Don't open your door to see who is there!

[The-Reaver]

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[shiftyer1]

My driveway is about 2 1/2 miles long, its a shared driveway but only a couple of us out here. I really don't get many wanted visitors. Late at nite I answer the door with a gun, in hand but hidden behind the wall. I have a pretty good dog who really turns on at nite, cars, cows, coyotes.......I know their coming long before they get here. In the day time, he generally wakes up as u get here.....but he will tree you

I think I posted a thread a while back about a visit I had by some jesus peddlers I had.

I would like to install a camera and am thinking of calling the electric company to install a yard light over by my shop and possibly a wireless camera.

 

[NEAL39]

Lock Your Vehicle

Most of my neighbors admitted they never lock there car when it is parked outside their residence.
That is until it was made evident that their garage door openers made it easy for anyone to access their home at any time by retrieving the garage door opener from their vehicle.
At least lock your vehicle or remove the garage door opener.

Neal 39

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

Home security

A very difficult subject indeed.

Fortunatly for me, I dont have children in my house. I have three adults, and four doggies. So I leave guns in strategic places. not in plain site, but places. Where-by I can grab that from just about anywhere in my house and unload if need be. I would decribe the location of these pieces, but that would sort of defeat the purpose. That said, I used to manage sales poeple at a home security company. It's called protect america. Its a decent company with lower prices. Service though... errr... yeah I dont work there anymore anyways. But being in that industry I learned a LOT about the whole break in process. For instance. If you live out in the country you HAD BETTER have a gun. Because even in a congested city it can take 30 minutes for police to arrive to a situation. That aside. The odds of someone breaking in while you are home is minimal. Even still, I have guns throughout my home. My girlfriend and my friend who lives with me know where they are, knows they're loaded, and how to use them properly. Preparedness is key for a situation like that. Stay safe my friends.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

90% of car thieves, car burglars, garage thieves, house burglars are opportunists, lazy and stupid: the least you can do is often enough to stop them: lock you car, garage and house doors.

I don't expect to targeted by thieves with the sophistication of Ocean's Umpteen or cat burglars out of a Hitchcock movie.

However, psycho druggies like the locals who stabbed an Iraq war vet to death over his pain meds, or the beat a couple to death with a baseball bat in their home in a botched drug trade, can tell I have a wheelchair ramp on the front porch (hard to hide that) and deduce there may be meds inside.

When I installed deadbolts on the front and rear door, instead of using the packaged 1.5" screws for the frame plates, I used decking screws securing the plates to the frame and to the inner 2x4 door framing. And a peep hole.

 

[Kleanbore]

Posted by The-Reaver: Imagine this. [pointing a firearm through the door] while saying. Hello? Who are you? What can I help you with?

Downright idiotic, and I hope it is offered as a bad joke.

Unjustifiable, potentially ineffective, violates Rule II, and legally indefensible, risking a situation involving civil gross negligence, criminal negligence or worse.

 

[The-Reaver]

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[Kleanbore]

Posted by The-Reaver: If you read the rules of THR I have done nothing wrong.....I haven't posted any negative images or said anything that my grandmother wouldn't be proud of.

I do not know your grandmother, but you have posted something that most people among the general public would likely find repugnant and irresponsible, and that reflects poorly on THR, and it could damage general support for the right to keep and bear arms. That is a rules violation. Read and heed this.

We have chosen to neither warn nor infract.

Guess we all grew up being taught differently.

When we handle a weapon, what we grew up being taught is just the beginning. It is incumbent upon all of us that we stay knowledgeable of the relevant laws in our respective jurisdictions--and that we learn something about prudent defensive tactics.

When we point a firearm at someone without lawful justification and when that person remains ignorant of our having dome so, we probably have the basis for a pretty good defense against an assault charge. But what does the case law in our jurisdiction hold in the event that the facts should come out?

And should something happen that injures anyone without the defense of a reasonable belief of immediate necessity, we would have sealed our own fate.

