Its Scary Out There

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brokencowboy

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I always carry when at home and, in the past, my wife has questioned the wisdom of doing so. This afternoon, my daughter called from her house and said a van had had pulled into the driveway & parked. A man had then got out & walked to the screen door & tried to open it. My daughter got out the Beretta I had given her for protection & called me. In the middle of our conversation, her cell connection went dead. I told my wife what was happening & I needed her to drive me to my daughter. As we were getting in the car, my wife asked me if I had my gun.

By the time we got to my daughter's house, the van was gone. My daughter met me at the door & handed me her gun to clear. I should mention here that my daughter had surgery a week ago on a major break she had incurred from a fall; her arm is in a cast with only her fingers free. Turns out, the van was an unmarked delivery truck & the person was delivering a package my daughter had ordered. My daughter apologized for "making such a fuss" & I told her she had done exactly the right thing.

In a way, I'm rather glad it happened (& especially with the way it ended.) Since high school, my daughter has been anti-gun & got upset with my beliefs. However, in the past year, several incidents hare happened that really scared her. A few months back, she came to me & asked me to teach her how to use a gun. We've had some serious disussions about safety, when to shoot, the implications of shooting, etc. Then I took her to the range & let her shoot a variety of firearms (she fell in love with my MI carbine]. As soon as the doctor releases her, I'm going to have her take the CCW course & get her permit. I can't think of a better gift for her.
 
Calling 911 when you are expecting a package is a really bad idea. Answering the door with a gun concealed is prudent. I alwyas carry when the doorbell rings. They never know or ever need to know I'm packing.

--wally.
 
She had a experience like this back in the spring & she called 911. They said they would send a deputy. The deputy called 30 minutes later to ask if he was still needed. In that incident, it turned out to a couple looking for a place to have a little tryst. Thus, my daughter doesn't have a lot of faith in 911.

Tomorrow, she is going to call the delivery company & make a complaint the driver's actions.
 
yesit'sloaded, I'm not saying she shouldn't have called Daddy with a gun, just saying she should have called 911 too.
 
I don't think we know the whole story of the driver's actions; only that he tried to open a screen door. I didn't see where it said he tried to open the solid door with the real lock. Seems to me, just from what I read, if she needs to complain about anything, she needs to complain about the delivery company's van being unmarked.
 
Well I agree that calling Daddy should have been her first move IF he were the closest. And as the poster stated the cell went dead as he was talking to her so she may not have been able to call 911 after that. Good job getting her off of the anti-gun fence and a CCW makes a great gift.
 
Clarification

According to my daughter, the van did not have any identifcation on it nor was the driver in a uniform. After trying the door, he then walked to one side of the house, then walked back across the front to the other side. While I was talking with my daughter, she said he was standing outside looking around. Since I live less than a quarter of a mile from her, I & her mother was the closest assistance available. While she was expecting a delivery, she had already received a package from the same company earlier this morning.

As I stated earlier, she plans to call the delivery company tomorrow to complain about the driver.

There have been several incidents of home invasion in our area recently. When she called, I could tell she was very scared. In this situation, my thoughts were of making sure she was safe.
 
...the van did not have any identifcation on it nor was the driver in a uniform. After trying the door, he then walked to one side of the house, then walked back across the front to the other side. While I was talking with my daughter, she said he was standing outside looking around.

To me, a company truck/van/whatever should have that company's name/address on the side and the driver should be in uniform with his name and company's name in sight. Also, the company should have protocols for determining if the package's recipient is home to take delivery.

I don't personally make deliveries, but if I have to knock on someone's door, you can bet I'll generally open the screen door first. (Knocking seems to work better if you knock on the door itself or on the glass. I only do that if there's no doorbell.) I've not had problems in doing so with whoever I intended to see. I do see where too much walking around outside could be unsettling.

While she was expecting a delivery, she had already received a package from the same company earlier this morning.

That might be strange.

There have been several incidents of home invasion in our area recently. When she called, I could tell she was very scared.

And that would certainly have anyone in their right mind a bit closer to being on edge.
 
brokencowboy

I'm glad everything turned out okay for your daughter. I'm also glad that you've been able to show her the practical value of a HD weapon, in a way that she could truly appreciate it for herself. The only thing I would add to the mix would be a couple of good size family mutts, not only for their bark, but also for their bite. Ours are not trained attack dogs, or some highly specialized breed of protective canine; just family pets who don't have any problem letting strangers know they're not welcome, unless we say that they are.
 
You might want to take the next step and help your daughter to take a good concealed weapons permit course from a competent certified instructor to supplement the help you've given her and will continue to give her.

The course, not the permit, is the useful thing here. Those courses invariably cover the current state laws of self defense, and competent instructors will try to help students understand that a gun is not the solution to every problem.

From what you've said here, your daughter seems as if she might be spooked by ongoing events in her area. The last thing you want--or her either--is to shoot the next delivery man. It's right to be wary and good to have the means of responding to a deadly force attack. But it's dangerous to have that means without good training in when to employ it.

I'm not questioning your competence or knowledge.
 
One thing I have tried to instill in my daughter is that with the right to own a gun comes a serious responsibility. I believe she fully understands the gravity of pulling the trigger on someone from an emotional & legal point. I do want her to have instruction that gives her not only how to use a weapon, but when to use it.

We live in a remote area of the county with very few neighbors. Due to my disability, I had a lab/chow mix dog who was my early warning system. However, I lost him about a month ago & haven't been able to replace him yet. My daughter has a cat that alerts her when someone comes to her house.
 
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