Home Defense Discussion

[wpsfan]

Aside from surveillance, what's on your list for home defense? I close on my first home next week(in a pretty remote area on a few acres) and making a list. Any recommendations is appreciated, would really like to get an idea of everyones else's setup.


Plan so far:

DIY alarm system - ordered, also has external speaker that I was thinking about aiming toward the road/neighbors(rethinking this, would hate to wake people over false alarms)
LaView premium IP system - ordered, big thanks to @fenderman for the newegg deal. Will view from stationary tablets in living and bed room.
Wireless flood lights - cheapo's from amazon have great reviews. Wondering if these will affect the camera lighting?
Intercom at front door - still looking for a wireless solution
Just saw those driveway sensors that let you know someone is driving up, forgot those even existed. Driveway is fairly long so I'll have plenty of notice.
Rekeying locks or changing locks, new construction but still don't know who all has keys.
Pistol/flashlight that I keep in night stand. Shotgun, may add a pump grip and flashlight to it, unsure where I'll keep it. Wife doesn't like guns in sight.

Anything I'm missing? Hopefully I don't sound too paranoid, I value security but this really turning into a hobby more than anything.

 

[Q™]

SIGNS. Signs will let the bad guys know that they are being watched (video) and the owner is dangerous (armed). DOG. I'd add a dog which doesn't have to be a big scary dog. Any dog that is alert, protective and reactive (bark) will do: a dog is a biological alarm par excellence! In my opinion, most bad guys will choose what they perceive to be the the softest targets with the greatest rewards. Instituting many different methods to alert and intimidate will cause most bad guys to look for a softer target.

 

[Q™]

One other thing; sure to stir it up I'm afraid. The guns are bullshit...the day you have to point your gun at a bad guy is a bad day for you and a bad day for your family. It may happen...and it may be necessary...but it's gonna be a very bad day indeed. In addition, responsible gun ownership mandates that guns be kept locked up in some manner. I own 2 shotguns, a .308, .223, 9mm, and half a dozen .22's...but they're all locked and it's gonna take me some time to deploy them in an emergency. Better to make it clear to the bad guys that: "I'm prepared for you and if you come here I'm ready and it's gonna be a bad day for you." I believe that this is why individuals, such as Vlad The Impaler, spked their dead enemies on their frontiers: the effect were like signs warning the enemy "don't come in here...this is a very bad place." But you'd be better off purchasing video surveillance signs from Home Depot then impaling a bad guy on your front lawn Wpsfan.

 

[wpsfan]

@Q2U ..appreciate the input, totally forgot to list signs, those will be going up for sure. At the end of the driveway and stickers on most windows. May add signs to the back of the house also. We'll also have a couple of dogs eventually, by no means guard dogs(hunting breeds) but better than nothing like you said.

As for proper weapon storage, I agree. I just separated from the military and have been hunting all of my life so I'm definitely familiar with guns, though it's easy for that familiarity to turn into complacency and make a mistake by leaving one laying around.

 

[Q™]

@Q2U ..appreciate the input, totally forgot to list signs, those will be going up for sure. At the end of the driveway and stickers on most windows. May add signs to the back of the house also. We'll also have a couple of dogs eventually, by no means guard dogs(hunting breeds) but better than nothing like you said...

Old story...may be true...or maybe not...the Romans kept Maltese dogs and Mastiff dogs to guard their depots. If you know the Maltese breed then you know that those little fuQers can hear an Indian walking in the forest...5 miles away...and will proceed to let everyone know about it for the next half hour...URGH! So when the thieves entered the depot they were met by the Maltese who functioned as the "alert dog" (much to the contempt of the thieves)...then the Mastiffs woke and came around the corner."

If the Mastiff sleeps through the intrusion, who's more important...the Maltese or the Mastiff?

As for proper weapon storage, I agree. I just separated from the military and have been hunting all of my life so I'm definitely familiar with guns, though it's easy for that familiarity to turn into complacency and make a mistake by leaving one laying around.

I have a friend who has several loaded guns laying around. I tell him he's nuts. What happens if a bad guy breaks in....finds one of his guns...and then wife wife comes home and gets shot?

