I'd also recommend a good no-climb perimeter fence.  While some of us prefer 8' chain-link topped with concertina wire, a 4-board 5' high livestock fence with a hot wire on top will also do the trick.  You want people entering the property funnelled into certain areas (like the driveway) so they're picked up on the game cams and motion sensor alarms.

Plant thorny bushes under the windows.  I used raspberries since they have the side benefit of providing delicious fruit this time of year.

Reinforce the exterior door frames so they can't be kicked in, and put good locks and deadbolts like Assa Locks on the doors.  My locksmith said those are the only locks he can't pick.

In rural areas people usually know everyone else, who belongs, and who doesn't.  If you trust your neighbors let them know what's going on and ask them to keep an eye out for strangers in the area.

The wife needs to get a gun that she is comfortable shooting and wearing.  A .22 revolver on her hip is better than a .44 locked in the safe.

What are the top three or four breeds that are "yappy with good ears" and would be good around the chillens ?

my house is not visible from the road, and my driveway makes a 45* turn at about 100', i put a drive alert eye there. the house is approx. 200' from it, and it works. the only problem is, dogs, coons, whatever will set it off at 3:00A.M. i have high quality 500w quartz floods, on good motion detectors around my home also. my main defence at night is a bad tempered 80 lb. black mouth cur, that sleeps beside my bed. ––––the old folks really beleived in guinna hens, swear they are the best watch-things going, along with peacocks. i can't have any where i am ,in  the woods, as too many owls, coyotes, hawks, etc.––––––––––i've been playing with the idea of making an offset bracket, attaching a 10-12'' 2'' steel pipe with a cap on top and open bottom, and putting a blasting cap in it. i could attach it up high, under an eve, and wire it to my alarm system with a 3-5 second delay timer. is the system went into alarm, followed by the blast 5 seconds, someone would probably get some yonder––––-

They already know he has guns, this is why they are probably targeting him. My parents had some shady neighbors at one point, one was a register sex offender, (rape) and the other was growing pot.. Needless to say my father was always inviting me up at weird hours for a little "target" practice, and was buying me all the ammo I wanted.. One or two silhouette targets may or may not have been "swept" away by a wind storm and ended up in their yard ..... Long story short, Criminals generally pray on the week.  Make it known you refuse to be a victim...

What you want is a watch dog and not a guard dog. Guard dogs are expected to close with and engage. Watch dogs just bark.

http://www.barkingdogs.net/watchdogs.shtml

Rottweiler
German Shepherd
Doberman Pinscher
Scottish Terrier
West Highland White Terrier
Miniature Schnauzer

I personally have mutts with boarder collies and springer spaniel blood. They are energetic, sweet tempered and bark when appropriate. Seriously consider the pound/shelter over buying from a breeder.

These damn things are the only thing you need.  Please don't hate me if you buy some.






 

Great info, thanks.

The wife is not really an animal person (I am) so the dog would have to be outside.

Yes, because Andy and Barney only leave the office when there is a call.

If only LE would drive around, so they could look for suspicous activity, or be spread out to cover the area their depeartment is responsbile for.

Maybe we can coin a catchy term for it something like "patrol"?

Motion lights are a good idea. If they are properly positioned.

A better idea is a motion light, and a video camera, that is positioned to get a good view any vehicles, especially the license plate and the driver. Preferably live feeding to a computer that is always recording.

Start calling LE WHEN IT HAPPENS.

Guys, thanks so much.  Because of all of these great answers, I have already had two telephone calls with my friend.  I am going to help try to set up some of the stuff so he feels a little safer.  Really appreciate the tips.

When you're done bury them in the back 40. No one will ever find them

I think about any good companion dog, even a mutt, is good in this role. If they're at all protective or bonded with a family, they'll be good at letting you know someone is coming.





My lab is good at it, our beagle was, we had a whippet growing up that was the same way.





I think you just need a good dog or two, and make them feel like part of the pack...the rest is instincts.





About the only dogs I'd recommend against in this role are the breeds with strong individual streaks...malamutes, dalmations, etc.



