I keep an eye on a few vacation homes for some friends.
I do a daily walk about, shake doorknobs and the like.

One guy had been around about a week and just left last night.
I went to his place first thing this morning just to be sure he'd locked up all his exterior doors. He has 5 doors and more than once he's forgotten to lock one.

I go walking up to his place and right at the base of the stairs that lead up to his elevated stilt home sits a 8 pound sledgehammer and a 30 inch crow bar. I know he'd been working with those two tools while he was here and it was he that'd left them set there.

I couldn't help but think of the time one of my homes in Montana was robbed. The thieves went through the front door with MY splitting maul that I kept by the wood pile right outside my door.

Thieves are opportunist, I didn't have to make it so easy for them.
I know a thief could easily bust out a window with a rock to gain entry but you don't have to give them the damn rock.

What's sitting around your place in plain view?

It sounds simple and even stupid but maybe some would never consider thinking about it if they've never been robbed with the use of their own devices.

I have some fenced, gated remote properties.
If I install a gate I install a power opener.
I guess I'm just too lazy to get out of the truck, I gotta have a button it get in.

I also install a fake lock and chain.
The gates close against the back of the gate post, the chain just wraps around the post, not the gate.
I mean I could lock the gate with the chain but then I'd have to get outta the truck..

This fake lock and chain works so well I had the power company cut one to gain entry after I'd told them to just pull the clevis pin out of the opener, the gate wouldn't be locked.

They were rather apologetic about that when I arrived.
They installed one of their locks to repair the chain after they realized what they'd done.
Now it's really secure looking with "two" big badazzed locks on it.

About those clevis pins that come with those openers.
Remove them and replace them with a bolt and nyloc nut.
Gotta leave them a little loose so they can pivot.

The nyloc nut makes it to where a guy has to have two tools to remove it. Just a simple little step to help deter a thief or trespasser.

What do you have?
Something simple and obvious once you realize it?

You ever think that piece of firewood works as well as splitting maul or a chain on a gate stops a truck?

Don’t be a Wet blanket. What you said is true but there are varying levels of security and various levels of determination.
JeffA makes some very valid points. You don’t have to make it easy for them!

Slow down a thief and increase the degree of difficulty, and they may look elsewhere.

My Grandad always said it “keeps the honest people honest”.

Jeff, good topic. How about the extra fuel cans and cooler I keep in my truck bed during hunting season. I run a cable from a tie down point in the truck bed, and through the jug handles to the coolers where it's locked. It's annoying to unlock when I need the gas jugs, but if it keeps a lazy thief from walking off with my stuff at the grocery store parking lot, great. A crescent wrench to take the tie down point of the bed would be all they need, but I'm counting on them being in too big a rush or too lazy or too unprepared for that. So far I still have my stuff.

A friend who lives in Atlanta spent a small fortune adding security cameras and lights around his house. He was never robbed before but felt it a prudent step. Since he added all the security, he has been hit twice in three years. He decided to downgrade on the security paraphernalia.

If it looks like you're really trying to protect something, burglars take note. But it's best not to leave out the welcome mat for them either.

But then again, the shovel I keep in the bed is loose, and they could use that to knock in my windows to steal whatever is in the cab....

Put ya a big muddy pair of size 14 boots on the front porch so it looks like a grown ass man lives there.

Holler at me, I got some that need to go the Goodwill.

Deer gambrel hanging off of a tree limb in the front yard. A transmission beside the sidewalk.

How’s about crocs?
😉

Pre-dig a hole with the excavator the size and shape of a grave out by the front entryway.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

I hear you. We did some renovation many years ago. Put the old stuff on the curb marked free. No takers. Marked it up twenty bucks and it disappeared.

[quote=JeffA]
About those clevis pins that come with those openers.
Remove them and replace them with a bolt and nyloc nut.
Gotta leave them a little loose so they can pivot.

The nyloc nut makes it to where a guy has to have two tools to remove it. Just a simple little step to help deter a thief or trespasser.
/quote]

I've replaced our gate clevis pins with a pad lock and before that I went with a nyloc nut on an allen headed bolt.

BEWARE OF DOG!!! signs. Dog or not.

I found this video interesting. He said the average burglar only stays for 8 minutes and spends almost all that time in the master bedroom so he hides his stuff in the pantry.

I put 3/8 lag hook on both sides of every door going through casing into stud. Have a length of 1/4 link chain that hooks from one side to other. Someone is almost always here. If someone kicks my door in they're not getting far. At that point they've sealed their fate. I live in a rural area, but there's thieves & drug addicts everywhere.

