To open the door - Or NOT to open the door - that is the question

[Girodin]

I have an intercom and would ask what they want through that.

If they said there was some problem I would volunteer to call the police for them. If there is a real problem then that is what is needed. If they are up to no good then police need to be there. There is no real need to open the door.

Here is a news article that illustrates why I would not open the door in the middle of the night to a stranger.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10103797

 

[bleachcola]

There is a million reasons why somebody could need you to open the door. Many times it could be something that can't wait long enough for the police, who would then have to radio for an ambulance. The man in that article acted poorly. Just bc he didn't properly handle the situation doesn't mean we can't. If he had a gun in his hand and stayed with her as she came in, you can bet she would probably do something to call off the situation with her accomplice. Be prepared and be aware. But realize that accidents can happen to good people and there may come a time where someone will rely on you to save a life. An isolated crime here and there shouldn't scare you into paranoia.

 

[stevemis]

Here, doors do not open to unknown individuals at any time under any circumstances. There's an intercom at the door for screening purposes. Note... out here in the country, unannounced visitors are extremely rare.

 

[Bitswap]

Something disturbing has been happeing in Phoenix, AZ lately regarding this thread.

Illegal aliens have been dressing up in official police uniforms. These are asassin squads that wear body armor and wield ar-15s. It is rumered some of these guys were ex-mexican military.

But now the possibility of an 'official' at my door will cause me to call 911 and verify that he is not a BG.

Not suprisingly, the mayor and local publications who are pro-illegal have not given these events too much, if any, coverage. And when they do, they leave out important facts.

 

[Girodin]

There is a million reasons why somebody could need you to open the door.

How many of them involve ME needing the door open? If they responded that there was an emegency they needed an ambulance etc I would call 911 and they'd get there as soon as possible. How would me opening my door get an ambulance there more quickly than me walking directly to my phone and calling 911? Given the location of the local fire department there would be some one with more training than I there in less than 5 minutes. An ambulance or an officer on the way is going to do more to help most problems than me opening my door. Furhter based on where I live it would be really odd for some stranger to need me to open my door.

I carry a pistol at home, keep a long gun real close and have a rottwieler but I'm still not opening the door to someone I dont know in the middle of the night. I never want any of them to need to be employed in my defense. Keeping the door closed is infinately preferable to shooting someone or having them mauled by my dog. Protecting me and mine (in all the sense of the word protect ie from trama of a shooting, expense of a trial, etc etc) trumps strangers every time. I wont say there that one couldn't concoct some scenerio that might be an exception to the rule (most probably wouldn't necesitate a simple door opening either) but for the most part there is simply no need for me to open my door.

 

[Hardtarget]

I open the door. My wife does not.
She is 5'...I'm 6'/ 200# and with a .45 I don't miss much inside four feet.
Depending on the time, a knock might raise some suspicion, but I'd rather "nip it in the bud"...( thanks Barny). If there is trouble lets take care of it right now.

Mark.

 

[Guns and more]

There is a million reasons why somebody could need you to open the door.

In 1960, "Yes, come in, how can I help you?"
In 2008, "I've called 911, stay there."
You tell me what's changed. We all know what it is.

 

[easyg]

Almost never.

If it is one of my neighbors, yes.
Otherwise, no.
Besides, I live at the end of a culdesac, a person would have to bypass about ten houses to get to mine....surely anyone is distress would have knocked at the first house they came to.

 

[Defensory]

Posted by stevemis:
Here, doors do not open to unknown individuals at any time under any circumstances.

Ding, ding, ding! We've got a winner!

I vote "Never", which unfortunately wasn't a choice on the poll.

You have to ascend quite a few steps to get to my front door. There's a window [well off the ground] about five feet to the side of the door.

I can stand in the area between the door and window, reach over and open the window with one hand, then speak to whoever is on the porch without them being able to see me.

If some thug wants to shoot through the door or window, he won't hit me.

I don't fall for the old "damsel in distress at the door at 1:AM in the morning" scam. I'll be happy to immediately call 911 on my cellphone for her or anybody else who might be out there on my porch.

But that door isn't coming open for any strangers, any time of day or night.

 

[CharlesAFerg]

What about if you come to your door late at night, without your holster and your firearm at your side - and it's a police officer standing there.

A friend of mine came to the door with a knife behind his back, and there was a police officer at his door with an H&K MP5, apparently there was a gang shooting, so they were looking for suspects and telling residents to stay inside.

 

[ronto]

They would never get past my Blue Heeler with a very bad attitude to knock on the door in the first place.

However, in theory, I would not open the door to a stranger. With my Security-Six in hand, I would quietly go out the back door and come up behind 'em. Never do what they expect you to do.

 

[hdrk1955]

The door dosn't open after sunset, unless my mother-in-law coming, then it dosn't open at all.........

 

[Treo]

With my Security-Six in hand, I would quietly go out the back door and come up behind 'em.

I don't think I quite read that right, does any one else see

With my Security-Six in hand, I would quietly go out the back door And get myself killed when I come around the side of my house and run into the 8 guys I didn't see from the window

Or am I the only one that read that?

 

[ilbob]

I am surprised there is even a question about the proper answer to this question.

