Swept my House This Afternoon - False Alarm

[TimMcG74]

When I got home this evening around 5pm there was a Yamaha quad parked at the end of my driveway tucked in neatly next to my shed, and it was apparently chained to my fence. I don't own a quad, and there was absolutely no reason for it to be there. I wasn't sure if someone had stolen it and ditched it there, or if someone was in my yard or, worse, in my house. Needless to say, I was a little concerned. I told my wife and son to stay in the car and went in the house.

I wasn't carrying when we pulled in to the driveway. We were coming from a kids birthday party with my 3 year old son and I anticipated that I would be rolling around on the floor. The last thing I need is to get made in front of all my wife's work friends.

I went in to the house and went straight to my safe, grabbed my .38 and checked the whole house; I didn't find anything suspicious. I went out and took another look at the quad and remembered that it looked a little like one that belongs to a guy who lives a few houses away, so I paid him a visit. Long story short, he lent it to someone and when they returned it they dropped it off at the wrong house - my house.

Today was the first occasion since I've been a gun owner on which I thought there was a somewhat reasonable chance that I'd have to use a firearm in a defensive situation. I don't relish that thought, but I'm glad I am ready for it.

In hind sight I wondered if I over reacted, but you can never be too safe. Maybe I've been reading too many Armed Citizen articles.

 

[mcb]

i say good job, the one day you don't react (or over react) you might not be here to tell us about it.

 

[Fixxah]

Gets the adreneline pumping don't it?

Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

 

[scouter-rick]

So, next party the gun will be properly secured in the vehicle while rolling around for the party and on your side when you get home. Just speculating. ;-)

 

[Catmouflage]

So, next party the gun will be properly secured in the vehicle while rolling around for the party and on your side when you get home. Just speculating. ;-)

Rick! You missed the perfect opportunity to promote a NRA Personal Protection Inside the Home class.

 

[codenamepaul]

So, next party the gun will be properly secured in the vehicle while rolling around for the party and on your side when you get home. Just speculating. ;-)

This.

 

[Ink]

This.

I'll roll around for an hour or so and you'll never see my bodyguard in the ankle holster. Get a lock box and secure it in your vehicle. Don't be that guy who needed his gun on the one day he left it home.

but, 2 nights ago, my Sig came half way out of the holster.... i thought it was about to get the use i never hoped it would. A car parked next to me with 2 guys in it waiting when i came out of the restaurant. They had their doors partially open and were just sitting there... i had to turn my back to one of them in order to get in my jeep...and i watched carefully because it was dark in a near empty lot and i was alone. as soon as i did, both doors flung open and both guys got out.... FAST. i plopped down in my seat, reached back, popped the snap, gripped and watched and thanked the gun gods that i practiced my draws.... turned out to be a false alarm. I had to sit to gain distance because of the way we were parked, i was trapped when i opened my door. (and yes i waited a minute before i approached to see if they would exit their vehicle or go away. )

 

[Molon.Labe]

I wasn't carrying...I went in to the house.

Awesome.
What if he (250lbs ex-MMA ex-con) was hiding in the closet?
Why didn't you call the cops first and let them sweep the house?

 

[TimMcG74]

Awesome.
What if he (250lbs ex-MMA ex-con) was hiding in the closet?
Why didn't you call the cops first and let them sweep the house?

Because it's my house. Should I have counted on the police to sweep my house for me, even though they've never entered it? Besides, it was broad daylight and my wife's phone was at the ready in the driveway.

I have no problem with the police, but it is never my first thought to defer to them to ensure my family's safety.

 

[News Shooter]

I'm really glad it turned out OK for you. I'd have to say that under those circumstances, I would have let the cops earn their pay, their overtime, their days off, their sick days, their special assignment pay, their huge pensions, etc., etc.

 

[TimMcG74]

I have a lock box in my truck, but we drove up in my wife's car. She's by no means anti, she was glad I was armed today, but I'm never getting a lock box in her car.

 

[joeendris]

So, next party the gun will be properly secured in the vehicle while rolling around for the party and on your side when you get home. Just speculating. ;-)

Hey now, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood With a Quad Chained to Your Fence.

That joke being said, there's a nerve that hits when your "house regularities" are amiss. I don't blame Tim at all for playing the "safe game". How do you know what's going on?

