Home Defense preparedness questions

[stevensc]

Quote
"Two nights ago I was awakened by the sound of a car alarm at 4:30 am. I got up and wanted to check around outside to make sure everything was OK."

Maybe had you called the police at that moment and stayed inside they would have gotten there in time (if they are prompt) to catch the guy in the act of burglarizing the car. Of course if he was trying to get into your house it is a different matter and all bets are off.

Having said that, a fairly similar thing happened to me, a couple of nights ago at 3 am my son woke me to say a car was parked in our drive way. I did pretty much the same as you and went out to see what was going on. A young guy got out of the car telling me everything was ok. He had a flat and no spare but had telephoned for help and some friends were on the way with a spare. I went back inside and kept an eye on them to make sure they left after changing the tire. They did and left, no problem. The next morning a deputy came by to see if I had seen a car that left a puddle of oil in my driveway I told him what had happened earlier. Apparently the guy had run off the road and into the yard of a house up the road causing considerable damage. I sure wished I had called the sherrif's office when it first happened. Fortunately the guy was caught the next day, seems a pizza delivery cap fell out of his car and they tracked him down.
Steve

[WOD]

sorry double post

[WOD]

Sorry to sound so cold, but unless it's someone breaking into my house, I could care less what is going on outside.

There is nothing in my yard, (Jeep Included) worth going out and possibly getting killed, maimed, crippled, or sued...now, you have a gremlin who "knows" where you live. Are you prepared for the sliced tires, the spray paint on the side of the house?

Gremlins have nothing to lose...Gremlins have friends...family....and all of them are going to think your a S---thead and want to cause you problems!

Possibly a tennis ball filled with gas, wrapped with fuse and dipped in tar and tossed into the gutter system of your house. It just depends on how far this gremlin wants to carry the war...you have no INTEL on said gremlin...he knows where you live, how many people in your house, ages, probably where you work, where the kids go to school...get involved over the neighbors car, not gonna happen!

Claude783 has some very valid points, and up to now I have heard of very few individuals who have shared this same concern. I used to believe in the Christian belief that we should always do the just and righteous thing irregardless of the consequences. Everytime I got discouraged by our society and its laws coming down on me for fighting back I would dive back into the history books and try to find courage and strength by example in great men such as Theodore Roosevelt and George Smith Patton Jr. I was naive in those younger years, but now I know better and I realize that those days are gone. I realize that were Roosevelt and Patton alive today they would have been ostracized by their fellow Americans and their neighbors as gun toting bullying war mongers. Today we have a nation of bleeding hearts who believe that love can conquer all and that guns are an unnecessary evil. They believe that the criminals have a reason to commit crimes and that we should only watch and pray for them, for with love anything is possible. I read all the posts here and it saddens me that today I am just like the rest of you, part of the cowardly herd of sheeple who will watch one of their flock be eaten by the wolves and do nothing less they disturb their grazing.

Owning my own business, I have been a target of gremlins publicly at my business and privately at my home. I know now that I must hold back my anger and my need for justice because the society we live in will not be on my side. Instead I have had to resort to hiring my own enforcement to rid myself of these criminals for I want no ties to me or my property. The criminal will pay, but he will not know who is dishing out the justice. This may sound heavy handed, but be very aware that the criminals you are trying to run out of your neighbors car do not have the moral constraints that hamper us law abiding citizens. They do not have the 8 to 6 work schedule, nor do they worry about being a good role model to their children. They do not worry about having a rap sheet that might affect their promotion as senior executive. They do not wory about their credit and ability to buy a house and so care little about the measley $150,000 fine and 5 days in prison. What will ruin us honest American citizens, is just a walk in the park for these criminals. Criminals live for the moment and act on impulse to satisfy their wants and urges. If they have an urge and a want to steal your car they will make it happen because they know the penalties for their crime affects only us honest citizens. If you piss them off by trying to circumvent the law and take justice into your own hands, you will only give them an urge to destroy you and those you love. Next time you see or become a victim of a crime, do absolutely nothing for you have everything to lose if you try to fight back. Turn both cheeks and pray that your love will return all the things the criminal has stolen, especially your dignity.

[BigDan35]

Edit

[aspen1964]

....reading this a person wonders if he can depend on the police to do anything...?...sounds like he better rely on himself...and even then the police are more likely to arrest the victim than the criminal...a very upside-down world I live in...ever noticed in most of the COPs episodes that they tend to talk to the suspects like the're best buddies....( they usually call them 'buddy')...WOD, the trouble with our society today is the generations of today....that great rock and roll generation by whom all things today are in a state of decay....

[BigDan35]

^ I'm not sure if I could put my full heart and soul into depending on and trusting the police. As a matter of fact, I know I couldn't. But there is a sense of security, knowin that you could call 911 and within minutes (if it's a serious crime being committed) you will have cops arrive. Now, after the fact, the way the cops handle the situation and whether they make arrests or not. Well, that's the part I'm not sure I could depend on them for.

[shamus005]

.............