Pretty close to the top of my drive I have a sign that says ....trespass here and I'll crap on Your Grave.... if you get by that ....on the shop door there's a sign that says video recording in progress and then I have old Bank cameras screwed up near doors and entries nice and obvious ...you will be feeling pretty guilty taking my stuff...

Sign:

We don’t call 9-1-1

We call 8-1-1

Like the size 14 boots idea.

Bigazz dog food and water dishes in plain view.

?Beware of dog" stickers on a couple exterior locations like the front door and garage door. Wal Mart item.

Call B4U DIG

lol

👍

True story. When the original Procter and Gamble immigrated to Cincinnati in the 1830's they set up their original shop down near the river. Being "fiscally conservative" they did not want the expense of feeding a dog to guard the shop over night. So, they went out and found a LARGE discarded dog house. Nailed one end of a piece of log chain to the wall of the building. Threw the other end of the chain into the empty dog house. And then placed a cow femur from a slaughter house in front of the dog house. No issue with petty thievery.

Home security? We keep a Shepherd on each floor of the house. Hmm, maybe we do need a security system.

bet they will spring into action when the time comes, ups guy made a mistake on trying to give my dog a treat, he found out you don't do that.

my mom had a sign in her window that said

"pet snake, please watch where you step!"

Got about 10 or 12 NRA stickers on the front window.

Lol.

0 to 60 right now!

We leave the doors open when we aren't home. If people want our old junk, they are welcome to it. We hide our money in the Bibles.

When you hear the robbers just get your shotgun and fire two blasts, problem solved…….

When I bought the land my cabin is on I took my engineering platoon up there for training. Blew stumps and fired blanks out of the m60. 25 years later locals still do not come around.

I have Bouncing Bettys and Claymores all over my yard.

As a new detective I was assigned to investigate burglaries for about 3 years. I investigated thousands of burglaries both of houses and businesses and interviewed over one hundred burglars.

Some general thoughts, however nothing is 100 percent as most burglars are doing so to support a drug habit so they aren't always rational.

-home burglars avoid basements and 2nd stories, as it is harder to flee if interrupted

-home burglars seek out the easiest houses, usually avoid houses with alarm systems or signs for them, obvious signs of dogs.

-EVERY home burglar will ring the bell or pound on the door before trying to enter, they don't want to enter a house with someone present. If someone unexpected rings my bell I wait a bit to see what they will do.

-most burglars (except kids) won't break a window and climb in.

-side service doors to a garage are favorite entrance points. If it's an attached garage, once in the garage it allows them unlimited time to work on the door to the interior of the house unobserved.

-most front door FRAMES and locks are easily defeated with a good pry bar (Wonderbars are favorites), or a monkey wrench on the lock, or just kicking the door in.

-burglars don't like entering a fenced yard usually

-most burglars aren't armed except with a screwdriver or prybar

-valuables hidden in obscure places aren't usually found. Think of a empty box of waffles filled with cash in the bottom of a filled chest freezer, no one is going to dig for that.

-cash, guns, jewelry are favored items.

-most burglars will only stay in a house a few minutes unless they have inside information that the occupant is out of town or house is a vacation house

-an active burglar will do several burglaries a day, and only stop when they get enough to buy their daily fix, or they get caught.

Burglars released on bail will go right back to thieving. Some burglars are in their 40s or 50s, and have done 1000s of burglaries in their criminal careers. Only jail or a prison stops them. Through practice they get very efficient at entering and finding valuables quickly.

Electric gate at the bottom of our mountain is in the design phase...

You may be get in... and snoop around some... you might even load some ill-gotten booty on your rig... but I can absolutely assure you that your car/truck/SUV/quad is NOT getting out... once I push that magic button on the smart phone.

WTS sell car/truck/SUV/quads... cheap... but NO TITLE.

Cutting the grass must be a blast...

Eyeballs work pretty well. A few days ago I got a call from our neighbor up at the family cabin on the lake. He told me somebody is in our cabin. A light was on in the evening and smoke was coming out the chimney but no vehicle parked anywhere near the cabin.

Made some phone calls and ended up busting my young nephew taking his girlfriend up there to bang. Not acceptable at all. Now he's in hot water with family.

This oughta work.



Although I think that's a cow's femur.

L.W.

