Wake-up Call

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by HowardCohodas

OK TR, How's This?

I think somewhere on this forum, and I can't find it now, someone recommended the book "Strong on Defense" by Sanford Strong. I used bookfinder.com and paid only a small premium over original price and have been reading parts during breaks from other areas of this forum.

To the point... There is a very good section that I believe to be directly on-point to this thread titled "Families Under Attack." I thought about OCRing (Optical Character Recognition) this section and posting it here but I am generally careful about using even snippets of copyrighted material in a forum. I was in the process of contacting the author and publisher when I came across something they have already done to make this information available.

Go to Amazon.com and use the "Look Inside" feature. Search for the phrase "mortal fear." This should take you to Part V, Families Under Attack on page 163.

I believe that you may be on the road to redemption.

Remain focused.

TR

[nmap]

Fascinating thread - clearly, I have some study and reflection to do.

I have an OK alarm - monitored, using both a hardwired telephone line and a cell-phone backup. Solid core doors, with deadbolts. The back door, unfortunately, has a window - but the deadbolt there is a double cylinder.

Clothing - I like TR's idea. I need to incorporate that in my routine.

Firearms - I keep a .40 semi-auto by the bed. Loaded, round in chamber, safety on, DA/SA. No lasers or weapon lights, since I don't want to advertise my location.

I don't have a flashlight there - I need to fix that. On the positive side, I annoyed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission until I found a delightful little loophole. It seems one can possess tritium exit markers. They make excellent night-lights. Of course, their intended and primary use is as an exit marker.

Nonlethal weapons - I suspect there's a good chance they would take such things away from me and use them on me. Whatever their merits, I doubt those would work for me.

AO - Texas has some very good castle doctrine laws. For that, I am thankful.

I have experienced one attempt at a home invasion, something like 5 years ago. When I heard the pry-bar start breaking the wood, I used uncivil language. The fellow left without opening the door. It was late afternoon - 6 PM or so, during the summer months, apparently a single individual. I had a firearm at the time, in case the language had not worked. So, at least for me, and with the individual not in the house, a warning seems to have led to an uncomplicated ending.

I have heard - but certainly do not know - that a shotgun with #10 shot is effective. Supposedly, the small shot is not lethal after it penetrates two layers of wallboard. Again, I do not know if this is true, but it may have interesting implications for those with other residents in the house.

I noticed one post that mentioned weapons beyond the usual handguns and shotguns. Purely hypothetically, let us suppose that a homeowner owned - entirely lawfully - something such as an MP5-SD. And, suppose they used it in accordance with the lawful use of deadly force in a home invasion scenario. I wonder how law enforcement officers and the legal system generally would react. Negatively, I suppose.

Originally Posted by HowardCohodas

Go to Amazon.com and use the "Look Inside" feature. Search for the phrase "mortal fear." This should take you to Part V, Families Under Attack on page 163.

Some of Sgt. Strong's material available on his website.

[plato]

Originally Posted by armymom1228

You might show her the shiny one.

I should have asked for a recommendation from one of the ladies here to start with.


"Oooooh! I love it". said my fair lady.

Wonder if she has to have matching pumps>

[Pete]

Then there are the Pink Pistols - Warning, not what you think.

http://www.pinkpistols.org/index2.html

Ah, I salute their 2nd Am rights and goals but think their reason may lead to flashing.

[plato]

Originally Posted by Pete

Then there are the Pink Pistols - Warning, not what you think.

http://www.pinkpistols.org/index2.html

Ah, I salute their 2nd Am rights and goals but think their reason may lead to flashing.

1. Casts a whole different light on a threat to "blow you away".

2. I'll loan her my Visa, and wait in the car

[Obispo]

Two simple recommendations for middle of the night visits :

1. Get a remote control outlet plug for a few lights that will create a fatal funnel for the visitors as they come down the hallway. You keep the remote there next to the Taurus Judge. Putting light behind them will help get good left and right limits after you just woke up.

2. Never bound forward from you LCC when a scared wife with a shotgun is going to be behind you. No matter how much range time she has.

[Animal8526]

RE: hypoallergenic dogs...

Breeds that are hair breeds, and not fur breeds, are typically high on the hypoallergenic scale. These breeds include poodles, schnauzers, portoguese (sp) water dogs and a few others.

Personally (speaking from experience), I highly reccomend Schnauzers. They come in three varieties... Mini (20ish lbs), standard (40ish lbs) and giant (90-100ish lbs). Mini shnauzers are great "lap" dogs, but extremely vocal, lending them to being a great early warning system. The giant schnauzers are fiercly loyal, extremely friendly and were originally bred to be prison dogs. They are a working breed, and sit near the top of the charts in dog intelligence.