 

[gordo]

Home invasion is one of the most prevalent crimes in our modern society. If you should be targeted, the thugs are not going to politely sit by and wait for you to run to your safe, unlock it and fetch your favorite tactical pistol.
That is from the NRA http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/12/3/home-defense-stashing-handguns/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=insider&utm_campaign=1215

 

[GCoco]

As far as driveway alarms are concerned, I too have a long driveway and it is nice to know someone is coming up. However, I had to install one at the very bottom and one closer to the top since animals and birds set them off. There is two different alarms signals such that if only once goes off, I assume an animal, if both then someone is on the driveway. The best I found so far is the Dakota Alert MURS. They are long range and they are pretty reliable. They have a Wilkie-talkie base I use on the back patio and a AC powered base station for the house. The base in the house has an alarm contact output that I wired to an interposing relay which turns on a 20,000 lumen light that lights up the front yard saying "I know you are here".

 

[GCoco]

Sorry for the second post on this -- I also had wired the driveway alarm contact into the Hikvision NVR which sends me a text and email with 3 pictures over 5 seconds for each of the 3 cameras covering the driveway, parking, and garage areas. This way even if I'm not home I know within seconds who is on my driveway.

 

[Q™]

Home invasion is one of the most prevalent crimes in our modern society...

What was written here is called an "unsupported attribution," also known as "weasel words"...

Weasel words are words and phrases aimed at creating an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said, when in fact only a vague or ambiguous claim has been communicated. A common form of weasel wording is through vague attribution, where a statement is dressed with authority, yet has no substantial basis. Phrases such as those above present the appearance of support for statements but can deny the reader the opportunity to assess the source of the viewpoint. They may disguise a biased view. Claims about what people say, think, feel, or believe, and what has been shown, demonstrated, or proved should be clearly attributed.

For example, the following statement would constitute an unsupported allegation, or weasel wording:

"The NRA supports arming terrorists with guns."
​

Alternatively, the following statement would constitute a supported allegation:

"Regarding H.R.1076 Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2015, and speaking to the New York Daily News, bill sponsor Republican congressman Rep. Peter T King (R-NY) said: 'Anything which [the NRA] feel restricts the use or the ability to retain a gun they’re opposed to.' 'It’s sort of a knee-jerk reaction. The National Rifle Association is strongly opposed to it and the fact is we have only a handful of Republican co-sponsors.' An NRA spokesman speaking to the newspaper said the law would 'deny law-abiding citizens their constitutional right to due process' The spokesman added: 'It is not surprising that anti-gun politicians and publications are distorting the facts to push a gun control agenda.'

​

If you want your contention that "home invasion is one of the most prevalent crimes in our modern society" to be believable then provide some credible crime studies showing where "home invasion" ranks with other crimes.

 

[dalepa]

I also have a remote property. My ip cams at least let me know within seconds of who's entering my property when im away.

I also like my Mr Beams battery networked light's which all come on when motion is detected.

 

[gordo]

Add a watch dog and a guard dog to that list. i.e, watch dog=Jack Russell, and guard dog=boerboel or something similar that will stop and take down a man. Make sure you train them not to accept food off anyone but you and your family so they can't be poisoned. Keep a pistol close by. My aunt got murdered in her kitchen with a knife in her chest. My uncle got the knife in the chest too, but plugged the shitbag 6 times with his pistol. If he didn't have the pistol they and their granddaughter would have been dead that night.
Like other people said though, don't leave weapons lying around.

Sorry to hear what happened to your family. It is fortunate he did keep a pistol close by and not locked away as to be unusable. But, of course, don't leave it openly laying around.

 

[badmop]

One of the main things to deter the "pros" are to not get into a groove or schedule, be random. If someone is targeting you, they will find out your schedule and know when you are or aren't home. When I'm home, at night I turn lights on and off randomly throughout the night. I'm up very late all the time, so I turn on a light at like 2am, then off a little while later. Then again a different light at 4am, etc. It just helps making things random so people will know there is probably some insomniac awake all the time, move on to some other house.