Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
These crooks are smart. They will scout the area for houses that are empty and then they will strike. Our neighbor was out of town that time and was broken into twice in 2 weeks. The crooks broke their glass sliding door at the back and took all they can carry to their truck. One of our neighbor witnessed it and even called the police twice but the crooks are in and out within 5 minutes. Unfortunately, they parked their truck in a dark area close to the house. The house alarm system was also buzzing that time(I guess they don't pay for monitoring). The police arrived after 20mins. If you witness an ongoing crime, I think you are better off calling 911.
My favorite is the unscrupulous door-to-door vendors. When they come, I open the door and immediate walk right out to them, in their personal space. Not only does it promptly get me out of the house and into a safer environment, but they inevitably have to take a quick step back, and, in my case this is also a step down which is usually very distracting for them. It totally changes the balance of power versus cowering behind a half-opened door.
I keep my gun in my hand, hidden behind that half-opened door
Only time that did not feel like a good door-opening strategy was when a couple of men from the Secret Service came to talk to us about our identity theft.
My favorite is the unscrupulous door-to-door vendors. When they come, I open the door and immediate walk right out to them, in their personal space. Not only does it promptly get me out of the house and into a safer environment, but they inevitably have to take a quick step back, and, in my case this is also a step down which is usually very distracting for them. It totally changes the balance of power versus cowering behind a half-opened door.
Ya might want to think twice about that tactic! Once you leave your house, you're completely vulnerable to whatever threat may be at your door.
You should never open your doors to strangers, no matter what the situation! Hell, I am usually armed; and I still don't open the door to anyone I don't recognize!
You are smarter to talk to the person through the closed door, as with being inside you've got a chance if an attack is attempted!
Personally, I like to let strangers who knock on our door during the day know we're home and ignoring them! Eventually, they will go away but if not, call the police but whatever you do, don't open the door!
These crooks are smart. They will scout the area for houses that are empty and then they will strike. Our neighbor was out of town that time and was broken into twice in 2 weeks. The crooks broke their glass sliding door at the back and took all they can carry to their truck. One of our neighbor witnessed it and even called the police twice but the crooks are in and out within 5 minutes. Unfortunately, they parked their truck in a dark area close to the house. The house alarm system was also buzzing that time(I guess they don't pay for monitoring). The police arrived after 20mins. If you witness an ongoing crime, I think you are better off calling 911.
Somebody breaks into an entry door, even if an alarm is present and armed, they figure they've got about a minute before the thing goes off, and a minute is enough time to run in and quickly grab any valuables sitting out in the open, then run back out and jump into an awaiting vehicle with the motor running, and a getaway driver ready to take off. Once the alarm goes off, it dials the monitoring service (doubtfully local), who then contacts the resident to find out if it was set off off accidentally. If the resident says no, or nobody answers, the monitoring service calls the appropriate local law enforcement agency.
Now how much time has elapsed since the initial break-in? Then there is the amount of time it takes a dispatched officer to make the scene. The intruders are probably long gone by then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by majormadmax
You should never open your doors to strangers, no matter what the situation! Hell, I am usually armed; and I still don't open the door to anyone I don't recognize!
You are smarter to talk to the person through the closed door, as with being inside you've got a chance if an attack is attempted!
Personally, I like to let strangers who knock on our door during the day know we're home and ignoring them! Eventually, they will go away but if not, call the police but whatever you do, don't open the door!
As I've posted elsewhere, I quit opening my door to strangers, too, after learning first hand that placing a "No Soliciting" sign next to it was ineffective.
Even though I've gone to great lengths to create the illusion that someone might be home at any given time (use radio, TV, or other noisemaker, use staggered timers, always park in garage & keep door closed, etc.), I've still been broken into, and last time it was right through the front door. No doubt, they rang the doorbell first, and probably broke in after failing to get an answer, or establish two-way dialog with anyone inside. I wouldn't have answered the door, even if I had been there, and I could have been in the shower, out in the garage, or otherwise indisposed, and not even heard it. I wouldn't blame anyone for keeping a firearm within easy reach when a stranger comes a knockin', after that experience.
I ended up putting a security grille on the front door, after that incident (and back door too, for good measure). Just gives a little more peace of mind in that it would be tougher for someone to come busting through the door. The grille degrades the aesthetics of the house, IMO, and mine is the only house on the street that has anything like it, but oh well. At least if they break a window, the alarm triggers immediately.
Eventually, they will go away but if not, call the police but whatever you do, don't open the door!
I live outside of city limits. It takes the sheriff's department 20 minutes to respond. Right after I moved in, I had two people trying to get into the house at 4am. I was home with my kids and my husband was at work. They were going around to all the windows and tipping my plants over and pulling up my doormats, and wiggling the doorknob. I called 911 and told them what was happening and that I was home alone with two small children. 20 minutes later, two sheriff's deputies showed up. Of the two people trying to get inside, only one was still there. They took her away. About 30 minutes later, I noticed that my neighbor's dog was barking nonstop, so I looked out my patio door and the other person was in my backyard. I called the sheriff's department again. 20 minutes later, they showed up and took the guy away.
I don't have much faith in the cops ever showing up fast enough to be any use.
