Yesterday, I received a Milt Sparks VM-2HS (Versa Max 2, horsehide with shark trim) that I'd run accross in like new condition, for my Springfield Micro Compact 1911. If any of you follow the 1911 forum, you may know I'm in the middle of fixing reliablility issues with this weapon. Obviously, it's in no position to be carried right now. But I figured I'd at least try the gun/holster combination on today. Maybe wear it arounfd the house. Hell, I know it's good for at least one shot, and more than likely a full mag (or nearly anyway). Besides, what are the odds......

So I'm sitting at the kitchen table using the laptop computer. I hear the door bell. It is my neighbors new wife, saying she's just returned home, and had left the door open (no, I'm not in the city, a near suburb, but c'mon! People need to be brighter than that!). Anyway, she got to the door and thought she heard something. She's scared, and would I come over and have a look yada yada... So I'm thinking.... of all the days to be carrying a pistol I wouldn't trust knowingly entering a gunfight!

I told her I'd be right with her, and made tracks for another weapon. About to grab my normal carry piece, I decided to go with the Kimber Desert Warrior instead. Lock and load, spare mag, and Surefire X200B mounted (the reason I opted for the not yet totally proven Kimber).

So I get to go do my first house clearing with the X200B (yes, it works very nicely!). And no, there was no one in the house. Nor had anyone been there. But she was reassured, and put away the HUGE kitchen knife she'd retreived from the drawer before coming to get me (hey, the door was a stupid thing, but I WAS impressed she at least had the mentality to arm herself with something once she sensed a possible threat).

Needless to say, when I returned home I switched holsters to the full sized Versa Max 2 and put the PX9109L where it belongs.... on my waist! But I gotta tell ya, that LW Micro Loaded 1911 and the awesome VM-2HS are an incredibly comfortable package! I only hope I can get that puppy barking like it ought to.

Seems like you have pretty cool neighbors to let you clear their house with handgun drawn

Quoted: Yesterday, I received a Milt Sparks VM-2HS (Versa Max 2, horsehide with shark trim) that I'd run accross in like new condition, for my Springfield Micro Compact 1911. If any of you follow the 1911 forum, you may know I'm in the middle of fixing reliablility issues with this weapon. Obviously, it's in no position to be carried right now. But I figured I'd at least try the gun/holster combination on today. Maybe wear it arounfd the house. Hell, I know it's good for at least one shot, and more than likely a full mag (or nearly anyway). Besides, what are the odds...... So I'm sitting at the kitchen table using the laptop computer. I hear the door bell. It is my neighbors new wife, saying she's just returned home, and had left the door open (no, I'm not in the city, a near suburb, but c'mon! People need to be brighter than that!). Anyway, she got to the door and thought she heard something. She's scared, and would I come over and have a look yada yada... So I'm thinking.... of all the days to be carrying a pistol I wouldn't trust knowingly entering a gunfight! I told her I'd be right with her, and made tracks for another weapon. About to grab my normal carry piece, I decided to go with the Kimber Desert Warrior instead. Lock and load, spare mag, and Surefire X200B mounted (the reason I opted for the not yet totally proven Kimber). So I get to go do my first house clearing with the X200B (yes, it works very nicely!). And no, there was no one in the house. Nor had anyone been there. But she was reassured, and put away the HUGE kitchen knife she'd retreived from the drawer before coming to get me (hey, the door was a stupid thing, but I WAS impressed she at least had the mentality to arm herself with something once she sensed a possible threat). Needless to say, when I returned home I switched holsters to the full sized Versa Max 2 and put the PX9109L where it belongs.... on my waist! But I gotta tell ya, that LW Micro Loaded 1911 and the awesome VM-2HS are an incredibly comfortable package! I only hope I can get that puppy barking like it ought to.

WOW! I can’t think of a dumber move than to knowingly place yourself into an environment you know and/or have great reason to believe is potentially dangerous. Glad the gun and the light worked out for ya’ but really wouldn’t it have been smarter to call the police rather than to enter that house?

Yes you are correct of course. I would have exited at the first sign of anything amiss (had burglary in homes I've lived in several times back when I lived in the city). Thing is, if they were there to steal, there would have been something amiss. Had I seen such, I would have exited and let the professionals do their thing. Frankly, I think she just got scared and wanted someone to be sure it was okay. And I think she was too embarrassed to call the police (because she'd left the door unsecured, which is something she won't be doing again anytime soon).

Had I thought the chances were high there was an intruder, I would have simply suggested she wait in my house until the police arrived. This was more or less a situation of appeasing a scared woman. Then again, it would have sucked if I'd walked into an armed person intent on doing harm (she remained on the telephone at the doorway while I checked the main floor, then inside near the door while I checked the basement.

T Bone I think you did good. Coming to the aid of your neighbor.

Being a LEO, I would normally tell you to watch the area from a safe position and call me (well not me, as the response time would be a bitch). But it sounds from your post that you made an assessment of the situation and responded accordingly. As you posted,I trust you would have stopped immediately if you had seen or heard anything which lead you to believe that an intruder was still inside.

I would caution you that search and clear is one of the most dangerous things you can do, especially alone. So I would not suggest you make a habit of it.

Also remember that if an intruder had been there, but had left, and a neighbor had called it in, when the police do get there, you just became the "man with a gun". Not trying to commend you and then flame you, after all you were there, I wasn't. Just trying to point out possible better options.

As a fellow PX9109L owner, I would suggest you take the tried and true gun until the others are tested further. The light and gun combination is the way to go once it's tested further however.

