Home carry

My home is very secure.
Decent neighborhood, locked chain link fence surrounding the property, security lights, motion detector at driveway, and a noisey, ill-tempered small dog alarm.

Last year in the middle of the day, the motion alarm "dings" and a few seconds later a big guy is pounding on my door.
He asks for some one who doesnt live here, and I walk him back to the gate yelling about him jumping my fence.

Turns out a deputy had got behind his car, so he got nervous and turned in my driveway trying to pretend he knew me.
Didnt work, the deputy (who I knew personally) was waiting for him when we got to the fence.
Who knows what he was really up to, but it sure wasn't good.
He had warrants and went to jail.
Everything went okay, I never had to touch the gun, but I sure felt better knowing I had an airweight .38 in my pocket.

wally said:

My first wife's uncle had a pair of very imposing Doberman dogs, until the scumbags threw a couple of poisoned steaks over the fence, then they had lots of missing insured property and thousands of dollars in vet bills

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Only a low life scumbag(s) would poison a dog. I hope they recovered. The presence of my Rottweiler usually keeps people I don't know at a distance.
I usually just have something near me when I'm at home. I'll put one of my snubs in my pocket or on my hip If I step outside.

Short answer - yes.

I often carry at home, but not always. I don't live in a carry state so that somewhat explains the "not always". If I get careless and walk outside to take out the trash (I live in an apartment with a dumpster across the parking lot instead of in a house where I'd have a trash can on my property) or walk out to the mailbox with my gun still on my person, I'd be breaking the law. When I carry, I tend to carry larger so I definitely won't forget about it and go out further than the parking lot with my gun on my person. So, while in and out, the gun doesn't go on, and especially not if I will be in and out running errands, or shopping or going out. Also, after work, I'm probably going straight for my recliner to relax reading or watching TV for 20-30 minutes before I do anything else (like putting on a gun and IWB holster) and after that I don't always get to putting on the gun, especially (again) if I will be in and out a lot. The gun does come on most of the time when I'm home for the day, or it is a weekend and I'm home for a few hours or more.

For those who live in a carry state, I think the better question is "why don't you carry at home". If you are carrying when you leave, why would you constantly put on your carry gear and remove it as you enter or leave your place? Personally, I don't take my wallet and keys out of my pocket like some people do when I come home. I don't have to look for it when I want to go somewhere, and I have never in my life forgotten my keys or wallet. If I lived in a CCW state, I'd do the same with my gun and simply leave it on until I undressed for the night. That is also what I do when on vacation, my gun is still in its holster which is still IWB or on my belt when I'm in the hotel, camper or tent.

Hanzo581 said:

No. I do keep doors closed and locked and alarm on though. Hoping that will buy me enough time to retrieve one should the need arise.

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And door braces. Deadbolted doors kick open with surprisingly little effort.

Some of the posters here just don't get it when they throw out the sarcastic "I just don't feel the need to cowboy up..."

It's not about "need." It's just another thing some of us put on.

Have any of you to whom I'm referring never done anything without an actual "need"?

chicharrones said:

And door braces. Deadbolted doors kick open with surprisingly little effort.

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that has not been my experience i the fire service, at least here. Sometimes with houses or apartments constructed in the last 25 years or so, its much easier to go in through the wall next to the door, rather than the door itself.

Dang Right...I carry at home. On in the morning and off at bedtime. Usually 44 special Bulldog revolver or a .40 Glock.

Loaded firearms stashed around the house...but of course.

I live in the country...two legged critters and four legged ones around from time to time.

Bulldogging tonight...

heyjoe said:

that has not been my experience i the fire service, at least here. Sometimes with houses or apartments constructed in the last 25 years or so, its much easier to go in through the wall next to the door, rather than the door itself.

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Do builders in your area use metal doors and metal door frames?

Most everything I see residentially around here are wood door frames that a dead bolt will splinter right through when given a fast walking boot next to the door knob.

Cocked & Locked said:

Dang Right...I carry at home. On in the morning and off at bedtime. Usually 44 special Bulldog revolver or a .40 Glock.

Loaded firearms stashed around the house...but of course.

I live in the country...two legged critters and four legged ones around from time to time.

Bulldogging tonight...

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That is a sweet rig all the way around. Altamonts on the bulldog and a case xx. That's on point.

This is one of those topics that come up over and over again and every time it does someone makes a comment to the effect of "I can't imagine being so fearful that I feel the need to carry a gun in my home.". They then go on to tell us they have multiple guns stashed all over their house. Wait, what?

I don't always carry at home because I'm not always dressed to carry. I'm currently sitting on my couch in gym shorts and a T Shirt and my Glock 19 is sitting on the coffee table. If I move to a different part of the house it goes with me. If I'm wearing clothes that will support a gun then I wear a gun.

