What is your preferred first line of home defense?

I'm way in the country. Still criminals about so maybe im not far enough in the woods. A few years back there was an arson problem. Kids burning down weekend cabins. Two years back there was a home invasion in a small town south of me. An old man was the home owner. He pretended to be blind and fumbled around and pulled a .357 from a drawer and shot the burglar. Pretty clever.

Anyways, I voted dog as my first line of defense. Two labs. Not really "defensive" creatures but they let me know when someone comes around.

MikeInOr said:

What it the first thing you rely on to keep you and your family safe? Assuming you are already keeping your doors and windows locked, etc.

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Home defense is a layered approach. You are overlooking or ignoring the importance of having security starting at the curb / street.

The FIRST and MOST important thing is too start at the curb and look at your home. Does the house and property look well maintained? Is the grass cut, brushes trimmed. exterior well lit to avoid hiding places? Does the house look occupied and not vacant?

When you are away for several days do you stop mail and newspaper delivery?

Are targets of theft secured and not left laying in the open as a easy target?

Garage door kept closed?

Fencing, even ornamental, can establish a clear no trespass boundary.

Dog(s). Rural folks have outside dogs for a reason. They alert and can intimidate. We used to have a large dog that was the worlds biggest coward. But she had a heavy black coat with brown markings on the face that scared a lot of people when they came onto our property. We had people refuse to get of out of their vehicle when she approached.
We have a new rural mail carrier that refuses to deliver packages to the house because of dog being out. I am more of the opinion that he is just being lazy as at least 75% of folks around us have outside dogs, some multiples.

shafter said:

A firearm should be the last line of defense, not the first.

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Absolutely! Too much emphasis is put on having guns that hardening the target. Instead of spreading $500.00 for another gun for home defense use the money to buy better entry doors, better locks, a good fence, etc.

As others, I live out in the middle of nowhere. If I see a vehicle drive by my house there are only a dozen people it could be. And I know the makes and models of most of my neighbors.

To answer the question at hand, my bump in the night gun is my EDC weapon. With a light in a bedside lock box. Eventually I would like to have a shotgun or AR in the closet (locked but ready) for hairy situations or a 4 legged nuisance.

Mn Fats

I also think of my dog as being a tripwire for any intruder; he will definitely let us know when someone who doesn't belong there is in the house, as well as go on the offensive against them.

I have to agree with some of the other responses, it should absolutely be a layered line of defense. For those of us who do not live in the country and have open range to see anything(ok, so I'm envious), the first line is your house. What I mean is a concept called CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design). What allows someone cover/concealment to access your house. Big bushes by doors or windows, no lighting around entry ways, trees that block visibiilty from the street for neighbors to see suspicious events. As mentioned also, door locks, are they newer design, is the jamb maybe reinforced, got deadbolts etc. In some bigger PD/ Sheriff departments they do have Community Resource officers who will come out and do a security survey(on the outside) of your house to show you areas you could improve landscaping design to make things better. The dog(s), if you love em, get em! A dog barking is a great deterrent not only for you but possibility the neighbors. My 58lb lab mutt may not look like much but when she gets going the barking sounds like she wants to rip a throat out.
There may not be a sure fire way to stop any crook, but if you can make it harder for them and deter it, anything is worth a shot (no pun intended)
BTW, last line, Sig P220
Stay safe!

Hi...
I choose to live in a semi-rural setting in a cul-de-sac.
Have always had fairly large dogs that serve as a distant early warning system.
Currently on our second set of Labrador Retriever siblings.
Doubt they would hurt anyone but they sure do make a lot of noise on the rare occasion that someone comes by unannounced.
More than enough time for me to get to my 1911 in .45ACP which is backed up by a Winchester 12ga autoloader which is backed up by an SKS in 7.62x39.
Rifle soon to be replaced with a new AR15 that my son and I are building.

To be honest, we haven't had any break-ins in my 13 home development in years.
We had some a few years ago when there was an annual native American festival in the adjacent state park.
Haven't seen them in at least ten years.
Right after a homeowner on the other side of the state park had a break in that resulted in a few arrests.

I would like to say a dog. Only because I want a dog but my wife won't let me. S0...pistol.

I live in small town.in the daytime, I open carry around the house when outside(and inside). Seeing firearm is a deturant somewhat. At night, say "bump in the night", first thing out is a bright light to blind as i reach for the firearm.

Pistol for me since it is right next to me at night and easily accessed in the dark.

NorthBorder said:

I would like to say a dog.

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Yeah, me too. But it doesn't have to be a "big" dog (the only option in the OP's poll). IMO, "noisy" is more important than "big" when it comes to dogs for sounding the alarm.
My wife and I are dog lovers, and have almost always had one or two of them around. But as far as I'm concerned, our noisy, 30lb Cocker/Springer cross (who isn't at all intimidating) is a better "alarm dog" than the less noisy, 90+lb Chesapeake (who was a little bit ornery) we used to have. Besides, small/medium dogs eat less, and leave smaller piles in your yard.

.308 Norma said:

Yeah, me too. But it doesn't have to be a "big" dog (the only option in the OP's poll). IMO, "noisy" is more important than "big" when it comes to dogs for sounding the alarm.
My wife and I are dog lovers, and have almost always had one or two of them around. But as far as I'm concerned, our noisy, 30lb Cocker/Springer cross (who isn't at all intimidating) is a better "alarm dog" than the less noisy, 90+lb Chesapeake (who was a little bit ornery) we used to have. Besides, small/medium dogs eat less, and leave smaller piles in your yard.