That's a very bold move you made and very stupid at that.  As you said yourself, "one never knows."  The chances for a burglar, rapist, or killer to be in the house were slim, but the possibility existed.

I'm not trying to put you down and call you stupid; just giving you an honest assessment.  Hell, I've cleared my appartment with a KA-BAR knife when I knew for sure that my door had been pried open with a crow bar.  That was a few years ago, of course, when I was full of piss and vinegar, fresh from a deployment.

Anyway, I hope you got a good practice and won't do it again.

Hell, I've cleared my appartment with a KA-BAR knife when I knew for sure that my door had been pried open with a crow bar.

And yet you have the nerve to say "That's a very bold move you made and very stupid at that"

Okee fine. Did you carry the Ka-Bar in your teeth?

For the record, I'm full of neither piss nor viniger. Nor that other thing you're thinking of at the moment. I'm also no noob when it comes to securing a situation. And I have seen professionals, Detroit's "finest" in this element, both at their best, and at their worst. At their best, they were top notch pros. Done the city proud. At their worst, clowns would be too generous a description. But I'm in a suburb now, and would be dealing with a small, overworked department. And yes, if they'd been called, it would be unwise for anyone to enter while waiting for them to show up.

Dude, you wern't here, simple as that. I was. I knew it was possible someone was in there. Here's a shocker for ya'll. It's ALWAYS possible! It was unlikely, but possible. Had I encountered anything amiss (burglars tend to move things, leave stuff strewn about and drawers open, but of course not always, and it may not have been burglars....) I would have exited promptly.

I took a reasonably low risk approach rather than bothering the local PD with something they didn't need to be bothered with (because some woman leaves her door open~oops!~ and gets scared, we should drag in the authorites? Not in this case).

I helped assuage a neighbor lady's fears in the unlikely event there was in fact someone in the house. Nothing more.


The original point of my post was the irony of the timing. 9 out of 9.1 times, I would not have been carrying the malfunctioning sidearm.

Further irony here in that I end up getting slammed for how I dealt with a "situation" for which no one reading can get the feel of the dynamics from my narrative (probably why I'm not a professional writer either....).

9-1-1.

Forgot to mention earlier, thanks to XM17SBullpup. I think you got it right, and appreciate the points you made. Well taken.

Your Welcome.

Is she hot?

Quoted: And yet you have the nerve to say "That's a very bold move you made and very stupid at that" Okee fine. Did you carry the Ka-Bar in your teeth? For the record, I'm full of neither piss nor viniger. Nor that other thing you're thinking of at the moment. I'm also no noob when it comes to securing a situation. And I have seen professionals, Detroit's "finest" in this element, both at their best, and at their worst. At their best, they were top notch pros. Done the city proud. At their worst, clowns would be too generous a description. But I'm in a suburb now, and would be dealing with a small, overworked department. And yes, if they'd been called, it would be unwise for anyone to enter while waiting for them to show up. Dude, you wern't here, simple as that. I was. I knew it was possible someone was in there. Here's a shocker for ya'll. It's ALWAYS possible! It was unlikely, but possible. Had I encountered anything amiss (burglars tend to move things, leave stuff strewn about and drawers open, but of course not always, and it may not have been burglars....) I would have exited promptly. I took a reasonably low risk approach rather than bothering the local PD with something they didn't need to be bothered with (because some woman leaves her door open~oops!~ and gets scared, we should drag in the authorites? Not in this case). I helped assuage a neighbor lady's fears in the unlikely event there was in fact someone in the house. Nothing more. The original point of my post was the irony of the timing. 9 out of 9.1 times, I would not have been carrying the malfunctioning sidearm. Further irony here in that I end up getting slammed for how I dealt with a "situation" for which no one reading can get the feel of the dynamics from my narrative (probably why I'm not a professional writer either....).

No need to get defensive.  If you pay attention to my short post, you'll see that slamming you was not my intention.  What I did was much dumber.  I mentioned that to show you that I have too made bad decisions and am not in a position to slam you.

When posting an issue in an open forum, do expect opinions that differ from yours.

Fair enough. And peoples opinions are what forums are about, yes? We're all entitled.

No offense intended on my part (the teeth thing was tongue in cheek, hence the ).

Still don't feel I made the wrong call, but I certainly could be wrong. OTOH, it would have taken very little different in the situation for me to completely agree with you. It's the little differences here that made the difference to me.

Still trying to get that Micro up to snuff. It, the Kimber and a new P3AT are heading for the range in the next two days for more reliability trials. Some more 'smith work on the Micro plus a F&B on the Kel Tec in order before I go. The Kimber is good to go as is.

Oh, and Road rash? Well, like I said, she's my neighbor's wife, but....

years ago a neighbors buglar alarm went off while she was just walking up her front stairs. she panicked and ran over. asked me and my father to check the house. I armed myself with my 1911, spare mag, and a SF 6P and cleared her home with my dad watching the door we had found to be open in the rear of the house. i was 21, 3 years and a ALOT of training ago. there was no one there, she went home feeling safe. all was fine.

I told this story to a few people i was taking a handgun class with and got tore a new a-hole. i felt like a i was a damn 6 year old trying to talk to adults about stocks. the one thing they said - and then proved with blue guns and an empty house, is that if someone with decent firearm training is in the home you are pretty much done for.

they all said call the people who get paid to put themselves in situations like that - have a coke and smile while they do their job.

i did the same thing you did - and got burned for it a lot worse than you did.

just thought i would share - the irony you actually wrote about is funny - have had similar happenings, mainly with snap caps though :P

nice weapon choice though - i wish they made the warrior without the rail!