allisji wrote:I had a new one last night at around 8:30. This topic obviously comes up frequently about answering the door unarmed.
I was home along last night and expecting my wife and kids home any minute. I was already getting ready for bed and had disarmed. I was in the kitchen much nearer the front door than the back bedroom where I left my pistol, and then the doorbell rang.
I thought maybe my wife had decided to come in the front door rather than the garage for some reason... sometimes the GFCI trips in the garage of the garage door opener battery gets low. So I answered the door and it was a gentleman that I didn't recognize. "Sorry to bother you." He said, "I'm you neighbor at the end of the block down there, and I just got a new drone and it crash-landed in your back yard" as he showed me the remote control. I don't know most of my neighbors unfortunately. I thought briefly that someone could be up. But I didn't see any suspicious vehicles around and he looked like an honest guy...
I wasn't going to let him in my house however, so I went out to the front yard. Without my phone, keys, gun, or even my shoes. Left the front door unlocked and walked him to my back yard.
At this point he could have had cronies who rushed into my house and ransacked the place. I was totally exposed.
He operated the remote and we saw a green and red light flashing way up in the trees behind my back fence in an open area off of my property. So I kindly told him how he could get back there to the trees where his drone was stuck and wished him good luck and away he went.
Nothing happened and I'm not sure if he recovered his drone. But I realized how simple it would have been to have asked him to allow me to grab my shoes and keys, and then I could have strapped on my gun and locked the door on the way out.
Hindsight is always 20/20, just glad he was not a nefarious character, but that is exactly how crooks operate. I keep my gun on me until I shower, and then its within reach. or I go to bed, again, within reach. It's surprising to me how vulnerable I feel just getting up at night to use the restroom.
Good post and reminder of how quickly something bad can happen.
