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This is why it’s critical you ANSWER your door. It’s important to let them know someone is home. That’s why they are knocking – to determine if someone is home or not.

BUT this does NOT mean you have to OPEN your door. In fact, do NOT open your door (this doesn’t mean open the main door and leave the storm door locked — open NO door, so they cannot see inside and you keep as many barriers between you and them).

https://blog.hsoi.com/2018/06/02/answer ... -your-door

I accessed the blog and nothing opened up for me.

The blog link worked fine for me. And it's good advice, makes you think.

Abraham wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:35 am I accessed the blog and nothing opened up for me.

Sorry about that, Abraham. I tested it in different browsers and on different computers. You might try a different browser or clearing your cache and clicking again. John's post is worth the extra effort.

Great short essay on the subject... My short take is that we need to avoid normalcy bias and reprogram some of our typical or normal responses...

Crime, and potentially violent crime, have been with us since beginning of time. Though we are told that crime rates are falling, the news constantly informs us of criminal actions. Recognizing that as much as we hate to admit it crime can happen anywhere, we have to (re)evaluate our behaviors and responses on a risk spectrum -- both stakes and odds.

The odds of us encountering criminal activity when we answer and open our doors are, thankfully for most of us, extremely small. We try to choose relatively safe places to live, get to know our neighbors and keep an eye out in general for things that are out of the norm. All these are great for minimizing the chances of becoming a victim of a crime -- but nothing can completely eliminate all the chances.

The stakes at our homes are amplified and horrific when we contemplate events such as a home invasion. With this in mind, the middle-America "normal" response to a knock or ringing doorbell -- opening the door -- provides opportunity for that low-odds encounter to end tragically. So, since we recognize that crime sometimes comes calling at our doors, it's time to reprogram folks.

Middle Age Russ wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:49 am Great short essay on the subject... My short take is that we need to avoid normalcy bias and reprogram some of our typical or normal responses...

Crime, and potentially violent crime, have been with us since beginning of time. Though we are told that crime rates are falling, the news constantly informs us of criminal actions. Recognizing that as much as we hate to admit it crime can happen anywhere, we have to (re)evaluate our behaviors and responses on a risk spectrum -- both stakes and odds.

The odds of us encountering criminal activity when we answer and open our doors are, thankfully for most of us, extremely small. We try to choose relatively safe places to live, get to know our neighbors and keep an eye out in general for things that are out of the norm. All these are great for minimizing the chances of becoming a victim of a crime -- but nothing can completely eliminate all the chances.

The stakes at our homes are amplified and horrific when we contemplate events such as a home invasion. With this in mind, the middle-America "normal" response to a knock or ringing doorbell -- opening the door -- provides opportunity for that low-odds encounter to end tragically. So, since we recognize that crime sometimes comes calling at our doors, it's time to reprogram folks.

Great point, Russ, about normalcy bias. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normalcy_bias

We tend to think it won't happen to us or it is not as bad as it looks. We who have decided to carry a defensive firearm have probably come the opposite conclusion; that it will happen and will be as bad as it looks.

I'm still working on this in some aspects of my life. My baseline is that I carry a round in the chamber and that I always carry. Still, normalcy bias tries to lull me back into condition white. Articles like John's and videos like those on Active Self Protection serve to remind us to not become complacent.

Here is my take, based on a totally different real life event.

I walk my dog in the evenings. I started walking her in a local park, right about dusk because that is when it is the most comfortable. I have my usual belt and pockets full of things - pistol, spare mag, pepper spray, knife and small flashlight. On these walks past dusk I stick my tactical flashlight on my belt, too. The light is normally good enough if we walk on the pavement to see ahead but the flashlight comes on when we move to the grass. Last night, a bike rider (no lights) came past as several times. It was hard to see him so I stepped onto the grass and put the flashlight on so that I could warn him that we were there and so that I could see the grass in front of the dog. Sure enough, there was a copperhead working its way from the mowed area to an unmowed one. I quickly reined in the dog. Without the light, I would not have seen the snake and my dog could have found it. She hunts everything.

Answering the door but not opening it, to me, is like turning the flashlight on when stepping off the pavement. We've walked that park hundreds of times and have never seen anything but a few stray rabbits. I was actually more worried about a skunk lurking along the unmowed area but taking the step to identify what was ahead is the right thing to do. I like playing with the odds in my favor and doing the right things is the best way to maintain those odds.

One night about 2:00 AM I heard a frantic knock on my front door. I found a lady holding an infant crying and claiming to be lost. I told her I would call the Police and she requested I call her friend instead. I called him and he couldn’t repeat the name she had given me for him or the correct last name she had given me for herself. However, I gave him directions to my house. I can see fully to the South of my door but I have a blind spot to the North. I turned off all the inside lights and turned on all exterior lights. I then went to the window that would provide a view of the North side of the house. I opened the blind and surprise there were two guys hiding and ready to jump me. I knocked on the window pain with the barrel of the 12 ga. I was holding. The two men ran like scared Jack Rabbits leaving the woman to her own devices. I told her to get lost and then called and woke up my neighbors to tell them of the scam. I live in farm county 45 to 60 minutes from LE help so I thought a call would be more helpful. I also called the Sheriff who was aware of the scam.

