Bedside Defense

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unbeknownst

New member
I know there have been many threads about who keeps what near them when going to bed, but what about body armor? I keep a loaded handgun in my night stand (no kids around) and my bp vest under my bed. I figure if the small chance of someone ever breaking in occurs, in which I would have to defend myself with deadly force, I might as well spend the 5 seconds to velcro on my vest. Who knows; if a perp saw you crouching with a firearm pointed at them, with a vest on while you bark at them to get the h*ll out of your abode, that may be enough to convince them that even if they have a gun and get a round off, you have much more protection than they do (and well usually we are better shots aren't we?). Anyone else take a similar precaution?
 
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booker noe

New member
I don't see it happening.Even with dogs in the house,giving a bit of warning,i don't see taking the time,I keep a 12 gauge u/o,first barrlle 8's,second 00 buckshot.
extream?Maybe,but if they keep coming after hearing 4 large dogs,i only hope 2 shots is enough.
Matt
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
Well, first off, if you're "crouching," I'm assuming you're crouching behind the bed.

Secondly, why in the name of God would you turn the lights on in the bedroom in the first place?

In my house there's more than enough light to see the outline of the bedroom door, but I've arranged the bed so that when I'm behind it facing the door, I'm in the darkest corner of the room.

Let an intruder silhouette himself, don't give him the same advantage.

If you're taking time to put on you bullet proof bed jacket, I'm hoping that you have enough of a layered defensive system to allow you that luxury?

The most simple being....

Do you lock your bedroom door at night?

If not, get into that habit before you get into the habit of snapping awake and fumbling for the kevlar.
 
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GLOCKT

New member
I keep a Glock G22 with a M3 light on the rails.Chances are a perp is in for 1 reason to rip and run.Most likely, not packing have the hands free to carry off more goods.Now if it's a hit on you the vest is a good bet.I don't believe I've enough enemies to put a price on my noggin.With the house alarm the perp can steal all he wants downstairs.When he ventures upstairs in the sleeping quarters, then it's time to dance!I'm shooting lead down the steps.SAFE-SHOOTING!
 
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AyeAye

New member
Kevlar???

My dog's alert me when something's WRONG.
Then it's a decision as to which weapon to choose (or multiple).
Rem M870 w/ 2 rds hollow pt slugs then 3rds 00 Buck.
Sig P239 9mm w/ 8 rds Hydroshock
Bulgie 9mmx18 w/ 8 rds Barnaul HPs
Colt Tropper MkIII w/ 6 rds 38spl. ProLoad HPs
SKS w/ 10rds HPs
CZ52 w/ FMF
Not neccisarily in descending order!!!
Oh, and these are not all of my weapons!!! :)
These are just the one's I keep w/in easy reach in our bedroom for my wife and me!!! Especially lately w/ everything that has been going on.
Get the picture - Don't mess w/ my property!!!! :mad:
Most of my neighors are armed about the same.. :D
 
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Rebeldon

New member
I have a Taurus PT101 I keep next to my bed at night. I put it away during the day if I'm not carrying it with me because I have small children, who, by the way, are disciplined not to touch daddy's or mommy's guns (stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult).

I definitely believe in crouching behind the bed. It's best not to looking for trouble, and not to alarm the intruder into doing anything desperate, like grabbing on of you children as a hostage. :eek:

I leave a couple of lights on in the house so my children can see their way into my bedroom if they need mommy or daddy--usually mommy. It also helps me see who it is. If the lights are turned out, then I'm alarmed--because I know my children sure the heck aren't going to turn the lights out--they're affraid of the dark.

My biggest fear is one of my children being abducted at night. So do I still crouch behind my bed, or go to see if my children are okay? I hope leaving some lights on would deter most burglars. Perhaps turning the lights off would be better. That way, any intruder would trip over toys left scattered on the floor.

Some burlars are very skilled. I remember the I-75 Cat-burglar in Florida, back in 1990 (I think that year is correct). The son-of-a-gun helped himself to the fridge, made himself a sandwich and even drank a beer. He even used the toilet in one house. For several months, he burlarized hundreds of houses, at night with the owners at home, along I-75 near Lake City, Gainesville and Ocala, before retiring after being shot at with a shotgun. To my knowledge, he was never caught. We was believed to be wounded.
 
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Ellery Holt

Guest
Putting on a vest would be too slow, but what about sleeping under a bullet proof queen-size blanket? Level III or whatever? It seems like that would be just the thing for neighborhoods with drive-bys or frequent home invasions. I know I'd sleep better with less worry about the ubiquitous SWAT cop who doesn't keep his finger off the trigger and his Sgt. who has a habit of transposing house address numbers. If I'm gonna die in bed I have other preferences about how I'd like to go.
 
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unbeknownst

New member
I appreciate hearing everyone's opinion, for I would not have started the thread if i wasn't curious as to what some of you think. Most of you do make inferences to dogs or security systems to explain that you would be forewarned of an intruder in your home.

Now the subject of the thread deals with the perp. who DOES have a means to seriously injure/kill you while breaking in. Nevermind that it is very unlikely to happen, for we know being unprepared is not an excuse. I don't believe taking a few seconds to help protect your life while defending it, is that radical of an idea. There is no guarantee that even if you shoot first, the bad guy won't be able to shoot back. Do you ever see a cop late to roll call skip putting his vest on... or a firefighter who took longer to wake up for a run skipping putting his gear on cause the truck is moving out of the station? Someone asked why I would have turned the lights on.... I didn't see where I wrote that; but isn't it true that a late night burgular has been outside, in the dark, and then they broke into your dark house. Their eyes have adjusted to the dim conditions already, so if you can see them and who they are then they can surely see you holding a firearm and the contrast of your body compared to a vest. I also don't believe in locking/shutting the bedroom door. I don't have any pets, and that would just be a sound barrier for me to hear anything beyond my bedroom late at night.