Currently, my dogs play a role in home defense. They detect and deter, maybe delay, and the wife and I do the rest. We have a mini schnauzer who is easily woken, and a 3/4 poodle 1/4 golden retriever mix who is on track to be 90lbs of deterrent. That dog is a tank.

An unintended benefit to our "inside the home" dog was that when our children were teenagers, returning home after I was in bed was none-the-less properly acknowledged. Sort of crimped their attempts to get around curfew.

[Inceptor]

Originally Posted by Obispo

2. Never bound forward from you LCC when a scared wife with a shotgun is going to be behind you. No matter how much range time she has.

Noted!

[Paslode]

After Pat and I's Deadbolt encounter, I kept thinking about it.

When I reinforce the back door, it's going to take far more than 3 kicks to bring it down. Even a 8lbs sledge is going to take some time. Hell they might even need to take a breather.

Then I looked at the windows on either side and it slapped me in the face! Why reinforce the door structure if you going to leave a bypass within arms reach from a window.

That said, I see Pat's point.

Drew

[The Reaper]

We have a lot of glass in our house, and I think the double throws are GTG, especially if you keep a key nearby at all times when people are home.

If they have to smash a window in a door to get in, that should inhibit their ability to get out easily while carrying my property.

The kids have all been instructed that in the event of a fire (with blocked exits) or armed intruder (after locking the door to their rooms), to throw a heavy object through the window, clear it quickly by breaking out remaining glass with a chair, lamp, etc., and throw a pillow over the windowsill and glass to crawl out over.

Walk down the street past your house in daylight and darkness. Does it look relatively easy to access without being seen? How does it compare to the neighbors? Your home needs to be tougher than the others. Make the potential intruder choose another home. Walk around the perimeter of your property, again in daytime and night conditions. How does it look? Good coverage by lights and cameras? Bad guys do not like to be seen. Any easy approaches with cover or concealment that you could use to approach the access points without being seen or exposing yourself for very long? Any piles of wood, shrubs, etc. to hide behind? Any ladders stored outside that would allow access to windows? Walk around the exterior walls of your home and study it intently. Any unsecured doors, windows, sliding doors (a favorite for easy access), access panels, basement or cellar doors or windows, etc.? Any smash and grab tools handy, like axes, bats, shovels, rakes, prybars, etc. to make access easier? Anywhere to hide in a darkened area and ambush you when you are coming or leaving your home? Look through every point of visual access to your house. How much of your wealth can be seen from outside your home? Flat panel TVs, laptops, cameras, jewelry, guns, power tools, anything easy to pawn would be a potential target. Enter every door of your home and look around. Try and think like the bad guys. Can you easily grab items and get away quickly? Can you get to the master, kids' or guest bedrooms quickly? How can you deter, detect, defeat, and delay a would be intruder?

Exterior doors would have no glass, or adjacent glass in a perfect world. All should be steel or fiberglass with deadbolts, strikeboxes, kickplates, and 3" screws throughout. Door jambs should be reinforced by doubling or tripling studs on both sides. All doors should be heavily shimmed and properly installed. Do not use pet doors. All blind entry doors should have peeps installed, and the entry area have good outside lighting. Replace blown bulbs promptly. Do not answer the door if you are home alone without thinking it through and having a plan. When I answer my door, day or night, I have a phone, a powerful flashlight, and a firearm on me, and I am not a small or weak looking guy.

Bedroom and bathroom doors should be solid core. Bedroom doors should have heavy duty locking hardware (privacy minimum, entry lockset better, if you can stand the strange looks) and 3" screws into doubled studs on either side of the doorframe (if you are building the house). Garage doors should lock or be drilled for a pin to prevent them from being jacked open in your absence. Turn off or pull the power cords to the openers when going on vacation.

Casement windows are much better and more secure than double hung. The higher off the ground they are, the better. If you have double hungs and are using window AC units, they need to be screwed into place, and understand that that is one of the easiest ways to get into the house. Pull the AC out, use it as a step to climb into the house, pick it up and throw it into the back of the truck on the way out with the rest of the loot.

Vegetation should provide little or no cover and preferably be of a variety that discourages contact, like prickly pear, holly, etc.

"Vicious Dog" signs might be a good idea as well, even if Fifi isn't. A few of the extra large water or food bowls and chew toys near the entrance might help.