 

[GSG]

I have a lock box in my truck, but we drove up in my wife's car. She's by no means anti, she was glad I was armed today, but I'm never getting a lock box in her car.

You can get a small portable one for cheap, or throw a cable or trigger lock in her trunk. Even if you're not doing it to keep a gun in her car, you never know when it might come in handy to have a means to secure your gun, especially in a state with safe storage laws. I live in a free state and I still have cable locks scattered around.

 

[SheepDog_B]

You can get a small portable one for cheap, or throw a cable or trigger lock in her trunk. Even if you're not doing it to keep a gun in her car, you never know when it might come in handy to have a means to secure your gun, especially in a state with safe storage laws. I live in a free state and I still have cable locks scattered around.

Ja. I was at Cabelas this evening, checking out some stuff for the safe and quickly looked over the sm boxes that you lash around the seat post.
I'm looking for something that I can bolt or screw to the floor, hopefully a bit more rugged. I've been inactively looking for something that fits the bill.
I do keep two gun cable locks in my seat back if I DO need to secure in a pinch though....

 

[capewalk]

Awesome.
What if he (250lbs ex-MMA ex-con) was hiding in the closet?
Why didn't you call the cops first and let them sweep the house?

My sentiments exactly.

 

[wolf223]

i clear my house every day i get home. i own a good gun belt with a good holster. i carried to a bbq yesterday... got home, swept the house and yelled "CLEAR" for the boys to come in. you never know...

 

[Rick Roma]

Awesome.
What if he (250lbs ex-MMA ex-con) was hiding in the closet?
Why didn't you call the cops first and let them sweep the house?

^^^^^
This

Because it's my house. Should I have counted on the police to sweep my house for me, even though they've never entered it? Besides, it was broad daylight and my wife's phone was at the ready in the driveway.

I have no problem with the police, but it is never my first thought to defer to them to ensure my family's safety.

How was your family's safety in doubt in this situation? You could have easily pulled up the street and called the cops. To me a firearm is there to get me out of a situation when there is no other option. Why walk into a potentially dangerous situation when you could have called the cops? What if you had to shoot someone? Even if you were 100% in the right the pain and legal expenses of going through that are simply not worth it when you have the option of letting the cops do it for you. In this scenario I call the cops 100% of the time. If someone confronts you or breaks into your house while you're home and you have no other options that's a whole different story.

 

[In God We Trust]

On the rare occasions that I don't carry I always keep a decent knife clipped in my pocket. There is always a can of pepper spray in my truck also.

Maybe start carrying on of those 4 D cell battery maglights in the car. Don't get caught with nothing but your fighting skills even if you are a black belt.

 

[twogunwilly]

Did you tuck and roll through the door and to the safe?

 

[TWtommers]

Tim, I've had the compulsion to clear my house once before at night. Not very fun. Consider a pocket gun too. I carry a j frame in pocket for the birthday party occasions.

To those asking to call cops...really. He was just a bit suspicious of activity. He acted with an appropriate measure of caution in my mind. You can't call the cops every time something is a little out of place or the cat knocks over a vase. At the same time, you can't ignore the things that are warning signs.

 

[Bigtuna]

The quad being chained to the fence would have made me feel better about it. Thinking a BG wouldn't chain it up and limit a quick get away.

 

[BigMike]

I think calling the cops would be unnecessary, until I saw something that would give me more definitive proof that something was off. Also, a chained quad, like BT said, is not the quickest or conspicuous getaway vehicles.

 

[Squished]

Wow this is a bizarre story.

You pull up to your house, know that no one is home, and see a quad in your drive chained to the fence that you know isn't yours. Yet you proceed to enter your house which you aren't sure is safe at this point and go to your gun safe to get your gun without calling the police? That makes absolutely no sense.

First, stolen or not, a BG would never chain their vehicle to inhibit a fast getaway. Chaining the quad to the fence would be the same as the BG booting his car so no one steals it while they wipe you out. It just wouldn't happen. Second, it's doubtful if they were on a quad they'd leave it in plain sight, nevermind chained in plain sight.

I'd say pretty poor decision making entering the house unarmed when you were perfectly safe in your car.

If it happens again, just to be safe, I'd set fire to the quad before entering the house.