WTR wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 11:54 am One night about 2:00 AM I heard a frantic knock on my front door. I found a lady holding an infant crying and claiming to be lost. I told her I would call the Police and she requested I call her friend instead. I called him and he couldn’t repeat the name she had given me for him or the correct last name she had given me for herself. However, I gave him directions to my house. I can see fully to the South of my door but I have a blind spot to the North. I turned off all the inside lights and turned on all exterior lights. I then went to the window that would provide a view of the North side of the house. I opened the blind and surprise there were two guys hiding and ready to jump me. I knocked on the window pain with the barrel of the 12 ga. I was holding. The two men ran like scared Jack Rabbits leaving the woman to her own devices. I told her to get lost and then called and woke up my neighbors to tell them of the scam. I live in farm county 45 to 60 minutes from LE help so I thought a call would be more helpful. I also called the Sheriff who was aware of the scam.

Considering aggravated robbery is a felony, and citizens have the powers of arrest on felonies, would it have been possible to call law enforcement and hold her at gunpoint?... Sure you wouldn't get the other two, but at least catching her would give LEOs some real leads.

Seems a pity that they will just go down the road and do the same thing to someone else. Eventually, they will murder someone.

PriestTheRunner wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 11:59 am [quote=WTR post_id=<a href="tel:1208040">1208040</a> time=<a href="tel:1529427269">1529427269</a> user_id=19425]
One night about 2:00 AM I heard a frantic knock on my front door. I found a lady holding an infant crying and claiming to be lost. I told her I would call the Police and she requested I call her friend instead. I called him and he couldn’t repeat the name she had given me for him or the correct last name she had given me for herself. However, I gave him directions to my house. I can see fully to the South of my door but I have a blind spot to the North. I turned off all the inside lights and turned on all exterior lights. I then went to the window that would provide a view of the North side of the house. I opened the blind and surprise there were two guys hiding and ready to jump me. I knocked on the window pain with the barrel of the 12 ga. I was holding. The two men ran like scared Jack Rabbits leaving the woman to her own devices. I told her to get lost and then called and woke up my neighbors to tell them of the scam. I live in farm county 45 to 60 minutes from LE help so I thought a call would be more helpful. I also called the Sheriff who was aware of the scam.

Considering aggravated robbery is a felony, and citizens have the powers of arrest on felonies, would it have been possible to call law enforcement and hold her at gunpoint?... Sure you wouldn't get the other two, but at least catching her would give LEOs some real leads.

Seems a pity that they will just go down the road and do the same thing to someone else. Eventually, they will murder someone
[/quote]

I probably should have. The Sheriff didn’t seem to concerned about it and I guess I wasn’t thinking as well ashould have. I did call all my neighbors within a mile or so (4). Did not hear of an additional incident.I was concerned about her claiming rape or abuse had I interacted directly with her as I was a male home alone at the time. My wife was employeed in San Antonio at the time.

Abraham wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:35 am I accessed the blog and nothing opened up for me.

Maybe they took their own advice?

when i lived in town, we had a peep hole that I would look thru. if i didnt know who it was i didnt answer it... most times it was the neighbor kid wanting to know if he could skateboard on our driveway... Now that I live out in the country again, we have surveillance cameras put up so i can see who drives up the drive way, comes to the door, or walks anywhere close to the house. Not to mention motion activated flood lights... If they wanna try and break in they'll immediately regret that decision. I always have a gun on me or within arms reach when I'm at my house.

I realized recently that a stout guy could break in my front door easily, so I got some brackets (from Amazon), screwed them to the studs on either side of the door, and put a 2x4 across the door. Now it would take a Jeep to take that door down. Then they have to get past a dog, a .357 Magnum, a .45, and a 12 gauge. Paranoid, but safe.

I live out in the country down a gravel road. We might have someone we don't know knock on our door twice a year. I never answer the door but just holler " who is it? " If they don't go away I just rack the Winchester.

cirus wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:46 am I live out in the country down a gravel road. We might have someone we don't know knock on our door twice a year. I never answer the door but just holler " who is it? " If they don't go away I just rack the Winchester.

I disagree with this attitude completely. I too live in the country. My door has been been knocked on late at night on 3 occasions in 24 years. One naferrious case as I I described. Twice with real emergencies. One was a beautiful mid 20s young lady with a mind of a 7 year old. The girl had been taken out in farm country by a family “friend” and had been assaulted. She sat in the fetal position on my porch swing for the 60 minutes it took for the State Trooper to arrive. At least she was safe. I am very cautious and carefully, but I won’t turn anyone in need away.