Someone at the door

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My problem right now is training my two little boys not to run to the door and stick their faces in the side window to see who is ringing the doorbell. More than once a little rear has been popped for not listening to daddy. My wife thinks I'm nuts, but I argued that if a perp wants to start something, does she want her children in the immediate vicinity?
Hard to train 3 and 5 year-olds when they are as stubborn as their daddy, but they'll eventually get it, like I did with my dad.

I answer the door with my out of sight right arm ready to jack the door closed at the first sign of difficulty, like someone stepping on my porch. Stay on the walk, and we'll talk. Firearm within reach after that.
 
Paranoia is a disease, it can be cured. First off, quit watching violent shows...... TV will brainwash ya.
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I wonder if the doctor I know who ended up with a bullet in his brain when he answered the door (disgruntled employee the doc had held off duty) watched too much TV. I doubt it, since he wasn't paranoid enough to figure out who was at the door before openining.

I wonder if the family of my aunt's neighbors watched TV. Again, I doubt it, since if they had, the husband would have been too paranoid to open the door and end up being murdered by the thief who had knocked.

There are many such "knock and robs" and similar home invasions in this country every year. It's not paranoia to prepare for something that has real chance of occurring.
 
If this is your way of life, moving to a better location is my advise.

The outside light shows me who is there, the dogs let me know if they are friends or unknowns. Where I live we dont worry much about that kinda stuff. Paranoia is a disease, it can be cured. First off, quit watching violent shows...... TV will brainwash ya.
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The Dartmouth professors lived in a very nice neighborhood. Nice and "safe".
http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/young/dartmouth_murders/1.html

This is from page 15 of that story. It's the guy they had first intended as their victim. It's a good thing he was paranoid.
The suspicious homeowner told Rob he could not use the phone and Rob saw the man through a window standing in the doorway and holding a gun.
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No one is saying you have to stand in the doorway and be confrontational with all visitors. If you think something is odd then answer the door in a friendly manner, but be comforted that you have a tool on you to defend yourself should things go bad.
 
We answer our door by opening it and delivering a hailstorm of lead, just in case. We've also trained our kids to run and hide under their steel-reinforced beds whenever the front door bell rings, to heck with childlike curiosity and friendliness, best they learn early, we pop 'em in the buttcheeks with a .22 as a reminder, that's how it's done in Eastern, PA.
 
My wife made fun of me for installing a peep-hole in our front door. She gives me a hard time for being "paranoid" (aka: I lock the doors and turn on the alarm at night). Compared to most people on this forum, I am living dangerously... to her I'm a paranoid freak.

At the time, either her or her mother was home alone with the baby during the day (yup, thats right... the mother-in-law comes to OUR house and babysits! It rocks). I don't understand how taking easy precautions is paranoid. I don't lose sleep over worrying. I don't see why they should answer the door for someone they don't know while they are home alone with the baby. Best case scenario is its a door-to-door solicitor and I try avoiding them anyway.


So to answer the question... I don't answer the door for people I don't know unless its UPS and I am expecting a package.
 
I believe I've mentioned my paranoia on another thread, but whenever I answer the door, I have my Mossy leaning behind a door frame which is within 9 feet or so of my door.

Once I get a stub-nosed, ill start opening the door all the way for people I dont know.

You know, mostly its about awareness. If I look out my window and see three unmarked black sedans, im probably going to have to shoot it out with someone. Likewise, if I see the telephone van, I get less paranoid.
 
Some of you ought to be arrested! I think my psyche has been permanently scarred through viewing this thread.:eek:

From my current house, I can see anyone at the front door without them seeing me and if I don’t know them, I just don’t answer the door. They usually just go away.

In the old days, in some of the old neighborhoods, it got a little more exciting.
 
My wife made fun of me for installing a peep-hole in our front door.
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using the peep hole is dangerous, bad guys have been known to shoot through them.

OK seriously, why worry...if your infrared surveillance system is working properly, you will know who is approaching before the bell is even rung...if it is a BG (who are usually disguised in Girls Scout uniforms), just blow the claymores before she (he) even gets to the porch...then just relax, crack a cold one, and post here about your experience


WildhoneywhyistheirhamburgerwrappedinauniformonthewalkAlaska ™
 
Wild,

You're correct in that BG's have been known to watch the peep hole and fire thru the door when the "light goes out".

