When someone comes a knockin'

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My weapon (Glock 19) is always on my hip whether I am home or out and about. So I am always armed when I answer the door. We have a window at the top of our door so I can see who is there. If they look skeevy I don't answer or ask what they want without opening the door.
 
i live on a farm. that being said if im home alone and someone comes to the door knockin and it aint family. def have a 1911 tucked away from sight. and if i determine they are hostile i get the H&r pardoner with number 4 buck. they dont leave and try to come through then my pardoner will make short work of any hostiles.
 
Fortunately, I live at the North end of a 600 foot gravel driveway, . . . motion detector activates to signal all arrivals as well, . . .

I usually get a real good look at whoever is coming my way before they even get their vehicle parked.

I'm looking at getting a video system to install, . . . and just may opt for the German Shepherd before long. Age is catching up with me, . . . need to even up the odds a bit.

My 1911 is always close, . . . as well as my AR, . . .

May God bless,
Dwight
 
I am under no obligation to answer the door, any more than I'm obligated to answer a call from an unfamiliar phone number. I live in a densely-populated, and economically diverse, area with all the grief that brings. I have a weapon either holstered or in my hand when I approach the door. I never open the door without checking out the other side. This is trebly so after hours. I do not entertain often, and never real late, so no one is likely to be calling with legitimate business. Any late-night conversations will be through a closed door.
 
Good dogs can make the difference in good or bad experience with somebody at the door.
My dog makes his presence known very well, day or night. Amazing how it can discourage somebody when they know there is a dog on the other side of that door.

Naturally I have a weapon, but being well prepared is the best weapon you can ever have.
 
We've had many day-time burglaries in the area. The BG's will ring the bell, if somebody answered they would give some BS story about looking for a friend and leave, if nobody answers they'l kick in the front door and ransack the house. many times they'd encounter somebody sleeping or coming out of the shower.
That being the case, gun in hand held behind my back is my usual MO if somebody rings the bell.
 
If I don't know them, I'm armed when I go to the door. I'm prolly armed anyway. I actually had someone jump me at the front door back in February, and I was ready, and was almost...toast. I drove him off with my pistol but I paid a high price. I hurt for days. It's too soon to recount more at this time, perhaps another month and I'll be ok to talk abut it.

As prepared as I was, he still almost won. The pistol was the deciding factor, and I would not have had time to rack the slide, I had one hand available. Pepper spray would have hurt more than helped because we were at kissing distance. I'll recount it all for you guys at a later date.
 
I go to the door unarmed and look and see who is there. And N Ireland was a much more dangerous place than America. I like to live not felling that i need to be armed to go to the door or shop ect. And have mannaged to do so for 50 years.
 
N Ireland was a much more dangerous place than America
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I think we have a different flavor of danger here in the US, manta, which makes comparing the two situations difficult.

Your type of danger was certainly dangerous and deadly, but was more directed along the lines of political or sectarian differences.

We are seeing more of a random type of danger here... made worse by the economic downturn, gang violence, and a history of disrespect for law in general in our culture.
 
Quote.. think we have a different flavor of danger here in the US, manta, which makes comparing the two situations difficult.

Your type of danger was certainly dangerous and deadly, but was more directed along the lines of political or sectarian differences.

We are seeing more of a random type of danger here... made worse by the economic downturn, gang violence, and a history of disrespect for law in general in our culture.

I see what you are saying now that things have cooled down here it has one of the lowest crime rates in the UK.
 
I have a balcony that overlooks my front door. I will converse from this distance and advantage point...that is, if I decide to answer at all.

Same with phone...sometimes I don't feel like answering so I don't. Guns are nearby downstairs and upstairs.

I don't believe in warning shots. I don't believe in giving up tactical advantages by conversing. You do not belong in my house unless I invite you in and that ain't likely unless I know you or you are a service person that I know is coming because I made an appointment for you to be there.

Guns are loaded. Extra ammo within an arms reach. Both my girlfriend and I know how to shoot. And we have rehearsed what we will do in case of a breakin/home invasion.
 
And to manta49, please don't come away with the idea that Americans believe every front-door encounter is a life-threatening event. It isn't. 99.999999 percent (okay, I made that up) of our encounters are entirely benign. But here in the states, we have the right to be ready for that 0.0000001 percent when it isn't.

Plus, we can keep the king of England out of our face. :p (An American pop-culture reference, if you don't recognize it.)
 
Well, I came to make a thread about this news article, but this thread is close enough to the topic.

Answered the door at 130 AM with gun in hand, shot dead by deputies who were at the wrong house and thought he was a murder suspect... Food for thought.

IMO, it's probably never a good idea to answer the door with a gun visible in your hand or in a threatening posture. If you think whoever is on the other side of the door is that great of a threat, why are you opening the door? Holstered or maybe behind your back, I can see.
 
1. Look out the window
2. Open the door assuming it's not a crackhead.


I'm with Manta on this one.
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dont make the mistake that every home invasion/ burglary is going too look like a crackhead!
many home invasions that have happened around my area the last year (surprisingly alot) have been by people dressed in construction gear or having a female knock on the door while some guy sits around the corner of the house waiting for the door to open.
that being said I (not my wife) always answer the door if im home and yes i always have a pistol on me.
I live in a nice neighborhood but like what was stated before nice neighborhoods are typically the ones chosen for home invasions.
 
Maybe these threads make me a bit contrary but I just don't get the wartime readiness that most people on these boards espouse. Use some common sense and trust your gut. I don't let in every stranger that comes to the door and I suppose I have the benefit of a defensible doorway in an unsecluded location but either way I don't feel the need to always answer the door armed or much less be armed all 24/7. Anyway that's my dissenting view.
 
Willie, I'm with you. While I realize that each person's attitudes are shaped by his personal experiences, I have seen a lot of threads where I would swear that the posters must be living in 1980s Beirut.
 
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