Friendly Reminder

[Stomper]

Everybody speaks 870.

They also speak 500, 590, and 930…..

 

[TTSX]

No good deed goes unpunished. I do not help strangers. Strangers are not welcome on my property. Guns are always within reach. Cameras are always recording. Depending on where you live, shovels may be worth buying in bulk

Glad you're ok and learned a lesson. I learned my lesson a few years back

 

[TTSX]

They also speak 500, 590, and 930…..

Or 88 if they're on a budget

 

[kmk1012]

Or 88 if they're on a budget

I've got an old JC Higgins too

 

[Knobgoblin]

Or 88 if they're on a budget

Hey!
I don't mind the mighty Mav.

 

[bradsteen]

Checking back in here after getting some sleep. Our driveway isn't a place you accidentally go to, the address is well marked and lit up. After he did not leave when being told he had the wrong address and kept on asking me to open the door so I could see something, my inner alarm went off. When he finally realized he wasn't getting in he returned to his car where there were several others in it. They pulled away to my back driveway, at this point I'm in my back/side yard observing. That's when I put two into my well lawn, it's well irrigated and no neighbors in background. That's what sent them on their way. I noticed a car at the home down from us that's being renovated and is currently empty. The car that the guy left in, turned around and pulled in behind them at the vacant house. My wife called (left message) to the owners. The owner called back this morning and said no one should have been there. Very creepy for all of us. Shooting where I live is a way of life and is in no way illegal or dangerous, not even a question. These people were up to no good and hopefully got my message to not come back.

Apologies if I came off as judgemental in my previous post, that was not my intention. Thanks for the extra context, that definitely makes the situation clearer. Sounds like some folks up to no good, and a scary situation all around.

Food for thought - take it or leave it - but in my opinion the moment you open the door to confront a potential threat, you create unnecessary risk to yourself and your family. What if they're armed? What if they shoot you the moment you open the door? Now suddenly you're out of commission, your front door is unlocked, and your wife/kids are vulnerable. Not a pleasant thought to consider, but that is the reality you face.

Multiple potential threats in a vehicle under low-light conditions gives them plenty of opportunity to surprise you and gain the upper hand - you can't tell if they have weapons, and you can't tell if they're pointing at you. Your home is the most defensible space you have - it is a physical barrier that a threat must go through, it offers concealment, and may (depending on the home) provide some ballistic protection. I would recommend thinking carefully about what circumstances are important enough to you to justify leaving that security and exposing yourself to potential harm. You don't want to get ambushed or walk into a potential conflict unprepared, because you are your family's last line of defense.

If you haven't already done so, setting up motion activated lighting around the exterior of your home will help ensure a clear view of the immediate surroundings in low light situations, and cameras can help you monitor all sides of the home at once. Adding a driveway alarm to alert you when a vehicle pulls in can also buy you some extra time to get that gun in hand. It's also worth considering a long gun for home defense - I would personally feel more comfortable with a 30rd mag than a 10-15rd mag if dealing with multiple assailants.

Hopefully that situation doesn't happen again, but if it does I would recommend taking the time to identify the number of people, make/model/license plate of vehicle, whether they are exhibiting any aggressive or concerning behaviors (acting drunk, high, or crazy), and whether or not weapons are visible. That info should be communicated to law enforcement to get help heading your way as soon as possible. You could also have your wife make the call while you stand watch and relay details to her to communicate to the police. Maybe they'll take some time to get there but it's better than calling when the bullets start flying.

Additionally, if law enforcement response is a significant distance away and you have neighbors close by that are armed and trustworthy, you might consider calling them for immediate help (in addition to getting law enforcement heading your way, not instead of). This is a less than ideal situation because you and your neighbor probably aren't trained for that kind of thing, it introduces its own hazards (potential for friendly fire or escalation of a non-threat situation, etc), and legally it could complicate things in the aftermath of the incident. However a 2 min response time beats a 40 min response time when you have a potential threat at your doorstep, and the appearance of a third party may encourage them to discontinue their behavior. Granted, I'm not familiar with how mutual aid support of neighbors in rural areas factors in to defensive gun use cases and the law, so it would be worth doing some research on before enacting that plan.