My last point is that many of you talk about the time it would take to put a vest on. We aren't talking about someone breaking in and then sprinting right to your bedroom (at least I hope not). The perp. is likely to fool around in other rooms/other floors before getting anywhere near close to you. The whole point of keeping that firearm nearby is for protection, so why protect yourself in one way and not in another, for your gun is not going to literally stop any bullets flying right at your or someone else's body. Please keep the comments coming. I am not out to tell anyone they are wrong, I am just further explaining my rationale for original post in this thread.
 
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Ben Shepherd

New member
I live alone, so ANYONE else moving in the house is a potential target. I keep my 357 sp101 loaded and handy, mauser m2 and sig p239 close and loaded also. All of the aforementioned guns are within reach WITHOUT getting out of bed. There's also an 870 Remington Express 12ga. in the bedroom.
Some TFL members have expressed worries about being coherent enough when waking up and determining the nature of the threat: In my case, anyone who is welcome to stay in my house overnight knows about my propensity towards self preservation. The house is a split level, my bedroom is downstairs, guest bedroom upstairs, full bathrooms on both floors. If they feel the need to come downstairs in the middle of the night, they know they better **** well make sure I'm awake before they come in the bedroom. I feel if I'm awake enough to get a decent sight picture, I'm awake enough to ID the intended target and make a decision.
In my town we have trouble with gangs from a nearby city hitting entire neighborhoods at once, 3 or 4 carloads of them at a time, quick in quick out style. So in the event the time comes I need a gun, it will probably be against multuple attackers.
Works for me.
Someone mentioned bulletproof blanket.....hmmm. That's a thought. As for body armor if it works for you, use it. If it comes down to it saving your life, no one on this forum will say it was a bad idea.
 
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nnciderr

New member
"Putting on a vest would be too slow, but what about sleeping under a bullet proof queen-size blanket? Level III or whatever?"


Good idea, but then I'd be hearing,"Honey stop stealing the level III covers, are you trying to get me killed?!"
 
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jlcpgord

New member
"Putting on a vest would be too slow, but what about sleeping under a bullet proof queen-size blanket? Level III or whatever?"

Good idea, but then I'd be hearing,"Honey stop stealing the level III covers, are you trying to get me killed?!"



that is the funniest thing i've read in quite some time...very funny.:D

jlcpgord
 
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CWL

New member
Don't forget to splurge for those titanium trauma plates for your blanket, several dozen should do it!
 
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GLJones

New member
Looking from a legal standpoint, would it be smart to use body armor?

First, it may look to a jury like you were looking for a fight (remember, jurors are those not smart enought to get out of jury duty).

Second, it could be real trouble if your self-defense shooting is declared to not be justified. There are severe increased penalties in most states for wearing body armor during the commission of a crime, which you would be guilty of if your not justified in defending yourself.

Here in Florida, we have a minimum mandatory 5 year sentance for commiting a crime with a gun. This is VERY BAD because if the jury doesn't agree that your self-defense shooting is justified, the judge has to give you 5 years, even if he believes you were justified but went a little too far in the heat of the moment. Add body armor and you get 25 years.

Yes, it's better to be judged by 6 than carried by 12 but is the body armor worth a possible 20 years if things go bad?
 
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Walt Sherrill

New member
If using body armor is going to hurt your case, wouldn't using a weapon be even worse?

Perhaps you should just roll over and play dead?


If you have a shotgun, forget your handgun. A shotgun is a LOT better. More damage and less chance of penetrating the walls and hitting a neighbor next door.

1) If you have kids, get them to your room as quickly as you can.

2) while you're doing that, have the significant other/spouse call the police. You should have a cell phone handy, in case the intruder cuts the phone line. Tell the police where you're located in the house -- and stay there.

3) If you have ear protection, put it on. A vest would be nice if you have it.

(Its good to plan on surviving the potential conflict, and being able to hear afterwards. While you may not notice the loudness of the shots fired, they will permanently damage your hearing, regardless of the number of shots fired.)

4) Hide behind the bed, close the door, push furniture over in front of the door if you can, etc. Hope you don't have to shoot.

5) Don't go looking for the bad guy(s). Let them have whatever they can take. You may be out some material things, but the family won't potentially lose an important member.

(House clearing is really a TEAM undertaking, and its something that takes time and practice. Don't even consider it.)
 
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CSAY

New member
I don't think I would attempt to put a vest on at a critical time like that. I would assume you would have to put down your weapon to put the vest on? Not a good idea IMO. Dogs are great, provided you have good dogs that don't bark at the least little thing. I have trained mine well. I know when my Lab barks, I need to check it out. Now, on the other hand, my Chihuahua is a different story.
 
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FScott

New member
It seems like body armor isn't a bad idea if you have the time to put it on. I keep a Mossberg 500 in the bedroom with 8 rounds of #4 buckshot, and my Taurus PT-92 with 15 rounds of Federal Hydro Shock and an extra magazine with 15 more. Anybody coming through my bedroom door by force is going to have some serious issues.
 
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