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It is about midnight. You just get in bed. As soon as you hit the pillow, you hear noise coming from the next bedroom window. You are pretty sure it is the cat misbehaving. Do you check it out?
This is a discussion on You hear a noise at night right after getting in bed. within the Home (And Away From Home) Defense Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; It is about midnight. You just get in bed. As soon as you hit the pillow, you hear noise coming from the next bedroom window. ...
It is about midnight. You just get in bed. As soon as you hit the pillow, you hear noise coming from the next bedroom window. You are pretty sure it is the cat misbehaving. Do you check it out?
Preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse or Rapture....whichever comes first.
Array
Of course. Get the night stand gun and LED and go have a look. Check the noise, check on kids, clear the house, re-check kids amd head back to bed. Sleep a little lighter that I might have.
Check it out, you bet. But safely.
Two nights ago, Mrs. Smitty texted me from upstairs that she heard a strange noise outside, and her dog (who sleeps with us) was standing up with ears pricked and intently focused on something outside. I slipped the phone into a pocket and proceeded to the patio door with Sig 220 in one hand and SureFire in the other.
Turns out my "counter terrorist" Lab had snuck outside with a box of Wheat Thins and was rustling the wax-paper box liner as he was enjoying them!
Smitty
NRA Endowment Member
Array
No cat; just me the wife and a little dog that sleeps plastered to her butt....OH YEA we gonna check it out!
Clearing a structure by yourself is never a good idea, and is best done with a team, that being said, depending on the nature of the sound, I'd probably grab either my 930 SPX or Bushy M-4 equipped with a tactical light, and see what was making the noise. When everything is clear I'd go back to sleep. But that is just me.
Fortes Fortuna Juvat
Former, USMC 0311, OIF/OEF vet
NRA Pistol/Rifle Instructor, RSO, Ohio CHL Instructor
My Firearms Blog: Little Miami Tactical Shooter's Corner
Array
Thats one of those it depends scenarios for me. Since I live with just the wife, if I didnt hear the dogs raising hell before the noise, no. But if they did, I would probably just confirm my gun was within arms reach, with my flash light and wait and see if there were anymore noises. I leave a soft light on that illuminates the hallway, and thats where an intruder would have to go if in my house. I could shoot them without getting out of bed that way.
Maybe I'm a little overly cautious, but heck yeah I check it out. I only turn in once I've checked all the doors and during the summer months after checking the windows my wife likes to open. I don't want anything waking me up from dreamland, I will be very cranky.
"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." – Luke 22:36
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so." – Thomas Jefferson
Array
Well well. This thread restores my faith in this board.
Nobody yet has suggested "barricade and dial 911." That's good. As a homeowner, it really is your job to get up, and go check out the weird noise. That's what you do. The only question is whether or not you grab a firearm along with the flashlight, and that decision is one you make depending on the totality of circumstances.
What I have learned, though, is that if you do elect to arm yourself, it should be easy to do so. You want to avoid a lot of fumbling and timewastage.
"It may seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first."
Array
I know the "sounds of my house"... dogs included. I hear the dogs messing around, and occasionally growling at each other over food. And when it comes to sounds, I trust my dogs like crazy. If they're not concerned, I'm usually not concerned either. I know the sounds of other people in the house (that live here), the way certain doors sound, and how they're being shut and by who. I can tell who is coming up the stairs just by listening, even which dog it is.
I have two dogs, both alert and very protective of their house. One is a mutt. He's a some sort of collie/shepherd dog from Iraq. Long story short, my bro-in-laws first tour, he brought him back, and now we have him. He's AWESOME. We've had him for about 7 years, we're assuming he's about 7-8 years old. Extremely alert.. almost too alert. Very playful, and very energetic. He will bark at a leaf falling off a tree and take it as a threat :) The other is a white GSD, 9 years old, very alert and when he starts to bark and growl, I know something is serious. He doesn't mess around and knows when it's time to be serious. So I trust my dogs when it comes to noises in the house.
If it's an unfamiliar noise, I'll grab the USP and check it out, though this has only happened once my results were inconclusive. So... enough rambling..
Array
Very true Shockwave.Cant file a police report because of a 'suspicious noise'.I live alone,so i grab the Benelli,flip on the Surefire and have a look.I inherited the property,and i built my house with home defense in mind.Not too worried about clearing by myself.
Array
Just scream PAWS! PAWS! PAWS! in your best command voice and if the cat doesn't prone out or makes an overt move you shoot to stop the threat.
Array
If it is, I better be with her and having fun!You are pretty sure it is the cat misbehaving.
Those that know me will get the joke. Those that don't, you will have to meet me and the Cat.
Biker
Array
LOL, good oneOriginally Posted by NC Bullseye
Array
+1. If the dogs aren't making any noise, it's our kids or the cat. If they start barking, I'll go check.
Suarez International Staff Instructor
"I am not afraid to go unarmed...I simply detest being unarmed. It is a contemptible and undignified condition in which to find oneself."
NRA Life Member
Array
my dog is good at discerning the cat , vs something else and lets me know. If she growls, I pay big attention to it .... otherwise I yell at the cat.
I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. --- Will Rogers ---
Chief Justice John Roberts : "I don't see how you can read Heller and not take away from it the notion that the Second Amendment...was extremely important to the framers in their view of what liberty meant."
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