 

[Executive]

I'm happy for you that everything turned out OK.
But I think you made a mistake.

Unless you are trained in "clearing" the house, you were at risk.
Also, what were you prepared to do if you did find someone? Shoot them?
I think you were better to call the police to check things out if you really
suspected someone was inside. If you did find someone and shot them,
the DA would have you for breakfast. Sadly, that is how things are in MA.

Again, glad everything was OK but for your own safety and legal well-being,
think about your actions.

Chris

 

[DavidC77]

I know you said the wife would never allow a a lock box in her car, but, just remind her of what could have happened if someone was in your house. Or if something had happened when you were on your way home and you stopped at the ATM or for gas (or whatever) and you didn't have your gun with you to "protect the family". I'm sure she will say OK now.

I have lock boxes in every vehicle I own, you never know when you may have to store your gun for anyreason, it's good to have a lock box for those "Oh Sh&& I can't go in there with my gun" cases.

 

[Terminator03]

Wow, some of the responses in this thread really blew my mind reading them! Since when is it ever a good idea to let police poke around your house? After reading all of the threads on here about why talking to the police, or involving them is NEVER a good idea (guilty, or not), I'm really shocked to see the number of people bashing the op for not just calling in the gestapo. Did I wake up in "bizarro world" today, or something...

That being said, the quad would have peaked my spidey-sense, but once I saw it was chained up, I would have dropped to Defcon2, or 3, since no evildoer in his right mind would bother to lock up his get away vehicle like others pointed out.

 

[Deleted member 12999]

I say finders keepers on the Quad. As far as calling the Police goes, people are free to do whatever they want. I'll take this thread kind of like a debrief. The only thing I would say is that if you felt it was a situation that required a firearm to check your house, doing it alone is putting yourself at risk. If there was a badguy, he heard you pull up, heard you go to your safe (and knows where it is now), and your family is a sitting duck outside in your car. I don't go into clear buildings by myself when I'm working. Other than that, glad things worked out ok for you. Daytime breaks are getting more common where I live. GSD is out whenever we're gone.

 

[Lush999]

I'm assuming being his neighborhood/house he knows when something is amiss. Different strokes for different folks, anywhere else that might not have set off any alarms. He mentioned wife and kid in the car that is all I needed to hear to justify anything that followed. Actually to be honest I may have justified it even before that. There is a time and a place for police but there is also a time and a place to be a man. Society has made us all fearful to step up and protect ourselves without telling the police first. Regardless of the law its you're right to do so. Screw it. Might not have handled it the most efficient way to guarantee you walked away trouble free but you did what any other man should do. Glad you and the family are safe.

 

[Kevin_NH]

Wow, some of the responses in this thread really blew my mind reading them! Since when is it ever a good idea to let police poke around your house?

When you think there might be an (armed) intruder in your house.

After reading all of the threads on here about why talking to the police, or involving them is NEVER a good idea (guilty, or not), I'm really shocked to see the number of people bashing the op for not just calling in the gestapo. Did I wake up in "bizarro world" today, or something..

I haven't seen anybody say to never involve the cops -- there are plenty of good times to involve the police. Seems stupid to risk your life by searching for the baddie all alone with your wife and kids waiting in the car, when you can get a couple of well-armed and armored cops to do it for you -- and if the cops do encounter and shoot an intruder, chances of your being sued/charged/injured are much lower.

 

[Executive]

Since when is it ever a good idea to let police poke around your house?

Idunno. When there is possibly an armed intruder with intent to cause bodily harm to you and your family?

But I forgot. We are all NES Ninjas and because we own firearms, carry occasionally, maybe even practice once in a while, and watch a LOT of action movies and television, we are prepared to go bad-guy hunting in our house with our family left outside in the car.

Look, guys: this is a completely different situation than hearing an intruder at 2AM coming in through the back window. You don't have much of a leg to stand on, legally, if you charge into your home looking to chase the bad-guy out. Where is the threat to you at the point where you enter the home? Is it worth years of legal hassle if you do blast your way in and find the guy you already suspected was there and shoot him?

There is a time and a place for police but there is also a time and a place to be a man.

Yeah, the time and place to be a man is when you have no other choice but to do whatever is necessary to protect you and your family.

Chris