Home Invasion and Lessons Learned

[L84Cabo]

Folks, I'm not quite sure what the rules are about this. If I've broken them by referencing another forum, please accept my apology and Mods please delete this thread as you see fit.

One of the members over on the 1911 forum has detailed the lessons learned from a (somewhat) recent home invasion of he and his wife. It's a hell of a story and worth your time if you haven't seen it already.

Excerpt and link below.

I couldn't even tell you who won the Super Bowl in 2015... I don't even recall the two teams that played but the events of the next morning will forever live in my mind.

Nearly two years later and countless court dates - I'm just now able to share our experience. I hope in doing so - it will prepare you and your family for what may come. On February 2, 2015 - our lives were changed forever after an attempted home invasion. Below, is a copy and paste of my victim's statement given at the final sentencing. Some personal information has been redacted...

I'll share more in subsequent post...


Your honor, I am here today so that the full impact of this crime is brought to your attention.

Had Nathan succeeded in his attack - the headline in the Citizen-Times that week would have read, "Local Pastor and Wife Killed in Apparent Home Invasion." However, this crime cannot be simplified down to just a case of an unsuccessful home invasion stopped by a good guy with a gun. Rather, this was an unprovoked attempt to kidnap, possibly rape, and then murder my wife. The only thing that stopped Nathan from committing these violent acts – was a husband willing to stand between his wife and someone bent on destroying their home.

Home Invasion and Lessons learned - 1911Forum

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[Koda]

without having to sign up to view the photos in the thread, can anyone tell us where and when this incident took place? Just curious is all.

 

[L84Cabo]

without having to sign up to view the photos in the thread, can anyone tell us where and when this incident took place? Just curious is all.

My apologies as I've been a member so long over there, I forgot you needed to be one to see the photos.

It happened in Allen County, Kentucky on Feb 2, 2015. The OP speaks about countless court dates and delays so it's been a fairly lengthy process. The photos are mostly of the damage done to the OP's house as the guy tried to gain entry and the damage to his car. There is, however, one mugshot of the actual bad guy (one Nathan Ewing, 32 years old).

 

[Koda]

My apologies as I've been a member so long over there, I forgot you needed to be one to see the photos.

It happened in Allen County, Kentucky on Feb 2, 2015. The OP speaks about countless court dates and delays so it's been a fairly lengthy process. The photos are mostly of the damage done to the OP's house as the guy tried to gain entry and the damage to his car. There is, however, one mugshot of the actual bad guy (one Nathan Ewing, 32 years old).

Cool, thank you. Not that it matters much but was just trying to get an idea of the location... it sounds more rural than suburban.

With a quick skim/read of the thread it sounded like it was a legal battle to get the guy convicted with the maximum penalty and jail time. It sounds like he will get out in a few years... one of my frustrations with the criminal legal system is just how easy they go on violent offenders.

 

[mikeybuck]

Thanks for posting.
Makes me re think everything.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

My apologies as I've been a member so long over there, I forgot you needed to be one to see the photos.

It happened in Allen County, Kentucky on Feb 2, 2015. The OP speaks about countless court dates and delays so it's been a fairly lengthy process. The photos are mostly of the damage done to the OP's house as the guy tried to gain entry and the damage to his car. There is, however, one mugshot of the actual bad guy (one Nathan Ewing, 32 years old).

<broken link removed>

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Lessons learned...

* Know your ammo. I was shooting a Springfield EMP in 9mm using Speer Gold Dot 124grain bullets. Out of a 3" gun - these rounds proved to be the worse possible. The round that hit Nathan - passed straight through - zero expansion. the second shot that hit him was easily diverted by hitting an e-cig in his pocket and only grazed his chest. The third round fired through the glass of the door - was completely deflected. Another round was fired at the front drivers tire and hit the tire, passed through, hit the ground, deflected through the firewall / pan of the car - striking the brake pedal before falling to the floor mat - wasn't expanded!

I also worry about bullet expansion out of my short barrels, which is why I recently switched to the Lehigh Defense Xtreme Defense fluted copper bullets.

 

[Camelfilter]

...
I also worry about bullet expansion out of my short barrels, which is why I recently switched to the Lehigh Defense Xtreme Defense fluted copper bullets.

I'll have to re-visit those, thanks! I run the Ruger 80gr polymer / copper versions that look similar, but are +P.

 

[tac]

It would not need to have expanded much if it had hit this POS in either eyeball.

tac

 

[Stomper]

It would not need to have expanded much if it had hit this POS in either eyeball.

tac

I was thinking the T-zone, too!