[Yoshi]

Hello, If your neighborhood situation permits it I think a good dog or 2 (we have 4 ) is the best source of information regarding the environment around or in the house.
We have 4 very happy, very large German Shepard’s. If an intruder did ever get into our home I’m pretty sure he would not get back out.
What’s the old line…”they’d have to strain the remains for finger prints”

We have also installed motion sensor controlled outdoor lights and good locks and dead bolts on our steel exterior doors.

I don’t think I’d leave the house to defend property, and by doing so leave the house open to attack. Now someone firebombing my house for example is a different story, that’s a threat to our lives so no holds bared there.

I would come to a Neighbors rescue, in one fashion or another, if my kids
are with me then my fist job is to take care of them than maybe the most I could do would be to make a 911 call to the coppers and make my presence known to the bad guy. unless it looked like the victim was going to get hurt or killed, then you have to step right up I feel,and would hope they would do the same for us.
Its hard to know what to do when if faced with decision to defend yourself,
Finding a starving man steeling my food is very different from a home invasion or some other type of violent insanity.
But I do believe in defending myself if needed, I have level 3 body armor, for defense in the house I use a 1911 , a kal tec 32 back up and a tac light, and like i said before, a couple of big dogs.
I think another powerful defensive weapon is the ability to walk away from trouble,
Now if trouble follows, well all rightly then….you tried.

Have a great and safe holiday season and I hope Santa leaves firearms under all your trees this year 
Paul

[Yoshi]

Hello, If your neighborhood situation permits it I think a good dog or 2 (we have 4 ) is the best source of information regarding the environment around or in the house.
We have 4 very happy, very large German Shepard’s. If an intruder did ever get into our home I’m pretty sure he would not get back out.
What’s the old line…”they’d have to strain the remains for finger prints”

We have also installed motion sensor controlled outdoor lights and good locks and dead bolts on our steel exterior doors.

I don’t think I’d leave the house to defend property, and by doing so leave the house open to attack. Now someone firebombing my house for example is a different story, that’s a threat to our lives so no holds bared there.

I would come to a Neighbors rescue, in one fashion or another, if my kids
are with me then my fist job is to take care of them than maybe the most I could do would be to make a 911 call to the coppers and make my presence known to the bad guy. unless it looked like the victim was going to get hurt or killed, then you have to step right up I feel,and would hope they would do the same for us.
Its hard to know what to do when if faced with decision to defend yourself,
Finding a starving man steeling my food is very different from a home invasion or some other type of violent insanity.
But I do believe in defending myself if needed, I have level 3 body armor, for defense in the house I use a 1911 , a kal tec 32 back up and a tac light, and like i said before, a couple of big dogs.
I think another powerful defensive weapon is the ability to walk away from trouble,
Now if trouble follows, well all rightly then….you tried.

Have a great and safe holiday season and I hope Santa leaves firearms under all your trees this year 
Paul

[Yoshi]

Speak softly and carry a big stick ( or big 1911 )

[Mannlicher]

after reading this several times, I guess my reaction is that I would not go outside to investigate someone else's alarm. Thats their job if they choose to do it. And.....
I have no use for nonlethel loads or weapons
I like a carbine over a shottie or a pistol for HD
I have no use for 'tactical' lights on weapons. I like trijicon night sights better. Inside my house, I know where everything is. I think lighting up the place is not to my advantage.
I don't wear slippers, but I do keep a pair of nylon jogging shorts by the bed.

[fett tracking]

I know from first hand experience, that police in California want citizens to take part in absolutely no enforcement of the law.

(I believe this to be a main reason for rising crime rates)

I have been in the position before of a bg attempting to steal a neighbor's car. I had a family member call police as I threw on my kevlar and pants and grabbed my .357 sig. Long story made to one sentence. The bad guys and the car only made it a quarter of the way up the block. Car recovered and nobody hurt. Police eventually arrived and I concealed my weapon in my kevlar. I didn't mention to them that I had it (a weak attempt at avoiding the "cowboy" speech:barf: ) . I was shunned multiple times for intervening, even though they were called first. I got the whole "you can't be a cowboy" speech which I have heard from many a peace officer. I know if may get you looked at dirty by the law, but sometimes cops' heads get too big for themselves' and they forget who they are. I believe the police are put in charge to assist society in enforcing society's law. It is good that they are reminded of that occasionally.

You cannot run outside with a shotgun every time you hear somebody cough out front of your house, but if **** really goes down, a good cop will understand what you do. The most important thing when an incident occurs is to call the police first (if possible). Help them help you. It is what they're there for.

[stevensc]

Quote
"Finding a starving man steeling my food is very different from a home invasion or some other type of violent insanity."
That is one thing I can just about guarrantee you you will never find.
Steve

[samoand]

> Maybe had you called the police at that moment and stayed inside they would have gotten there in time (if they are prompt) to catch the guy in the act of burglarizing the car.

You can't really call police each time you hear car alarm.. at that point there is absolutely no certainty of criminal activity going on. By the time there IS certainty, you may already be confronting the BG.

I personally admire ALexK's actions, not even as much for being a cowboy but rather for caring enough to get his behind off warm bed and go into cold night. That makes his neighbor's take on things very wrong in comparison.

