be too late to lock your bedroom door. A good peep-hole on the bedroom door wouldn't hurt, either. The big problem is that it is not always easy to tell whether or not the noise you hear in the middle of the night is somebody breaking in. I live in a townhouse right next to a highway. Between the noise from the cars on the highway and the people in the adjacent units, not to mention the noisy furnace, fan, and water pipes, I have a hard time telling whether or not the sounds I hear in the middle of the night are coming from inside my home, the units next to mine, or people in the parking lot. I don't live in a bad area of town, but it's not exactly great, either -- so a home break-in is a real possibility I might have to deal with some day. It's rather frustrating -- the apartments I lived in before were small enough that I could tell whether or not the noise was coming from inside my unit or another. When I had a house, there was still the background noises to deal with (wind, furnace, fan, waterpipes, thermal expansion, etc), but there was not the problem of noise from adjacent units. Besides, I kept several dogs -- even the small ones make great alarm systems (although I could never teach them to dial 9-1-1). With all of that, throw in the state of mind when waking up in the middle of the night. There are many, many, nights I've suspected somebody has broken in, and I have always been wrong. Because of this, I am not going to call the police -- they would have gotten sick of me years ago. I will only call them after-the-fact.