Oh, about no soliciting signs, I've noticed that the missionaries who go door-to-door don't think that applies to them. They're always ringing my doorbell on Saturday mornings. I think I'm going to start mooning them through the window beside my door...it will scare them away faster than opening the door and telling them to get lost
We have some neighbors who have attracted some VERY unsavory people to our neighborhood because of their (confirmed) drug activity. I was so sick of it that I recently started walking right up behind the cars and snapping a picture. I figure if the company was legit, they'd ask me why I was doing that and they haven't. The traffic has ceased, too although I'm sure it will start back up soon. They don't look too happy about having to LEAVE to conduct business.
Anyway, I have to agree with everyone who says "make them aware that you're aware". It works!
you better hope its not hard drugs theyre dealing/using, because those types of addicts arent the type to take the **** youre giving them without consequence (IE they might retaliate against you).
Oh, about no soliciting signs, I've noticed that the missionaries who go door-to-door don't think that applies to them. They're always ringing my doorbell on Saturday mornings. I think I'm going to start mooning them through the window beside my door...it will scare them away faster than opening the door and telling them to get lost
I live outside of city limits. It takes the sheriff's department 20 minutes to respond. Right after I moved in, I had two people trying to get into the house at 4am. I was home with my kids and my husband was at work. They were going around to all the windows and tipping my plants over and pulling up my doormats, and wiggling the doorknob. I called 911 and told them what was happening and that I was home alone with two small children. 20 minutes later, two sheriff's deputies showed up. Of the two people trying to get inside, only one was still there. They took her away. About 30 minutes later, I noticed that my neighbor's dog was barking nonstop, so I looked out my patio door and the other person was in my backyard. I called the sheriff's department again. 20 minutes later, they showed up and took the guy away.
I don't have much faith in the cops ever showing up fast enough to be any use.
We're outside the city limits as well, but we've found BCSO to be as responsive as can be expected in the few times they've been called to our neighborhood (I've never made an emergency call to them, but my neighbors have).
Still, I'd recommend purchasing and learning how to use a firearm. If someone is trying that hard to get into your house, you need to have a means to protect yourself. I know some people don't like guns but if it's a matter of saving your life and the lives of your children, how else do you plan to defend yourselves? Sure, I'd rather have the sheriff’s department take care of the problem; but I also understand that they’ve got a lot of area to cover with limited resources, and chances are they may not be able to respond within a few minutes if needed.
There are plenty of options, a small revolver is sufficient as most criminals don’t like to stick around once you start shooting at them. However, if you really want to ensure you can stop the threat, I’d recommend a shotgun with buckshot. Yes, it’s a powerful kick; but I can guarantee you that it will give you the best chances to stop whoever you are shooting at!
My wife likes to shoot but is not comfortable doing so with my shotgun. Still, at least she’s trained in its use and knows where to get it if the need arises. She’s also got enough maternal instinct running through her to do whatever it takes to defend our kids if necessary, and while I hope and pray that it never comes down to it, I sure rest better knowing she can do so if the time comes.
We're outside the city limits as well, but we've found BCSO to be as responsive as can be expected in the few times they've been called to our neighborhood (I've never made an emergency call to them, but my neighbors have).
Still, I'd recommend purchasing and learning how to use a firearm. If someone is trying that hard to get into your house, you need to have a means to protect yourself. I know some people don't like guns but if it's a matter of saving your life and the lives of your children, how else do you plan to defend yourselves? Sure, I'd rather have the sheriff’s department take care of the problem; but I also understand that they’ve got a lot of area to cover with limited resources, and chances are they may not be able to respond within a few minutes if needed.
There are plenty of options, a small revolver is sufficient as most criminals don’t like to stick around once you start shooting at them. However, if you really want to ensure you can stop the threat, I’d recommend a shotgun with buckshot. Yes, it’s a powerful kick; but I can guarantee you that it will give you the best chances to stop whoever you are shooting at!
My wife likes to shoot but is not comfortable doing so with my shotgun. Still, at least she’s trained in its use and knows where to get it if the need arises. She’s also got enough maternal instinct running through her to do whatever it takes to defend our kids if necessary, and while I hope and pray that it never comes down to it, I sure rest better knowing she can do so if the time comes.
Cheers! M2
I have a 9mm semi-auto. I bought it about four years ago, when I lived in an apartment and we had some weird stuff happening to us. My husband used to own a shotgun but I was never comfortable using it. I'm very comfortable with my gun.
One thing that's really important for a household with small children and a gun for home defense is to make a safety plan with your kids and practice it. If someone breaks in you don't want your kids running out to see what the noise is.
Suffice it to say, all my kids were taught about guns. They were shooting as soon as they were big enough to hold it, and mature enough to understand the basic safety rules. All shot competition from the age of 12.
That was said to qualify this part.....if you entered OUR home without being invited it, you were sure to be met with up to 6 guns starin' at you from various parts of the house! Yeah - we were the neighborhood "gun nuts" - and folks knew it wasn't healthy to force entry. All that was backed up by a monitored alarm (and before anyone can ask, yeah - when we were gone, what wasn't with us was in a safe).
My personal favorite was the sticker on the safe: "Every gun I own is in here...except the one I'm carrying!"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
