Turned out to be nothing, but drew entering my house after getting a call.

[DaRedneck]

When I heard you chamber a shell in your Mossy, I jumped out a side window. LOL! j/k

Glad you are okay and there wasn't a BG hiding in your casa.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SIXTO]

To any of the LEO's/former LEO's in the room - do you feel that a responding LEO would feel it prudent to somehow let me get my dogs out of the house before they start clearing it? The dogs would not take kindly to a stranger stomping through the house!

I've never had any dog give me issues when clearing somebody's house. I actually prefer them to stay, because they know when somebody is there that is not supposed to be... but I'm a dog guy. I know pretty much every dog in my beat by name and where they live. I know that is not the norm. So what happens in the situation you asked about is, we'll either have you open the door and secure the dogs in the garage, backyard, laundry room or bring them out with you while the house is being checked.

[Guantes]

I don't see why not, if the dogs would come on command.

[HotGuns]

I almost shot a dog once when clearing a house...but thats another story.

[SIXTO]

I almost shot a dog once when clearing a house...but thats another story.

Cats. I flipping hate cats when clearing a house. I lost count how many have nearly been blown to bits and me showing up on my day off to patch and paint.

[NC Bullseye]

Cats. I flipping hate cats when clearing a house. I lost count how many have nearly been blown to bits and me showing up on my day off to patch and paint.

You REALLY need to broaden your scope of cat hate. Their worthy of full time hate, not just occasionally.

[KindOfBlue]

When I heard you chamber a shell in your Mossy, I jumped out a side window. LOL! j/k

Glad you are okay and there wasn't a BG hiding in your casa.

Lol! It's quite the intimidating sound, my Mom says she gets chills when I rack it a few times during my post-cleaning functions check. I'm sure it would cause an unarmed or poorly armed BG to re-think what they just did.
I didn't do it too loud though. On the off chance that there was someone in there, I didn't want to give away my position. I see the racking noise being more effective for detering a lock-picker or window-looker!

[Bark'n]

I'm guessing none. He said he went straight to his room to get the shotgun... how many unsecured areas and rooms did you pass and leave at your 6 while doing that? Not to smart.

I don't have a huge problem with clearing your own home in a low risk situation like this, however, at least do it somewhat cautious and methodically. LEO can't and shouldn't be called every time the wind blows, some degree of self sufficiency is a good thing.

I agree with SIXTO in this regard. A few minutes on the outside observing the house and checking all exterior doors and windows to see if anything is amiss before entering goes a long way. Front door secured and locked, but go around back and find back door standing open, I'm calling the police.

All the doors are locked and no signs of jimmying, check the windows and see if any of the draperies are pushed aside or anything else which would be a tell tale sign from the outside.

If you can spot something wrong on the outside, it's time to call the police. Everything locked up tight, I'd probably go in and do a methodical search.

[Hopyard]

I believe that I'd error on the side of safety if a family member said they saw movement in the house. Wouldn't that fall under the "likely someone is in the house"? I'll say it again, if there is no threat to life why rush in?

Her body language, general bearing, facial expressions and more all help define the certitude with which she made the comment and the depth of concern that the OP needed to give to the comment.

OP was on the scene and got the full picture. None of us were there.

I have a different concern, though it might not be valid because I don't know the layout of the house. I'm uncertain that going for the shotty (and diverting my attention from other things around me even for a second or two) was the smartest of the options. You can get jumped while trying to get the trigger lock off, and where was the handgun while retrieving the shotty?

At least with my home layout (and I'm sure the OP's is different) if I got from the garage or front door to my bedroom without a fight, I'd already have cleared the house.

P.S. A lesson I have been taught (my sister in-law learned it the very hard way): keep your sharp kitchen knives out of sight.

You don't want an unarmed intruder to be able to quickly grab one from the kitchen counter top. Hide the sharp knives in a bottom draw and cover them with a table cloth. This is especially important for the ladies to keep in mind, and it is also something they tend to not want to do.

[INccwchris]

I still don't agree with going in and grabbing your shotgun without your pistol drawn first. You state you have no training in room clearing but you did it anyway because its not rocket science? Your technically right, but it is force science. Its always a bad idea to do something out of your level of training. I'm trained in room clearing, but I don't do it without back up. Clearing a room without backup is very very dangerous and something that could get you killed. You should have stayed outside and called police. You have no training in rappelling, would you grab a rope and slide down the side of a mountain without training?

[SpencerB]

I have quite a bit of military training clearing houses and I agree that everything on the outside checks out go ahead and clear it yourself. You can't call the cops for every little thing, you have to take some things in your own hands. Good job OP

[KindOfBlue]

Her body language, general bearing, facial expressions and more all help define the certitude with which she made the comment and the depth of concern that the OP needed to give to the comment.

Actually, she was over at the neighbors...I didn't get to see her before I went in. She was absolutely beside herself on the phone, but I didn't have time to establish face-to-face contact with her when I got in the driveway. Wanted to make sure everything was okay at the house, I knew she was safe with our neighbors (she plays with their kids, the parents know her well, and I made her stay on the phone while I was still driving until she made it inside their house and established contact with the adults).

OP was on the scene and got the full picture. None of us were there.

I have a different concern, though it might not be valid because I don't know the layout of the house. I'm uncertain that going for the shotty (and diverting my attention from other things around me even for a second or two) was the smartest of the options. You can get jumped while trying to get the trigger lock off, and where was the handgun while retrieving the shotty?

I placed the shotgun case on my bed, and I was facing the uncleared door with my back to the already cleared (and closed...sliding) door. I've practiced taking the trigger lock off with one hand, so the handgun was held leveled at the door the entire time in my dominant hand while my (now not so useless) un-dominant hand unlocked the shotgun. I never set down or even lowered my weapon :)

Thanks for the feedback!

I still don't agree with going in and grabbing your shotgun without your pistol drawn first. You state you have no training in room clearing but you did it anyway because its not rocket science? Your technically right, but it is force science. Its always a bad idea to do something out of your level of training. I'm trained in room clearing, but I don't do it without back up. Clearing a room without backup is very very dangerous and something that could get you killed. You should have stayed outside and called police. You have no training in rappelling, would you grab a rope and slide down the side of a mountain without training?

I had my pistol drawn, bro.

I have quite a bit of military training clearing houses and I agree that everything on the outside checks out go ahead and clear it yourself. You can't call the cops for every little thing, you have to take some things in your own hands. Good job OP

Thanks for the feedback man.

[INccwchris]

ok, you did not state that in your original post. I stand by everything else I said. In my opinion if you were gonna clear the house, its better to do so with the pistol you already have than stopping to bring a shotgun into the equation. Especially since I am betting you have no training in retaining a long gun.

[Guantes]

From the OP

"I saw no signs of forced entry on the exterior, so I grabbed my handgun and entered my house."

[NC Bullseye]

Her body language, general bearing, facial expressions and more all help define the certitude with which she made the comment and the depth of concern that the OP needed to give to the comment.

OP was on the scene and got the full picture. None of us were there.

Actually, she was over at the neighbors...I didn't get to see her before I went in. She was absolutely beside herself on the phone, but I didn't have time to establish face-to-face contact with her when I got in the driveway. Wanted to make sure everything was okay at the house, I knew she was safe with our neighbors (she plays with their kids, the parents know her well, and I made her stay on the phone while I was still driving until she made it inside their house and established contact with the adults).

Thanks for making my point and making sure your little sister was safe. Once again, glad you are around to tell the details.