Something great(sarcasm) happened... need advice.

[reagansquad]

The other day 2 'magazine salesmen' came by and were very pushy with my fiance. They wanted to come in and 'use the table for their presentation' while she was the only one home. She told them to get lost. Well tonight on the news, it turns out they caught a rapist going door to door posing as a magazine salesman. Now she's not big on CC and refuses to carry OC or anything... I'm not going to lie, she's definatly a sheeple, but I still love her. My question to you, aside from going to the office and requesting some sort of additional lock-mechanism for the door and a peep hole, do you think it'd be a good idea to hang a bottle of OC by the door for her in case something like this happens again? Any other ideas? THANKS!

 

[nhhillbilly]

NRA's Refuse to be a victim program will give her options. Most people think it is about guns. Only about 10minutes or less is about guns. It is mostly about common sense precautions.

 

[Griff]

Niiiiiice doggy....

 

[Declaration Day]

I wonder if a 'No Soliciting' sign would work?

 

[stv]

First off, file a police report if you haven't!

Secondly, a peephole is a great idea. All doors should have them, imo - they're great for maintaining a buffer between you and a stranger. I gather you live in an apartment building?

 

[hoppinglark]

door siren?

maybe one of those door sirens? and hand held siren.
Door club (at the bottom) and a chain or latch(at the top) so she (and YOU!)
can open the door a little bit, but still be "safe"
Motion activated light?

I'm guessing you live in an apartment?

 

[DigMe]

That's a typical sales tactic for door-to-door salesmen because they know that if you let them in half the battle is won and it's going to be hard to get them out. I once had a (rather attractive) female magazine saleswoman come to my door when I was in college and she said can I come in and just borrow a corner of your table. I think she was fully expecting me to say yes because she seemed shocked when I said "no". She said "You mean No, you're not interested?" and I said "No, you can't come in." She got angry and left.


brad cook

 

[NMshooter]

No need for her to answer the door for strangers. If she is in a similar situation in the future (where she has already opened the door) make sure she understands she can and should close the door as soon as she feels uncomfortable about the people she is dealing with. If nothing else, keep a door wedge by the door, placed where she can kick it under, so that if she cannot close the door completely she has a chance of keeping them out. Make sure she is aware of escape routes and is ready to use them.

 

[NukemJim]

Niiiiiice doggy....

I would respectfully suggest changing the above slightly to

Niiiiiice BIG doggy....

But even a small dog is better than no dog.

NukemJim

 

[Denko]

The peep hole in the door and pepper spray is a good start.The main problem is her attitude.The peep hole will do no good if she opens the door to strangers.She is under no obligation to open her door to anyone,see if you can get her to realize that.It would be very easy for one or more attackers to overpower her as she answers the door.She may not have time to use pepper spray or even scream.It is very difficult to get some people out of the sheeple(professional victim) mentality,at least that has been my experience.Good luck.

 

[YammyMonkey]

Maybe you could drill a second hole under the peep hole and rig up a can of Fox spray so that if someone does open the door a little to talk to whomever is there, they'd have a quick defensive measure to use while trying to close the door. And salesmen would quickly learn not to visit that house.

But yeah, don't answer the door, get a (big) dog and get her out of the victim mentality.

 

[hillbilly]

reagansquad, I understand your desire to protect a person you love.

But there is a bitter truth you need to realize.

If your fiance really, truly is a sheeple, as you yourself wrote, then it won't make any difference what types of tools or technologies you provide for her.

The most effective, and most necessary tool for self-defense is a human brain with the will and desire to resist at all costs.

A brain with that mindset could easily defend itself with a gallon jar of dill pickles, or a rolled-up magazine, or a hammer, or just a stick of firewood.

A brain that has the outlook of a sheeple would be complete defenseless behind locked steel vault doors, concertina wire, and a tripod-mounted .50 caliber machine gun.

If you really want to help your fiance, you need to work on her mindset first. If she doesn't have the proper attitude and outlook, none of the other stuff will matter at all.

hillbilly

 

[grislyatoms]

Baseball in a long sock is an easily constructed, unobtrusive weapon that is pretty darn effective.

