What makes a house safe?

Perhaps it’s just me but the best security is achieved when people believe that you have nothing of value. I try not to let anyone see me bring anything of value in or out of my home. One other measure that I take is to keep a firearm on or near me at all times.
 
Labour day, very quite in our not gated community. Vehicles parked around us. We have one 2016 Jeep Cherokee, that has never spent a night not backed into our garage. Went out for supper for the first time last night, since February!

Masks on till we reached our booth. A feeling of freedom like I never remember.I don't feel any different, ever. Same Glock 19 tucked away. Parked 20 yards away from the entrance. Well lit parking lot. I drive, drop my wife and our two friends at the entrance, pick them up there also. Our male friend has had a stroke, prerambles on a 3 wheeled walking buggy. Very frail. Thanks to God for our good health and love. Twenty eight great years together.
And remember to carry a combat pistol always, just in case!
 
I have SimpliSafe protecting every part of my home. I have a gate both in front and out back (townhouse) but the front isn't always locked.

So any bypass of any kind has another way to catch you. Glass break alarm, door and window alarm, motion alarm, night lights, etc.

Then, the furry ones. One pure American Pitbull Terrier and one Amstaff / Basenji mix.

Upstairs my wife and I have our phones with us.

On her side there is a Glock 17 with Federal HST and a TLR-1HL.

On my side I have my Heckler and Koch P30L with an X300U-A and my 11.5" Aero Precision AR.

There is then a location to hunker down in case of a standoff of any kind.

Reevaluating this as I type it out, I think I will keep my dogs crated at night so that they are not harmed trying to protect the home. Then I might, again, huge *might* be triggered emotional by them or my wife to save them and I cannot risk going down the fatal funnel (stairway).

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My neighborhood is fairly safe. What keeps it that way is that a lot of neighbors have those doorbell cameras so if there was any incident, more than one neighbor had a recording of who it was that did it. For example. there was an attempted robbery and attempted burglary a year ago. But there was a video of the person who did it! No problems since.

I installed one of these doorbells at mom's house. What's nice is that it can transmit the video to your phone. A buddy of mine's lives in Tucson and own's a business. He set up a camera and then visited family overseas. He'd check on the work progress and once phoned saying, "hey, you forgot to bring in the carpet.." So, there you go.

For me, I have my pistol near my closet. If anyone breaks in, I'll blast them. If I'm not home, the plan is for my daughter and wife is to fall back into the bedroom, deadbolt the door, block the door with the dresser, and call 911. Even then, then can fall back into the bathroom. Now my daughter is 11. I enrolled her into competition air rifle class last year and she knows the safety expectations. Now she wants to learn handgun so I'll teach her to operate and shoot my revolver. If an incident happens like I described, I she has "MY" permission to blast the person to save their lives. If the (CA) judge decides to put me in prison for the order, I can live with that knowing that my family is alive and unhurt.
 
"6 am, not a sound from outside. House closed up tight, great life this retirement!"

That's best best time to be OUTSIDE, enjoying your morning coffee, sitting in your yard listening to the birds. Tuck your Glock in your waistband and get outdoors, enjoy the Florida sunrise.
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Been living in the FL sunshine for 20 years; at 6AM, no need for a gun to sit outside and enjoy the sunrise. At my last home, the only folks up and about were the retired folks walking
 
my neighbor almost had a break in about two months ago. My Doberman started whining and barking so I looked out the window and seen a guy crossing his front yard. I called my neighbor and told him and he immediately looked out the front window and shined a flash light on the guy and then on his 45 that he held up, the guy took off running as fast as he could. The next day he brought over a beautiful fresh grilled steak for my dog. I don't know how she does it but if someone walks down the road in front of the house she hears or senses them and jumps up to look growl and bark. One night she started to bark and it was two coyotes in the back yard. I don't know how she can be seemingly asleep and still hear or sense people or animals outside. She is a two year old female and is very protective of her family.
 
"at 6AM, no need for a gun to sit outside and enjoy the sunrise. At my last home, the only folks up and about were the retired folks walking".

Unfortunately, evil tends to show up unannounced 24/7, 365 days per year. Many home invasions occur in the early morning hours. Remember, bad guys keep odd hours. Desperate people do desperate things, often after a long night of drinking, drugs and running the roads.
Four legged critters with sharp teeth and possibly rabies are also another good reason to tuck a revolver or pistol in ones jacket when heading outside to enjoy your morning cup of Joe or stroll around the block. Dawn and dusk are when animals are most active. Better safe than sorry!
 
my neighbor almost had a break in about two months ago. My Doberman started whining and barking so I looked out the window and seen a guy crossing his front yard. I called my neighbor and told him and he immediately looked out the front window and shined a flash light on the guy and then on his 45 that he held up, the guy took off running as fast as he could. The next day he brought over a beautiful fresh grilled steak for my dog. I don't know how she does it but if someone walks down the road in front of the house she hears or senses them and jumps up to look growl and bark. One night she started to bark and it was two coyotes in the back yard. I don't know how she can be seemingly asleep and still hear or sense people or animals outside. She is a two year old female and is very protective of her family.
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My girl is like that too. She hears the mailman truck from 2 blocks away and starts to go berserk; same for Fedex and UPS. She hear or smell a squirrel in the backyard and then chases them away. She is spoiled rotten, but since we rescued her two years ago, she is VERY protective.......
 
the first thing that matters is the true willingness to defend against a criminal attack. locked doors can still be kicked open, windows broken and entered through, alarms are good but there is still at least a full minute before the police get the dispatch, dogs outside can be poisoned or let out, outside lighting can burn out, but a man or woman armed and trained even mildly with a firearm and the true willingness to use it against criminal attack will be the deciding factor. this means having a gun readily accessible, not locked away or stashed on the other side of the house where you aren't....
 
