Very very unprepared last night

[Rockrivr1]

I've always thought that if trouble comes to my front door I would be prepared for it. I was very very wrong.

After work last night I went and shot IDPA at my local club and had a great time. I usually go home after, clean up the gun and call it a night. Last night though some of us went out and grabed a beer and some dinner after the shooting was done. Because of that I got home late and started to clean my gun, but didn't finish it and left it on my workbench in the basement.

I just recently moved into a very small townhouse complex that only has 11 units and is very much off the beaten path, so to say it gets dark outside at night is an understatment. This was one of the highlights of buying the place.

Well last night at 2AM my doorbell rings. Of course me and the girlfriend sit straight up in bed. Still groggy I walk to the front upstairs bedroom, which looks down on the front door and nobody's there. I look around outside the window and everything is dark and nobody seems to be around. So I walk downstairs, turn on the outside light and go to the open window a few feet away from the door and say "Hello?" Of course nobody answers. I leave the front light on and go back to bed.

10 minutes later the doorbell rings again, Twice!! Ok, so now my girlfriend is freaking out. I jump out of bed and think DAMN my gun is in the basement. I run to the front bedroom window and again no one is there. Ok the girlfriends freaking out now has me very jumpy. I run my butt down to the basement, slap my gun back together, load a mag and run back upstairs. Of course now, every creep or crack of the house has me thinking someone is inside. In total dufus fashion I scream out " If someone is in the house your about to have a REALLY F*&@ing bad day." I turn on every light in the house and do a sweeping drill to make sure me and the girlfriend is alone.

Now had this been an actual break-in I would of been screwed. Especially if the bad guy went to the basement and got my gun before I knew he/she was in the house. Stupid of me. Really stupid. I went to bed thinking it was probably just some punk kids getting a good laugh at me. Of course I shut and locked all the downstairs windows before going up to bed. In hindsight I probably should of called the cops.

This morning, I walk outside and what do I see. The control box to my garage door opener is wide open. CRAP!!! Someone must of been pressing the codes to try and open it as I've never opened it myself. Of course the girlfriend see this as well and now she's really freaked. I'm going to call my local PD this morning to report it, not expecting this to go anywhere, but might as well let it be known to them.

The bedroom tonight will have my handgun and my shotgun loaded and ready. Anyone have any other suggestions. I was actually thinking of boobytrapping the doorbell, but I can just see myself getting sued because some kid got an electric shock.

Now I'm pissed off and damned tired as sleep was not happening after that.

 

[Dr.Rob]

My gut feeling is you are dealing with nothing worse than teen-age pranks.

What burgler would ring your bell, leave, and do it again in ten minutes?

 

[Trigger]

Install a small video camera outside and have access from a TV in your house. I think that they are fairly cheap now.

Most likely, and this is what I'd tell the girlfriend to relieve her nerves, is that your neighbor or someone near you got home somewhat juiced and tried to get into their townhouse. But the garage door that they normally get into didn't work so they rang the door bell to wake up mom and dad or the wife to let them in. No answer so they walked around the house and tried ringing the door bell again then realizing that they had the wrong house and left.

Burgler is probably unlikely since they probably wouldn't break in through the front door.

Booby trap would probably be a bad idea.

 

[halvey]

Keep a gun under the bed at all times. It's best to have a gun specifically for this, one that never is moved - well, only to practice with.

It sounds like dumb kids though.

 

[Ransom]

Walking outside in your underware and loudly pumping a 12 guage works wonders at stopping teenage pranks.

 

[hso]

Motion sensor lights covering the approaches.

 

[71Commander]

Use this as a learning expierence. Both for you and those who read this.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I was also thinking it was some punk neighborhood kid until I saw the garage door opener. Why would they play with that unless they were trying to get in?

The owners before us never changed the factory code setting, so that was one of the first things I did when I got there.

Not sure what the situation was but I have definitely learned from this experience.

Thanks for good advice.

 

[Edward429451]

I think thats like rule # 6 or 7...

