Clearing Your Home With a Firearm: Why It’s Far Riskier Than You Think
When people imagine a home invasion, many envision themselves moving through the house with a firearm, confronting an intruder and regaining control. Movies and television often frame this moment as decisive and heroic. In real life, however, attempting to “clear” your home alone is one of the most dangerous decisions a civilian can make. Firearms instructors, law enforcement professionals, and self‑defense experts consistently advise a different approach: secure yourself and your loved ones in one location, call for help, and avoid confrontation whenever possible. The reasons are grounded in physiology, psychology, and hard‑earned experience. Clearing a home assumes near‑perfect conditions: the ability to identify threats instantly, maintain awareness in every direction, and make flawless decisions under extreme stress. Those conditions rarely exist. Under fear and adrenaline, the human ...
