Home Defense Strategy

Has anyone, particularly anyone in the country thought to use flare guns in case your ability to call for help is diminished. In other words if someone was to use a cell signal blocker and cut your power and or phone lines.
 
1. when i get home i arm exterior doors. glass break is 24x7
2. shove security bar under the knob
3. keep my gun with me room to room
4. going to bed: arm motion
5. shove security bar under bedroom knob
6. i keep my .40 & .45 next to the bed - loaded & ready

All I can say is wow! Like living in a maximum security prison. What is your proceedure for clearing the house if you want a midnite snack?
 
IMHO,other than normal locks on doors and windows having a well trained dog is one of the best security systems. dog will probably not stop a very persistent intruder from doing you harm but he may buy you the time you need to save your life.

Point taken but training Dogs for this type of thing is expensive...

And it could mean wasted money... You never know until you try it...

:rolleyes:

And it would take one shot from a pistol to disable a Dog, I would think...

As for lock picking, the average time for students learning to pick locks is about 2-8 minutes.

But the really well trained 'Lock Pickers' will be able to defeat Locks in seconds, and the ones that are not Locksmiths will generally have other knowledge such as that regarding Stealth and other methods of Burglary...
 
Attended a class on home defense ... we first went around the outside of the host's home, looking for access .. it was amazing how many things were wrong ... a big box allowing BG to reach the patio roof and then the second floor windows ... hedges allowing BG to hide while opening windows ... no lights .. no lock on back gate ... the man and his wife were stunned ... inside, their bedroom was at the back of the house, stairs to 2nd floor and kids rooms were near front door ... we figured if BG got in quietly, he'd be in the kids rooms long before the homeowner even knew there was a breakin ... after I got home, I looked at my house the same way ... bought locks for both back gates --5 -foot metal fencing ... replaced burnedout floods in motion sensor system ... and gave the dog a second helping of dinner ... no kids in my house, my 1911 and surefire, along with a fixed blade knife and my cell, are in my open night stand ...
 
Have AKSU beside me with 2 45round mags, and a few retired amry guards outside the house.

I guess it everything proof unless I am hit with more power then expected.
 
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That's pretty cool. I would think that can be handy when staying at a dive hotel too.
 
Heres my .02 on my own home a few years ago:

Bulgarian Ak - 4 30 rd clips, 2 75 rd drums
Marlin 30-30
Ruger P95 & 89
4 Indoor living English Mastiifs w/ avg weight of 150 lbs.

Now:

Ruger P95 & 345
Moss 12 Gauge
2 English Mastiffs
 
I've got a pretty simple strategy a my place. From my bedroom door, I have a straight-on view of the side door to the house. My doorway is set back into like a mini-hallway, so that gives me concealment if something were coming in thru the front door of the house. For concealment from something that makes it thru the side door without being dropped, all I have to do is duck behind my dresser for cover.

Shotgun is under the edge of my bed, Mossberg 535 with 5 rounds of Winchester Super X #4 heavy load ready to go. Turkey choke is in the smoothbore barrel of the gun at all times unless I'm specifically going hunting for something that I would need to switch choke tubes, or switch to the slug barrel. I figure it's a good choice, as it throws a nasty tight pattern at 10 yards and in, and even up to 30 yards it's still very tight. I know this from test patterning the gun before turkey season this year.

I also keep my S&W M&P9 next to the door on the dresser. It's loaded with 17 rounds of Hornady TAP LE 124gr JHP.

Cell phone is on the dresser too.

I also have my chocolate lab that barks at ANYTHING she doesn't know when it comes around the house here.

Which is why the other night I was woke up by her barking like crazy, first thing I did was grab my M&P9 and the cell phone. Checked around the corner to the front door, looked to the side door, nothing. Then went to both doors to check. Nothing. Then I stepped out on the front porch to see a group of hoodlum looking kids(high school age punks) hanging out in front of the house next door. I asked what they were doing hanging out at like midnight. "We ain't doin nothin man!" I told them they need to leave or I was calling the cops. One started to walk towards me, so I put my hand onto my gun that I had tucked into the waistband of my shorts(I was sleeping and had a pair of basketball shorts on) and he stopped, walked back, and they left. I think he knew what was up. I never exposed the firearm, but I think they got the message that I wasn't there to play around.