Don't disassemble all the guns at once.

If you only have 1 or 2 guns, see rule #9.

(9). Aquire more firearms.

Sorry, don't mean to make light of your situation but there's a bit of truth to what I said.

 

[Mulliga]

I'd ditch the camera idea, personally. Booby traps are a complete no-no.

Easy answer - buy more guns. Keep them loaded (with nothing in the chamber), and keep them handy. I've got an AR on my bed, an unloaded CZ27 in the desk, a shotgun in the closet, etc. - plus some milsurp rifles in a storage shed outside.

 

[BeLikeTrey]

I agree motion sensing lights

I think X10 makes a motion activated camera that can be moinitored on the internet (for a fee) or transmits to a vcr. not a bad investment. 80 bucks i think...

http://www.x10.com/

get 'em on tape and then leave a copy taped to your door bell with a note... hehehehe

"Here is your free pass next time this goes to the cops..."

or just send it to the cops straight away. and let them deal with the little punks.

edit: by the way don't stomp any flaming items left on your doorstep

 

[mack69]

Re:

Maybe it was a neighbor trying to wake you to tell you the garage door was open???? Could be.....happened to me not long ago....Though I'm thinking it was more likely punks playin around......plan carefully....bet you never leave your gun disassembled in the basement again......mack

 

[Majic]

You must live in a nice area. The burglers even ring the bell before entering.
Since you turned on lights a burgler would know someones in there. You just got hit by the neighborhood kids having fun.
As to your garage door that's one reason access codes should never be on the exterior. They should be remote activated only from the outside. A very stupid security design which probably was never meant to provide any type of security. It may be an inconvience to have to go in the house to activate the door if the remote doesn't work, but it's much more secure.

 

[HankB]

Booby traps are a complete no-no.

Not necessarily. In TX, the law DOES prohibit the use of "mechanisms" which may cause serious injury or death. But I've seen some "boobytraps" that involve the use of tear gas or pepper spray - non lethal deterrents - which are probably OK in most jurisdictions.

The thing is, you have to use some common sense with these. Just think about the consequences if you hooked one up to a motion sensor, and ended up gassing a Girl Scout who was chasing her puppy past your garage.

 

[dogooder_USA]

Folks, burglers in our neighborhood routinely ring the door bell in the middle of the night to try and see if someone is home. If they see a light, hear a dog, etc. they move on. If they don't see any reaction, they then try to break in. it is NOT kids, but we believe they are part time construction workers doing work near by. Be warned, and don't assume harmless kids...

 

[41mag]

Woof!Woof!Grrrrrr!
Get a dog!
Seriously,you'll probably have a bit more piece of mind after you learn how to read your furry buddies reactions.& if/when you want to "clear"your house the dog will,generally,preceed you-giving you advance notice of trouble.
Remember that they can see,hear, & smell lots better than us.

The possibility of a garage break in won't be helped by the dog but there are other ways to secure a garage.

From personal expierience I would agree that properly set up motion sensors can help but there's no substitute for a four legged ally.

If it becomes a recurring problem you might want to consider a motion sensing camera.You'll have photo proof re. who's been visiting after lights out.

Oh,& don't leave your only gun in pieces downstairs.

 

[sturmruger]

I think dogooder_USA hit it right on the head. The first thing that popped into my head was they were casing your place. I would talk to your neighbors and see if anyone else has had similar situations. You might not be the only person getting cased. I have install tons of motion lights where I live. I like being able to be in the dark house and look out. Others have said buy another handgun for the house.

 

[Mikul]

I keep thinking about installing one of the remote CS canister detonators from Shomer-Tec. If some bozo comes to your front door like that, you hit the button and a big cloud of pain goes after him.

http://www.shomertec.com/item.cfm?Action=catalog&variable=177

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

"What burglar rings the door bell, then comes back 10 minutes later and does it again"



Well,, here is MY story.


