Home Defense: Practice and Planning

I would like for you to take a moment to meet James. He is from a broken home and a rough neighborhood. He is addicted to crack cocaine and methamphetamine. He is out of money, has no car, and no place to live – he is desperate. Right now he is high on LSD and just kicked in your front door. He is standing in your living room, waving a knife, and demanding money. What do you do?

You draw your trusted handgun and take aim. Meanwhile your children run towards their bedroom and your spouse darts for yours. You quickly fire two rounds in succession, hitting James in the chest with both. The adrenaline is pumping, yet you stay calm. He staggers for a moment before making a run at you. You fire three more times – James falls.

Your spouse quickly returns with a shotgun and covers you as you take James’ knife and toss it out of reach. You then rush to check on your children. You find your youngest child is taking cover on the floor beneath her bed, and your oldest has escaped through the bedroom window to summon help. Soon you hear sirens coming in the distance.

You think to yourself for a moment as the adrenaline rush begins to subside. What just happened? Was I lucky? Your hands are shaking, but you realize it wasn’t all luck.
There are many reasons why this scenario has worked out in your favor, but it wasn’t luck.

• You have done your homework and chose a quality weapon that has a proven track record for both reliability and accuracy.
• You have placed hundreds, if not thousands of rounds down range through a paper silhouette.
• You have practiced your target acquisition, trigger technique, your stance, and so much more. It is all a reflex to you now.
• You have walked yourself through every scenario that you could imagine and played them out in your head.
• You did not let the intruder get between your family and yourself, causing an unsafe shot that could possibly injure a loved one.
• You taught your family to take cover, and even devised an escape plan.
• You stayed calm during an intense situation.

Running out to your local gun dealer and picking up a weapon is only the first step to defending your home. If you go with the cheapest firearm available, it will fail you in times of need. If you do not practice with it, you will not know how to use it. If you do not instruct your family, it is likely that they will run towards the chaos and not away from danger.

Keep in mind that all of the above is no guarantee that you will always be the victor. Even the most trained weapons experts, elite law enforcement, and skilled military service men and women fall victim at times. The intruder will have the element of surprise on their side, and there is no way of telling what they are willing to do to achieve their goal. By doing your homework, having a plan, and refining your skills, you can turn the advantage back to your favor.

What kind of home defense drills do you do? Let us know in the comments.