Sad thing is, the kids around here aren't even done with school yet, and they're out til well after midnight during the week running around like a bunch of wanna-be thugs. I can't imagine what it's gonna be like once school is done for these kids.

Am I gonna have to deal with this crap on a regular basis? I hope not. I'll go crazy getting woke up all the time late at night when I have to work in the mornings.
 
If you don't like reading..skip me! :)

These are all excellent posts, from informative and humorous to cut to the chase and serious. :) Maybe it's just the demographic that's posting on this thread, but only a few have mentioned family members and their plans of action as well.

I’ve been a lead instructor at local self-defense and martial art schools for the some time now. Beyond techniques, family action plans are what I began developing as a means of defense and safety outside of the physical aspect. Not necessarily for firearm trained parents, but the concepts could be easily applied to those who do possess the knowledge and wish to implement that in their action plan.

Now please be warned… This is my school of thought, and I’m sure many will disagree and try and rip my post to shreds. But this is what I have developed given my experience, preference, environment and the abilities of those who had to learn to utilize this. In fact this is still a work in progress, as no 2 situations might ever be alike. But as with any learning… Something is better than nothing, and having a good plan with bad variables could possibly be more successful than just “wingin it.” It’s taken us just over a year discussing, planning and practicing with family and neighbors in developing this to what I feel is a “confident level.”

While my tac training and pie cutting are great for me, myself and I, our number one priority has always been our family when it came to implementing a plan. While we don't have kids of our own just yet, our nieces and nephews, 8-12 years old sleep over so often (4-6 nights a week), they have their own rooms setup as though they live there, and hence, had to be trained on this.

I keep a G23 nearby with a Crimson trace and a blow horn (I’ll explain later) in my nightstand. While I understand prevention is key (lights, gates, venus fly traps outside the window ;)), once the front door is kicked down, imminent contact is what I plan for. I wouldn’t want to engage if I wasn’t sure my family was in a safer place than here and now. The last thing I want is for my curious young family members to wander out because they heard something. But keep in mind, this isn’t investigating “noises” at 3am, but rather, the thought of someone is without a doubt, definitely in the house to do harm.

From the time the kids could understand the notion of safety, they were taught in fire-frill fashion how to maneuver throughout every square foot of every room of the house in complete darkness. They could lock/unlock every mechanism-front/back door locks, sliding glass, windows you name it….literally blindfolded in complete darkness. No, not mystical ninja-like, but freakishly well, to the point where it’s truly their second nature. They will not run to our bedroom door and risk making contact themselves. They will exit their bedroom window with no lights that might indicate their presence. The 2 or 3 kids staying with us at the time all have confidence that each other knows what to do, and that going back inside to find them is not necessary. If they cannot escape for any reason, they know to lock themselves in the closet from the inside and wait silently until help arrives, and not leave to look for auntie or uncle.

How do they know to start this Mission Impossible/SWAT scene? The wife has speed dialed “9” (911) on her cell as she exits our window, air horn in hand. The kids are cued to get the heck out if they’re ever awakened by this deafening noise from the wife outside their windows, which prompts me to open our door to locate the subject. There, she clearly sees the kids are exiting/not exiting from the windows and meet under the light post across the street while I remain inside and engage.

The wife and kids meet, and then split to pre-arranged homes to bang on doors and wake the neighbors, who already know why unsupervised children from my home are at their doorstep. My wife can explain to her original dispatcher that there is at least 1 intruder and 1 firearm held by a man of my description, and that there are no other occupants, or “x” kids hiding in the closets of this and that bedroom. While at the same time, dispatch receives multiple calls advising roughly the same information.

There are numerous what-if variables that can be screamed at me about this plan, which totally throw it completely out the window. While other hurdles you may face might force only a part or some parts of the plan not to work or be unreasonable:

- But I live in a 2-story house/apt/condo and my kids aren’t jumping out of windows
- What about multiple BG’s inside and outside, don’t want wifey to run into them
- My windows don’t open too easily
- A blow horn telling me the kids are leaving also kills my element of surprise
- My kids are too young not physically capable of performing or learning this
- My neighbors are 2 miles down the street and 10 acres away…and they’re idiots!:p
- etc etc etc

Like I said, there are a-z variables that make my plan useless to many, as well as some basic ideas which might be ideal. But the points of the plan are to separate my family from the possible danger within the home and contact LEO’s with the known basics of the situation. The wife and kids could hunker down, or they could run. Again, preferences based on your own experience and environment.

