Hey you preppers out there in la la land! I thought we would cover home defense for normal people, people that don’t have the money to purchase a preowned missile silo or build a bunker from scratch.
Basically, I will give you some home defense tips. These are practical tips one can implement on most budgets. In fact most of what I will tell you I have personal plans to do.
1. How to Help Bulletproof Your Home.
As you know there are many bullet types out there that will absolutely penetrate your exterior walls and enter your home with deadly force unless you have a brick home. In my yard there are 338 landscaping blocks. They measure 1 foot long 4 inches thick and 8 inches deep. I counted them one day after making measurements. I have 338 concrete blocks.
What I will do during a SHTF situation is take those 338 blocks and quickly clean them and then place them on the inside walls of the most vulnerable side of my home. I will surround the windows so in the event I am firing from them I will be shielded on the sides and underneath the windows. In that way I will make sure that the street side of my home is bulletproof. If you have firewood, it too could be used in a similar manner.
2. Trip Wire Alarms
I shopped on ebay and found personal alarm keychains that if you pull the pin out of them they will sound off at an amazing 130 decibels! They are small and concealable and have a little chain ring on the pin. Just pull the chain and pin and all hell breaks loose. You can purchase them on ebay for a few dollars to several dollars each. I have craft wire that you can find at craft stores that I will tie to the keychain and then the other end to something immovable.
I plan on placing these little screamers at key points such as my fence gates and other access areas where an intruder will walk into them alerting the entire neighborhood. When it comes to home defense, you’ll get a lot of value for not much money with these trip wire alarms.
3. Trespasser Deterrents
If things get real bad in my area I plan on disguising my home to give the appearance it has already been looted and ransacked. Here’s how; I will scatter trash and broken flower pots and stuff like that all around the home. Personally, I would place a bunch of cans and stuff near the entrance so I can hear noise intruders may make.
I will remove some window screens for two reasons; first it makes firing my weapons easier and secondly, it adds to the already ransacked crack house look. I would hang some curtains out the windows too. Then I will take a ladder and some black paint and near the top of windows and doors make some areas of the outside appear to have smoke damage. I even studied the markings left by military and law enforcement personnel when using spray paint on homes during hurricane Katrina. They use a large X and they mark things in the four quadrants.
These were search and rescue teams and I suspect it will be in the future also. In the top quadrant you put the date like 10- 23. Sometimes the time of the search is added here also. In the left quadrant the team identifier will be written. It could be many things. Here’s an example; MO. for Missouri and HP for Highway Patrol.
Then something like Tr C for Troop C which is the Troop in my area. You may see US&R in this section which is Urban Search and Rescue. In the right quadrant they write hazards like, rats, snakes, stench etc. Finally we come to the bottom quadrant which is where they write the number of live and dead people. You may see 2 live 3 dead or any combination.
There are other markings but we’re really just trying to fool thugs on the street so this should suffice.
Another great tip is to spray-paint graffiti like on your garage door or someplace on the home.
Broken glass in walkways not only looks like your home has been looted it’s a big deterrent to intruders also.
At night you can put out things like boards with nails driven through them for intruders to step on.
4. Home Defense Positions
One key in establishing the best home defense positions is having enough shooters to properly stage a defense. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead. Take the average 2000 square foot home with one main access road in the front. To properly defend the home you really need 4 or 5 shooters minimum. Other than shooters it will be wise to have ammo loaders. Of course I am referring to a bad situation where you may have a band of attackers.
Most gun battles begin with head on frontal attacks. A couple of good shooters could hold off the bandits until they flank you or split up and encircle you. You may need at least one of your shooters to leave the cover of the house, slip out the back and cut off their movements. You need to appear like there are 20 avid shooters in the house.
To do that you will need to take turns shooting in fairly short rapid bursts and have 1 or 2 of your troops go out the back of the home and fire short bursts from unexpected areas. In fact, with the proper frontal coverage 1 of your younger, quicker shooters may be able to flank the enemy. Properly carried out that could lead to a retreat of the bandits.
Keep the element of surprise on your side when it comes to home defense. Sometimes it’s necessary also to do the unexpected. Ammo loaders, back up shooters and possibly ammo runners will help you fire like there’s 20 shooters in the house.
Use different weapons if you can to help present the illusion of many shooters. At times, depending on your placement of cover you may be better off to exit the house taking the battle outside thus drawing the fire away from women and children.
As for positioning I suggest a shooter on each end of the house and at times take a shooter from the rear of the home and fire from as close to front and center as possible. Again, this will help give the impression there is a large group of shooters inside.
Rapid bursts while taking turns shooting equates to constant fire. That’s what you want when faced by a group of bandits and thugs.
It’s impossible to give precise home defense positioning without knowing the terrain and coverage involved. I have tried to give you some generalizations. Whatever you do keep eyes on everything and remember this; under certain circumstances the best defense is a good offense. Be smart, be safe, and live to fight another day.
Article written by By Kenneth M. Johnson for Prepper’s Will.
Kenneth M. Johnson is a Sales Manager at a firm in St. Louis, MO. Ken has studied being a survivalist most of his life while studying many things such as battle tactics and strategy, martial arts, history, prepping, world religions, metaphysics and more. Kenneth has a great love of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the great liberty they entitle all U.S. citizens. Ken can be reached by email at <kennethmartinjohnson@gmail.com>
Preparedness and Survival solutions recommended for you:
The LOST WAYS (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
Bullet Proof Home (Learn how to Safeguard your Home)
Survival MD (Knowledge to survive any medical crisis situation)
Blackout USA (Video about EMP survival and preparedness guide)
You have a good article, but it won’t work. If you stay in that home, you are dead. No disrespect intended. thanks
If you READ the article, and if you followed the advice in it, you would have a VERY defensible home. Re-read the article, taxed2poverty.
