hey all

[joerng]

hey everyone hows it going. just wanted to run this idea that i had by you guys. i am going to start writing e-books and the first one that i am going to write is going to be a seven part series on home protection. it is going to start with basics and go all the way into minute detail. so here i am asking if anyone has an idea on where i might start. if so it would be great to hear them. thanks to all that reply... joe.

[IZinterrogator]

Joe,
Most of the books that I have read on sniping start off with what makes a good sniper rifle. In the case of HD, what makes a good HD gun would be a good place to start. You should probably also cover target identification since most HD scenarios are going to involve family members in the house. Shooting styles using flashlights would help there.

[Dwight55]

joerng, . . . this is certainly not to belittle IZinterrogator's comments, . . . but if it were I: I would go farther back on the basics.

Home protection first begins with the features of the home itself that lend themselves to that protection: locks, doors, and windows would be my first volume.

I am not a professional locksmith, but I have worked the trade, and I am just usually apalled at the locks I find on people's houses & businesses. If I were a burglar, . . . I know enough to generally just look at a dead bolt and know how long it will take me to get through it and/or the knob lock.

Many times, the doors themselves are a joke, . . . as well as the window security (not to mention sliding doors, . . . or their French door replacements). A true oxymoronic joke plyed on an unknowing population is the preponerance today of main entry doors with 300 to 400 dollars worth of hardware in a deadbolt and locking knob. The doors are great, but they sit them inside two 12 in wide pieces of glass called side lights that can be stripped in 15 seconds flat or just busted and reach in and open the door.

Get in a volume about alerting devices, another on motion sensors & lights, in short, . . . prepare the house to make it hard for the bg (that makes it easy to defend/protect).

Once you have given the audience this information, . . . you can then move on to alarms, security systems, etc. But I would seriously put the firearm section toward the rear. You will offend a certain segment of our population just by having it included, . . . but most will look at the rest of the information if they don't have to read about the guns first.

By your writing, prove that you are knowledgeable, rational, honest, well documented, well researched, etc. by giving your readers names (Russwin and Schlage are excellent names in locks for example). Explain why they should have only one key to get into the house for all the family members (as opposed to a separate front door, side door, garage door, basement door, etc.). Build a trust bridge between you and your reader, and you will do well.

You may even be able to convert a reader or two from a position of "call the cops and let em do it" to a position of "its my house, I'm defending it while the cops are coming".

Best wishes,
May God bless,
Dwight

[Barry in IN]

Tell them (us?) to measure off distances that they might have to shoot across- i.e. upstairs master BR door to downstairs front door, etc, and practice shooting at those distances. This is most important if using long guns with relatively high bore-to-sight differences. An AR15, for example, hits around 2.5 inches lower than the sights up close (assuming it's not zeroed for 20 feet).

Don't expect the shot from a shotgun to spread at house range. Pattern the gun/load at the distances you measured. Actually pattern it on paper. At most house distances, the shot pattern, regardless of size, will act like a pre-fragmented slug. A 12 gauge Glaser.

Place reflective objects to give you an advantage seeing around blind corners. I've read that Clint Smith suggests polished vases- sounds good to me. You need to remember to use them. Mirrors are too obvious to the Bad Guys and can work against you. Hopefully, invaders won't think about using vases.

Keep a cellphone handy. Use it to call 911 instead of your house phone. They are usually handier. You can clip it to the waistband of your grundies and keep it with you if you have to move. A hands-free kit might be useful to some, but personally, I would find the dangling wires a detriment. Even without using the hands-free kit, the dispatcher should be able to hear you.

When the police come, they will need to get in. Get a Cyalume chemical lightstick, and hang a spare house key from it. Bend the lightstick, open a window, and drop the stick and key to them.

Almost everything or everyone you see, hear, or read will tell you to stay put and not go after invaders. But I imagine that if they hear screams from their little girl's room, most people are going.
So, even if you don't expect to move, plan to move.
Look things over ahead of time. This is the time for mirrors. You can take a cheap, semi-full-length mirror meant for closet doors, and carry it around the house surveying corners and the like. Place it in the places you think you or a bad guy would be, then switch places and check when you can see yourself as you pie the corner.

[claude783]

Security at the house should be layered!

Your first line of defense should be a drive way/walk way alarm which lets you know that "someone" is moving around outside. I have one which cost $15.00 that uses PIP technology. My one problem is that the "cats" sometimes cause an alert.

The second thing I have is a camera, focused on the area which need watching. If the PIP goes off, I don't have to expose myself by going outside.
A closed circuit tv system will cost under a $100.00.

The info on the locks is right on! I have also seen "expensive" locks on "cheap" doors. Many doors today are nothing more than cardboard. You need "good" heavy doors. Also need a good "outside" security door.

Your entire focus should be on "not" letting the gremlin into the house. To know they are there and remove the element of surprise!

There is also a "security film" which can be put on windows, this makes it almost impossible to break the window!

A cell phone is a good item to keep by the bed. In the event that the gremlin has cut your phone lines!

If you do things right, layer the security, make your place "hardened", the Gremlins will go to the neighbors!

The UPS guy delivered a package yesterday. I was aware when he stepped on my drive, I confirmed "who" it was via the cctv, I also had to "unlock" the security door to "go outside" and sign for the package. Had this been a Gremlin, when the drive way alarm went off, he would have taken off. Had he contined towards the front door, he would have noticed the cctv. The side, back yard have a 6' security fence around them, with locked gates to the back yard. Also have a security camera and PIP covering the back yard.

You can also purchase a vcr with will record up to 1200 hours. This tucked into a "gun safe" with the cameras feeding into it, will allow you to check "who" has been by while you were out!

Inside, I keep a Rossi rifle in 357, stoked with 158 grain hollowpoints. The rifle is for the little lady. My personal is a Tarus 357 with the same loads. My son keeps a 12 ga. with #6 birdshot tucked back. We all have our areas of containment. Who is going to cover what if we hear a door being kicked in, or glass breaking!

I also work rotating shifts, which means that when I am home, sleeping during the day, I don't want "unexpected" problems. Waking up with some Gremlin holding a knife to your throat is not a fun way to spend the day!

[joerng]

i love it. these are great posts. i will give post a copy of this book on this forum for all of you to read. thank you for all your advice... joe.

[vetts1911]

I think that we need the basics, staying safe from the court room and how to neutralize the intruder. I have a lot of folks ask me what would you use for home protection. I always tell them from my life experience a pump shot gun with small shot. They always ask why? I tell them the action does not scare them then the blast will. The small shot is due to the tight living quarters most of us live in also, I don't want to hurt my family in the next room or the neighbors. It scares me how many folks say the big guns 357 or 00 buck shot to send the home front safe. Belive it you are awakend at the dead hours of the morn, you can't find the glasses or adjust to the light. Let you mind take the rest. That is just my two cents. Please write truefully.

Vet