However, I am truly happy to report that they performed excellently 4 months ago, when an intruder was seemingly in our midst. All of the above went as planned when my brother in law arrived into town. Wifey gave him a key loooong ago before this safety plan began. He flew in after midnight and decided to let himself in to crash on the couch, and of course didn’t want to wake us…should’ve tried harder. His luggage hit the ground and he flung himself on the couch outside our bedroom. I handed her the horn and the phone and um…put my PJ’s on. She made it out the window and I was waiting for the cue as planned.... seemed like forever though! She sounded the horn and I cut the pie to find Donny in his boxers on my sofa with a priceless look on his face and a red dot reflecting off his nipple ring:barf:. I was so pumped, and PO’ed, that it was him, I forgot about the whole “other” activity going on. I must’ve given Donny a piece of my mind for at least 5 minutes, when I noticed blue lights reflecting from my chandelier…”Oh crap.”

I cleared the weapon and locked the slide back and put it on the dining room table. My brother and I opened up the front door with our hands up…in boxers and pj’s, of course. Undoubtedly, they were filming an episode of “Cops” at the time, J/K! But one of the officers kindly thanked the wife and me for taking the time and effort to teach the young an action plan like this. She said that many times, it’s just luck sometimes that kids aren’t looking down the barrel of daddy’s shotgun in situations like these. I apologized to her for not going out fast enough to update the false alarm. But it was a great learning tool for all of us.

There were and still are countless hours of games and fun drills we have to implement for the kids, but having good learners and patient teachers are an absolute plus. I highly recommend developing a plan of your own based on your views. Me? I’ve still got a lot of practice to do with the kids while I can keep up their interest in this thing. But I’m sure it’s something that sets a pretty good foundation when they decide on their own families.

Cheers!
:)
 
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the best home defense is the one you don't have to use.

Where I haven't had teh situation to actually haveto pull the trigger, I have had to confront a couple guys with my dad's M9. I was living with him at the time and he and my step mom were away for the week. I had taken his pistol and kept it on my headboard for that week. Well, this loud BANG aroused me from my sleep. Two guys had kicked in my door, deadbolt and all, adn I live in an apartment. After this incident, the neighbors came down to see if I was okay. The first thing they went for was the computer. Well not in my book. I snuck out there, thankfully their whispers to themselves covered the fact that my ankles crack like no other when I just wake up. I'm two yards behind them while they're still doing what they're doing and I rack the slide as loudly and as violently as I could. They both froze. "Turn around," I told them. "Let me see your faces."

Wouldn't you know, they're two of the hoodlums around the area which I witnessed stealing a DVD player out of another house. I told them to move over to the couch, which they did, at first. One of them started moving towards the door, and I told him, "Sit your A** down now or I'll make your friend carry you to the couch." He sat down as I side-stepped my way to the phone. Dialed 911, told them what had happened and that I was holding them until the police arrived, and I also made sure to tell them what I was wearing. The LEO comes, and walks into the door with his Glock drawn, and lets out a single laugh. He sees me in my skivvies holding a pair of crooks in my living room. He calls for back up, and all four of us have a nice little chat about why the kids did it. Since the officer was there, I did the kids the littlest favor and broke the pistol's aim at their faces. We had one of them crying in under 15 seconds. :cool:

Stated before, I don't know if I would've shot, but when you get the kids as scared S***less as I had, I don't think you'd need to shoot.
 
Nothing elaborate here....

Floodlights outside are on at night.
Doors are locked pretty much all the time.
Magnetic alarms on all windows and outside doors.
And I'm surrounded by nosey neighbors who apparently don't require sleep since they're up all hours of the night!!! :mad:
 
Jared,

Your gun set-up sounds fine. Since you are the one who will be shooting it, how do you feel about the setup? Also, get some range time in with the light attached to the rails. I remember not liking my setup with the light, so I took it off. Practice clearing your house a couple of times with your rig. Defending your home with a gun under extreme stress is alot more easy when you have an idea of how you will move through your house.

So practice moving from room to room in the daylight and in complete darkness.

Hope this helps.

D Tuey
 
In your experience, which is a more difficult situation: smaller homes, or larger homes?

My residence is quite large, including it's own indoor swimming pool, so I am not certain I can effectively "sweep" the place if need be.

