In The Wee Hours of the Morning

[randomoutburst]

My husband works a night shift as a dispatcher, so 7 out of 14 nights he isn't home at night but I am. He is purposely quite loud when he enters our apartment in the morning, talking on the phone or getting something to eat. I also usually wake up when his key hits the lock, before he ever sets foot inside.
Last night I got off work very late and my head hit the pillow around 3:30 a.m. I was out almost immediately. When I woke up, it seemed very dark -- I figured I hadn't slept very long and wondered what woke me. Then I heard the shuffling of feet and sound of some bags I had left in the living room being moved around. I bristled and grabbed my revolver. I was thinking, "I haven't even gotten a chance to shoot the thing at the range and I'm about to have to use it." I was angry that someone was in my apartment who shouldn't be, and I prepared to shoot anyone who came through the bedroom door.
I quietly slid out of bed and moved beside the dresser to give myself cover. I cocked the hammer and kept the barrel pointing upwards just in case I was startled and accidentally shot the gun. The feet continued shuffling around the living room and down the hallway. Then I heard a door open. Muffled noises issued forth from the laundry room while my still-groggy brain struggled to make sense of this. I argued that it couldn't be my husband because it was too dark, too early for him to be home and the intruder seemed to be making it a priority to keep quiet. But what would an intruder want in the laundry room? I wanted to check the time just to get a bearing on if anyone should even be in the apartment, but my phone was across the room and I didn't want to risk losing a safe position just to check the time when I figured I'd know very soon who was in the apartment. The footsteps left the laundry room and began moving quite quickly towards the bedroom.
Imagine at this point a buck naked woman crouched beside a dresser, holding a revolver, ready to blow the the heck out of the person about to walk through the door. On the other side of the door, a freshly-disrobed husband eager to join his wife in bed is tottering like a child towards the door, ready to leap into bed the moment he opens the door.
Poor guy. He threw open the door, saw movement out of his right eye, then jumped back and yelped as he recognized the movement as his wife holding a gun.
Lucky for him, I was waiting to aim the gun until I had assessed the threat. As he entered the room and I recognized the "threat" as my husband, I left out a huge sigh of relief and stood up as I decocked my revolver.
After my brain processed the fact that there was no real threat I suddenly realized how awake I was, how hard my heart was pounding, and how hard it was to breathe. Nausea came quickly after. That adrenaline rush was like nothing I've ever felt, but I'm glad the first time it happened was a false alarm.
Since I have never been in a position of defending my home and life, I didn't know what to expect from myself in regards of my thoughts and actions. My husband and I were both pleased to learn that I became angry in the face of a threat and was more than prepared to eliminate the threat to protect myself. Granted, we didn't learn that in the most ideal manner...but it was a lot better to learn it now than in a time of real danger.
Hubby promises to be louder when he comes home in the morning.
In retrospect, if I ever have a doubt about if the person outside the bedroom is my husband or an intruder I'll probably grab and cock my shotgun. Anything other than a tentative, "...honey?" probably means trouble. ;)

[quidni]

Your story sounds like the one a friend of ours tells, about when he was much younger and on the Dallas police force.

He got home at an unexpected time (night shift had been changed & he didn't know it until he'd already showed up at work) so he tried to be very quiet removing his gear so as not to wake his wife. He found out just how lightly she slept when he was setting his shoes down in the dark closet, and heard the unmistakable 'chik' of a revolver being cocked behind him. "DON'T SHOOT, HONEY, IT'S ME!!!"

Ohh, she chewed him up one side and down the other... and from then on, whenever he got home unexpectedly after she'd already gone to bed he made sure to "slam the front door a couple times, stomp my boots in the foyer as loud as I could, turn on all the lights and yell 'I'm home!' three or four times."

Yes, he's very glad she knows how to defend herself! and he's very glad she loves him.....



I'm glad your "encounter" turned out so well - goodonya' for being prepared and handling yourself so well!

[wford]

Glad all was well. Were you trained to cock your revolver in that type of situation ?

[randomoutburst]

Glad all was well. Were you trained to cock your revolver in that type of situation ?

No, it is simply easier for me to shoot single-action. My trigger finger falls just slightly short of being able to reach where it needs to on every single gun I've tried. Well, with proper grip anyway. If I scooch my hand around just a little on my revolver I can fire double-action just fine. Of course, when at the range this takes a toll on my wrist but in a self-defense situation I'd be just fine. I cocked it simply because I could, I had time to do so, and I figured it would make for a quick first shot should I need to fire.

Also, when I mentioned that I hadn't shot my gun at the range yet...that is true but I should mention that I tested the same model so I know (and like) how it fires. In fact, I got my revolver because I liked my test fire so much! I got it a couple weeks ago and am planning to go to the range this week now that I have time between work and school. Plus I want to fire some .357 because until now I've only tried the .38 specials. My gun was loaded with .357 this morning and I remember thinking, "Crud. This is not how I wanted to test fire these..."