ETA, just read you'll have it outside. If that's the case, do be better than the "tie it to a tree, feed it & forget it about it" trash. Dogs can thrive living outside...but make sure he's part of the family.





 

Why did he let everyone know

1. that he came into money
2. that he bought 2 big safes
3. where he lives

?

Can't change what's already happened.  You know how word of mouth in a small town goes when someone gets a big settlement.  I still want to help him with this situation though.  He is too good a man to be left in a situation where he can't leave his own house without fear of breakins.

Sentry guns.



Bayonet yucca





 

Don't assume they aren't.

Thinking they just sitting inside HQ until a call comes in is silly.

Don't assume their patrol hasn't taken them even FURTHER away from your house than the normal 30 minutes from the station.....

 

Word DOES get around!  We've lived in our place here for 2 years now.  It's very isolated on a dead-end road but we have a neighbor who owns hunting land behind us and uses our lane to access it.  He's a good guy but has a son who used to use the land as a party spot for him and his buddies to run ATVs on.  For a while there were quite a few strangers coming out here.  That seems to have ended for now.

Soon after we moved in, I began open carrying whenever I was outside working (which I was/am a lot).  It didn't take long for word to get around that there was an asshole that carried a gun at the end of that road.    I'll take that.  I don't mind being thought of as an asshole anyway.  We also do a lot of shooting around here which ALL of the extended neighbors have commented to me on.  Sure, that obviously means that we have guns here but it also means that we know how to use them.

It is also well known that if anyone comes up the drive at night that I'll be waiting in somewhere for them with a loaded gun . . . and it will be pointed at them.  This has happened several times already but not recently.  Think the word's getting around?

We also have an alarm system but we're a LONG way from any LE assistance.  I still need to do some work on the place but we've already hardened the house a LOT more than it was when we bought it.  We still need to install cameras and some additional lighting.  I've also been meaning to install a driveway alarm and a trailcam but have yet to get that done.

My advise?  Get aggressive and harden that home big time.  It appears that a break in is eventual if he does nothing.  Inside and outside dogs will help (we have both) as will a security light and a good alarm system.  He should also get the word out that anyone caught breaking into the house will be shot.  Back this word up with evidence of seriousness as well.  You'd be surprised how being seen weedeating with an AK on one's back will get folks attention.  Nothing screams "Fuck with me and you die" better.

Not when that's what they do, as is the case in low populated, rural areas.  Some places barely have the budget to drive to calls, much less patrol.

Misdirection- big, obvious safes unattached to the floor, near a wide door.  Fill with 80-100 lbs of sand bags, but make sure the safes are still light enough to move, you prefer that they haul these away and try to open them elsewhere.  Hide the safes that actually have the guns behind a false partition or in a walk-in closet rigged to look like a normal closet.

I wonder if you could lojack a rifle?

Guineas are annoying as hell, but not as annoy as this:
Peacock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKx58Tftl0Y&feature=fvw

I had a friend growing up that had a few of these.  They would call everytime somebody came down the drive way.  Best alarm system ever.

Heavy duty, remote controlled gate with intercom and camera –––– as far away from the house as possible.

Tanglefoot razor wire extending out from both sides of gate.

Large signs at gate; smaller ones along likely avenues of approach that state: ABSOLUTLY NO TRESPASSING ––- You Have Been Warned.

Infra red 'beam' alarms and trail cameras set up across likely avenues of approach.

All the motion detector lighting he can bolt on to every structure wall.....not just the house.

Ditto on all the previous ideas on strengthening / hardening all windows and doors. Make sure those safes are bolted down solidly.

Install  'panic' buttons throughout the dwellings (don't forget bathrooms) that when pushed immediately turns on 360 degree outdoor floodlights and sets off an extremely LOUD outdoor siren; siren timed to remain on for a minimum of 3 minutes or until deactivated, lights stay on for a minimum of 2 hours.

Open carry outdoors around property at all times.

Claymores, Trip Flares, Parachute Flares, 40mm HEPD: Use `em if ya got `em.

Consider fire suppression from the wrath of pissed off would-be burglars.



