Useless Unless You Use It

Back in 2005, my home was invaded by thieves. We had a party that night and maybe 100 people showed up and stayed for music and crawfish. Many of the attendees were neighbors that my wife had invited, though I did not know any of them. The party ended around 01:00 and we went to bed. Both guest rooms were occupied over night, one with a couple and their pit-bull dog. I left the alarm system un-armed so that if they needed to take their dog out or one of them wanted a smoke, they could access the back deck. Around 02:00, my dogs awakened me that there was someone in my gun room, which also doubles as my home office. I told them to stand down, that it was probably just Holly checking her email.

When I got up the next morning, the first thing I noticed was a loaded flare pistol lying on the floor in my office. I picked it up and wondered, pre-coffee, why it was there but it didn’t register just yet. As the morning progressed Jimi and her guests decided to go to the beach for the day and as I was carrying everything to the car for them, I noticed the gate door was hanging with a broken hinge. Guess one of my more inebriated guests had problems with it…then I went back inside to my office and that’s when I noticed a very expensive shotgun lying in the floor and my safe open. There was a trail of silver coins that I followed to the gate. After inventorying, I discovered that someone had entered my house, located the flare gun in my shop and armed themselves before continuing back to my gun room, they took a little Rambo robs a liquor store kit, an AR 15, a 1911 (0ne of a matched pair), a S&W Combat Masterpiece (a very rare factory single-action), a Llama mini-1911 in .22, a loaded tactical vest with several magazines, holsters, magazines, ammo, and speed loaders for the guns they took, a big bag of silver coins, a Blackjack Blackmoor dirk that they swapped scabbords with a Gerber MK1 knife, and they took my spare keys with alarm fob.

I immediately had the locks and alarm codes changed on the house. A week later, I was stepping from a plane in Trinidad, when my phone rang. It was the alarm company telling me a window alarm was going off and if I wanted them to call the police. I called one of my people at the office, only minutes away from my home and Jim responded with his Glock and awaited the Sherriff to arrive. They were not successful in their second attempt. Two nights later, my wife was awakened by the puppies just before the door alarm went off. She was already up with a flashlight and her pistol and took a pot-shot at a fleeing shadow.

That is when we decided to up-grade the puppies to include Maggie. Maggie is a sweet female Doberman. Females have an innate protective instinct and do not waste their time or attention pissing on trees or sniffing other dog’s butts. I installed motion activated cameras in key areas that email me when activated and I can remotely log into their view. Lemon trees and roses now obstruct access to my windows. More motion activated floodlights surround the house. I have motion activated Game cameras in front of the house and a motion detector alarm that emits a high-frequency sound that only my dogs can hear. If it proves to be more than a passing skunk, they get aggressive and wake me up. Sometimes, they awaken me for a skunk or armadillo, but I don’t mind so much. I ignored them again a few weeks ago and someone stole my pickup toolbox that I had removed and left alongside the driveway.

My point is, that regardless of your security system, if you don’t actually use it ALL THE TIME, it does absolutely nothing except lower your insurance premiums a few dollars each month.

As an aside, a few days ago, this kid on a mini-bike stopped to chat with me. He was asking about Maggie. I told him that she would not bite as long as I was with her but if he ever saw her and I wasn’t around, to leave very slowly, back the way he came or she would likely attack him. He asked me if I bought her because of my house being broken into? This set off alarms with me. This kid may have been all of 3 or 4 years old when my house was broken into. I did not mention this to any of our neighbors, not really knowing any of them and certainly not wanting to get to know them any better. I see this kid has a couple of older brothers. They have only recently moved into a house down the road from me but I have seen them driving by over the years and put them on my watch-list.

 

I feel your pain. I hate thieves with a passion. I'm wanting one of those steel shipping container, so I can lock up stuff better on my hunting property. Quite a bit of stuff has walked away, and they destroyed my 4X4 car.

 

Oh man, it hurts me to read the list of stuff they stole.

Our neighborhood had a rash of break ins a few years ago but it stopped when some renters in a nearby house left town. Which is probably a good thing because there were a lot of homeowners hiding in bushes with shotguns once word of the break ins got around town.

 

Yeah, we have a lot of Meth-Heads/Chef's where I live.
We let our dogs run the property at night, (Not something you would want to encounter in the dark, 90lb. Black Lab and a German Sheppard) and our house alarm is armed when we are not at home.
The good thing is they just stole thing's, things can be replaced, it could have turned out worse for you, getting shot with your own gun would have been bad!
P.S. give me a call, never know when your around!