 

[11Charlie]

Reading this really makes you think about all that you do to protect your family and then wonder if its enough. I have changed so many things in my life thanks to thoughts brought about by people in this forum.

Now I need to step back and look a little deeper to make sure I have done all that I can do.

 

[PaulB47]

Seems like one can go too far in the direction of short barrels...

That bullet is the same one I use, but I have a 4" barrel. Maybe I should find a gun with a 5" barrel. Of course, long guns for home defense...

 

[mjbskwim]

Didn't read the article but the was a FBI autopsy on here a few years back. They investigated the local Leo shooting because of this ammo,which is what they used at the time.
20 some rounds in the guy (40 cal. BTW) and they looked,in the X-ray,like they didn't expand at all. They killed the guy with an AR.
Heard and read it many times,stop the threat,if he's twitching he's still a threat
YMMV
AAne how's that go?
Dead men tell no tales? Or come back to revisit

 

[Vendor Hidden]

Wow. That was a harrowing tale.

I really have no clue how I would respond to a similar situation, but I do know that as I was reading the account, I was mentally emptying several ten-round magazines from my .45 into that butthead. No warning shots in my scenario.

But that's just thinking. Doing is something completely different.

 

[L84Cabo]

Reading this really makes you think about all that you do to protect your family and then wonder if its enough. I have changed so many things in my life thanks to thoughts brought about by people in this forum.

Now I need to step back and look a little deeper to make sure I have done all that I can do.

When it comes to protecting your family, there is no such thing as being paranoid or doing too much. One of the things that really stood out to me in this story is that he now protects his home with two rifles...AR's. I'm always struck by the number of people that choose a pistol for this job. I realize there are compelling reasons sometimes to make us think a pistol is the best choice...been guilty of following those reasons myself in the past. But in a scenario like this one it really does make you think that stopping the threat is the most important reason of all, and for that job you want every advantage you can get...a rifle or shotgun.

 

[Joe13]

I keep a full size 1911 instead of one of my smaller carry guns for bump in the night situations.


And when I run out of Ammo it's a 2+ lb club

 

[d2the3]

I altered my setup this evening after reading this on my lunch break. It was full of valuable info and insight I hadn't considered. Thank you for posting this!

 

[ChiefStealth]

(snip) But in a scenario like this one it really does make you think that stopping the threat is the most important reason of all, and for that job you want every advantage you can get...a rifle or shotgun.

IMHO, that is the most compelling reason for not banning AR type rifles and 30 round mags. If I have to shoot, I want max fire power. I want to out-gun the snot out of the adversary. Anything less is giving away a great advantage. If the odds are even, your planning sucks.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

I'll have to re-visit those, thanks! I run the Ruger 80gr polymer / copper versions that look similar, but are +P.

I tried those Polycase / Ruger ARX rounds, but they don't end up where you aim at due to the light bullets. The point of impact ends up being about two inches lower at 12 feet! Also, if you look at the gel tests the bullets tend to go off course once in the gel ending up a few inches lower and left or right of the entrance hole.

I am not happy with how low weight the Lehigh 9mm bullets are (90 grain), but I guess they need the extra speed to make any displaced fluid cut through the surrounding flesh.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

* Which gun site is the best? I have no idea - never saw them! However, it doesn't mean I wasn't accurate. I was able to hit the guy in the leg, again in the chest, lean out a door and shoot center mass through a car window, then shoot out a tire of a moving car... All without "aiming"

This is what I have been saying for a long time. I "fired" 2500 to 5000 rounds per week in tournament paintball, and that is my experience when the adrenaline is flowing and people are shooting back at you, even though it's just a game. I seldom used the red-dot or reflex sights that were on my Autococker. I just learned to shoot where I was looking through practice and repetition. I'm going to build that AR-15 I won on this site as a HD weapon. The only sights I am going to consider for it are a laser or a red-dot because that's all you MIGHT have time for in a fire fight.

* Too many safeties and the pesky grip safety.... Never was an issue - I found myself going over and over in mind... "Safety off, grip high, thumbs forward, finger off the trigger, etc..." Train well - fight well

This is why all of my carry and HD pistols have the same type of safeties located in the same places. Managing them is now automatic.

What this post does make me want to do is think about my ammo. I've been pretty lax, figuring that a hit with any bullet style from a generic cartridge would be good enough, and using my LC9s carry gun and my 1911 HD gun pretty much interchangeably. Starting tomorrow that changes. I'm using my 1911 for HD and the carry gun for concealed carry only. I'm also going to be replacing any ball ammo with +P hollow point for carry and HD. The ball ammo will be reserved for the range.