Answering a door with a gun held behind one's back was properly described as boneheaded. Answering a door with a gun pointed where we believe an unidentified person on the other side might be standing is much worse. Should anything untoward happen, one's having posted such a recommendation in a public forum could be very damaging indeed.

Either way, one is faced with the question of what to do with the firearm before opening the door.

There have been some rather sound recommendations in this thread.

One of them was contained in a video link that did recommend asking the visitor what he or she wanted, but the recommendation was to not stay in one place, and to not stand in front of the door. Bullets can penetrate a door in either direction.

Here it is again.

 

[bubba in ca]

Not responding to a stranger can be a mistake. Once upon a time we had the doorbell ring late at night. We carefully looked thru the window to see who could possibly be there that late. Well, it was somebody hiding his face behind the front gate column. When we said nothing, he assumed the house was empty and proceeded to fiddle with the padlock on the gate and whistle to a friend on the corner. Not the reaction we expected!

I went for my weapon and my wife went for the cell pnone to call the cops. Since she couldn´t see the dial in the dark, she turned on the lights, at which time they fled immediately. The police responded about 20 minutes later from the station about 4 blocks away. We were surprized at the quick responce.

Better approach would have been to have weapon in hand, turn on the lights, and yell to them from in the house that we were calling the police.

Having a gate between your house and the street is also a very good idea. The more obstacles for them, the better.

 

[Kleanbore]

Posted by bubba in ca: Not responding to a stranger can be a mistake.

Yes indeed, and for any one of a number of reasons. Better to ascertain who it is and communicate with them.

With today's technology, that can be done with a high degree of safety.

 

[jrdolall]

Any "obstacle" you can put between you and a criminal will help deter a would-be thief. A gate that must be opened and may squeak. A motion sensor light. An alarm system(or just a sign). While none of these is a guarantee to turn away a criminal they can help deter "casual criminals". The ones that are looking for easy targets which is probably 90% of them.
On a gun forum we tend to look at the gun as the ultimate deterrent but all the little things you can do prior to actually needing a gun are the key to success here. If you actually have to show a gun then it is PROBABLY because you didn't do everything you could to deter the criminal. Of course there is no way to stop a determined criminal from commiting a crime. None of us can be ready 100% of the time even though we like to think we can.

 

[herrwalther]

I know statistically motion activated outdoor lights deter criminals. Years ago when the lights weren't as popular I could understand them. "I am sneaking around and no one is home. Darn! Light turned on. They must be home or they see me." Now every company and its brother makes motion activated lights. My problem with outdoor lights is you are basically holding their flashlight while they jimmy open the lock.

My preference is motion sensors attached to indoor lights and alarms. They detect something moving outside, they set off a tone and/or light indoors. And they can be picked up off the shelf at Home Depot. Much better tactical option in my opinion.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Lights, cactus plants, dead bolts a good dog, and some common sense will keep you safe.

 

[thorazine]

I don't have a dog but I do have a fancy large dog bowl that says "Killer" placed conspicuously outside the front door.

For I figure what you don't know might just hurt you.

 

[Certaindeaf]

A peep-hole is like $2. Many people don't have them nor use them.

 

[usurp31]

I like the mention of 'cactus plants' - too funny and oh so true.

 

[Certaindeaf]

What does cacti, dogs, yada have to do with "don't open your door until you see who's there"? Granted, shootings/attacks have happened regarding "friends"/known people that have been identified, but that's another question/posit/issue.

 

[Yelovitz_503]

Recently I had a knock at my door (around 530pm) and was expecting my wife to be home soon so I just opened up the door. To my surprise there were two people I didn't know standing there, I didn't open the screen door but spoke to them through it and defused the situation. It turns out they were something called "Mormons", the exchange went something like this
"Do you have any religious background"
(me) "No."
"Well what are some of the things that are most important to you in your life right now?"
(me) "Privacy." [Door closed]

After dark I wouldn't have just thrown the door open like I did but I also had my Glock 19 on me so I wasn't too worried there. I agree it was foolish that the old folks opened up their door so late, especially for people they didn't know. That's why you issue what police call "the challenge" and call through the door something like "who's there" for example.