Guns and dogs who dont like people outside the family .
I dont go anywhere very often now anyways.

Baylor and Brady would hope mr break in guy would give em a chubby treat...
One of the reasons I might a new pup to replace the role Cookie, Rico, and Blackjack filled.
But I just dont know about the time and training into a pup again or the heartache of digging another dog grave eventually...

I do know a verbal warning followed by a racked AR15 sound by oldest daughter and Khan while your working overseas.
And dogs going Cujo inside the house.
Will scare away someone knocking on your door at 11 at night.
Who turns out to be your Brother who you aint seen in 30+ yrs.
Looking for a place to stay for free after he dropped his daughter off at Vanderbilt to start college.
And shows the fugg up unannounced outta the blue..
Good idea Dr. Stoopid.......

Im Rory,s brother.
Bang Bang Bang on the door
Repeat several times.

Khan and the Girls have never even met him...
WTF was he thinking🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️


Dumbazz Todd go back to Caymen Brac where you belong....

Interesting explaining the sheer stupidity of it to mom on the phone of what he pulled when I got back to the states.

We don't even lock the doors to the house. We do take the keys out of the vehicles and put in the safe when we leave.

About the gist of it. Large dogs in and around the house tend to keep honest people honest. Being known as the local "gun nut" probably has not hurt...

I put these on most of my doors - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D2K367Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In addition use a door jam reinforcement plate and replace all the hinge and strike plate screws with 3" screws. Slows the MFers down quite a bit so that you can concentrate on proper grouping.

Ring doorbell, the burglars know about them and avoid them. When home always keep the doors locked, want to "greet" anyone breaking in.

Are you sure this might not attract them? Make them think it's a good place to steal guns?

I see a lot fewer NRA stickers on cars than I did a couple of decades ago.

If you have a car with a Nav system and garage door button, make sure you disable them when you sell he car.

If you don't, a crook can use the nav system to find your home and the button to open your garage door.

Big loud dogs

Yup. Lock

We found a locked one on an EMS call. Took me a full set of tools out of my personal vehicle to finally get the gate open. Guy was dead by that time unfortunately but local deputy and I worked as fast as we could to get the clamps and such off. I'd have been quicker too cut the fence, but no fence cutters as I was in my personal vehicle

A dog. That likes to bark. Beware of dog signs.

Remote locking gate at the road. and obvious camera. And a ring and not so obvious game cam on cell coverage. Helps show when the pigs and coyotes come by too.

Everything is locked. But you can't do away with all the help. Like the wood pile outside. Or the gas grill with propane bottle.

But try to keep it more difficult. And the idea that if caught they won't likely have to worry about crime again.

If you are having to load the AR you could be too late. Plus I prefer not to give anything away. I know its uber cool to use a racking shotgun or whatever. But I'm not cool. I prefer you not know I'm there until the last instant. From then on out its up to you.

He puts rainbow flags above them on the weekends.

My best security tip is to make your home in a rural Caucasian community in the southeastern part of the country.

That alone will eliminate about 98.5% of all your crime problems.

Come on in. The water's fine.

You following me around sniffing my farts, numbnuts?

Laughing.

Good advice, right there. Even the western states are somehat suspect, with the likes of commie collaborator Cheney and big city feral spawn.

I periodically put a load of buckshot into a tree across the road from my driveway entrance..

Nice. Life so much better with Shepherds.

We've been on the lookout for this guy since Christmas. We have security cameras, game cameras and automatic gates but that doesn't stop anyone. This clown has been out of prison for a few months now and he's already trespassing. The POS lives with a friend that slapped his own mom around. They're probably our closet neighbors and live about a mile through the woods from our house, along with a few other dope heads and one crack whore. All the neighbors know that my wife shot at two POS and might of hit one running out of the barn with buckshot early one morning. Our best neighbors are our black neighbors and it's not even a close second. The court system and liberals are to blame for this BS, and we're not going to put up with it on our property.

Lots of NRA stickers seem to be a hint you have LOTS of guns.

Bait.

This.

Also, our front yard is fenced and we let our dogs run around in the front yard regularly. I have a bitty stock tank 2' wide or so) and a big honking food bowl where folk can see them.

So:
1. Evidence of a large man who knows how to work.
2. Dogs, one of which is a some sort of bully mix. "Is that a pit bull?!?!?" Nope, but she is sweet as pie to folks who are nice but could likely chew your arm off, bones no matter.
3. even if dogs not visible, evidence that dogs are present.