House almost broken into!

[thebaldguy]

Had a little excitement over the weekend. Early Saturday morning (1:30am) I'm downstairs watching TV and playing with the computer. I hear a noise upstairs like something dropped. I go upstairs (wife is sleeping) and don't notice anything. I go back downstairs, and a few minutes later I hear the same noise. Now I grab a flashlight and a gun and go upstairs.

I now notice that our kitchen window screen is damaged and is half way off. My wife's purse is on the table near the window. I'm thinking that someone wanted to grab her purse. I call the police and they take a report. I then learn from a neighbor that earlier a peeping tom report was called in last week.

We talked with the neighbors about this and people will be more alert. The wife will keep her purse away from the window. We will make sure to close and lock the windows when we leave now. There is really not much more we can do. I'm not sure running outside and confronting a criminal is a safe play. The police have said they will increase patrols but I'm not sure this will do much.

[Lee]

That's creepy.  I wish you luck. We have motion lights and two furry yappers with good ears, so it's hard to do that at my house.

[Balog]

:/ Glad the bad guy didn't make it in. Especially the first time when you were investigating unarmed! Not criticism, just observing...

[Declaration Day]

I had an unwanted guest try to get in my house not too long ago.  I was asleep when someone tried to kick in my (thankfully rather strong) door.  It's 80% glass, but the glass is 1/2 inch thick and the rest of the door is solid oak.

I have two big dogs that instantly went nuts.  The guy must have been drunk and high, because they didn't scare him off.  Little did he know that I was sleeping on the couch just inside the door, and I keep a Benelli 12 ga. shotgun loaded with military grade 00 buck on top of the wall-mounted coat rack.  I leaped up, grabbed the shotgun and pointed it through the adjacent window (shooting through the door glass, as thick as it is, would have almost certainly injured me).

So I offered him lead-based dietary supplements, which he declined, indicating so by running away rather quickly.  He hasn't come back.  Can't imagine why.

Any time there is a noise at the door after dark, I approach it while armed.  I am sure you'll do the same from here on out, baldguy!

Glad nobody was hurt.  Stay safe.

[AmbulanceDriver]

Had a similar occurence a number of years ago...  had someone try to pry open the back slider with a screwdriver.  I've got a rem 870 with a flashlight mounted on the foregrip. I heard the dogs start to growl in the family room and so I grabbed the shotgun. Came out of my room and flicked on the flashlight.  I'm thinking this bonehead knows that a flashlight 6 feet off the ground is not necessarily the only thing in the holder's hand, and he decided to retreat post haste...

[Ben]

:/ Glad the bad guy didn't make it in. Especially the first time when you were investigating unarmed! Not criticism, just observing...

I have to get a lot better about that myself. I live in a condo complex, so obviously there's more noise going on close by than at a private residence. But all too often I'll hear a noise and go to see where it's coming from unarmed and then only grab a gun if I hear the same thing a second time and can't identify it. Obviously it's the first time that'll get ya, even if 99.9% of the time it's nothing.

Baldguy -- Are you in a split level home or similar? You mentioned you went upstairs to look. Was someone trying to access via a ladder? Also glad it turned out okay!

[thebaldguy]

I have to get a lot better about that myself. I live in a condo complex, so obviously there's more noise going on close by than at a private residence. But all too often I'll hear a noise and go to see where it's coming from unarmed and then only grab a gun if I hear the same thing a second time and can't identify it. Obviously it's the first time that'll get ya, even if 99.9% of the time it's nothing.

Baldguy -- Are you in a split level home or similar? You mentioned you went upstairs to look. Was someone trying to access via a ladder? Also glad it turned out okay!

I live in a single level home with a basement. We had the windows open as it was a nice cool evening. The first time I heard the noise I thought something in the kitchen area fell on the floor; that's why I went upstairs to check it out and found nothing. The second time I heard the same noise I grabbed a .38 and a flashlight before I went upstairs. I looked out all the windows of the house and saw no one outside. I went outside with the flashlight and revolver and looked around and saw nothing.

My neighbors know about this now and we will all be keeping our eyes more open.

[Monkeyleg]

It's a good thing he didn't get in, for both your sakes.

The timing is unusual, as I was awakened by what sounded like a door opening. That was Saturday morning 1:30 am or so. I took a flashlight and pistol and checked out the house, but didn't see anything unusual.

All in all, I'd rather have my situation than yours. Good luck with getting your neighborhood a bit more organized.

[Perd Hapley]

I keep a Benelli 12 ga. shotgun loaded with military grade 00 buck on top of the wall-mounted coat rack.

What is military-grade 00?

[Regolith]

What is military-grade 00?

It's like regular 00 buckshot, but the hulls are OD-green. 

[Perd Hapley]

It's like regular 00 buckshot, but the hulls are OD-green. 

Want.

[Declaration Day]

It's like regular 00 buckshot, but the hulls are OD-green.  

Yep.  Apparently it's not functionally any better than other popular brands, but Dunham's sells it at a comparable price.   I buy it for the color difference. Mainly for training exercises in the woods.

In general, "military grade"  means "It looks cool but is not as comfortable to use as a civilian equivalent."  

[Perd Hapley]

In general, "military grade"  means "It looks cool but is not as comfortable to use as a civilian equivalent."  

Agreed. Still want.

[Monkeyleg]

You mean these are tactical hulls?

[Azrael256]

You mean these are tactical hulls?

Green, not black.  And they only charge 1.98x as much, not 2x.

[Monkeyleg]

Green, not black

Yes, but OD green looks so good with a tactically black gun. There's contrast, but the colors don't clash. It gives the pairing an understated elegance, a tactical panache, if you will.

[freakazoid]

It's like regular 00 buckshot, but the hulls are OD-green.

Yeah. We recently did some quals with some firearms and one was the practical shotgun course, move from one station to another either standing, crouching, prone, and in the case of the shotgun hipfire, at whatever target the line coach calls out. Our shells were green, with the brass part black, and I was like, do want. 

[Azrael256]

a tactical panache, if you will.

Did you have to stand up to pull that one out?

But seriously...  I have dinner with my neighbors about once a month for this very reason.

[Monkeyleg]

Did you have to stand up to pull that one out?

But seriously...  I have dinner with my neighbors about once a month for this very reason.

Sorry, Azrael256, I lost you on that one. Is my sarcasm meter broken, or are we speaking two different languages?