How do you react to unannounced visitors at your home?

[Echo2]

I posted this on another forum a while back.....and was curious to get the Colony's take on it.....




All my friends know....nothing pisses me off more than someone stopping by my home unannounced.

Give me a heads up....no worries at all....when someone shows out of the blue.....my "spidey sense" goes off and it's hard for me to get to sleep later.

Last night....A guy I know through a friend of mine....stopped by and was highly offended by the fact that I had a handgun in my hand when I opened the door. (he didn't see it until I stepped out.)

It is very uncommon to have someone just drop by.....this is how I normally come to the door....in this situation.

Am I alone in this mode of thinking?

Is it wrong for me to ask to given a heads up by visitors that know me?

My friend gave this person my number and said "you better call first....he doesn't appreciate surprises".

The motion lights came on as he pulled in the driveway.

I didn't have the gun pointed at him....but to my side and slightly behind.

We spoke on the porch....I think I lost a welding job....but I really don't care.

This relates to the security of my family.....he can go suck rocks.

[Sniper-T]

similar fashion, but with my HP9 12 Ga.

[helomech]

People can't just walk up to my house. I live on a dead end road that is about 3 miles long and I am the only house on it. My gate is a half mile from my house and is a automatic gate, no code no entry. So I have never had a car come up to my house without me knowing since I put the gate up. Now I have had a 4 wheeler come by and and I got on my side by side and went to find them with my 3 large dogs, my AR, and my pistol on my side. Someone doesn't like that, than they can stay the hell off my property. Before I got my gate I had a truck come into my drive way once, and my dogs (had 4 anatolians at the time) me them. Each dog had a door, they guys had to roll up the window on the truck. I me them with my AR also, come to find out they where with the power company. I told them to call first and they do that now. So to answer your question I always have a pistol and a rifle with me when I see someone on my property.

[Taz Baby]

Same here if you just show up unannounced then expect a gun in my hand if you make it out of your vehicle, that is. The dogs will alarm us first not to mention the silent alarms. But still if I don't know you then yes I will have a gun. we had that happen this past weekend at this motel. The motel has only 11 rooms and security cameras. At 1:00 am we still had the light on and was just going to bed and we had a knock on our door. DH got the gun said who is it and he said his name. Dh opened the door just a crack with the gun and told him we don't know a Mike and get the F@@@ gone. The next morning the manager told us the camera's showed him going to 6 rooms before he went to ours and he walked here. He had a differant name for each room and everyone greeted him the same way, with a gun in his face

[mitunnelrat]

I remember that thread. I believe I even replied to it there.

People tend to call before they come over. I don't answer the door if I don't feel a need to answer the door if I don't know the person, and if someone shows up unexpectedly I have a weapon handy.

As I've mentioned, my grandfather was murdered, beaten to death at his front door, and we believe it was someone he knew.

Hard lesson to learn

[Taz Baby]

Helo we are looking for a female Anatolian pup for our farm. They are the all around great dog for your farm. Not high maintenance, livestock guardian, friendly dog and loves kids and animals, but they are always on watch to protect what is theirs.

[eagle326]

You're dead right in your thinking. Everyone who knows me knows to call first or don't show up. And yes they know I'm locked and loaded. Our 4 dogs alert to people coming on our property.

We have a horse shoe drive way and everyone who pulls in comes to the side door. If it's a stranger I go out the front door and come at them from their right side. This is after I've scoped them and vehicle out as to how many people if they're not alone. Momma is inside covering my 6.

[helomech]

Helo we are looking for a female Anatolian pup for our farm. They are the all around great dog for your farm. Not high maintenance, livestock guardian, friendly dog and loves kids and animals, but they are always on watch to protect what is theirs.

They are good dogs, but we only have one left. Now we have great dane/english mastiff crosses. Much larger dog, and they don't shed like the anatilians. Man those things loose some fur.

[ak474u]

My friends used to make fun of me because of the old Folgers commercial where the kid comes home from college and his parents smell coffee brewing and come down stairs. They used to say: "I bet you'd be like Hey! Somebody is downstairs trying to steal our coffee pot!" And open fire. Some guy knocked on our door one night, and covered the peep hole, my wife covered with the shotgun from around a corner, and I opened the door, he had heard the shotgun racking, and when I opened the door, he was 3 apartments down yelling "sorry dude! I'm on the wrong floor". Bet he doesn't do that again.

[prepguide]

Great thread! NO you are not alone. I often greet those "just pulling in" folks carrying a weapon. So far, knock, knock, knock haven't had to fire on anyone but in todays world prudence is key. So my hats off to you sir

[Sniper-T]

Ironically enough, I have probably knocked (unannounced) on 2 or 3 dozen homes in the last few weeks alone. Always during the day/evening, and I always leave my guns in the truck.

Around here, it is considered a courtesy call, to ask for permission to hunt on farmers land.