[fett tracking]

Police around here are not prompt, and as I already said, after they got into the car and started to back it down our dead end street I ended the theft. Had I sat on my ass waiting for the fuzz, my neighbor's expensive car would have been gone, and some peice of **** criminal would think its open season in my almost-zero-crime neighborhood...

[too many choices!?]

I was awakend one night by the sound of glass breaking in an upstairs apartment. I had fallen asleep on my couch while whatching cable, and the first,"crash", I figure coulda been a dropped whatever..I roll over and try to go back to sleep. Not 10 seconds later a second,"crash", followed now by the disticnt sound of glass being knoced out of a window frame(soundeld like silver rain). I had no weapon at this time as I had just turned 21 and owned no rifles. In hindsight, I should have grabbed something, anything! As I am 5'6, and all of 145 pounds, but wirey and squirmy( I can bench a little over 230 and got a mean right left combo and a little grappling and take down work) . So my curious but goes outside to discover my upstaris female neighbor being drug off by her exboyfriend or exhusband, daughter watching and screaming. Instinctively I went into action giving the guy verbal commands to,"stop!, let her go, she isn't going anywhere with you!!". My next door neighbor(across from me not above) took the little girl inside as I sized up the guy. About 5'8-5'10, but he was bigger than me, pushing atleast 230. The guy responds to my commands in broken English telling me,"There no problem here, she wants to go with me". Again I command she ain't going nowhere and the guy responds like he is getting annoyed,"Mind your business", or somehting like that. Now I AM GETTING ANNOYED, and my demands to release the lady got more forcefull, casue now I'm pissed he thinks I'm stupid. Long story short, once I got to within a 2-3 yards of him he finally released the woman, and decided discretion was the better part of valor...My 5'6, 145 pounds of imposing pissed Black man, must have been too much for him !! Get this, he makes his get away, on a FRICIN' BIKE, wasnt even a 10 speed! I guess he was going to,"pump", his hostage on the handlebars or something. I was out verbally sparing with this idiot for atleast 5 minutes, before I convinced him to release the lady. He was not armed to the best of my knowlege, but honostly it never even entered my mind once I saw the woman being pulled away. In hindsight again, I was glad I did what I did, as who knows what this whack job wanted, but needing to break into the womans house and drag her out of it, I doubt his intensions were good.... So to all you who say stay inside cause it ain't your problem, I thumb my nose to you and say one day it might be,"YOUR PROBLEM"....

Too Many Choices!?...Thankfully I made the right one that night....

PS-My neighbor went right inside with the girl and called the cops as I kept the guy there, it took a deputy 15-20minutes to get there....That guy could have been blocks away on his,'huffy" after killing the woman in our parking lot:barf:...I would hope for any member here to do the same for my mother, sister, or other female family member that obviously needed help with none availiable...

[black bear 84]

My house is next to a piece of woods and calling the police is a waste of time, they come after the fact with all lights and sirens blaring and any crook can hear they coming a mile away, and retreat.

My dog was barking bloody murder recently, I can tell for the way he barks when an animal or a person is lurking in the woods near the house.

My procedure is exit the house by the farther exit, (in this case the garage door) and circle around quietly until I am in position to evaluate the situation.

The dog also appreciates the moral support of my presence.

I wear dark clothes and a dark watch cap just for those intrusions.
My gun is a 1911 with Laser Grips and extra magazines loaded with Federal's Hydra-Shocks 230 grains. I have a cell phone and a radio to communicate with the house to let then know what is going on.

My flashlight is one of my modifications, the MAG 951 II (1050 "real" lumens)
Thirty times more powerful than a regular Maglite 3 D on which is based, even more powerful than the 1 million candlepower spotlight.

Unfortunately two of the culprits were going away with the price when I switched on the light, they were already 35 or 40 yards into the woods and started running when I put the light on them, two others guys were close and half blinded they tangled in the bushes and thorns in escaping, a couple shots from my pistol slamming in the tree near by, hasting they departure.

The price was my raccoon feeder with 5 pounds of corn (don't laugh, made by my hands it was a masterpiece) in exchange I got a nice 18 volts Ryobi drill-screwdriver and pliers.

Neighbors are far away enough than shooting even the entire night will not bother them, calling police for a stolen feeder will serve only for something to joke around in the squad room.
I guess the raccoons will go hungry this winter.

black bear

[Malamute]

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke)


If ever there were an appropriate place to recite this quote, it is here, in discussion of this subject.

For those that choose to do nothing, I feel they deserve to live in the cesspool that the world has become in some places, and they have no right to complain about it.

[progunner1957]

Both BGs were convicted felons, out of state without permission and one was on house arrest/anklet. The PD told them to go home, no arrests.

This is undeniable proof that "the police are there to protect you - you do not need a gun, let the experts do their job.":barf: :barf: :barf:

We chased the BG as he runs to a car that has lic plate light out and he and his partner head out. The police show up about 15 minutes later. We of course got the riot act read to us about having our guns out.

This is what you get for trying to do the right thing - an @$$ chewing from the police for having your gun out.

Model 25, I guess you are lucky the police didn't shoot you instead...