My mom learned this. She'd hired some guys to take down some trees on her property. They came and did the job and she paid them. A few weeks later they show up on her porch high as a kite. She realized calling the cops would take longer than them just bashing the door in. She did manage to call the cops and talk them down but the sheriff (she lives in a rural area) didn't get there until 20 minutes after they had left.
She talked to her neighbor and bought a shotgun and a revolver off him and he took her out in the woods to practice. She does drills running through her house to grab her shotgun, now.
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