Tell her not to answer the door. I never answer my door, unless I am expecting someone. Anyone I know worth opening my door to knows me well enough to call well ahead of time, and leave a message. I don't answer the phone, either.

Loud dog is a good idea, as long as it barks only when appropriate.

 

[P95Carry]

Loud dog is a good idea, as long as it barks only when appropriate.

Failing that - a tape recorder with the sounds of a large (not happy) Rotty .... set and cued ready to play ....... kept by front door.

Play as required, with additions of perhaps ....''Settle down Butch ... settle down''!

Re your wife's sheeple nature ...... work at it bit by bit ... maybe present her with various scenarios and ask her what she would do in each .... plus, how she would like them to play out, as against how she sees they might play out. Somehow, she needs to see her vulnerability and then be encouraged to see what courses of action would be best.

 

[XLMiguel]

I have found that answering the door with my 1911 visible ( in hand or in the waistband) generally leads to whomever at the door accepting the first 'no thanks, not interesed".

I deeply resent some moron putting me in the position of being rude on my own doorstep because they can't figure out what 'no soliciting' means.

 

[reagansquad]

Got a 125 pound lab/mastif... His old owner used to beat the crap out of him, so I'm not sure how much help he'd be. If something went down, he might just hide in the corner and pee on himself.

Also got a 7 pound toy poodle who would bark his head off. haha.

 

[38SnubFan]

My ideas...

Reagansquad,

I'm with almost everyone else here is that you need to work on getting rid of the "sheeple" mindset of your significant other. If you don't get past that, no self-defense tool in the world, be it gun, OC, or even a baseball bat or nearby lamp is going to help her.

1st rule: DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR FOR STRANGERS! We teach our children that, and it should be a lifelong lesson. Unless I'm expecting someone, the first words out of my mouth are going to be, "Who is it?" If it is someone stating to be a salesperson, the response is, "Go away!" If they don't go away, it's going to be followed by a call to 911 to have them removed (unless they get past the door by force, to which force gets dealt with by force).

2nd rule: If you ARE going to answer the door, even if expecting someone, only open it so far to allow eye contact. A chain/latch to prevent the door being opened completely from the outside or, better yet, a peephole is the best bet for this.

Even if the "sheeple" concept is not cured, I DO think that OC spray or similar object would be a good idea. If she does in that moment decide to stop being scared and start being vigilant, then the tool is there to help her. Even if she's not big about concealed carry, if she is willing and able to learn to use a firearm safely, then get a gun to keep in a drawer nearby, just in case the OC or bat is ineffective for such a situation.

You'd be suprised at how even the timidest of creatures react when backed against the wall in fear of their life!

-38

 

[reagansquad]

I think that's good advice, thank you.

Before we met she was one of those anti-gun, never been exposed to real crime, guns cause the problem not criminals, neo-liberals. I think she still has a tiny bit of that "weapons cause the problems" mentality, therefore is a little scared of using one herself... Though she will shoot the .22, though unless you are a sharp marksman, that's not much of a weapon.

I'm going to call the office here as soon as I get out of the shower and request that they install a heavy duty chain lock and peep hole. Next paycheck, some Fox OC is getting ordered... 2, 1 for her keychain and 1 to hang on the hook by the door where we keep the dog leashes.

 

[Zundfolge]

I wonder if a 'No Soliciting' sign would work?

A friend of mine got tired of door to door salesmen pestering him and put up a "No Soliciting" sign ... when door to door salesmen showed up he would point at the sign ... most of them didn't know what the word "Soliciting" meant.

So he put up a sign that said "Salesmen will be shot ... survivors shot twice!" .... never had another solicitor.