Good luck; Now git `er done.

I do actually have one of these signs on my workshop door...

If they're stupid enough to come back after that then wait until they're inside then unload. Oh, cameras too. Maybe a giant freakin sign at the entrance of his property saying "I know you've came a few times. I'll shoot next time"

Forget the motion detector driveway alarm––wind, rain, deer, etc. will set it off.  Those are better closer to the house.



Several companies make a driveway alarm with a magnetic detector.  Mine is sensitive enough to detect a bicycle passing over it.

This was my idea. Even going so far as to have a dummy dressed as the wife in the passenger seat.  If the thieves are intent, it shouldn't take too many times to appear to have an empty house to "catch them in the act" so to speak.



Another trick that thieves use is to look at obituaries. The find out when the funeral is and hit the empty house. I've been tempted to run obits just to take out the garbage.



Damn! I hate thieves.

This method works well.....

How about putting in a Dunkin Dougnuts across the street from the house. There could be no better criminal deterrant.

Useless at night when they roost.  Useless during the day with constant false alarms.  Good for keeping the wood tick population down though.

 

Sitting at HQ?  No.  On the other side of the (large) county with only 2 units on duty at night?  Same result.

 

Ummmm.....first post and shit.

It's great to talk gear, but the info above tells you a lot about who the perp was. It's an amateur, probably a kid, who expected the house to be empty. He either lives nearby and watched the house, or is an acquaintance/ co-worker/ low life relative/ etc. who knew about the church meeting.

I'd be knocking on doors of neighbors, and take a special interest in teens and young adults. He spooks easily and did not try to sneak off, so he won't be cool under pressure, Ask the local kids if they know any "troublemakers" that might be hanging around. Watch for body language. Don't overlook girls, the trashy ones all have trashy boyfriends.

He needs to call the police and insist that they knock on every door. Then, he needs to knock too. Word will get around that he's not someone to mess with.

As for how I know he's an armature, a pro, or even someone with a little cool and experience would stride confidently up to the door, knock, and when she answered, calmly ask for directions, help with an address, or something, and appear as if there was no reason not to be there at that hour. If no one answered, he would have gotten down to business.

My Dad has a few goats at his house and a couple of Great Pyrenees dogs. These are watch dogs, but supposedly they fight coyotes too. Those dogs can climb any fence, but for some reason, they know their perimeter and don't wander. Super good dogs. If someone walks down the road, they're at the fence barking, but they also know our family and I trust them with my 1 year old son. Gentle giants I guess.

I live in an urban area and there's a lot of bullshit always. I'm getting more leery about going outside when I hear a bump in the night since there have been a couple of people shot in their front yards. I did buy a cheap laser sight and never got around to mounting it. I just threw it in my nightstand drawer.

It is amazing how quiet everything will get in the middle of the night if you shine that laser through your bedroom window.

if i lived in a secluded area i would fence in the house and surrounding perimeter at a minimum with chainlink. i would have dogs. not sure what kind, but whatever kind they are large enough to be noticed and ones that would bark if something comes near.

from that point on its just enough security in the house to slow someone down, if they get past the dogs and start trying to break in. i would like to have enough to to 'meet em' as the come inside.

bottom line, id want an offensive defense. cameras and such are nice, but a fence difficult to get over/around and some large dogs would probably be enough to give me time to prepare.

beyond that, i would build the house over a bunker (seriously) and keep my valuables in there and hide the entrance. so if they break in it looks more or less normal, they steal the tv and some electronics by the more expensive things are underground (this is sort of a dream i guess). i dont need a furher bunker, just a a concrete walled/enclosed basement with enough enhancements to make it a sealable separate enclosure.

ETA.. ever read 'in cold blood'. rural farm family supposedly had a safe. someone saw it or started a rumor. eventually some criminals decided to break into the house to get the safe and the treasure inside (cant remember if they even had a safe). burglars ending up killing the whole family. i know of a case similar in my hometown. an older couple kept cash at home for a business. criminals found out and the couple ended up being murdered. the crime was never solved. most folks believe it was the money stored at home that got them killed. point im making is, i always want folks to assume i am more or less normal and not some weird miser that hordes gold or money. for this reason having a safe or at least having one that someone might see is something to consider. you'd be surprised. someone sees it, some kid, maybe a deliver person, maybe a maid, time goes by and the maid mentions seeing it, next thing you know her ms13 cousin hears the story.....

