Question About Family Safety While You're Gone

[Donald]

1. Home security system.
2. Shotgun.
3. Large dog.

Ditto! But, things to remember:
1 If the dog is well trained, let it have the run of the house at night. My wife was putting her in a kennel
2 My wife has a CCW and a great shot, but she knows not to go hunt down the source of the noise. They could be waiting for her. Grab the gun, kids, and cell phone and call 911. I recommend a cell phone (no cords to unplug or cut).

For some reason, I ended up with a lot of friends that went into law enforcement. All of their wives have CCW's and shoot regularly.

 

[IBNAV8R]

Rule #1 to surviving a gun fight - bring a gun. I'm not saying conditioning is unimportant but, unless you're Chuck Norris, it alone won't do squat against an armed opponent. How fast I run the 440 won't make a bit of difference.

Alarms, dogs, and surveillance equipment, are great deterrents. Self defense training is also excellent but any or all of these still don't invalidate rule#1.

Remember, when seconds count, police are only minutes away.

 

[Beaver79]

Hello Brothers and Sisters,

I live in a good and somewhat affluent neighborhood, so to speak. I just found out from my neighbor that someone tried to break in her home at around 11.30 PM last night, i.e. attempted night time home invasion. The potential intruder didn't succeed. The police were called, they didn't find the alleged suspect but a police report was filed.

Our neighborhood is a bit shook up. In addition to my neighbor, some of the surrounding homes have been broken into. There are some vacant foreclosures and we think criminals are going to the foreclosures, posing as potential buyers, landscapers, utility workers, etc. and are then jumping the backyard fences to adjacent properties and breaking into those properties.

So, I am a bit worried leaving for my trips because I'm worried for my wife and kids. Does anyone have any suggestions? What do you do when your away for your trips?

Please no smartA$$ remarks.

Thx.

I leave a Rottweiler, a Doberman, and a pitbull at home every time I travel (2 of the 3 trained protection dogs). My family sleeps soundly at night. I sleep soundly as well. If you break into my house, you best be packing and a hell of a good shot. And the dogs are GREAT with kids.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Many posters on the right track... many of them have the break in gun fantasy.. that in their mind... they will always win...

The best idea is to set up a layered system as mentioned. If you are focused on a gun as the center point of your defense system, then you are setting yourself up for failure...

A gun is a big responsibility especially if you arm the wife who is not a gun nut. Like flying, there is training and currency. There is also a level of maturity and emotional intelligence to know who the real threat is a 3am. Family members have been shot. Who wants to be the Dad who shot is wife, daughter or son because he was determined to live out his break in fantasy. When your a hammer, everyone is a nail....


Other points:

Light up your entry way both inside and out.

Leave a $100 and dummy wallet with expired credit cards on the foyer table. At times it might be just a druggie looking for cash....

Put a big dog food bowl by your backdoor....

Neighborhood Watch is huge, besides its democratic. Guns are fascist... (Crash Davis) develop a relationship with your local police. Get email address and let them know when suspect activity is happening. A neighborhood will start to deteriorate when teenagers start to loiter, litter, vandalize, etc. Stop this, before the crime escalates..

Car/GPS. If your car is stolen thieves can turn on your GPS, press 'home' and the chances that you are not there are pretty good... bc they have your car. Instead, make 'home' the local police station. Call the cops and tell them your stolen car might show up...

Finally... control your fear. Especially you gun lovin' wack jobs. (and yes, I have gun in the house..)

 

[Draginass]

Birdshot works just fine. Shove the barrel up his ass and ask where he wants his worthless corpse sent to.

If you have a hallway in the house leading to bedrooms, consider installing a sturdy metal pocket door that can be closed and locked from the inside. When open, it's unobtrusive. Second barrier of protection. Alarms and lights in the main house. Buys time for emergency calls and arming yourself. Also, how about a sign on the outside of the house, something like, if you can read this, you've already been photographed and recorded. Consider hurricane glass windows. Virtually unbreakable.

 

[donvag]

Move it a large city where people are always around. < NY, Chicago, etc

 

[BeachBummer]

Move it a large city where people are always around. < NY, Chicago, etc

Yea, more creeps always around.

Guns, Dogs, and the common sense to know how to use them. I like a well trianed wife too, she's a crack shot!:uzi:

I just pray for the unlucky who try my house, if I'm there or not...

 

[LoveGun]

I live in a horrible neighborhood. There was a drive by shooting three blocks away the day we moved in. The police were called to our house a month later when a neighbor spotted a man with a gun on our front porch. Last night my wife was down at the corner bar and the police locked everyone inside because a shooting victim had just stumbled into the neighboring restaurant looking for help. Man, I gotta upgrade soon so we can afford to move somewhere safer. Until then, we have a 100 pound rottweiler/akita mix. He won't even let the plumber into the house.

 

[Tweaker]

Nothing against guns, I own quite a few, but there is a high probability of the Ms. actually shooting you. Turn gets canceled and you show up unexpected at 3am.
I suggest the dog. My Bullmastiff is 160lbs. He is great with kids and a increadible judge of character. Anyone trying to break into our house will most likely lose a limb.

Total and complete bovine excrement. Keep trying, there are still some other tired lines from the gun control groups out there. Parrot them also.

 

[Tweaker]

I believe in a layered defense. Lots of motion lights, security sign at least, Dog. Serious solid door with good deadbolt.

Best advise I ever heard was to install a solid wood door as your bedroom door and a put a good deadbolt on it.

This is my wife's plan if I'm out of town.

BTW this plan only works if you don't have kids:

If you hear somebody in the house DON'T LEAVE THE BEDROOM!" Call 911 on your landline and advise them you are in the northeast corner bedroom and you have a gun. Don't hang up but do throw the phone handset on the bed to "hear" the following events.

Open a window and fire a 12 Gauge round into the ground. You just let the intruder know:
1)You are awake and know about him
2) You have a loaded shotgun in the house

You just elevated the 911 call from "possible" intruder to "shots fired"

You'll never have to confront any scumbags. The intruder WILL leave.... no doubt in my mind. If he doesn't he will have a hard time getting into the bedroom. If he does NO JURY in the world would convict you for shooting him.

Doesn't work so well if you are sitting in the living room.

I heard about this from a home defense expert. What flaws do you see?

Honestly, at first glance, none. I do anticipate some difficulty in quickly removing a screen window, or perhaps you just shoot thru that? I am somewhat uneasy with shooting into the soil, but a shotgun will be safe enough in a non urban environment to do that. At matches we shoot into the ground all day whilst huddling around and making snide insinuations about our fellow shooters ability/manhood.

I give you my blessing, and extra credit for thinking outside the box in an effort to protect your "box."

What will be the explanation provided to the ?, "what were you shooting at?"