imported post
I used to be in the habit of clearing the house every time I came home, when I lived alone in a dicey neighborhood in Martinsburg WV. It was an OLD house in a dodgy part of town, with no security system, and the doors and windows were not the most secure, being over 80 years old for the most part...
When we (my sweety and I) lived in Fayetteville NC, I would only do it if we came home and something was amiss, like a door was unlocked, or a window was open. In every case it was usually because she left something unsecured.
In Washington NC, we have a home in a secluded but watchful neighborhood. Never had an incident, and although it took a while, I finally got the wife and daughter "trained" to lock up whenever they went out or were "home alone".
Only two times have I "cleared" this house. The first time my sweety was working days, and I was working nights (and the daughter hadn't moved back in yet). I came home from work one morning, and my sweetie's car was gone (she was at work), but the front door was slightly ajar. I was CC (because i was just getting off work), and coming up the front stairs of the porch, I noticed the door. I immediately unholstered, and proceeded to "clear" the entire house--three floors consisting of 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, closets, and garage. Finding nothing amiss, I went about the rest of my morning...
The second time, I came home from work (wife was at work, daughter was still asleep, I thought). The daughter's car was in the drive, but I noticed again that the front door was slightly open, and the lights and TV were all still on. From my vehicle, I attempted to call my daughter on my cell phone, but there was no answer, so I unholstered, and carefully entered the house. I called her name and asked if everything was OK (her room is on the second floor) and she answered everything was OK. Then I walked up the stairs (still in a low-safe grip) and she looked out from under her quilt to see me. She didn't see my gun, but she could tell by the look on my face that something was not right. I re-holstered, and then she realized she'd left the front door unlocked and the TV on, and she apologized...
As it turns out, my training with my daughter (who is 24 years old) has worked out well. One night, when I was at work and she was alone at home, a loud noise woke her up at about 3am. She kept a big chef's knife in her bedroom, but this noise was loud enough that she decided she needed something more "persuasive", so she ran into the Master bedroom and got the Mossberg from it's secure location. I keep it with 6 in the tube, but none in the chamber (so you HAVE to rack it to use it--it's safer that way, and that way you KNOW the BG's hear it!) She racked on into the chamber, and then sat in the master bedroom (behind cover!) for about a half hour listening, with her cellphone in her hand and the Mossy on her lap. After she decided there wasn't anyone in the house, she took the Mossberg and "cleared" the house with the attached flashlight, then put it back in the Master bedroom. As soon as I came home, she told me what had happened and I cleared the unfired cartridge from the chamber. We later determined that one of the cats had knocked a stack of boxes over in the pantry. We talked about her reaction, and how well she handled it. I told her the only thing she could have done better was to call ME as soon as she had the shotgun in her hands. But I was VERY proud that she did everything else "by the book" and didn't just rush through the house looking for whatever made the noise, or didn't just hide in her room, unarmed. I was very proud of her....
Moral of the story: Don't mess with Dreamer's house. There is someone home 24/7 (some of us work shift, some are students), and we are ALL armed, trained, vigilant, and NOT willing to be "good little victims"--even my 100lb, 24-year-old art-student daughter...
