"Homeowner is armed" sign

earlthegoat2 said:

I think a faux security company sign would be a better idea....just to name one idea in a long, long line of better ideas.

Click to expand...

Don't know what I did to get here, clumsy fingers I guess.
please ignore.

My real security cameras and real security system with two large dogs that alert and a sign simply stating that premises are protected via camera and security system work like a charm.

Announcing your intentions is a sure way to hear God laugh.

I just added Beware of Dog signs to my two gates

Click to expand...

Great if you don't have a dog, but if you do have a dog and it bites someone their lawyers will use it to show you knew you had a "viscious" animal. Your homeowners insurance company would not like to try to defend the lawsuit.

earlthegoat2 said:

While I don’t dispute that and it is a reasonable enough analysis, if police showed up to my house a time or two, my neighbors attention would be drawn. These days with door cams, that might not be the best idea for perps.

Whose to say really. I’m sure there are many techniques that work for one and not another. My house is in a good neighborhood but it is close to a bad neighborhood. It’s the type of house that looks like if you put a bunch of work into it then you would have a piece of crap. Maybe that keeps them out.

Or maybe it’s the constant noise of chainsaws.

Click to expand...

My opinion has always been that your best bet is to have good relations with your neighbors and try to foster a climate where everyone looks out for one another. Surveillance cameras are great for gathering evidence, but IMO not that much of a deterrent. Eyes on your property are.

Yep, things have changed. As a kid I would bring a new rifle to Show N Tell at school. Never had any intent to shoot anyone with it. A little older and my shotgun or rifle was in my locker either after a pre-school morning hunting session or a post school one. And yes, I had a wood and glass gun cabinette proudly displaying the guns I owned. Like many things, times have changed.

Bob

Skip the sign, it's tacky and won't do anything. Crooks kind of expect you to be armed , burglars typically aren't murderers . they want property, not your life. Crooks want to come when you aren't home so it's easy pickins , get a German shepherd , an alarm and some cameras - that's what I use . bad guys get a look at "cletus" and typically don't need to see any more. If they want more they get an alarm that signals police, if they proceed further they get me- I try not to look intimidating but I can defend my family.
Don't advertise your situation, be prepared and make your home a hard target. It's not fool proof but it will deter all but the most motivated criminals . If the house next door is getting shot up, it may be time to move.

rkittine said:

Yep, things have changed. As a kid I would bring a new rifle to Show N Tell at school. Never had any intent to shoot anyone with it. A little older and my shotgun or rifle was in my locker either after a pre-school morning hunting session or a post school one.

Click to expand...

Things were a bit more anti gun at school as I was growing up. The only ones inside the school were ROTC rifles. The dove guns for before and after school were in the parking lot and the ones I won in the FFA cheese and sausage sale, had to be signed for in the principals office by my Grandmother.

Not sure any sign would do a lot of good at 4am, unless you had solar flood lights pointed at it. And if they shot up the house, chances are they weren't close enough to have seen or read a sign.

The only signage I have is my mailbox at the end of the driveway. It has my address and last name on it. It doesn't help the mail delivery get the right mailbox after 10+ years living here but the pizza guy is getting pretty good. Hopefully someone intent on bothering my neighbors at least checks the mailbox before they come up my driveway.

Arcticfox said:

Do you all think that sign would deter crime, or invite it?

Click to expand...

It is not an either/or question, it’s a both/and question.

The sign with both deter some criminals and attract others.

Personally, I’m not a big sign guy but it’s not nearly as big a deal as many “internet experts” make it seem. I live in rural AL and criminals generally assume theirs a gun in every home.

I’ve said the same thing many times....’guineas’,, those are the craziest darn things ever. When ever a person shows up the squak like crazy and rush to the person,,,,who thinks they are attacking. Actually they just want food. And they raise a holy ruckus at just about anything.....I love them.

And the only neighbor I have is an absolute freak about anybody trespassing, his property or mine.. He is on patrol constantly. And has a reputation

The first warning a guy that breaks into my house will hear will be the firing pin striking the primer.

I won't have any signs on my house, in the yard or on any vehicle. Signs just invite thieves to rob you. There were many instances in St Louis a few years back about vehicles being targeted and broke into simply because they had NRA or other gun related stickers on them. Just like I will never put up a "beware of dog" sign in my yard either. That just invites lawsuits if your dog does bite someone. Courts will see a "beware of dog" sign as admission of having a vicious animal.

My feeling concerning cameras and alarm system signs do one of two things, either keep an honest person honest or help catch the criminal after the fact.

For awhile in Austin, NRA sticker cars were being broken into in parking lots outside of stores that had ban signs. Also, such cars parked in front of residences. In San Antonio, we had a guy leave a cowboy match, park at the pancake house and his car broken into and the gear stolen. Seems he was followed.

Ernie Bass said:

Having been in the Electronic Security Business for over 3 decades and a Regional Manager for Residential, Commercial and Industrial security. I most definitely use a yard sign in the Front of my house and Rear of the house. I also have Video Surveillance signs posted. Burglars do not want to get caught. Period. They want easy targets...

Click to expand...

George P said:

I just added Beware of Dog signs to my two gates so the lawn guys...

Click to expand...

All good posts on appropriate use of signs and to that I only add, ''you are under surveillance'' type signs.

30 years of security business speaks a lot, seeing ANY professional would KNOW the traditional things that deter crime. If I (retired after 30 yrs+ dealing with the vermin) remember, the order might be transposed a wee bit...
1) security system 2)dog 3)armed person AND home. These are the big things the perps try to stay away from. And they really do want to NOT get caught just as much as if they DO get into your home the 1st place they look is the bedroom. That's the numbers.

Most sec. systems are based on, perp is already in the wrong place INSIDE YOUR HOME, ring-a-ding-ding and ''it'' knows ''it'' has to leave soon BUT STILL SHOPS. Best security , and, this is what OP is attempting to portray here, is perimeter. Appropriate perimeter security makes perp getting into house greatly reduced (with an obvious targeted goal of 100%)

If you as the reader want to be 40% north of smart, make your sign security or otherwise and place it so that the potential perp has to stare at it to figure it out. That allows an appropriate angle so a good security cam can capture the perp ''it'' pic and send to remote location i.e. phone or email. Think ''smile you're on candid camera''...

I have a couple of signs.

One is to tell all that they are under a camera,and being recorded.

The other is to announce that I have an alarm system.

My house is obviously hardend and if you miss that fact = shame on you.

VoodooMountain said:

Portraying an unkempt yard worked for me when I was living in a crime ridden part of town. I didnt have much trouble concerning theft bc it appeared i had nothing of value. I did that intentionally...

Click to expand...

Ha! I try the same approach- as much as my wife allows.

We’ve beaten this dead horse to a pulp by now.
A friend once said “open carry is like wearing a ‘Shoot me first!’ Sign”.
Like the earlier posts, an “armed homeowner” sign would likely be a ‘Rob me first!’ sign.