[4suchatimeasthis]

True story, un-funny story, a repo man almost got shot for pulling that trick. Except, it was 3am, about a week after we moved to the farm, and apparently the former homeowner had a big zero turn mower that was supposed to be repossessed. The repo man nearly kicked down the front door, I am not kidding! Scared me and the kids nearly to death. My husband tried to explain the situation, but the guy would have none of it. He said he was going to keep coming back until he found the mower. He threatened to go look in our shed for it (which is illegal). My husband was former Dallas LEO, and he is a teddy bear until you cross that line, and then he becomes a very pissed off man. He was a very pissed off man. He escorted the repo guy down the driveway to the end of the road and waited for the cops to pull up. Well, we wanted to press charges but we found out later that they were never filed. That's another bag of cats we are dealing with. Anyway, hubby and I agreed that if he came back we aren't messing with cops. His ass can be hauled out in a body bag.

We eventually found out that he didn't have the paperwork needed to repo anything, and worse, the mower he was looking for had already been recovered!

The irony in all of this was that our lawn mowers were both broken at the time, and the lawn hadn't been cut in about 3 weeks. That should have been a clue to the idiot that there was no lawn mower at our house. Dumbass!

The entire thing was a mess, pisses me off to this day....dammit, I can feel my blood pressure rising, lol.

So YES, answer the door armed, and if they don't like it, tell em to CRY ME A RIVER, BUILD A BRIDGE, AND GET THE HELL OVER IT!

[robsdak]

same as most. gun close. but most never even know that it's there. the other night i had 2 FHP show up at 8pm or so looking for the last person that lived here, (same last name, but no relation) to notify the family she had passed in a car accident. odd thing was, as soon as the porch light came on, they started hollering " Florida Highway Patrol"

[FL-Jeeper]

a handgun in my hand when I opened the door.

You betchya. I hate it when anyone shows up unannounced and most everyone I know will call first.

[ladyhk13]

If it's late at night dh would answer armed (I just wouldn't answer). We live on a dead end street and anyone that would just stop by would be a neighbor and they usually never come in the house anyway...they always go outside on the porch and shoot the shit or one of the kids will be doing something for school...like tonight around 6 - almost dark but night quite, the doorbell rang, I answered it unarmed and it was the kid who dh had promised $1 for every mile he walked for some fundraiser for school. He walked 18, I only had $20,s and dh was in the backyard shooting his guns so I ended up giving the kid $2 more.
Since we live in such a little area unless it's late we don't answer armed.
Now, I personally don't like unannounced visitors because I believe it's bad manners to just show up at someone's house without calling first. I would never just show up somewhere, not even my own mother or sister's house. Nor will they just show up at mine. Like I said, the neighbor's will but they are ol country people and that's the way they are but they never expect an invitation into the house...if we are outside and see them we would stop by and visit them too - only if they are outside.

[izzyscout21]

My family has always been one of those where we just walk in to each others homes. No big deal.

After I came back from Iraq, I began rethinking this.

It took a while for my brother to catch on (he lived down the hill from me and liked to swing by and say hi).

It took a few times, but he finally started calling after he had repeated close views at the business end of Mr Sig.

[bacpacker]

We always answer the door armed, unless someone has called to say they are coming over. It really pisses me off when someone just shows up unannouced. I didn't used to be like that, i grew up going visiting to family most every week to see someone. Sometimes we called ahead, sometimes not. Times have changed and it is not safe to do that anymore.

[MegaCPC]

Unannounced visitor?

With a gun.

[Jimmy24]

Where I live, if someone comes down the drive, they either lost or up to no good...when the 1/2 dozen 500 quartz floods come on when they drive up, they usually back all the way out...

Jimmy

[msomnipotent]

I get people at the door all the time. The NO SOLICITORS sign doesn't do any good. And then my dog goes so nuts that you would think she is about to burst through the window. My front door is so scratched up that you would think we held someone captive and they were desperate to escape. I suppose I would be screwed if someone had a weapon, but answering the door with a gun is frowned upon in our community. Most times I just don't open the door, but we have those stupid side windows and a large window in the door, so if I see them, they see me. Replacing them with a solid wood door is on my list of things to do.

My family usually just walks into each other's homes, but they stopped doing that once we got our current dog. They don't call first, but they don't dare try to open the door without me there to hold the dog back.

[rice paddy daddy]

Eagle, like your new avatar. It looks like Old Home Week. I was much thinner then, too. I've still got a grenade ring on my boonie cap as well to ward off evil schrapnel.
After moving to the country and having people drive up to the house, we decided this was not good. It took several years of time and labor on my part, but now the property is completely fenced. And now with the addition of horses, cross fenced as well.
The two gates that front the road, and the one gate that fronts our woodlot, stay closed and locked with chains and padlocks 24/7/365 whether we're home or not. The gates are also posted with No Trespassing and Beware Of Dog signs as well.
Anyone on my property who is (a) not invited, or (b) does not have a warrant, WILL be held at gunpoint until a deputy arrives.