I was 17 at the time, dad was working out of town, and mom was at work. I was home alone. I had just got back from school and usually I would crash on the sofa for a nap (I used to stay out late). Back then, I used to sleep like a rock. It takes a bazooka to wake me up.


Well, one day I was taking my nap when I was awaken by knocking at the door. I am the slow to get up type and I knew that whomever was at the door must have been knocking for a while because I could "hear it in my sleep"


Many times I hate answering the door because of salesmen or Jehovas Witnessess, so many times I ignore it or I take a look and if I don't recognize them I usually don't open and they go away.


That particular day (about 3:30pm), I go up to the door and take a look. I see no one. As I go back, I hear knocking again. So I head back to the door and take a look. Well, I see this young thug looking guy ( ~20's). I stop for a moment and watch him step away from the door and start pacing back and forth infront of my house. I am watching this strange behavior from the peep hole.


This guy looks so out of place, especially in my neighborhood which is upper-middle and you can spot something or someone out of place in 1 second. I also notice there is no car outside. Nothing on the street or in my driveway. (I didn't have a car at the time, so it looked like no one was home)


It was so strange, I decided to open the door. When I opened the door, the guy turned around startled and shaken. INSTANT panic. He was totally suprised that I opened the door. He was down by the side walk, I walked out about 1/2 way and asked "can I help you?"

He stuttered and mumbled then asked "Where is xxxxxx Road?" ...That shocked me. He was asking for the location of a 6 lane highway 25 miles away in my subdivision - instant RED FLAG. Who would ask such a question? Only someone in a panic.

I said that isn't anywhere near here. He says "uhhh ok sir thanks" and starts to walk away.

This was really bizarre and I started to get scared. Now a good 5 minutes were burned just watching this wierdo through the door. The whole meeting and confrontation I had was less than 30 seconds.

I quickly walk back into my house, and lock the door. When you walk into my house far enough from the foyer, you reach a point were you can see the back yard through the kitchen window (Florida ranch house - very open design)

What do I see? A different thug looking fellow that looked like he just ran up to the fence, and I saw just the part where he quickley jumped over my fence.

I live right behind and elementary school yard. School was out for the little ones.



I was stupid for opening the door. Then again, had I not, they certainly would have broken in. Front guy was the LOOK OUT. The other dude was going to break in from the back door or wherever he could have and done the dirty deed.


There was no firearm in the house. My parents weren't into guns. They are immigrants from Europe and just don't understand guns in America.



That was a super nice area, I never thought it could happen there. But it can. I am glad the fellow at the door didn't make a run at me or try to attack me. I could have been beaten or killed.


911, Police and all that is insignificant. The only defense is a firearm. Today, I am armed.


Be safe, expect anything.

 

[Kilroy]

It is better to think it WAS kids...

...because if it was not, and some adults were trying to gain entry. You need to be really concerned.

I have seen hundreds of people convince themselves that in like circumstances, "it was kids." This way they can convince themselves that there is no danger, there is no reason to correct their failure to prepare and they can continue to live in a frightened state, but not acknowledging same.

 

[Bridger]

Indeed, it's not all harmless pranks these days. Forced entries are not unheard of either.

I was getting ready for bed with my girlfriend one night, watching TV before falling asleep. We were downstairs in the living room since we had found baby mice in my bed the night before, and hadn't cleaned everything. Nobody had been home for two weeks before that, damn mice!

Anyway, we are drifting off, when all of a sudden two guys are banging on our front door and yelling. I run upstairs to wake up my parents and take a look out the window, they don't have a car or anything, it's just after midnight, and one guy is a bit back from the door pacing about.

At the time, we were still fairly new gun owners, I had one rifle, my dad and brother had shotguns for hunting, all locked up. Let me tell you, trigger locks are no fun when you think the guys banging on your door are suspsicious.

My mom popped out of another door downstairs, since we have two front doors, and asked them what was up. One started to come toward her, she told him to stop, he didn't, and she went back inside.