This is kind of a cool idea.  Tactical deception FTW!

Wait until dusk or full darkness and have her put on some clothes that from a distance could cause an observer to mistake her for him.  Then she leaves with the vehicle he normally uses.

If he suspects that neighbors are involved, have him spread the word around that he is "leaving to go out of town for a few days" beforehand.

What happened in the IN COLD BLOOD case was that a hired hand that worked for Mr. Clutter (who was a wealthy farmer) later went to prison, and while there he started telling people about how the Clutter family "kept a large amount of cash" in their house, which was NOT true by the way, but for some reason he believed this.

Two miscreant thugs named Hickock and Smith, who were being paroled soon, heard this guy firing his mouth off in prison, and decided to pay the Clutters a visit shortly after they got out.

Hickock and Smith had no prior connection to the Clutter family.

 

Can't add much to that, except for big dogs and loud alarms.

 

The next time she makes noise, they might not run off and why is she not packing heat when alone

TWO BIG DOGS

First of all, if the the perps want in, they'll find a way. Even if it's driving a car through the front of your house. All you can do is make it as time consuming as possible so the police have time to get there.

MURS Alert sensors strategically placed about the property work good for an early warning.

Plant something with big thorns under all the windows.  This will make most of them try the doors so you have fewer access points to guard.
Id suggest a pressure alarm for the driveway so you know before theyre on your porch.  Of course if they walk up its no good.

I have a friend that had his safe stolen that was bolted down. I guess they had pry bars & worked at it until they popped the bolts loose.

Because of this, I have thought putting a sheet of rubber & a plate of steel inside the safe & sandwiching the rubber between the plate & bottom of the inside of the safe. This would allow the rubber to give rather than the bolts. I don't know if you've ever worked against rubber, but it makes it very hard to break stuff loose.

Since he has 3 big safes, he may think of bolting them together, side-to-side to make them more unwieldy. The compact size of most safes make them easy to move with a dolly, or by sliding them. Bolting them together will not only make them much more akward to move, but should make them impossible to get through normal doorways. They'd have to cut a wall out to remove them.  Of course, none of this helps if the theives capture them & torture them until they give up the combos.

I agree with others that, at least put up a very good fence around the yard, with a system that will monitor the driveway. I'm not a great fan of the game cameras because the light will turn on at night & give away the fact that they've had their pic taken. I can't tell you how many I know of that have been stolen. Someone shot one of mine with a 45ACP. I couldn't believe it went through the front plastic & cracked the back, but didn't make it through the thing.

If he's going to get dogs, he may want to bury the new fence 1 ft into the ground to keep them from digging out.  Adding electric wires to the inside & outside of the fence would be good, too. Pay to get a powerful one that won't short out on weeds, etc. easily. The chargers are rated in miles, but don't base the decision on this, the higher powered ones are less trouble in the long run. Fence wires can easily be cut, though. I have thought of electrifying some 3/8" guy wire(cable) on a fence around my place. It is easy to work with, but is very hard to cut without good cable cutters. It is relatively cheap at under 10 cents per foot, I guess because they manufacture it in huge volume as support cables for electric/phone poles.

Big dogs are a great deterrant, too. I've always had rotties, just because I feel they look more intimidating than german shepards, but are great family dogs. More dogs definately add more security because they have more confidence. If they are actually willing to take an intruder, 2 dogs will do 10x more damage than one, because they can pull against each other.

Good luck to your buddy

... and that is what Brown did for him.

Personally, I don't like game cams as a deterent. They are too low profile and usually camo.

I like big gaudy security cameras. If you can get away with installing these, then the prospective bad-guy will see the more easily and have second thoughts.

I like where your head is at.

Get the word out that you are capable of self-defense. In a small town word spreads fast.