I read a blog by Tamara Keel once that says (paraphrased) " It's not so much that I carry a gun at home as it is that I simply carry a gun." I carry at home 1% for "just in case" and 99% because if I have to take the dogs out or SWMBO sends me to Walmart I don't have to stop and put my gun on.

On a side note I also don't specifically answer my door armed. If I'm concerned enough about who's on the other side of that door that I won't open it without a gun in my hand I just don't open the door.

I do carry at home when I am getting ready for a trip to Front Sight.

Usually a week or so before I start dry practicing daily and that gets me ready to do well in whatever course I am going to.

I don't carry at home for defensive purposes, but I am never far from a loaded gun.

Randy

Blkhrt13 said:

That is a sweet rig all the way around. Altamonts on the bulldog and a case xx. That's on point.

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Thanks! Actually, the grips are not Altamont. They are Herrett's Shooting Ace grips.

I recalled they were Aces but I got the maker wrong. Didn't remember it. Thanks for letting me know.

I wanted to get a Hi-Point for the bathroom, especially after that story of Chuck de Caro coming out of the shower and being confronted with an armed robber in the motel room.

Most of the stuff on a Hi-Point that can rust is interior and can have oil on it all of time, I don't think the ZAMAK rusts from simple humidity and contact with the air.

I go out of my way to make sure the humidity from the shower doesn't go into my bedroom where I have some firearms, and I don't take a firearm with me into the bathroom because I don't want to expose it to all of that humidity.

Every so often I'll be in the shower and I'll hear a noise and I'm not sure if it is the thump of a truck outside putting down its lift gate (or something similar) or someone kicking down my door - I mean I'm in the shower and I have no clue what the noise is. I wanted to get a "bathroom only" Hi-Point. I don't think there is much on a Hi-Point that rusts, and if a part gets rusty I'll just scrub the rust and for $125.00 I don't care if it gets a little rust on it...

But the politicians in Illinois passed a melting point rule which was supposed to make me safer and I can't buy a Hi-Point

So what is a melting point rule?

It's a personal choice, of course, but my recommendation tends toward carrying the same in the home as one does out and about, perhaps without always needing cover garment, depending on the situation. I prefer a more seamless transition when leaving and arriving at home without a big shift in equipment and clothing. There are lots of times when the phone rings and I'm off to pick someone or something up (or drop someone off, etc).

Cocked & Locked said:

So what is a melting point rule?

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A person commits the offense of unlawful sale of firearms when he or she knowingly does any of the following:
sells or delivers:

a handgun having a barrel, slide, frame or receiver which is a die casting of zinc alloy or any other nonhomogeneous metal which will melt or deform at a temperature of less than 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/pub...slation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0162

C0untZer0 said:

A person commits the offense of unlawful sale of firearms when he or she knowingly does any of the following:
sells or delivers:

a handgun having a barrel, slide, frame or receiver which is a die casting of zinc alloy or any other nonhomogeneous metal which will melt or deform at a temperature of less than 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/pub...slation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0162

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Wow. I've never heard of that until this thread.

chicharrones said:

Do builders in your area use metal doors and metal door frames?

Most everything I see residentially around here are wood door frames that a dead bolt will splinter right through when given a fast walking boot next to the door knob.

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yes mostly all steel doors and frames with fox police locks ( a bar attached to the floor at an angle to the door) or four way bolts in the frame, or a lock with a bar that enters the frame on either side of the door. thats why sometimes it is just much easier to go in through the wall.

heyjoe said:

yes mostly all steel doors and frames with fox police locks ( a bar attached to the floor at an angle to the door) or four way bolts in the frame, or a lock with a bar that enters the frame on either side of the door. thats why sometimes it is just much easier to go in through the wall.

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Every time I have moved to a new place one of the first things I do is remove the screws to the strike plate and replace them with 4 inch screws. Normally they are half inch screws that don't even make it into the 2X4s.

I live in a "safe" neighborhood in a "safe" town. The front door is locked. I have two large, loud dogs. I can get to a loaded gun about the time the dogs get to the doors or windows. If it weren't for all of that I might carry at home, but it doesn't seem necessary, given the circumstances.

I do not carry at home anymore. I am considering picking up a NAA mini (again) for home carry and for deep carry when I can't dress around anything bigger.

Hi...

I have had a carry permit for many years...longer than I care to think about really.

I never carry at home but there are two large and vocal dogs in the house and I am never very far from a firearm.
The dogs will slow whoever tries to break-in long enough for me to pick up that handgun which will allow me to get to the bedroom at the rear of the house where a 12ga autoloader and semi-auto rifle stay ready at all times.

I typically wear shorts or sweats at home and they won't support a carry gun but a 1911(.45ACP) or a Colt Trooper(.357Mag) is within a step or two at all times.