[eagle326]

Thanks R.P.D.
Oh yea ; Need those rings to ward off evil schrapnel metal spirits. Like you ; use to be thin ; momma says I'm well feed now. Not too much ; Not too little. ;)

[rice paddy daddy]

Lookin' at the roll on the brim reminded me of a guy who slit the edge seam and threaded the wire off a case of C-rats through it. He got a nice shape that way. Of course, we nicknamed him "Hollywood." :cool:

Oops! hope I didn't just cause the dreaded thread drift.

[eagle326]

Lookin' at the roll on the brim reminded me of a guy who slit the edge seam and threaded the wire off a case of C-rats through it. He got a nice shape that way. Of course, we nicknamed him "Hollywood." :cool:

Oops! hope I didn't just cause the dreaded thread drift.


The brim on my Boonie hat was El Natural el . I used to roll it up when not wearing it. The hat had a grenade ring in every area of the hat. The rest I threw away.

I know this may sound silly to most folks ; But in a way I miss those days. Living on the edge ; All 6 senses working overtime ; My Brothers covering my 6. didn't know if tomorrow would bring death and darkness or life and another day of sunshine pouring down upon me. Maybe I'm weird but I still smell all the different fumes from grenades ; ammunition ; smoke ; bodies and other things.

Okay back to thread ; sorry for the hijack.

[ak474u]

The brim on my Boonie hat was El Natural el . I used to roll it up when not wearing it. The hat had a grenade ring in every area of the hat. The rest I threw away.

I know this may sound silly to most folks ; But in a way I miss those days. Living on the edge ; All 6 senses working overtime ; My Brothers covering my 6. didn't know if tomorrow would bring death and darkness or life and another day of sunshine pouring down upon me. Maybe I'm weird but I still smell all the different fumes from grenades ; ammunition ; smoke ; bodies and other things.

Okay back to thread ; sorry for the hijack.

What did the guy say in Heartbreak Ridge? "They should put you behind glass labeled Break In Case Of War". My uncle missed his time in combat as well, now he's at the big battlefield in the sky with his brothers.

[Stormfeather]

I have too many soldiers stopping by the house to answer the door armed to the teeth. Its pretty simple here, you drive up, the lights come on outside and the red lights come on inside, you walk up and announce. If theres an issue, its handled then and there. But I have an open door policy with soldiers thats 24/7. Cant have the house on lock down for that reason.

[2die4]

Helo we are looking for a female Anatolian pup for our farm. They are the all around great dog for your farm. Not high maintenance, livestock guardian, friendly dog and loves kids and animals, but they are always on watch to protect what is theirs. Had to look this pup up. Freaking adorable.

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I have too many soldiers stopping by the house to answer the door armed to the teeth. Its pretty simple here, you drive up, the lights come on outside and the red lights come on inside, you walk up and announce. If theres an issue, its handled then and there. But I have an open door policy with soldiers thats 24/7. Cant have the house on lock down for that reason.
Do you live on post? I could understand that. Otherwise Lacrosse seems pretty rural to me I think I'd be cautious.

[Stormfeather]

Had to look this pup up. Freaking adorable.

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Do you live on post? I could understand that. Otherwise Lacrosse seems pretty rural to me I think I'd be cautious.

I live off post. There is military housing, but its even off cantonment, so wouldnt really matter either way. I actually live right outside of post, so im about 40 minutes from Lacrosse anyways. My house just so happens to be a FRG meeting point, as well as a BOSS meeting point for soldiers, so theres soldiers here pretty much every weekend. The upside to it is theres always somebody here to take care of them, and it opens my network up extensively. Been doing this since 1986, never had a single incident of something being stolen,broken,or trashed in all this time. Goes to show the character of Soldiers and Marines.

[Gunfixr]

I don't know about Soldiers now,and I don't see why they would be any different, but I know quite a few a bit older, like in their 40s, and their character is beyond reproach.
Most of my friends are ex-military.
There are no better friends. I treat them same as they treat me.


ETA: Forgot to actually answer the thread, DUH.
Since we live in a good sized city, folks at the door unannounced is "par for the course". For some reason, our driveway is the "turnaround point" for the many idiots who are lost. Answering with a gun is looked upon with disdain by many. Our driveway comes right up beside the house, at the side door. There is no back door. We don't even use the front door. Pretty much all of our friends call first. I have only a little family here, and they will still sometimes show up unannounced, but not as much after showing up one evening about 11pm, and I answered with a 1911 in my hand. Clearly, a knock at the front door is a stranger. We don't really use the front porch light, so mostly, after dark, the light will come on, but I will go out the side door and come around, so I am pretty much behind you at that point. It also lets me see the rest of the area first, in case you brought friends along. The side light just goes on at dark and stays on until we go to bed. The side door is a country style kitchen door, half glass, with a curtain, but I can go to another room and see you on the porch unseen.
During the day, no gun. After dark, gun. Home invasions aren't unheard of.