@Tactical Jackelope,

Better to let your dogs roam free. Only a very determined intruder will mess with a dog. Most bad guys will just move on to another house where they don’t risk getting bit.
 
Dogs are the best. My brother once lived on top of a hill and was walking down to pickup his children being dropped off by the bus. Suddenly as the bus left a car he never saw before pulled up next to his kids. His dog took off and stood between the car and the kids. Then, there was time when a friend was being watched by his grandmother when he was young. There was a knock on the door. As the grandmother opened the door, a man forced his way in grabbing the old woman by the throat. The dog leaped up and grabbed the assailant by the throat without breaking the skin and held him until the police came. Lastly, I grew up in Berkeley as the neighborhood was changing for the worse. My two brothers were beat up often. I was only in kindergarten and some neighborhood boys would pick me up by the legs like an animal and frisked my for money. I'd run into the back yard for safety when I could. Those kids hated the dog. They threw broken class and and poison into the yard to try and kill it. We eventually moved.
 
Feel very safe. Cellular Alarm service calls police in two minutes, police arrive in four. Glock 19 with 7 mags in living area. 1911, 45AR, and 12ga in bedroom. If I'm reloading or fishing tackle maintenance in basement - safe always open and a plethora of pistol, revolver, AR, and shotgun available.
 
Guns and ammo I see as pretty much worthless for making a home or house safe unless someone is home to use them. What makes a home safe? A good security system which is well backed up. Sensors for things like smoke, fire, gas, flood, intrusion and about anything else you can think of. While securing weapons and all valuables in a safe doesn't hurt. Good systems have backup with an emphasis on backup power. Who and how a security system notifies is a user preference. Personally I am good with police and fire and of course myself (family). I like dogs also, have one who would welcome anyone and another who actually does his job of barking (big dog) and intimidating through a window well. Charlotte the female golden will welcome anyone. :)

I guess some of this also comes down to how safe do you feel in your home? Then what can you do to make your home safer and not just from intruders.

Ron
 
You should consider this.

My cousin lives in the Oakland Hills which was considered a safe area because mostly white collar middle class families lived there compared to East Oakland. But, it has gotten worse.

My cousin is a pharmacist and returned home one night. Three men were waiting for him in his house. I won't mention race because that's not PC. They beat the heck out of him and ransacked his house and got his atm password. My cousin was hospitalized and the three mean got away. I think they didn't return because - it is assumed - one of the cased the house by driving by. My brother happened to be there helping clean up, stared at the guy, showed him two fingers shaped like a gun, and the person just drove off. Later, there were two old couples gardening in their backyard. Two men just walked into their backyard, roughed up the old couple and burglarized and robbed them. And last, there was a family having a birthday party. I overheard two vendors at a grocery store talking about this. These guys walked into the party and told the parents they'd shoot the kids unless they paid up. There is a serious lack of respect in the Country. It was better and safer in the Past.
 
I feel pretty safe. Small old, rundown house out in the country, a dozen miles from a small town, I have no wealth to flaunt, newest car is 2006 with a bashed in door and a mirror held on with duct tape. half a dozen non running cars & truck for "lawn ornaments"...

Haven't mown the "lawn" in years, haven't had a lawn since wife's "evil" brother cut off the irrigation water, and he's been dead now several years, so I raise cheat grass and goatheads, as much as God grows here...:rolleyes:

Simply put, there's nothing here worth stealing, so we get left alone. Nearest neighbor is several hundred yards away, across a canyon...we haven't ever had any trick or treaters in the 40 years I've lived here.

Not for everyone, but it works for me...I don't care about appearances.
 
Not for everyone, but it works for me...I don't care about appearances.
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Since it only needs to work for you that's a good thing. The only person you need to make happy is you (and a wife when we have one). :)

Ron
 
I live in the country on acreage surrounded by tall trees, my location makes it difficult to case or perform surveillance. Not real concerned except the odd psycho pulling in off the highway.
 
My oldest brother lived in the country just outside a City. I figured that his house was the safest place here. I stored extra ammo and guns in his garage for him just in case I couldn't make it there but other friends and family could for some un-foreseen catastrophe. But, one of the CA fires burned down his house. The heat was so great that the engine blocks melted and his gun safes burned through. His guns in my small fire safe was fine but the safe wasn't salvageable. The ammo in it went bad from the heat and bulged the safe. I ended up taking a circular saw and cutting a hole in it to remove the contents. It wasn't hard. On an old hard-drive I have a photo of a 50cal can blown out with holes in it like swiss cheese. It would have been better to bury it yards away from any structure underground. Something important to keep in mind.
 
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