Either way, I'm sorry to hear that you went through that situation, but glad that you and your family got through it ok. Best of luck with your efforts to harden up your defensive posture, and I sincerely hope you don't have to deal with that kind of thing again.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I don't mean to armchair quarterback here, but did the guy attempt to force entry, get violent, threaten you with harm, etc? Did he appear to be armed or engage in aggressive behavior? Obviously you were there and experienced it, so perhaps I'm not getting all the context regarding this encounter, but from your description it sounds like a dude with the wrong address and a possible language barrier more than a threatening situation.

I also don't understand why you fired the warning shots - if he didn't pose a threat there's no justification to discharge the weapon, and if he did pose a threat you should be firing at him, not into the dirt.

Sounds like you're taking it as a learning experience, which is good - taking a critical look at what happened after the dust settles is a great way to identify how to improve future performance. I would recommend reconsidering your overall approach to these situations. You have a locked door and a firearm - going out to confront the guy puts you at risk unnecessarily, and if you did have to use deadly force in this situation you could be considered the aggressor in the eyes of the law because you brought the gun out first.

Purely conversational tone , for context.

Not everyone accepts the type of nonsense that has become " normal " along I-5 . In other words, Seattle thinking isn't the baseline. This includes local law enforcement agencies.

 

[gryghin]

The only item that I didn't see in the list of the suggestions... get one of those wired video doorbells. I have Arlo because I already have those cameras.

After seeing the YouTube about wireless video suppression, I'm thinking of getting a back up video system that is wired.

Glad everything turned out well, but definitely increase threat level to yellow for the next week.

 

[bradsteen]

Purely conversational tone , for context.

I see what you did there! Well played.

And fair point - my perspective is specific to the Northwest Nuthouse, so YMMV.

 

[OldBroad44]

I'm not saying they have to know English before they come here, I'm just saying that if they come here they have to understand that they need to make an effort to learn it. By putting signs and different things like that in all these different languages it pretty much tells anyone that they don't have to make an effort to learn the language. Not only that, the ultra leftist are weaponizing peoples ability to speak different languages when it comes to hiring practices and getting into school programs. One of the nurses I work with said that she got an additional 20 points more than English only speakers because she happens to speak her native language (Chinese) and that was part of the new "Equity and inclusion" portion of the nursing application. So you can see that an immigrant was given an unfair advantage over a person who is born in this country that only speaks our "official" language.

Even if all immigrants knew English, there are still temporary guest workers, visitors, and tourists. I think being being fluent in a second language that matters in your region has always been considered in job applications where its relevant, and long before 'equity and inclusion' got to be such a thing. Here in the NW its a huge advantage if a farm manager speaks Spanish, for example, because so many temporary guest workers don't speak English. Likewise, its useful if at least one person on an EMT team have Spanish so he/she can communicate with victims or witnesses. And its invaluable in an area where there are many guest workers who speak Spanish but not English for some of the nurses and doctors or other hospital personnel to speak Spanish. There are plenty of US-born citizens who are bilingual, and who get an advantage in being hired too. It isn't about giving an advantage to immigrants. Its about counting extra language skills that are useful on the job as one of the criteria in hiring for that job, whatever your background. I had to demonstrate ability to read the scientific literature in two different languages besides English as part of getting my phud. And they had to be German, French, or Russian. So much for all my HS Spanish. Scientists are expected to be able to communicate with other scientists around the world. The languages that matter most in biology are English, French and German. These days, increasingly, much manufacturing is being relocated from China to Mexico, so being fluent in Spanish is going to be increasingly important for business people.

 

[kmk1012]

For a little clarification regarding an earlier post, I did not go out the front door but out my one of my back doors. I could see them in my driveway through the front window and wanted to verify the yard and shop were all ok. They'd have to open a gate to get through and I had an escape route planned if needed.

