Posted: 6/22/2008 8:40:51 AM EDT
| If you are bugging in a neighborhood inside your home, how do you plan on defending all the windows and doors and such? Also, what kind of supplies do you keep/where do you keep them at? I'm trying to get an idea of what to do, but I've never worried about this kind of stuff before. |
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My wife rescued a young female pit-bull-shepard mix (looks like a pit bull) about a year ago, the former owner left the dog outside all the time. In Maine winters that's harsh. The dog is friendly, but will intercept anything that comes near a door or window and has a very menacing growl and bark so anyone in their right mind will move on, and at the same time alert us to a possible threat. The same dog helped me intercept four ATVs on posted property a couple weeks ago. "We'll talk to the police, just don't let your dog bite us!" One of the trespassers said in a rather worried voice. (The ATVers were very cooperative in the the dog's presence, and gave the police the names of some evaders they were looking for, so we let them go with a warning.) Bulk food and ammo is kept in the basement where its dark and cool with limited access. Anything else I'd need in a SHTF situation I'd probably have slung on my shoulder or attached at my hip! |
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I've learned over the years through many hurricanes that basic glass windows can shatter with just a small hit and if you don't want to invest in further protection like storm windows, rolldown shutters, grate covers, bars and so on, than you should atleast keep a good supply of plywood and screws around to cover those windows up. If the shit hits hard and your fighting people off from your home, most homes aren't going to be any protection from bullet penetration, so you'd better be ready to patch holes later if you live through the fight to fight another day. For further protecting your home from rifle/pistol fire so you don't get shot defending or your family hiding in the house, one of the best and cheapest ways to stop bullets is still through sand bags. Stocking up on them and keeping in mind a source to fill them to be able to stack them high and deep on the outside of your house when it gets that bad is a smart idea. Some Box of Truth Sand barrier protection example |
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Since our house was pretty old with a bunch of poorly place windows when I started to remodel it, I added 3/4 plywood on the inside of all exterior walls before we sheetrocked to gain rigidity. The lowest window is 3' off the floor, 5' from ground level. Siding is vinyl over 1" foam on clap board over ship lap fir. Not sure that'll stop an AP round but there wouldn't be much umph left in buck-shot or a 30-30. I use an intake from the first floor to vent the basement, an exhaust fan keeps air moving. The 2 basement windows have 3/4 plywood screwed to the frames from the inside so I can open them to slide in lengths of type or 2x4's if needed. Basement door is a Bilco with a right angle at the bottom of the well to the intereior basement door that has a cross bar similar to the old castles. My wife spent $2,500 on the lead glass front door so nobody will ever be brave enough to try and break it down...  Pete As to the post above; we have plywood, 2x4's, screws, tarps and cordless tools aplenty due to our remodeling business...even have 5gal pails of 8, 10 and 12 penny common nails. |
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I don't live in a neighborhood, but the OP's question is one that I have asked myself. My house cannot be proofed from rifle fire, but the woods around it give me cover from persons up on the road. The woods also give cover to anyone threatening harm to me. Short of having a track-hoe pile up large berms around the house, what do I do? RS |
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Most dogs are an alarm system at best. Better than nothing but most dogs sound off when there is really no threat. *Cry Wolf* and all that. You were lucky that the ATV trespassers were just that trespassers and not really a threat. If they were a real threat your dog would be dead. On the up side your dogs death would gain you about 2 seconds of reaction time. I have worked with tracking and attack dogs. I know how a dogs mind works. Maube I've been very lucky but I have never had to shoot a dog. Voice is all I have needed. Granted none of the street dogs were trained attack dogs. For them I have the pill. ~R PS. I like dogs, have owned and trained others. I just don't want anyone to think that a dog is the end all be all that one might think. |
+1. A dog is nothing more than a deterrent for the weak and basically an alarm against the strong and a knife or a bullet away from a dead dog. People who are prepared and want your stuff or more are not going to be stopped by the dog at all. 
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We have a dog and have had others before. We never trained them to respond to a threat so I'm thinking it's another mouth to feed in a bug in but comforting to Wifey and the kids. The house next door had a Bull Mastiff, unsocialized female Pitbull and a Pit-Rotty mix. NJ legal SKS with a 10rd mag at the front and back door for me. Pete |
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You need to understand up front that it will be nearly impossible to defend your house from the inside. How you take that statement is up to you. A determined group will burn you out or shot the hell out of your house with you in it. The best bet is to have a way to deter attackers from hidden positions or before they even get to your street. |
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Technically, the defense is going to depend on number of people. With just me, I may end up spending nights on the roof. Primary equipment would be a ladder, night vision (in my case, a cheap squeeze-powered Gen 1) and big flashlights (i.e. H3 or H4 automotive bulbs). A rifle is secondary, really - until they're trying to throw a molotov cocktail at my house, lawful deadly force is likely to be largely unnecessary. A lawfully concealed pistol will be worn 24/7, however - asleep or awake, in any actual bug-in. One thing I'm missing is a bullhorn, of course, or battery operated alarms (powered from rechargeables, charged from my 80W solar panel or from a car). As far as supplies, most of the food's in the basement (where it's cooler), the water drums are split between basement and garage with the 5 gal jerricans on the first floor, BOB's in the living room closet (along with secondary BOB's for food and water and the 3M industrial gas mask), and fuel is in a separate shed (along with a foam fire extinguisher, since there is no electricity in the shed). |
If you do decide to sit on your roof, let me be the first to thank you on behalf of any murderous crook who happens to have looted a 22lr from the neighbors house because it will be nice and easy to drill a neat little hole in your skull from 50 yds out. (Did that come out sounding sarcastic?) |