Having a gun in your possession is the first and very important step for surviving violent confrontation.
Some are very good instructors with worthy input, but many are not.
Our advice is to gain an understanding of sound home defense principles prior to seeking out expensive instruction.
Well lay out some key home invasion survival concepts to help you on your journey.
Any good plan starts with a clearly defined goal or mission.
Should someone break into my house, my immediate goal is not to confront the invader.
If we have children, we need to round them up and put them where they can be protected.
This is what people do when theyre scared and not thinking straight.
After we have our home defense goals clearly defined, we formulate how to accomplish those goals.
All goals and plans should be simple, like one-sentence simple.
In our house the goals are to secure our daughter and call the police.
Executing a complicated plan is almost impossible when the threats we face can vary substantially.
In most cases, the wise choice is for one or both parents to move to the children.
We see a lot of advice and instruction on how to move through our home while defending it.
The worst mistake to make is to think that one or two people can effectively clear a home.
Unless the home is tiny, one or two people cannot maintain visual contact.
Moving from your room to your childs location needs to be fast and as secure as possible.
Identify potential problem areas when formulating a home defense plan.
In my house, the stairs are between my room and my daughters room.
Closed doors give me concealment from any threat that might be in the room.
An open door is a quick and easy target indicator that someone is inside the room.
However, even if I find an open door Im not stopping to investigate.
The potential location of the threat is secondary until my daughter is safe.
Some advocate pieing corners as we work our way through our home.
Time is not your friend in a home invasion, so move fast to protect your kids.
We might think a well-lit room is worth the risk.
Instead, it makes it easier for us to be seen.
A weapon-mounted light allows us to retain the offensive regarding light.
Do not use a light for navigation through your home.
This is worse than turning on every light in the house.
Even when pointed at the ground, a good light gives off enough illumination for administrative work.
Hell use a flashlight, turn on a room light or make noise.
Any of those actions favor us because it tells us where he is.
Resist the urge to call out to your attacker.
It not only lets him know where you are, it also tells him youre scared.
The less you talk the more dangerous youll be.
After all, that is how normal, rational people like us work out our problems.
Conversation with such a person is best minimized and likely a waste of time.
The same principle applies in our homes.
Choke points represent a homeowners best defense against an unknown attacker.
We should limit our movement as much as possible.
If were up against one attacker, we can move on them and likely retain the advantage.
The risk of getting so focused on one attacker that we dont see the others is great.
Criminals can attack any time.
The best defense is one with layers that buys us time and allow us the ability to maneuver.
Alarm systems make noise and can alert us to an attack but dont do much to slow one down.
Old school approaches are effective and often overlooked.
One of the cheapest and best ways to protect our family is to reinforce the doorframes on our home.
3M has a bunch of window reinforcement solutions that are a great idea for ground-level windows.
Home defense is serious business, but it doesnt have to be complicated or expensive.
Start by determining what, other than you, is worth protecting at the possible expense of someones life.
Once we have our goals set, develop as simple a plan as possible to meet those goals.
Do these things and you and your family will come through a crisis just fine.
Originally appeared inGuns & Ammo.