 

[kmk1012]

Now, after speaking about quick access safes with a good friend we both agreed a biometrics type would be the best option for all who would need to use it. So, I'm on the hunt for a couple wall mounted units if anyone has suggestions.

 

[po18guy]

Or the vaunted High Standard "Riot Gun" - now there's something in this age of non-riots.

 

[OldBroad44]

No good deed goes unpunished. I do not help strangers. Strangers are not welcome on my property. Guns are always within reach. Cameras are always recording. Depending on where you live, shovels may be worth buying in bulk

Glad you're ok and learned a lesson. I learned my lesson a few years back

I do help strangers if I can afford to. But I certainly realize that 'stranger in distress' is often the set-up for an attack. But most good deeds, in my experience, not only aren't punished, they make the world a little better a place.

Once upon a time I was that stranger who came to a house and said it was an emergency and asked to use their phone. This was in Corvallis, before the era of cell phones. The house was near the RR tracks, the closest house to a park I just came from near the river. Even though it was broad daylight and I was female and the guys in the house were male, they viewed me with obvious suspicion. Houses near those tracks suffered a lot from petty thievery from people riding the rails or from homeless people camping in the woods. They didn't invite me in. Instead they brought the phone, which had a long extension cord, to the porch. I called 911, reported that a guy down on the bike path had run into a tree and broken his leg. ("How do you know its broken?" "He says he heard the bone snap.") There was no road that gave easy access. The closest way to reach the guy would be to send the ambulance to my current location and send two guys with a stretcher with me down the tracks a short way, then down a path that was a shortcut through a little woods to a meadow across which was the guy with the broken leg near the bike path. Really only the equivalent of two city blocks. So that's what we did. After the ambulance carted the injured guy off I thanked the guys for use of their phone and went on my way.

 

[Dr Prepper]

I've got an old JC Higgins too

Next time tell your wife the secret code for getting your guns is: Honey grab the jar of solicitor's acid, we got another one!"

 

[Dr Prepper]

Now, after speaking about quick access safes with a good friend we both agreed a biometrics type would be the best option for all who would need to use it. So, I'm on the hunt for a couple wall mounted units if anyone has suggestions.

There's problems with those too. Like bloody or wet fingers, scars that change your print, band aids etc. But then again I don't think anything is perfect there's always a hitch, so just plan accordingly. This is one of the reasons I said just having a really hidden crafty way of hiding it is often the best.

Not tying to poo poo just want to make sure your well informed.

 

[gryghin]

Now, after speaking about quick access safes with a good friend we both agreed a biometrics type would be the best option for all who would need to use it. So, I'm on the hunt for a couple wall mounted units if anyone has suggestions.

I know that Lifepod has different options. I use one for travel because it's lite and has a cable lock.

 

[edzz]

Yeah. I'm a huge fan of Thomas Sowell. For those who might be interested...He's a prominent conservative economist, historian, sociologist. Now a Sr. Scholar at Hoover Institute. Also black. Now 90. Born in segregated south. Grew up mostly in Harlem. Joined Marines during WWII. AB from Harvard. PhD U of Chicago. Taught at Cornell a while. Has written a few dozen books. When he addresses any subject, say, affirmative action, he considers it over hundreds of years in multiple countries. So you end up seeing how affirmative action has worked--or, as it turns out, failed, pretty much wherever and whenever tried, harming all concerned including those it was designed to help. Check out his YouTube videos, especially those done on Uncommon Knowledge, where Peter Robinson is the interviewer, the most thorough rigorous interviewer I've seen. Several of Sowell's books are available free in audio versions on YouTube too, including his memoirs, one of the most fascinating. Has an irreverent sense of humor and is a cheerful, undaughtable, fearless character.

He is a bit young to have served in WWII. FWIW he served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War.

Still Old Corps.
Semper Fi

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

At 21:50 (9:50pm) I had a knock at my door, I live rural and it is not normal at all.

Repeat after me "Pants on, gun on."

For those lazy holiday mornings when I am in no hurry to get dressed I have a robe with pockets large enough to hold a Ruger LCR38 or LC9s.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

At night at my door it might be pants off, gun on.