 

We had some people breaking into our house when we would go to town for our monthly shopping a few years back. They never seemed to take anything, but our 3 dogs we left at home, apparently to get inside, they beat the dogs. And that's what pissed me off more than anything. They quit doing it when the new neighbors built a corral for their horse which I guess blocked off the way the *censoreds* were coming onto our property.

 

Watch out during funerals and weddings... both are posted in the paper and crooks are using them to know when you are not home... Sind a house sitter while you are out... a friend to watch things during the funeral.. if a family member is getting married... leave a couple of cars at their apartment /home so it looks lived in...

 

Big problem in this day of high drug use is that it often is the children and grand children of your friends, neighbors, members of your church, rather than strangers. There are no victim less crimes, an addict needs a couple hundred dollars a day for his drugs, gets a fraction of the full value for what he steals, and needs it every day. Once hooked, they don't care who they rob and really aren't in their right minds and thus are very dangerous. They are rapidly destroying our semi rural area and are hard to stop as when you see them, they do not register as strangers or a threat. Need good locks, game cameras, dogs, etc, and still when caught, it can be difficult with their family in denial about the kids problems.

 

If you don't live looking rich, your less of a target.
If your valuables, including your safe, are in a hidden room, visitors see nothing to steal .
Those whom boast their stuff in front of friends, have compromised their own security.
Once you loan your generator to a neighbor, during an event (or even an extension cord from it) , every other neighbor will demand the same opportunity with out asking you and not give it any care, nor will your see it again.

 

It may sound cliche, but the only defense against Bad Guys is Good Guys with superior skills & firearms.
All that alarms do is notify you, it's the action you take after the notification that may determine the outcome.
You lowered your vigilance level that fateful evening, and the Bad Guys took advantage of it. They are always watching for their chance, it is sad to say but We must remain ever vigilant.
It don't matter if you look rich or poor, (like duane stated) they don't care who or what they rob so long as they have more in their pocket when they leave than when they came. Many of them will have done time with some of the best conniver's cells can hold. Do not underestimate the brazenness of individuals willing to storm your castle. JMHO.

 

SO TRUE & SEEN IT FIRST TIME !!!
ABOVE IS TRUE
Sloth

 

What do those cost? Where are they for sale? TIA.

William Warren

 

"What do those cost? Where are they for sale? TIA."
I bought some for inside the house from The Computer store that are basically web-cams but have motion detectors and the software that run them calls me. These were under a hundred dollars a piece and are wi-fi connected to the central processor in my gun room. I put those Ring Camera doorbells at each access door to my house and one on my reloading building. These have a programable area of motion detection and will record the video and send you an instant notification when they are activated. You can talk in real time to anyone that approaches and/or rings your doorbell via a smart phone and tell a herd of deer to stop stealing your muscadine grapes. I bought these at Costco for around $200.00 each and they even send me notifications when the batteries need to be charged. I have additional motion detector video cameras covering the rest of the property and have zero areas that are not covered in IR and view but these just record with a time stamp but can be logged into via smart-phone from anywhere. ADT provides window break and entranceway alarms for a monthly fee of around $40.00 but I seldom activate their motion detector except in my gun room, reloading building and recording studio. After having been invaded a couple of times, I tend to get a bit redundant. I have also spent time secretly photographing as many off the miscreants in our neck of the woods and have created dossiers on many of them, the Government aren't the only ones that can take advantage of the wide-spread surveillance we have come to have so much a part of our daily lives. I also use game cams on the trails through the woods leading to my property and make a point to check them every day while walking Maggie (my Dobie). A buddy in the local Sheriff's office makes me duplicate copies of arrest records on folks that I request, One of my cameras records video of every vehicle that travels the road I live on, you come anywhere near my property in a vehicle or on foot, I got you covered.

 

Seacowboys, all the alerts in the world don't matter the cost and ain't worth a hill of beans if you disregard them. Any peasant with the desire to protect and defend to the last, has a better chance than someone with the wherewithal to keep the pheasants inside the manor! Put the material far behind you, it's not worth a loved one. JMHO.

 

@M118LR, isn't that what I titled my thread?

 

Good Gawd.

 

Wouldn't do as I say not as I did be a better Thread Title???????????????????????

 

Free Kellory!!!!