Here’s a pretty good summation of the situation in CA - I’m sure it’d different in other states.
This thread is too bizarre. Way, way, way out there.
Ah. You’re new here, I see.
The “man in the street” distinction is that if a gun is in a holster, using the gun requires an absolute minimum of one action (drawing the gun) and almost always a second action (such as unsnapping a retaining strap). Whereas having a gun already in one’s hand (a) gives essentially no time for warning of unfriendly intentions and (b) creates the impression of having the need or desire to use it.
My first wife had a very strict curfew when she was growing up. By strict, I mean if a date got her home late, her father would meet them at the door holding a gun.
Recently, in OK, a person shot/held a burglar, then called the cops. When the police arrived, he answered the door with a gun either in his hand or holster. His funeral was three days later. No charges filed.
Does “his” refer to the burglar or the man who answered the door?
I’ve never owned a gun, but I did own a 7-foot boa constrictor for a while. After my husband passed away, when the doorbell rang after dark, I’d wrap Boris the boa around me before answering. The look on their faces was priceless.
Boris also did a good job of deterring the Mormon missionaries and the Jehovah’s witnesses. When I’d answer the door, bedecked with Boris, I’d say “Hello, I’m Eve, what’s your name?” (my name is NOT Eve, but it was there and I had to take it) Not once did any of them ever ask to come in. They’d hand me their literature and skeedaddle. 
Shoulda offered visitors an apple, too 
I frequently meet strange folks half-way from the gate while carrying some kind of firearm. Nothing bad has happened yet.
I was thinking about putting a sign on the fence that says “Salesmen and Preachers put me in fear of my life”.
Well, I forgot to mention that the man had a wooden leg, named Smith.
Who names their wooden leg?
…someone pulling the other one?
As used in this section, “public place” means any of the following: (1) A public place in an incorporated city. (2) A public street in an incorporated city. (3) A public street in an unincorporated area.”)
It’s late 2014, almost 2015. Who answers the door without a gun nowadays?
↑↑↑ This… 
To answer the op’s question, it wouldn’t be advisable to brandish a weapon of any kind when opening the door. INAL but I don’t think the crime of inducing panic stops at the edge of private property. In fact, they just arrested a guy in my area for shooting his house. Apparently he had some kind of Elvis flashback. So even though we have solid castle laws and CCW licensing there are still rules to be followed.
I have no issue with a homeowner answering the door with gun in hand. Gun in view goes beyond good behavior and seems a bit paranoid.
Owning a gun requires a certain level of judgment and hopefully consideration towards others or at least it should.
Nobody should even know you have the gun unless things go so horribly wrong that its use is imminent.
What neighborhoods do some of you live in, answering the door while brandishing as a matter of course, and watching tv with your piece on the armrest?? I want to know so I can avoid them. 0_0
In the US it is legal, at least in most states, to possess a firearm in your home without a license - the law generally reads something like “…on your own property or property under your control…”. That last bit covers, for instance, the case of a shop owner in a store he leases but does not own. Answering the door to your home with gun in hand (or standing in your front yard, or on the roof) is, therefore, legal in those states. It is, however, illegal in all states to point a gun, loaded or unloaded, at another person without legal cause. Legal cause is generally fear for your life or the life of others but details vary from state to state.
Whether it is a wise thing to do is a question for debate.