[TexasGal]

I think these stories make the case for how important it is to make certain of the target no matter how sure you are it is an intruder. My grandmother came mighty close to shooting her grandson when he was trying to unlock her front door late one night. She did not know her phone was out and the family was worried about her not answering it. He had called out, but she had been asleep and not heard him. It was the dog barking next to her bed that alerted her. My sweet granny had handled guns since her childhood and could really hit what she aimed at and just 6 months before had been forced to shoot a man breaking into her home through the same door. The first thing my cousin saw when he opened the door was the business end of a 12 gauge. He ducked and yelled "Grandmother, its ME! Luckily, she wasn't going to shoot until she was sure of her target, but my cousin needed to sit a while before his legs would hold him up again

[dihappy]

Glad your ok.

Id like to suggest you never pull back the hammer to cock your revolver.

You are that much closer to a negligent discharge.

[randomoutburst]

Glad your ok.

Id like to suggest you never pull back the hammer to cock your revolver.

You are that much closer to a negligent discharge.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with cocking the hammer as long as I'm mindful of my body (especially trigger finger) and surroundings.
1. When my hammer is cocked I don't keep my finger in the trigger guard.
2. I live on the second story of an apartment building so I keep the gun pointing upwards while the hammer is cocked.
3. As I mentioned in a previous post, my finger can't reach the trigger in double-action unless I scooch my hand around. I simply cocked it this time in case I needed to make a quick shot.

Obviously I don't carry it around cocked. In fact, this was the only instance when I've put it into single action in anticipation of making a shot (excluding range time, of course).

[Purplehood]

What is a hammer?

[joe817]

As I mentioned in a previous post, my finger can't reach the trigger in double-action unless I scooch my hand around. I simply cocked it this time in case I needed to make a quick shot.

randomoutburst, dont' take this the wrong way(because I know exactly what you're saying), but I suggest that the gun you have may be to large for your hands. I have smallish hands myself and finding a gun that fits you perfectly makes all the difference in the world not only in your accuracy but also your confidence.

One of the ladies on the forum posted a fantastic website called the "Cornered Cat" with the best article I've ever seen on choosing a gun that fits your hand:

http://www.corneredcat.com/FirstGun/tryongun.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Give that a good looky, and then check out the entire website. It's well written.

[USA1]

What is a hammer?

[Purplehood]

Thanks for the clarification. He does look a bit large for a petite hand.

[randomoutburst]

randomoutburst, dont' take this the wrong way(because I know exactly what you're saying), but I suggest that the gun you have may be to large for your hands. I have smallish hands myself and finding a gun that fits you perfectly makes all the difference in the world not only in your accuracy but also your confidence.

One of the ladies on the forum posted a fantastic website called the "Cornered Cat" with the best article I've ever seen on choosing a gun that fits your hand:

http://www.corneredcat.com/FirstGun/tryongun.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Give that a good looky, and then check out the entire website. It's well written.

I found that website last year and love it.
As I mentioned in the same previous post I was referring to last time...NO revolver I have tried properly fits my hand. I have a Kel-Tec PF9 that fits perfectly, but I wanted a revolver for carry as I see them as more dependable. The smallest J-frame available still requires my finger to be another 1/4" longer (if that). That's fine, I'll probably have someone adjust the trigger if it really bothers me, but as of now I shoot very accurately with it even in double action - it just hurts my wrist after shooting a long time at the range.

[TTUchris]

Imagine at this point a buck naked woman crouched beside a dresser

Done.

[wford]

Not to hound you to death but you seem to imply that you keep your finger in the trigger guard if your gun is not cocked.
Or am I just reading you incorrectly ?

Glad your ok.

Id like to suggest you never pull back the hammer to cock your revolver.

You are that much closer to a negligent discharge.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with cocking the hammer as long as I'm mindful of my body (especially trigger finger) and surroundings.
1. When my hammer is cocked I don't keep my finger in the trigger guard.
2. I live on the second story of an apartment building so I keep the gun pointing upwards while the hammer is cocked.
3. As I mentioned in a previous post, my finger can't reach the trigger in double-action unless I scooch my hand around. I simply cocked it this time in case I needed to make a quick shot.

Obviously I don't carry it around cocked. In fact, this was the only instance when I've put it into single action in anticipation of making a shot (excluding range time, of course).

[randomoutburst]

Not to hound you to death but you seem to imply that you keep your finger in the trigger guard if your gun is not cocked.
Or am I just reading you incorrectly ?

Haha no, you're correct. I seemed to imply that I ONLY keep my finger out of the trigger guard if it's cocked.
What I should have said is, "As always, my finger never enters the trigger guard until I have identified my target and have made the decision to fire upon the target, whether my hammer is cocked or not."
Also, before it's brought up, I keep my gun pointed upwards whenever I am holding it in my apartment, and when it is set down it is not facing my neighbors or other rooms of my own apartment.
Better?