The worst feeling in the world has to be the sound of someone trying to bust in your door. I spent the first half of my life in Allentown in some rough neighborhoods. I used to sleep hugging my 12 gauge every night in my first apartment. The people that rented above me dealt in some bad deals and more than once, people would try and bust in my door while I slept.
I moved into another apartment a year later, and some people tried breaking into that apartment while my wife was alone with our week-old baby. We hadn’t even got our phone installed yet, so she had no way to call for help. This was in the middle of the day with renters on all sides of us. My wife was screaming to get away and they beat on the door until they could not beat anymore. None of our neighbors tried to help.
Guess what; no one is going to rescue you before something happens. You are the only one that can save your own life. Having a firearm is great, but if someone can kick in your door, they can get to you before you can get to your gun (at least in most homes).
Having a door barrier is your chance to get to your gun before they get to you. That is the number one reason to have a door barrier. The second reason is more obvious: to be impenetrable. Nothing is 100% impenetrable, but we want to do the best we can.
Your home is your castle and you should protect it. I would start with a steel door. They offer much better protection than a wood door. Get them without windows and make sure to have a deadbolt hole.
The deadbolt should be one without a key on the outside. This deadbolt is designed to keep you safe while in the home. This one cannot be picked to drilled out. Some are better than others, so just do your research.
I taught my daughter how to pick locks when she was 10 years old. That was 10 or more years ago, and not to be a criminal but to see how secure door locks were. Not only did I have her pick our door lock, dead bolts, pad locks and even car doors, but that was with less than a few hours training.
So, any locksmith will tell you locks are to keep honest people out of your house. Don’t just depend on your lock. The next thing you want on your door are door hinge reinforcements and metal door jams. The best lock in the world won’t mean a thing if your frame gives out when they kick it in.
The best and cheapest way to secure your door is going back hundreds of years to the door barricade. The door barricade is one of the best and cheapest ways to secure your home when you’re inside. All you need to get are (2) “closed bar holders.” These can be found at any hardware store along with a few 4” lag bolts to screw into the wall studs and an oak bar that fits.
I would put one on every outside door, and you can sleep in peace. Even if someone is trying to kick in your door, you can have a cup of coffee before calling the police or having to waste a bullet.
