I had to 'defend' my home.

[cmshoot]

For the most part, the OP enumerated his own mistakes. Lots of fail went on, on both sides, and it could have ended very badly.

As a side note, it is possible to fire from inside your house to outside your house and be legally justified. I could give several examples.

Train your family. My wife and daughter have been trained in what to do in the event of a home invasion, or similar. Everyone has jobs to do. Someone’s job needs to be to call 911 and stay on the phone.

If I am able to secure my family where I can protect them......our plan is either in the main bedroom or my daughters room; then I AM NOT going to clear my house. No reason to do so.

I can come up with multiple scenarios where I would have to clear my house. For instance, I go to grab my daughter out of her bedroom and she isn’t in there.

I also have some pretty big dogs. I love my dogs, but this is one of the reasons I have them. If I’m holding my family, I’m cutting the dogs loose.

 

[roydamnmercer]

My opinion is contingent on the your answer to the following questions:

1. Glock or 1911
2. 9mm or .45
3. Beans or no beans in chili
4. Lager or IPA
5. Is your wife hot?

Actually the answers don’t matter. What matters is that no one died, you lived to tell the tale, you had the balls to share it so both you and others could learn. I just appreciate you giving us non-operating mortals something to consider.

And I’m glad it worked out in the end. Not everyone gets a “learning experience” that everybody walks away from.

 

[BIKER13]

everybody is an expert when they arent involved, werent there and have no idea what you went through.DJD

 

[ARCman47]

It is so easy for someone to pass judgment on what should and what shouldn't have been done In the Heat of the Moment. There are people in this thread who are trained in combat scenarios, and like many people on here there are just Average Joe's trying to protect what is theirs.
This was definitely a lesson not only for you but for someone like myself.

You're right BLIP There is one shining expert that stands outbin this thread but he's full of pure bovine excrement. I can't do a callout though. Everyone else carry on.

 

[DADI03]

everybody is an expert when they arent involved, werent there and have no idea what you went through.DJD

And hindsight is 20/20

 

[Psilloh1]

Training and preparation are paramount...

 

[DADI03]

Training and preparation are paramount...

I agree. They're very few things that will completely get your adrenaline up to the actual point of the real thing. I watched a video by someone (I can't remember who it was) that went through the bodies natural primal reaction instincts fight, flight, or freeze. The video was based around a police officer who was killed in the line of duty. It was a sad story as to how everything went down. He completely froze, not physically but mentally. He unloaded 3 magazines, I think he hit the guy once or twice I can't remember but they weren't stopping shots. He was only about 20 to 30 feet away. It was an interesting video of what your brain goes through when put into a stressful situation and how important training is. You have to train under stress in order to react more appropriately. Standing in front of a piece of paper in a well lit room with the A/C on won't help you learn to hit anything when your heart is racing and the adrenaline is so high that your vision and hearing is tunneled. You have to work to train which primal instinct your body reverts to. Not everyone is the same in this and some people have to work much harder at this than others.

 

[cmshoot]

You're right BLIP There is one shining expert that stands outbin this thread but he's full of pure bovine excrement. I can't do a callout though. Everyone else carry on.

C’est moi?

 

[cmshoot]

Those of y’all that are commenting against folks that critiques the OP, in the last paragraph of the post he wrote that started this thread, he stated “Feel free to enjoy the read, consider the circumstances, and critique the performance (or lack there of).” Folks are only doing what the OP asked them to do.

I wasn’t planning on replying at all, but a member here specifically asked for my opinion.

 

[Psilloh1]

Those of y’all that are commenting against folks that critiques the OP, in the last paragraph of the post he wrote that started this thread, he stated “Feel free to enjoy the read, consider the circumstances, and critique the performance (or lack there of).” Folks are only doing what the OP asked them to do.

I wasn’t planning on replying at all, but a member here specifically asked for my opinion.

Your good. I always enjoy your thought processes. It is helpful for me to Gauge my perception of a situation, and hear yours.