Home clearing practice

[blizzard]

The thread regarding clearing a home got me thinking it is a good skill to practice in case you ever need to do it, I have thought of a couple ways to practice.

My idea is to get a handful of shoot/dont shoot targets and have a friend set them up and then go and clear my own home, perhaps with snap caps. A couple scenarios could be to start at an outside entryway and go through the home, or more importantly at night start from my bedroom as if an intruder had broken in. After I go through, then I could rearrange the targets for my friend and then have them give it a go.

Has anyone ever done this? Is it a silly idea or do you have any other tips?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[claude clay]

search thread can be your friend. ther have been a number of threads like this recently.
welcome to DC and i do like p-7 but hk hates us. go figure.

[Guantes]

It cold be a good training exercise. I would suggest the use of airsoft for a better analysis.

[dukalmighty]

Yep have your friend or two play BG's and use airsoft,you will find out real quick what you need to learn to do better

[gasmitty]

I like Ayoob's idea... if you have little kids, play a game of hide 'n' seek in the dark. Use a flashlight, no need for even cap guns. Do it at night and turn off ALL the lights in the house, and see if you can find them and light them up while they're hiding. Great game - they know the house and every squeak it makes!

[shockwave]

You can try IPSC competition, too. The ones I've done often have a built up house you go through, that has pop-up targets, GGs and BGs, moving targets, etc.

But if you have a good imagination, I think you can probably put yourself in the shoes of a BG and imagine that you're waiting for the homeowner (you) to come through the home. You should be able to pick yourself off quite easily. Otherwise, airsoft is the usual training tool.

[ncsteveh]

Ok, here's my take on home clearing;
Me and the family return home and something is isn't right car goes into reverse and we call the pro's. Can I do it myself? absolutely, do I want to risk getting shot in my own home or dealing with the legal liabilities that will arrive if someone is inside? No way in hell. I have no problem saying thanks after they clear the house.

[Stubborn]

Ok, here's my take on home clearing;
Me and the family return home and something is isn't right car goes into reverse and we call the pro's. Can I do it myself? absolutely, do I want to risk getting shot in my own home or dealing with the legal liabilities that will arrive if someone is inside? No way in hell. I have no problem saying thanks after they clear the house.

AMEN! This is my thoughts on "clearing" also. It is without a doubt one of THE most dangerous things you could do. Let the pro's handle it.
The training exercises sound like fun...but I don't think I want to do it for "real"

[joker1]

Ok, here's my take on home clearing;
Me and the family return home and something is isn't right car goes into reverse and we call the pro's. Can I do it myself? absolutely, do I want to risk getting shot in my own home or dealing with the legal liabilities that will arrive if someone is inside? No way in hell. I have no problem saying thanks after they clear the house.

Oh hell, common sense rears it ugly head again.

I can see practicing home clearing from inside your home (from bedroom) simulating a middle-of-the-night break in or something, but like others have said if you and the family are already safely outside the house let the LEO's do what they are trained to do, they can use the practice too.

[azchevy]

My rottweilers clear my home for me. If i come home and the dogs arent at the door or they are covered with blood, things are amiss. As for a breakin, I will just follow the sounds of screaming and growling.... and try to save the perp from sure death

[JDE101]

Oh hell, common sense rears it ugly head again.

I can see practicing home clearing from inside your home (from bedroom) simulating a middle-of-the-night break in or something, but like others have said if you and the family are already safely outside the house let the LEO's do what they are trained to do, they can use the practice too.

+1. I took an advanced defensive pistol class a couple of years ago where we learned to clear a house. If I wake up in the middle of the night and have to clear my house, I feel I could do so. And I would probably use my 870 instead of a pistol anyway. Actually, if I was certain someone had invaded my home, I would take a defensive position guarding the stair way (bedrooms are on the second floor), call 911, and wait for help. However, as they stressed in the class, if you are outside the home and suspect an intruder is inside the home, call the police and let the pros do the job! The only time I would attempt it myself would be if my wife were inside and I felt time was critical. Otherwise, I let the pros do the job and stay out of their way!

[blizzard]

I would not clear my own home if I came home and suspected a break in, I live a mile away from the local PD. Many homes in our great country are isolated and many still do not have cell service so I can see many people doing this themselves. Its something you should know how to do even if you never would. Why not have yourself mentally prepared for anything?

The scenario I can imagine though is coming home and not noticing anything out of the ordinary until you get into your home. You settle down and then notice something wrong, a window damaged or what not, now you need to get out however you do know if anyone is still in your home and you clear it on the way out. I believe that you should prepare yourself for every possible scenario.

[MitchellCT]

Has anyone ever done this? Is it a silly idea or do you have any other tips?

You take the Shivworks Armed Movement In Structures class.

And even they will tell you clearing a building by yourself is a rancid option to have to chose.

Their is NO safe way to do it, just ways that employ good tactics and observational skills.

If you want to learn this subject, their is a good body of instruction on it, and if you are serious don't try to reinvent the wheel.

Learm from a professional, because it will safe you from learning it the hard way.

[Snider]

I know better than to try to clear my own home in almost any scenario, but in the name of something to do, it's interesting and a good mental exercise. If you want a real wakeup call, go play some urban paintball! You'll find out just how impossibly hard it is to be the man doing the clearing, and how easy it is to defend and annihilate the incoming guy. Really keeps things in perspective.

[retsupt99]

I have never gone so far as to use targets, but there are some nights (when the domestic general is asleep) when I review my positions around different parts of the house and practice taking cover while still maintaining a 'site view' of entrances to our home.