 

[Sleuth]

As a former apartment dweller, let me suggest:
1. Go to the office and ask that they put up some NO TRESSPASSING, PIRVATE PROPERTY signs.
2. Send them a letter making the same request. Urge them to prosicute the next solicitor, and point out that their failure to post the property exposes you and your lady to possible harm. Include a copy of the newspaper report about the raper. (Keep a copy) They are now on legal notice that it is their responsibility to keep unwanted people off the grounds.
3. Door chains will only work against those unwilling to use force. A good kick or shove with a shoulder will rip most of them out of the wood!
4. A quiet campaign of pointing out bad things happening to good people in your area, as reported in the paper, can start to turn a sheeple into a people.
5. Make sure your lady understands that you worry about her, and are doing this because you love her. Just like a first aid kit, the OC on the doorknob (or the gun, even a .22, in the drawer), are there for her safety.
6. If she will shoot your .22, include it on more outings. Then see if she likes a particular .22, and buy her a 'present' so you can both shoot at the same time.

Good luck. I married well, my wife is a good shot, and understands that some people are oxygen thieves, and that, as Ted Nugent put it, we have a sacred duty to protect our lives.

 

[Kevmo327]

I will usually never answer the door for a stranger and my wife refuses to...She is somewhat inimiadted by guns but gettng better but does have spray in her car and near the door.

A few years ago I had the misfortune of being Pres of my HOA and as a result I had more than one angry neighbor try to barge in my home and rip me a new one...It was about that time I carried openly when answering the door and made sure they noticed...I am not one for intimidating and my physical prescence is usally enoough for that but in this case I wanted them to know that I was armed and that any anger directed towards me or my family would be dealt with appropriastly (i had my life threatened and cars drive over my lawn...it wasnt fun)

 

[YammyMonkey]

When yoiu do answer the door, make sure you're wearing sturdy shoes and wedge one against the bottom of the door. Dig the heel into the floor and firmly press toes against the door. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Unfortunately it's an apartment, otherwise you could get some angle iron to help beef up the door frame for one of those hotel-style door bars. Better than a chain, but that's not saying much.

 

[Heraclitus]

Niiiiice alien face hugger.

(Where can I get me one of those?)

 

[SoCalGeek]

I don't really think I can say much that hasn't already been said, other than to agree with most of the others. If you don't already, keep a loaded gun accessible for this sort of thing. A lot of violent home invasions involve strangers ringing the doorbell for one false reason or another. If your wife hasn't been convinced by this whole situation, try and talk her into learning how to use it effectively. If she absolutely refuses to use the gun, at least a pepper spray. A handgun is unobtrusive enough that it can be out-of-sight,out-of-mind most of the time but ready to go in a second if she needs it, and a pepper spray can ride in her pocket most of the time, and probably doesn't require any sort of permit to carry in public. A few boxes of self-defense ammo or cans of pepper spray are a very small investment to make for someone you love.

Look at the good side of this incident, it's one hell of a wakeup call and your wife wasn't hurt.

 

[FMarlon]

Just thought i'd share my experience with my wife and self defense.

Shes a small gal, 5 ft 2 inches, and about 130 if her clothes are full of water

We had a knock on the door one night late while house sitting for her parents.

I was asleep and she walked over to the dodr to peek out the peephole and as she got to the door, it flew open and knocked her aside.

I feel as tho I should point out that she was holding our then infant daughter in her arms and was none too happy.

Well, I had left my softball ball by the door along with my cleats.

She set down the kid and as she got up to confront the as yet seen assailant, she grabbed one of my size 13 cleats.

The man who had shoved the door open did so with sufficient force to rip the door frame to shreds and I was woken up by the sound, even tho I was on the other side of the house with the bedroom door closed.

Well he came all the way in and she was already on her feet at the time. she didnt know who she was, so with a roar of anger and outrage that would make ghengis khan blush began to beat said intruder about the head and shoulders with my cleat.

I arrived on scene to see him lying on the front porch bleeding, crying and begging me to call the 911 for an ambulance.

I did so, and kept watch over him till the police arrived holding my softball bat.

Turns out the guy had just broken into the house across the street and beaten and raped the little old lady that lived there.

The moral of the story is that even small, timid people can turn into scarily aggressive fighters.

She still wont let me teach her to shoot at the range. I guess she feels she can defend herself sufficiently. I am inclined to agree with her generally. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. That we saw when looking at a house last month. read the story here

(As a side note, the police gave the third degree when questioning her as if she had invited him to smash the door open. But thats another story entirely.)