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Yup. Our current mutt is a terrier-ist. I do miss our big dog though.

I've got a 75 lb golden and a 65 lb lab/GSD/beagle mix that stay outside and I consider the fist line of defense. We live 200 ft off the road but they still make a lot of noise when someone walks or rides their bike down the street so I trust them to at least be my alarm. There was actually a bump in the night last week that convinced me someone was in the basement, I actually let the golden inside and said "Go downstairs" to scope things out before I went down to check things out myself.

2nd line is probably motion lights and perimeter lights I can control from inside. Locked doors and windows are the 3rd line.

Past that, I have a pistol in the bedroom as well as in several other rooms and a flashlight next to every handgun. The wife also knows to round up the kids and call the cops, and there's a spare handgun in the bedroom too if she wants to grab it.

Good Ol' Boy said:

Why is a security system not on the list?


Im also out in the country, my first line would probably be motion lighting.

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That's what a dog, good locks, motion sensor outside lights, thorny bushes under the windows and owning a gun is called......

AlexanderA: suggested living in a low-crime area etc. Roger that.

Another good idea is whether you can verify whether a suspected prowler is not a family member who arrived home late at night, a day early or late?
Everybody assumes that even a quiet noise must be the Night Stalker.

Very late at night, a guy saw a person in a dark hallway. Minutes later his daughter was dead. She arrived on the wrong night and didn't want to Wake her parents.

A different idiot assumed his fiancé Must be in the bedroom. He also shot into a dark hallway leading to his garage. Dead fiancé.

AlexanderA said:

Realistically, what sort of confrontation are you planning for? (If I felt that threatened, I would start reexamining my lifestyle.)

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In the last year or so we have had a significant increase in crime in my area. Lots of immigrants have recently moved into the area, maybe there is a correlation, maybe not. There have been several groups caught around here kidnapping children and not too far from here they busted a large child sex ring. We also had a large heroine bust last week in our town. 3 years ago there were very, very few problems in my neighborhood, but that has changed.

I am mostly disabled, don’t leave the house much(same as my wife), and carry all day, every day. The other guns just happen to be nearby as that is where they live. In the event that I was to have to use any of them to defend myself or my family, I have every confidence the Glock will do it and the others will continue to gather dust till Range day.

from here they busted a large child sex ring

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Sure it just wasn't a large family reunion? JUST KIDDING!!!!! (I saw a photo of a banner at an Alabama game where they said "Alabama, where E HArmony and Ancestry dot com are the same thing")

Seriously though, a good dog will do wonders to keep break-ins down as most of those types really prefer no noise, let alone they don't want to get bit!

Ignition Override said:

Everybody assumes that even a quiet noise must be the Night Stalker.

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Well, not "everybody." At least not after we've been given the chance to wake up a bit. Our noisy and nervous inside dog sounds off at coyotes, owls, and sometimes even the wind. And his voice is more like a scream than a bark when he's scared.
If we're asleep when he "alarms," it scares the crap out of us. And I'll admit, I grab the 1911 and the flashlight from my nightstand. But I always stop and listen to determine whether or not the wind is blowing before I go looking for a "Night Stalker."

Nothing gets in my yard, let alone near my house without my Collie noticing. If her bark is sufficiently insistent my big Lab joins in.

Both are very intimidating, despite being super friendly.

Should someone push the issue there are a few 9mms and .45s handy.

.308 Norma said:

Well, not "everybody." At least not after we've been given the chance to wake up a bit. Our noisy and nervous inside dog sounds off at coyotes, owls, and sometimes even the wind. And his voice is more like a scream than a bark when he's scared.
If we're asleep when he "alarms," it scares the crap out of us. And I'll admit, I grab the 1911 and the flashlight from my nightstand. But I always stop and listen to determine whether or not the wind is blowing before I go looking for a "Night Stalker."

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Mine has distinct "I heard an owl" (or most likely the cat) barks vs "this is something serious" barks.

I usually judge it by if the lab bothers getting up. Take a peek from out top steps and if the cat is laying on the floor looking "innocent" I know it's her fault.

I live in Houston, As mentioned earlier, (2) dogs. (Inside dogs w/ access to fenced yard in rear.)
We have 'entry-level electronic protection' but it hasn't been turned on since we got the dogs.
Wife and I did not acquire our dogs (both mutts from a shelter) for anything more than companionship, but it's really hard to beat the instincts/awareness/alerts that a dog can provide 'round the clock', which in turn can buy me some time to figure out what's going on.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it would be one heck of a feat to sneak up on me or mine in the middle of the night while our (2) mutts are sacked out on the floor.

To me, that in itself is more reassuring than 'a firearm in every room plus 6 more by the bed'.

Simplisafe.

I am now back from being out of town for a couple of months. My first layer was to tell my neighbor that I was going to be gone.

He has too many cars in his driveway and frequently has to park his police car about a half block away. With me gone he had a place to park it. So, my first layer was a police car parked in the driveway.

For many people I know, not broadcasting their every move on facebook would be a good first step.

For me, I live in a decent neighborhood. I spend a lot of time outside and I pay attention to any strangers walking or driving around. I don't leave anything valuable outside. The automobiles are locked in the garage and shop. The doors stay locked and the garage doors stay closed unless I'm outside. I double check them before leaving home or before bedtime. We have decent doors and door locks. I have a few outside cameras and a monitored alarm system. Last, my Wife and I both carry concealed and our carry guns are by the bed.

JR24 said:

Take a peek from out top steps and if the cat is laying on the floor looking "innocent" I know it's her fault.

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LOL!