You make an evaluation of the risk first, then decide what to do. Just like everything else you do every day.

A guy in a UPS uniform with a package in his hand, and a UPS van out front is a low risk. A couple hoodlum looking types are a high risk.

 

[Defensory]

ronto:

Far and away the best thing to do is stay in the house. The only thing you should be doing at the back door, is making sure it's locked and that nobody is out back. Use a peephole or window, don't unlock the door and go outside.

Have your loaded weapon of choice on you and call the authorities, even if you're "way out in the sticks". My county has both a County Police agency and a County Sheriff's department that frequently patrol the more remote areas of the county. There's a respectable chance that they'll have an officer on patrol in my general area if I need them.

 

[TallPine]

Have your loaded weapon of choice on you and call the authorities, even if you're "way out in the sticks". My county has both a County Police agency and a County Sheriff's department that frequently patrol the more remote areas of the county. There's a respectable chance that they'll have an officer on patrol in my general area if I need them.

Our county sheriff deputies never patrol out here in our neighborhood.

The only time they will come out here is for a specific reason: papers to serve, an accident, ambulance call, or altercation. Most of the time they can't even find an address without help

 

[Defensory]

TallPine:

If time and circumstances permit, it's still best to call the authorities and request assistance. Give them any information you might have regarding suspect descriptions etc.

 

[rainbowbob]

I vote "Never", which unfortunately wasn't a choice on the poll.

Only because whenever we make absolutist statements they are usually proven not to be absolute by one exception or another.

 

[Defensory]

Posted by rainbowbob:
Only because whenever we make absolutist statements they are usually proven not to be absolute by one exception or another.

Since you don't know everybody at THR personally, you're making a baseless assumption, Bob.

I don't open the door for strangers, period.

Salesmen and panhandlers are met with a friendly greeting (through the window) like "Get off my property now, and don't come back."

A guy from the volunteer fire department used to come by occasionally to beg for a contribution. I spoke to him through the window, and advised him I wouldn't be contributing, but assured him that if they ever save my house from a fire, I'll write them a very generous contribution check for services rendered.

 

[Retired_Fed]

My porch has 2 layers of security doors...one out front at which one must ring a bell to be buzzed through to the second security screen door that is actually at my front door.

I installed a rather inexpensive all weather camera on the eve of the porch that looks at the front security gate, that is hooked up to a "back up monitor" commonly found in RV's and soccer mom cars, which is wall-mounted right next to my front door. I can see the entire front of my home from the vantage point of that camera.

The 6' fence that surrounds my back yard is attached to the house at either side of the front of the house, and in that fenced area is likely to be my rottweiler or my german sheperd, or BOTH. They have a dog door from the kitchen that lets them run in or out of the house as they please, as well as one on the side of my attached garage which allows them access to the garage, and the door to the kitchen, as well as a dog door through the front door to the enclosed porch. Havoc and Chaos truly have the run of the house. My front yard is all cacti, thorned mesquite, and no place you really TRY want to walk through...

That being said, a NO TRESPASSING/NO SOLICITING sign is prominently posted in the front yard...thus, I get VERY FEW strangers at my door. If someone DOES ring the front buzzer...the dogs are usually at the gate before I can get to the monitor anyway.

I don't worry too much about opening my front door.

 

[Defensory]

Just having dual-bulb motion sensor floodlights near your front and back doors, will work wonders to deter intruders.

The newer models have advanced technology that won't turn the lights on if a small dog, cat or other similar-sized critter walks across your yard at night.

 

[jeepmor]

Who else is going to tell them the definition of soliciting?

 

[bobbarker]

i'm fortunate to have my kitchen window, literally within reach of the front door(from the outside.) Someone knocks, I talk to them through the window. I carry in home, so, if he pulls something, I can drop behind the counter for concealment. If he tries coming through the window at me, he has to go over the counter. Either way, I got time to give him my welcoming 5.7

 

[GatorDude]

First, I'd have to run through my stereotypes list. Does person look like --
A) Someone I've seen on COPS or AMW?
B) Someone I saw in that movie Deliverence?
C) Minority male Age (16-25)?

I would not pretend I wasn't home because the door knock might be a burglar trying to see if my apartment was unoccupied. If the peephole revealed A, B, or C, then I'd get my 9mm before opening the door. Otherwise, we have a can of mace and a maglight prepositioned near the door. I'm 6'2" and over 350-lbs and I had extensive martial arts training many years ago. I'm not worried about an immediate fight in the doorway. I'd be worried about a heart attack or something after the fight.

 

[rainbowbob]

I'm 6'2" and over 350-lbs and I had extensive martial arts training many years ago. I'm not worried about an immediate fight in the doorway.

Thanks for the post GatorDude. Please help me understand your line of thinking. I assume you are joking about the stereotypes? But perhaps you mean you would make a decision to have your firearm before opening the door based on your gut feeling about who you saw at the door? OK. But why open the door at all in that case?

If you don't see "A,B, or C" you say you would open the door without being worried about a fight in the doorway. But if you are wrong about the person at your door and open it to an attacker, surely you don't believe you are impervious to a blade or a bullet because of your mace, maglight, body size or martial arts training?