One yelled they had car trouble and needed to use the phone, my dad said he was calling the police for them, and they said "oh that can't be good!" or something to that effect and left shortly thereafter.

The police took an hour to arrive in our slightly rural area, and that was an uneasy hour and night.

I understand people do have car trouble and other problems, but in the middle of the night I think it is entirely reasonable to take some precautions when dealing with them. I want to help people if they are genuinely in trouble, but I also don't want to get robbed, beaten, or killed.

The way these two guys handled their supposed situation seemed suspicious to me, but I'm thinking perhaps they were drunk and that's why they didn't want police.

Next morning didn't know about any car problems in the area, my neighbors weren't bothered either. Why my house in a half mile road with multiple houses on it?

Better suspicious and safe than sorry. If they are genuninely in need of help then there is no problem, and if they are looking for trouble, you are ready.

 

[2nd Amendment]

A very effective and legal "booby trap", so I hear: Paintball grenades. I really never looked into it much but I've been told by at least one local cop that the things really mess up the goblin's plans for the nite.

 

[CAS700850]

Back in teh days when I only owned one gun, I was instructed by a wise friend to make it "just clean enough to work until you have time for a proper cleaning." So, I'd wipe it down, brush the barrel and cylander, make sure it was all working fine, then loaded it back up with the home defense loads until I had eth time to start and finish a cleaning.

AS for ringing the doorbell, we have seen a common practice of burglaries where the criminal(s) knock or ring the bell, trying to determine if teh home is empty. Most have enough court-time to know any inside means an extra three years on the sentence in Ohio. If they don't get an answer, they go to work. I've seen several cases where a homeowner, for whatever reason, doesn't respond to the knock, and gets the unenviable situation of being home during an active burglary.

My advice: put off the gun cleaning, or buy a second gun so that you never have to find yourself unarmed. AS for the knock at the door, I'd advise to let them know someone is home, but don't be in a big rush to open the door, either.

 

[Denko]

Ok,here is my take on your mistakes.You left your guns unassembled downstairs.You left your girlfriend exposed as you went to retrieve your guns.Get her a gun to keep in the bedroom in addition to whatever you are going to keep there.Train with her in some self protection drills.Did you have a cell phone so she could dial 911 as you were in repel boarders mode?You left downstairs windows unlocked.I turn off the power to my garage door,and run a bolt thru a hole in the frame so the door cannot be raised.I would not rule out that this was more serious than kids.It is possible that the doorbell was being used as a way to lure you out of the house,a bad move tactically and legally.Get a motion sensor for outside lights and one for the inside.Radio shack has a cheap one that is better than nothing.Use you bedroom as a safe room,your bedroom door was locked,right?Change your level of awareness,probably the most important thing you can do.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

I would be worried about 2 people being armed and in seperate parts of the house. That is a recipe for disaster.


If it is just you and a GF/Wife in the house, choose 1-2 "go to" guns for home defense, load them, and keep them in the bedroom where you both sleep. Preferably 2. At least one weapon with a magazine capacity of over 10.


If you suspect anything like a break in or whatever, stay put and hold your ground. Lock the door, grab your gun and call the police. Wait till help arrives. If someone comes to your door - BLAST THEM.

It is always a big- NO NO to go searching through the house for bad guys. You don't know if there is 1 or 2 or more. You also don't know if they are better armed than you are are going to ambush you. It DOES happen.


All other firearms you own should be locked up so that no one can get to them. It is a good idea when you are out of the house and when you are in the house. Firearms that are idle and are not being used for anything belong in the safe period. They have ZERO business out and about.


If you have to on a room by room sweep and clear to get to a childrens room....let your lady hold one gun and you take the other. This is dangerous. PRE PLAN what you would do. The worst thing would be to return to the room and get shot by your own wife. Even drilling and having a good plan is not enough, in times of high stress and panic people forget drills, become delusional, or freak out. Once you leave that room, don't come back till you have 100% verbal confirmation that you are coming back in, or she is coming out. Good idea to say it a few times over to insure the situation has calmed down enough.