Carry while at home

[frazzled]

Here's a picture of the door I plan to put on my "secure room" for my tools and guns (other than the one I keep with me). The walls will be 3/4" plywood on both sides of the 2x4 stud wall, glued and screwed. The ceiling will be 3/4" plywood on either side of the joists. The wall with the door will have fireblocks every 2 feet (to prevent prying the door opening). Approximately $1200 (for the door) to protect $50,000 worth of toys.

Wait thats a real door and not some sort of photoshop? EXCELLENT!

[mr.72]

And he didn't shoot the cat either.

LoL!

rule 3: Keep your finger off the trigger until you have acquired the target

rule 4: identify your target and what is beyond it

Those two rules saved the cat. And of the two cats in my house, this one is the "good one".


In reality I fully did not expect to find anyone in the house. Once I came in the door I could see that nothing of value appeared to be stolen, the house was in the same condition in which we left it, the back door was shut and the deadbolt locked (only lockable from the inside without a key). I could see all of this pretty well immediately; our house is an open floorplan and 50% of the house is visible immediately when you enter from any door, with a lot of high-value stuff visible. So going through the house was more of a verification that there was nothing to be worried about to assuage the fears of my wife and daughters before coming into the house. The kids asked me "did you check every room, including our closets??" before they would come in.

If I had walked in and seen the living room torn up and the back door standing open or my guitars not hanging on the walls or a blank spot where the TV used to be, then I would have turned back around, gotten back in the car, driven down the street and called 911.

[Keith B]

Personally, I'll bet you arrived just in time to save your stuff from being stolen and pawned.

You may not realize it, but your cats may have a problem with catnip addiction. This is very common issue and many owners don't recognize the signs. Cats that laze around the house one minute, then bounce off the walls another is a tell-tale indication. Also, they will rub up against you or lay on your lap in an attempt to disguise their problems.

I would really keep a close eye on them as they may be plotting a large scale clean-out of your items to support their habit and throw a wild party for all their catnip junkie friends.

[mr.72]

You have a good point, Keith. I think this may explain some of the erratic behavior of these cats. One is bipolar, loves you one minute, mercilessly attacks you the next (this is the "bad" one). The other is noisy and nice all the time but is seen frequently using catnip-laced toys.

Hmmm...

I'll definitely keep an eye on this brewing problem. Maybe a squirt gun would be a good weapon against catnip-crazed felines.

[KD5NRH]

If I had walked in and seen the living room torn up and the back door standing open or my guitars not hanging on the walls or a blank spot where the TV used to be, then I would have turned back around, gotten back in the car, driven down the street and called 911.

I used to keep a shotgun in the living room, where if you knew exactly where to look, you could see a bit of the barrel from outside. Anyone inside wouldn't have missed it, and I can't imagine a burglar passing up a decent pump gun sitting out like that, so it was a good indicator that the house was probably clear. It helped that any car within a quarter mile of the house would have been in full view, so not much chance of a burglar still being there without us knowing about it.

Sure, leaving a gun as an indicator-bait might not be the best idea, but anybody ransacking the house would have found all the others too, so I figured it really didn't make much difference in the chances of having a gun stolen. (Plus a rushed burglar finding a typical farm-type gun out in the open might be less inclined to dig as deeply for collectibles elsewhere.)

[iratollah]

I often carry in the house simply because I don't necessarily disarm when I walk in, and I can carry at work.

Probably not a bad idea anyway because there may be some disreputable folks around town who are not too happy with me for some of my activism.

http://www.bridgehouston.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ladromar]

Too bad that when they kicked down his door, he didn't have his gun."

My point above was that the door should not have been able to be kicked down in the first place. And do you folks carry while you are in the shower too? [/quote]


My G19 is within reach while house is empty and I'm in shower

Does that make me weird? or I just have a healthy level of paranoia and self preservation?

please advice

[USA1]

Does that make me weird?

yes...welcome to the club
..you are not alone

[webb3201]

nice door! I just started carrying at home after hearing about similar situations.

[dsim]

I've often thought about it and probably should start but my wife is very paranoid about guns. I told her that I regularly move my pistol to the night stand (its usually in my closet where my 3 year old cant get to it) when I go to bed and put it back in the closet when I get up, for some reason that didnt sit well with her.

[karder]

This is an interesting topic, and one that I am considering. So far I am not actually carrying at the house. I have iron security doors which open outward and stay locked at all times, even when the main door is open. They would be pretty tough to break through quickly. I have a saiga 12 which I keep behind the bed for easy access at night, and a remington 870 in the den inside a compartment in the coffee table. Both are seconds away as I have a really small place, and I figure the security doors give me more than enough time to grab either one. (oh yeah, I have an AR-15 in the kitchen) If I had regular doors with standard deadbolts, I would probably carry at home. I am still considering it anyway! I am definitely not paranoid, it is just that things can happen so quickly and we have to be prepared and hyper-alert at all times. It's a full lifestyle adjustment. It seems that we have to prepare for every possible situation.

[C-dub]

Carring right now IWB, while sitting at the kitchen table.

[Cowboyrob]

Those folk in that church in Illinois probably felt the same way...last month.

Apples and oranges. Pubilc place vs private residence.

Too bad that when they kicked down his door, he didn't have his gun."

My point above was that the door should not have been able to be kicked down in the first place. And do you folks carry while you are in the shower too?

yes, I do and so should you. It's on the sink.

[Crapshoot]

....Another thought, if some had entered your home and they turned to flee would you "shoot to stop the threat" for yourself and others they may go after when they escape your house? There have been many stories were someone gets confronted and flee to other houses/places and end up doing harm to a person.I am not sure how I would feel if they escaped me and then went on to harm someone else.

As a man of conviction familiar with defense useing a firearm I believe it is your duty as a matter of Honor to prevent others from being harmed when you can rightly do so. But as a man with a family and having the responsability of provision I have to take into account the fact that once the threat is no longer iminent I no longer have legal cause for discharge. Even if I know good and well that this cowardly jackass is probably gonna hit somebody else up later I can't prove his intentions elsewhere to a judge and/or jury. If I get arrested or loose my license for preventing what I think might happen, who will protect my family in my stead?
God first, family second, others third...

[buffalo_speedway_tx]

I work from home and always carry. It is amazing the number of people who pass through these suburban neighborhoods on any given week. You never know when your home will be the target of a home invasion or a thief.