Edit: Also, how much do a good pair of night vision goggles run for?
 
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Well Mr Swagger,

Nite vision goggles can be pricey for good ones. I always believe in the K.I.S.S. principle. That becomes another gadget you have to fiddle with in the middle of the night. Another thing that "Mr Murphy" can mess with and now your well made plan is "Kerplunk Kerfueyyy". I like the idea of a hand held light or a rail mounted light but I believe you should get instruction on how to use it properly and effectively. Practice practice practice...

But wait your Bob Lee Swagger.... all you need is a rubber band and a paper clip and you can take him out at 100 yards with it

Just kidding

Good Luck
 
Night vision goggles that are any good are Gen 3 or better and run in the 2k+ range.

The use of night vision goggles in a static position for surveillance is a reasonable idea. The use of NVGs as a means to search out a threat is bad mojo for most. They require extensive training to use effectively.

Want to find out how difficult they are to use in a dynamic situation? Go get a pair of regular binoculars and try to walk around while using them. Try to walk up a set of stairs and you will find out how limiting they are. NVGs take away your depth perception. Try covering your dominate eye and then try to do a little slap boxing with a friend. You will find that you are at a great disadvantage.

A far better idea is to equip the rooms in your house with ambient lighting. IE night lights. Having ambient light allows you to see the BG and you still have the advantage of knowing the layout of your house. This in no way is advocating the use of clearing techniques. Unless you have a well trained team with you it is a bad idea to search and clear a house even if you are a SEAL. Ambush is very hard to defend against and it is a tactic that the BGs and the good ones use to great effect. Unless the situation calls for immediate action to protect someone who is defenseless forget the "commando" room clearing crap. It may just get you killed.

Yes, the super tacticool lights can temporarily blind the BG. What happens if the BG has a buddy that you didn't see? I am sure we all can generate a mental picture of the outcome. Using a light to search a room is a beacon. May as well have a shoot/stab/bludgeon me sign on your back, IMO.

These things are only opinion, take them for what they are.

Thankfully most criminals are mostly dumb crooks. There are some that are professionals and very adept at what they do.

A favorite saying in the military is that "No plan remains intact upon contact." There is wisdom in those words. Having no plan is a plan to fail. Having a plan that needs adjusting on the fly is not as bad. Include alternate courses of action if and when the situation dictates. Fast thinking is an asset in the "tactical" tool box. As always keep it simple.
 
I keep mine simple for the time being. Loaded 9mm w/2 b/u mags on nightstand.
8 shot Winchester 1300 loaded with BB shot behind bedroom door.
Cell phone and maglight on nightstand. Motion sensor lights outside, wireless motion sensor chimes, one in front of house, one in rear.
Hinges on front and rear doors secured with 3" screws. On the jamb side, throw away striker plates that come with locksets and replace with a 1/8 flat bar 6 ft long and secured to jamb with 3" screws.
Windows at ground level have almost clear window film (tint) applied. Instead of glass breaking and falling out with one hit, it will take multiple hits to bust it thru..... more noise= more time for me to react.
 
home plan

i have posted this before in other threads but here goes.My primary weapon is a mossberg 12 gauge pump with a rifled slug barrel and a backup s&w 686 357 strapped and holstered to a clip on belt.My wife has a 410 filled with slugs and a snubbie 357 for back up.I have 3 nightvision cameras outside and 3 nightvision cameras inside which can be seen on any tv in the house and all are equipped with audio.The first indoor camera is above my bedroom door facing at an angle down, the second indoor camera is above the door facing into the kitchen at the back of the house and the 3rd is facing up the stairs to the kids room(no sneaking in or out for our sons)I want and can to see the threat coming from either the back or front door.The cameras help us see whats on the other side of the door before we shoot.We also have 2-way radios with earpieces for my wife and i,and in the kids room we have baby monitors that get turned on every night.Oh by the way the cameras i use came from walmart and were only 78.99 a pair.
In my bedroom i keep 2 shotguns,2 handguns,2 cell phones,2 sets of keys,2 flashlights,2 radios and 1 hammer for breaking windows if escape is nessary.I hope the camera advise helps you all as much as it has me.2 month ago i was able to give the police a video we made of both our cars getting broken into at the same time.The b/gs were caught because they were on tape.Smile and say cheese:D:eek:

I also have a plan if the electric gets cut too.:cool:
 
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