My plan is still in evolution.
Since I have re-enlisted in the NG, my wife is now at home alone for longer and more frequent periods. Last year I bought a new M-4gery (RRA, and thanks to the members of the board for advice given). I had already taught her to shoot an AR-15 with good accuracy (she can shoot better than most privates, for sure), but it had been awhile since she had practiced. I took her to the range with my H&K USP.40, a S&W .357 4" (loaded with .38 special), my Mossberg 590, and the new M4. I let her shoot all four, and pick which one she felt most comfortable with. In the end, the M4 was the weapon of choice for lack of perceived recoil, ease of target engagement at short range, and high capacity (unlikely to need reloading).
That said, my wife and I live in a small, relatively quiet suburb with close neighbors. The police force is a good, and probably underused department, and I would expect reaction times in well under five minutes, realistically probably 2-3 minutes. We have a centrally monitored alarm, although it is not on that much, and there is no possibility that gunfire would go unnoticed or unreported to the police. All doors have deadbolts, and the doors are kept locked 99% of the time, even when we are home. Almost all windows are double pane glass. There are outdoor floodlights covering the parts of the house that do not face the street.
Her prep is this:
- wireless land line by bedside
- cell phone by bedside
- M4 under bed, 30 rd. magazine with 55 gr. ammo
- Flashlight in bedside table
Our bedroom is only accessible by a staircase that leads to the first floor back of the house, and a door that leads to the front of the house. Conveniently, there is a french door at the top of the stairwell, and from the french doors to the door leading to the front of the house is appx. 40'. If awoken by an intruder, she is to grab the phones, grab the M4, and move to the corner of the room overlooking the stairwell, then call 911. There is a spare 30 rd. magazine on a table in that corner of the room. From that position, the only way to get at her is by either opening the door to the bedroom, or coming up the back stairs. If an intruder opens the door, she has an unobstructed 40' line of sight, and therefore engagement range. Any rounds fired from that position to the door would have to penetrate two layers of plaster, then another layer of plaster and a concrete block wall to exit the house. If an intruder comes up the back stair, they will have to fight their way up a stairwell against a scared and angry woman with an M4. Any rounds fired down the stairwell can only overpenetrate into the ground outside.
For me, I wear (PJ) pants to bed, and would prefer to move around the house in bare feet for stealth, if necessary. As a habit picked up as a young 11B training for night ops, I tend to move around the house during darkness without using lights anyway. I'm pretty confident that between my familiarity with the layout of the house, ability to move quietly and operate in the dark, and marksmanship, I have the upper hand against 99% of anyone that would be breaking into my house. There will be no verbal or audible warning against an armed intruder other than the report of a discharged weapon. If it was glaringly obvious that the intruder was unarmed, they will be dealt with EPW style until the police come. That said, I think I need to come up with some more detailed plans for if both my wife and I are home.
Thanks to TR for bringing up this subject and for everyone who has contributed. I am already getting some good ideas to improve my plan.