So the trick is to put a 3M Post-it Note sheet over the inside of the peephole to keep it dark. Or even tape a 3x5 card there. Once your shadow covers the hole, lift & look. From outside they can't tell.

I'm in a townhome complex and around me, all but one family are off at work during the day. So I always answer the door with some kind of defensive tool (day or night) out of sight.

Like someone else said, open the door partially and keep a foot behind it to delay any forced entry. If the person at the door appears to be a potential threat (like those magazine salesmen who look like ex-cons) the weapon is in my hand behind my thigh.
 
My house is 600 feet from the road and there are houses closer in all directions. If they come up my driveway, there's a reason. I have a driveway bell and a loud dog that alert us that someone is coming. If it's the UPS or FedEx truck, I usually go outside unarmed :eek: If it's a car I don't recognize, I'll be packing under an un-tucked shirt or light jacket and I'll meet them outside. This is partly so they won't go to the wrong door. Our house looks like it's been added onto several times and nobody seems to ever go the the front door. It's also to put more distance between them and my family.

If someone comes looking sketchy, I usually exit a back door and approach them from an unexpected angle. That way, I see them before they see me. I can usually figure out how many people there are and what they want before I give away who I am. I could always tell them that I'm just the guy who cuts the hay and that I don't have access to the house if my spidey-sense is going crazy. This also allows my family to keep the house locked up and observe what happens from relative safety. If everything goes south, they would be able to get into a better defensive position, arm themselves and call 911. I might also be able to retreat to one of several outbuildings and hide (if the family wasn't home). There are also some heavier weapons in some of the outbuildings should the need arise.

Call me paranoid if you wish but I have friends who have been victimized because they lived life in condition white. I live in condition yellow. Pilots call it "situational awareness" and it's a good habit to get into.
 
We installed a bay window just to the right and 1/2 level up from the front door and always answer the door through the side window by the bay window. The outside is brick so cover is automatic - don't have to show much of ourselves and it would be an awkward angle to shoot upwards to the left from the front door.

If it's someone we know, we let them in. All others are spoken to only through the window - lots of advantages especially with sales persons or those who would "save our souls" because I frequently have to tell them to speak up to be heard over the barking dogs. They usually just throw up their hands and leave.

Here's wife Bonnie and the welcoming committee answering the door -

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It also gives an answer if any one is "casing" the house for a later visit and I don't worry over the "Castle Doctrine" - well, I don't worry about that anyway.;)

:D
 
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I generally answer the door with my RIA 1911 conceiled. Alot easier than trying to open the door with my AR15 in my hands.:D
 
I almost always carry at home, so chances are my carry weapon du jour will be on my hip anytime I answer the door.

If I'm sitting on the couch and the 'home invastion crew' kicks my front door or my back door in, I want to know -exactly- where my pistol is and approximately how long (+/- 2 sec) it will take me to draw it and put a round on target.
 
In my opinion the BG's can and do count on human nature to aid them in their crimes. Just because someone at your door is in decent clothes means nothing. A gun kept for defense has to be with you to be of any use.
 
I think he was kidding about the peephole, but I do have that covered...

The porch light is on a timer so its always on when its dark out. The inside light is never turned on by the door, so it is always light outside and dark inside. This is purposefully so they don't know someone is checking on the door.
 
Don't watch t.v. says he.

I haven't watched broadcast t.v. since March '01. That's right, no antenna, no cable and no satelite. I don't miss t.v. in the least...well...maybe the educational stuff.

I am guilty of watching movies from time to time. I prefer crime and professional killer movies. :D

However, I started this thread because I was burning time at TFL and I get a knock at the door. I am not expecting anybody and all it takes is to screw up once to die before you plan on it. So I answer with a pistol hidden behind my back and my body against the door in case I have to slam it shut.

I am not a social, people person and I don't want uninvited persons at my door to start with.
 
My apologies to the OP but I think you are too trusting. Suspicious knocks 'round here are answered with a revolver.

Pistols can be pushed out of battery at across the doorjam range. A revolver becomes more effective when fired at contact range.

Given the rise of home invasions I don't think it is paranoid in the least. On one occasion a process server at the wrong address ( I live on North she was looking for South..) almost went bad.

She must have been an ex-cop or something because she "read" my hand behind the back and started to reach under her coat as if going for a strongside rig. Apparently she thought better of it and told me what she was doing.

As she was dressed rather rough, it could have gone bad. I have learned from that encounter to take pains to expose as little as possible when asnwering unscheduled callers at the door.
 
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