The FedEx man learned a very valuable lesson!

[Back 40]

My wife and I were relaxing yesterday when I heard a truck pull up behind our house. This happens all the time , but we had the French doors both open that go out onto our back porch. I though that it was probably my next door neighbor, we share a drive that splits before you get up to the house. The next thing I hear is the gate to our porch click and start to open. There is not a single person that we know that would just come into our house with out at least knocking. I jumped up and pulled my PPS and as the gate was opening i find myself staring at our FedEx driver. Needless to say it scared the crap out of both of us. I know he dropped my package and probably dropped his load as well.

He knows now to either come around to the front or knock on the gate before entering.

I had the lesson refreshed to all ways carry at home.
I always thought there would be more time get my gun but there was no way. I had no more time than to get up from my computer chair, turn and draw.

Keep em close guys And gals, you never know when you might need them!

We were lucky but you never know. The one thing that still amazes me is how things happen so quickly, one minute I was surfing this web site the next I have three dots held on this guys chest. Wierd

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Rotorblade]

Don't take this wrong way....just something to think about.
I'm assuming it's daylight as the FED X guy doesn't drop packages in the middle of the night. I would think you would want to take a quick look at who's coming BEFORE you line up the 3 dots on his chest.
It could have been a surprise visit from an out of town relative, the kid down the road selling magazines, your neighbor etc. etc.
Just sayin.......I wouldn't be so quick to put somebody in my sights.

[tokerblue]

Just sayin.......I wouldn't be so quick to put somebody in my sights.

- I can't say that I'm that jumpy either, especially when you know packages are supposed to be delivered by UPS, USPS, DHL or FedEx.

[Harryball]

Don't take this wrong way....just something to think about.
I'm assuming it's daylight as the FED X guy doesn't drop packages in the middle of the night. I would think you would want to take a quick look at who's coming BEFORE you line up the 3 dots on his chest.
It could have been a surprise visit from an out of town relative, the kid down the road selling magazines, your neighbor etc. etc.
Just sayin.......I wouldn't be so quick to put somebody in my sights.

In my area the fed EX drivers run late, sometimes when it is dark out. The OP was right in his actions. You do not just walk up into someones castle.

[Back 40]

Nope didn't know that we had a package comming and I have to say that where we live makes me a little more cautious. We are in a gated area but outside the gates is a not so nice area. We have no family in town and we were not expecting a package. I believe that you shouldn't come into someones house with out knocking and being welcomed in. I know at my parents when we go home and at all of our friends. You might view it as paranoid but if someone came into your home uninvited what would you do. Wait to see if they are friendly? I live in Las Vegas, we have home invasions, it happens more in broad daylight than at night.

I appreciate your advice and truly take all feedback to heart.

[tokerblue]

Did the FedEx guy walk into your house or into your porch? I know that in my old house, I would never hear anyone knocking on my porch door. Everyone that came to my house went into the porch to knock on my front door.

[Saber]

I’m rather mixed on this one because I’ve had it both ways. I live in a pretty calm neighborhood so that does tend to lower my guard. And as you may imagine at this point, I had a guy just open my door and walk in! It was innocent enough, but I wasted no time in telling him 'that's a good way to get shot.’ Conversely, I’ve had unexpected guests arrive and failed to secure a gun that was up on a mantel. It was in a safe location, but my guests were somewhat intimidated. The scary part is that I spaced it because I live alone and I wasn't expecting anyone. YES, it does happen!

Still, I don’t usually carry in my home like I use to. I do tend to have ready access but I realize that may not be enough. Right now, my 640 is resting under my monitor just above the keyboard. If I were to go to the kitchen, bathroom etc., I wouldn’t drag it along. Oh well, I guess we all have our limits.

[NC Bullseye]

My luck it would have been a nervous cop with gun drawn looking for an armed escapee.

[DarylW]

Don't take this the wrong way, but...

I've had a lot of unexpected people that "stopped by" for whatever reason.

One that comes to mind is a young girl in her teens that lived a few doors down the road. It was raining out, and her mother was something like an hour late getting home to let her in the house. She just wanted to borrow a phone to call her mother. I was open carrying when I said, "Oh, sure! Here ya go.." and handed her my cell phone.

On the other hand, the pit bull from next door that suddenly appeared in my yard twice this year was a different story. I don't even remember drawing, but I do remember focusing on the sights that were centered on his forehead.

Calm nerves and a steady hand will usually triumph over all else. I hope I don't sound judgemental, because I don't mean to. I'm just saying that we all need to be sorta careful of how we handle and use our firearms. Non-threats are a non-issue, and shouldn't cause one to put a gun in his/her hand(s).

Daryl

[SIGguy229]

I've never seen FedEx deliver on a Sunday...

[PiperLambie]

we had the French doors both open that go out onto our back porch...The next thing I hear is the gate to our porch click and start to open.

As one of the aforementioned "FedEx Guys" to which you refer, I would have done the same thing as the driver with the exception of calling out if I see that your doors are open and someone might hear.

Unless I am mistaken, it sounds like the gate that you have takes the place of a screen door. We do not deliver to screen doors or gates- we do deliver to doors, but I have never crossed into a recipient's home even if the door is open. I will however approach the door.

I commend your SA, however I also don't know that I would draw down on a person for "coming into your house" if they have not breached the threshold of the actual doorway since you left the door wide open and have no latching mechanism on the gate/screen door as a deterrent. The one common aspect that all homes have is a door or several and that is where we aim to go. Glad it didn't end badly for either of you, but just remember it's high speed low drag for us- after all, we are trying deliver the world...

[PM]

I've never seen FedEx deliver on a Sunday...

Sigguy it was Saturday but that is rare in my neck the woods (read 1 in a million) has to be an overnighted package and then they try not to do that --- I know a Fed ex dude and he has said they hate to do Saturday deliveries.

[hipthunder]

my doors and gates are generally locked so i have rarely experienced walk ups that were unannounced - but i can see where this kind of thing could be a little un-nerving

[gunshrink]

I had another situation that hopefully "schooled" the FEDX man. About a year ago I had SA do some work on my XD Tactical. I live about five hours from the factory, so my wife and I took a couple days mini vacation and headed down. They did some work on one gun on the spot and offered to send the other back for free. Well in about a week they finished and sent back via FEDX. Well, since I work more than am at home I had it sent to my own biz. When the delivery man could not find my office (only a 5,000 sq ft building, I can understand) so he dropped this special gun - competition tuned at the convience store next door. Manager signs for it and then (fortunately he didn't open it) puts it under the counter. Fortunately early in the day, one of my staff goes over there, gets asked if she knows this person (me) and then hands off to me. Fortunately the next person to get it was me and except for the delivery man all ended well. I called FEDX, explained the situation and pretty much scared the hell out of them. Lot of coaching took place and the guy is still working but I'll bet he is a lot more careful.

[retsupt99]

Someone just walking around the back of my home and into a secured area may not have a weapon pointed directly at them, but they will probably become keenly aware of its presence.
As long as your finger was not on the trigger, all was well...

Only months ago our Rhodesian Ridgeback was the 'presence' that strangers became quickly introduced to...he had sent the UPS, FedEx, and Waste Management fellows running back to their trucks upon their first meeting...what a great dog, no one ever surprised us. Now we miss him terribly.