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This one got me thinking a little bit.
A few weeks back my buddy and I went to a bar down the street from my house. My pregnant wife and his wife stayed at my house to watch a movie. When I left my house there was a small party a few houses down, a bunch gangster kids, happens all the time, cops showed up and started making people leave.
About 1o minutes after being we got to bar my wife calls and says she thinks someone is in the back yard and our dogs were going crazy at the corner of the house where she heard the noises at, and she also heard something that sounded like someone trying to pull the window open. I had her go lock herself in the bedroom and to keep my 45's (her choice of weapon, and she can shoot them better than me) by her just in case. After thinking for a second I remembered that there were cops down the street so I called the police department to have an officer come check the backyard since they should be right there. About 2 minutes later, while I was on my way home, I got a phone call back from the dispatcher letting me know that an officer responded and said that he was in my back yard checking for any kids that ran off. I told my wife and we felt much better, I returned to the bar and had a great night since I havn't been out in 6 months, with her permission of course.

Since I usually never go out I am always home with my pregnant wife relaxing, when I hear any unusual noise in my back yard I will go out there with my dogs and my CCW at the ready. Now if I were to see someone around the backside of my house I would have more than likely drawn on them until I can identify them or get the police there. Where my wife heard the noise is in the back corner of my house, really dark area. I wouldn't have been able to know if it was a LEO or not and things wouldn't have gone pleasantly.
I would have had her let the dogs out to scope out the noise but as long as I am not right behind them they are not going out there, .

So things I have done in the past few days.
1. Installed a flood light in that corner.
2. Watched my neighbors sercurity camera video that showed 5 "thugs" entering my side gate and hiding in my back yard for approx. 30 minutes. Shortly after the jumped the next fence the LEO came through.

These "thugs" were hiding in the dark corner and I do believe they tried to open the window thinking no one was home since my truck was out of the driveway and my wifes car was in the garage. Most of the lights were off inside of the house. I checked the window the other day and found it to be pushed open about 1/4" till where the lock cought.

Thinking about putting a small camera towards my gate and/or one showing the middle of the backyard so I can check before I go out.
I live in a fairly nice neighborhood, these "thugs" are more than likely Dentists and Lawyers kids than from the ghetto like they think they are.

My neighbor is very paranoid everytime he sees a car sittin in front of our houses he feels the need to call me and have me watch out the window. But its actually nice to have someone that I can trust to look over my property while I am away or when my wife is home alone. We gave each other the "consent" to enter each others property to check on anything that is out of the ordinary. This also makes me never want to go out to a bar again. I felt so defensless knowing that I was unarmed on the way home even though I knew the LEO's were on the way.

Phew. Glad things worked out for the good. And +2 that she can shoot a .45!

"So things I have done in the past few days.
1. Installed a flood light in that corner.
2. Watched my neighbors sercurity camera video that showed 5 "thugs" entering my side gate and hiding in my back yard for approx. 30 minutes. Shortly after the jumped the next fence the LEO came through. "

You forgot to list:
3. Let the dogs out of the house to get the BG's.

Don't know about yours, but my 2 dogs, as territorial as they are, would turn an intruder into hamburger hash, or roadkill chili meat.

joe817 wrote:Phew. Glad things worked out for the good. And +2 that she can shoot a .45!

"So things I have done in the past few days.
1. Installed a flood light in that corner.
2. Watched my neighbors sercurity camera video that showed 5 "thugs" entering my side gate and hiding in my back yard for approx. 30 minutes. Shortly after the jumped the next fence the LEO came through. "

You forgot to list:
3. Let the dogs out of the house to get the BG's.

Don't know about yours, but my 2 dogs, as territorial as they are, would turn an intruder into hamburger hash, or roadkill chili meat.

Unleashing my wieners would be a considered a crime against humanity-their breath is a UN declared Weapon of Mass Destruction.

HAHA. Yeah my dogs would more than likely go out there and try to play. Not so tuff for a lab and a german shepherd/boxer mix. The lab would probably bark a few times and then just chase her tail while the other one runs circles around her.

My family and I use to do Cowboy Action Shooting. Before my wife and I got married we went to this place out in West Texas where you can rent cabins and they have a mock town to look like tombstone. After my wife saw me shooting the knock down targets she wanted to try (she has never shot anything bigger than a BB gun). First try she didn't like the my 38's so she decided to try my Colt 45's. I don't want to talk about what happens next, she hasn't shut up about it yet and now claims the 45's as "her guns" and the 38's as "my guns". Shes 5'3" and as big around as a stick.

I seem to hear quite often that women take to 1911s.
I'll have to have my wife shoot mine more.

I imagine at some point that Excaliber, one of our resident security experts, will weigh in on this topic. But the essence of what he and others will tell you is this:

Stay in the house! Don't go outside. There are very sound tactical reasons for this.

Inside your home, you control the battle space, and you control the access to the battle space. You know the layout of the home, the bad guy doesn't. Imagine, you hear a noise in your back yard at night, so you grab a flashlight and a pistol, and you go out your back door to investigate:

1. You slice the pie in the yard and ascertain that it is empty. Must'a been a cat going over the fence. While your out there, the bad guy sneaks into your home behind your back through the door you left open. You not only have to now assault into your home (the opposite of what would have happened if you stayed inside), but your pregnant wife now gets to deal with a BG, while your outside.
2. You slice the pie in the yard, and low and behold, you corner the BG behind your shed. You order him to the ground and holler for your wife to call the PD. In the meantime, his accomplice, whom you did not see, sneaks up behind you and puts a round in the back of your head. Then both BGs go inside your home and attack your pregnant wife.
3. You slice the pie in the yard, find nothing, and go back inside. Your pregnant (and terrified wife) mistakes you for a BG in the dark and puts you down with two quick ones to the chest.

There are a lot of reasons to stay in the house, and no good reasons to go outside.

with both TAM and Andy they both said it better than I could

Whats Slice the Pie?

Walt Kowalski wasn't afraid to go outside.

casingpoint wrote:
Walt Kowalski wasn't afraid to go outside.

didnt he get shot to death?

marksiwel wrote:

casingpoint wrote:
Walt Kowalski wasn't afraid to go outside.

didnt he get shot to death?

Yes, but most of his shooters never left the house

Great movie, completely didn't expect that ending. I expected him to be the last man standing...

I think I will take your advise from now on, staying inside of the house instead of going to investigate. Great job with the examples, I'd show that to my wife but I would probably get a slap in the back of the head
The monster in law is demanding I have a security system installed now.
Gran Torino had to be my favorite movie in the past 10 years, such a happy guy.

To each his own, do what works best for you.
I personally would alert the family in the house, secure it on the way out and clear the grounds around the House. this allows stand off from the BG to the ones I'm tiring to protect. . I know my outside soundings as well as inside my house. I still have the advantage over a BG. Taking the confrontation or worse the gun fight to the BG gives my family a larger buffer to get the police on site.By sound of the event will tell them where the BG is. Chances are the event will be complete or at least stalemated within seconds and then we wait for the LEO to come take the report. (not bashing, just reality it would take a sheriff 8-10 minutes to get to my property on the best case deal. I can clear around the house and cover most of the 6 AC in that time)

Barricading and awaiting LEO response is the better plan for some. Just not personally the better plan for me.

Very happy to see it worked out for the OP.

As for your MIL having a vote or even voice in your family biz....... best of luck with that. .. I married my wife, not her family...LOL