Exterior lights should cover doors as a minimum, and preferably the entire perimeter of the home as well. If there is a corner, you probably need a light. I like motion detectors and automatic lighting, but my electrician discouraged me by presenting the false alarm issue. Ideally, as a minimum you should be able to turn all exterior floods on from the master bedroom, and the main entrance.

Alarms should have pin/contact/magnetic sensors on all doors, motion detectors, and glass breaks where necessary, and the smoke detector should be wired in as well. Install a keypad within easy access of the entrance (at least one, consider others for back door or garage access, etc., especially if they are far apart and get another for the master bedroom as a monitor or panic device). Get a monitoring service if you like. Get some alarm company signs regardless and display them prominently. Think about getting a good driveway annunciator. Consider a locking gate if you live in a rural area.

Security cameras should cover vehicular entry points (driveway) and exterior doors. Military guys should place them like you would crew-served weapons. Good low light or IR illuminated cameras are the way to go. Don't scrimp. You can set the system up to display the monitored cameras in a picture in picture on your TV screens throughout the house. You can also set them up so that you can log on to an IP view the cameras remotely on a computer.

Minimize unnecessary public access to your home. Watch workmen and maintenance personnel who visit your home. Consider taking a photo of them working, make sure that you get the license number of the vehicles they use. If they are on tape, burn a copy and save it, especially if they are transients or illegals. As already stated, many robberies are people who have visited a home for work. Do not let workers see valuables lying around your home. Put purses, laptops, meds, jewelry, etc. away and secure them before people arrive.

Limit the number of keys you have and give them only the people who really need them. Do not pass them to workers, or give them alarm codes, unless you are going to change them immediately afterwards.

Unused firearms, keepsakes, small heirlooms, cash, and jewelry should be stored in a "fireproof" safe which is bolted to the floor or wall.

If you leave home, you need to secure all of the entrances every time and set the alarm. If you are going to be out overnight, make sure that some interior lights are on, and the exterior entrances are well-lit. Valuables are returned to the safe. Do not let mail, packages, papers, etc. stack up, or the lawn look forgotten if it is going to be more than a few days. Get a neighbor to drop by daily and clear the mail, packages, papers, etc., and hold them for your return.

Some of this is expensive, most is just common sense. You don't have to do any, or all of this. Like the joke goes, you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be a little harder than your neighbors.

TR

[Ryanr]

Excellent post, thank you TR.

If I may ask a question; I have a two story house, with a tall deck accessible off the second floor. It runs along the entire back of the house, and has stairs down to the back yard. As of such, the master bedroom has a window that is directly accessible from the deck (and thus the back yard) -- so it's basically a "first floor" room with a large window.

Anyone who wished harm upon me or my family could smash that window and immediately be in the room where my wife and baby and I sleep. Do you have any recommendations as to how to fortify such a vulnerable window without negatively affecting the property value? Double-paned glass doesn't seem like it would serve as much of a deterrent.

I like that it is easy to exit the window in case of a fire, but I'm displeased with its potential as a point of entry.

Originally Posted by Ryanr

Excellent post, thank you TR.

If I may ask a question; I have a two story house, with a tall deck accessible off the second floor. It runs along the entire back of the house, and has stairs down to the back yard. As of such, the master bedroom has a window that is directly accessible from the deck (and thus the back yard) -- so it's basically a "first floor" room with a large window.

Anyone who wished harm upon me or my family could smash that window and immediately be in the room where my wife and baby and I sleep. Do you have any recommendations as to how to fortify such a vulnerable window without negatively affecting the property value? Double-paned glass doesn't seem like it would serve as much of a deterrent.

I like that it is easy to exit the window in case of a fire, but I'm displeased with its potential as a point of entry.

Maybe not to fortify, but certainly cause a deterrent. Is the window alone as a unit, or is also door, sliding door, or french door?

If not, items in front of window, either side, (e.g., patio furniture, or inside credenza, etc.), could buy a few seconds, and maybe that's enough time to roll to dresser and secure weapon.

I've had hotel suite/rooms like that.

[plato]

RyanR,
Scissors gates at the window, that secure to an inside wall are one thought. Even if they slide completely out of sight, that may not be an acceptable solution to those of the other gender. (Found that out myself)

There's one solution that bites the wallet a bit, at least by my values. There are some very nice looking bi-fold wooden doors of different sizes meant for large and small windows. They are louvered and can have the louvers opened and closed by an attached rod. They're actually quite attractive.

Meant for appearances, they also are another obstacle to the intruder, visually and physically.

The other down-side to this solution is that they are a b**ch to stain.