To Taxdn2poverty
I’m curious why you think that the home is unsafe based on what was put in the article. I’m always open to the ideas of others.
Ken
This is something that has always concerned me about defending the home. I have no security or military training but your article gave me some good ideas. Thanks.
Ken, good evening, I’m tired and it’s late so please be patient. In relation to your article I was walking our street here in Victoria, Tx. today and thinking about our homes. I live in an older subdivision that was built around 1983. We have what is commonly referred to as patio homes. This distance between our homes is about ten feet on both sides. If one house burns during teotwawki, they all burn. One determined person on a bulldozer or any piece of heavy equipment could demolish the entire 200 home subdivision in less than an hour by simply driving through the homes. The stones you have are as good as a defense as any, but still won’t do much good. As for appearing to have 20 or more shooters that is a good idea too. But here are some numbers. I have several guns and about 7500 rounds of ammo. I pray that shooting anyone in my home town will not happen, but you and I both know that during teotwawki trouble will come our way. There are 70,000 people here, and if every shot was a kill shot, I could only take out 10% of the population which leaves me with about 62,500 very po’d people to deal with. It’s a losing game and one in which I very much choose not to get involve in. Killing cannot be cured, only avoided. Therefore bugging out is the only viable route to survival. Bugging in will kill the bugger every time. First, I have no desire to harm anyone and even if I was forced to do so, I still have to live here when things return to normal. This is one fight where I will be watching from the woods, not partaking in unless forced upon me. If I was crippled or for what ever reason and unable to bug out then I would purchase about 4000 deer corn bags at 25 cents each and start filling them with dirt. Then stack them two wide, alternating width and length and interlocking them in every tier. Place 6x6x8’s across the tops, brace well, and put two deep deer corn sandbags on top. Yep, that’s a lot of work, but not a lot of expense. Maybe, just maybe the occupant could survive during repeated attacks: But even then it may only increase the odds in favor of the defender, but the eventual outcome would probably be the same. Death! I wish you the very best whatever route you take, but please give serious consideration to taking a hasty route out of town and just sit low for a few weeks. thanks and God bless.
Just a word of advise, taxed- if you are worried to the point of calculating how many invaders you could shoot, then you should be moving your family to the BOONIES immediately. You mention that there are 75,000 people there. Where I live, the nearest ten COUNTIES don’t add up to 75,000 people. It is much easier to sleep at night where I live, knowing that there are less than 500 people in the five square mile area where I live, and that I live miles from a main road.
Dear Tavedn2poverty,
I appreciate your feedback. I find it valuable. Let’s look at the points;
1.Fire – fire is definitely a threat. I have a swimming pool full of water to use to hopefully prevent the spread of fire. If I can’t stop the fire I have a plan B. I do have a country retreat I can flee to. There is 400 acres of private land mostly wooded with a lake on it and the property borders a river. Its a great locale if I need it.
2. The Numbers – There is no reason for me to suspect that the entire population will funnel onto my property so no need to worry about having to shoot that many. The crowds will disperse in all directions hoping they will be the one to find food.
3. Bugging in will kill the people everytime. I disagree. In fact I believe that many of those that bug out will not make it. Many don’t have a place to go except the woods. They will die. Those with a place will most likely face large bands of lawless marauders that will be too big for small groups to handle.
Anyway, that’s the way I envision things but my thoughts are that one should have alternate plans or be able to adapt to new situations and quickly.
The truth is that life happens to us as we are making other plans. One must do what one can.
Best of luck to you and God bless!
I completely agree that many in the woods will die, but not as soon as bugging in. Most people won’t prepare rather they stay or go. Going to the woods without water purification equipment, life straws, etc. will knock most out withing a couple of weeks. This is so sad for the children, to be left alone in unfamiliar surrounding with their parents dead on the ground. But what can one do, folks won’t listen, or they prepare haphazardly with a hit or miss mentality. Well, in closing we have a gentlemanly disagreement here and I hope after teotwawki that we are both alive and well to continue this discussion. Best to your and yours. thanks PS: I wanted to add that almost all of my 7500 rds. are 22lr. and mainly for hunting small game and bartering. My entire survival plan is based upon quick movement to the bol and stealth after that. If you see someone walking back into town with a rucksack full of 22 ammo, 4 Marlin rifles, and an old man’s scalp then you’ll know you have won the argument. Again, best wishes.
Good article. Lots of good points on home defense.
Also, don’t forget that 4-6 inches of pea gravel will stop even a .308 rifle round. You can make some frames with plywood and fill with pea gravel for locations where you need extra protection… like around your firing port at the window.
As to the commentor saying “If you stay in that home, you are dead.”… You have to take every situation as it comes. If you look historically, you have a much greater chance of SHTF being a economic or natural disaster with a failure of government and localized rioting, burning and looting, where you would almost always be better off staying put and defending the homestead. The exception being a World War, genocidal governments, or a natural disaster of such huge proportions that you are forced to become a refugee and flee to another part of the world.
The Zombie Apocalypse isn’t going to happen, so make sure you’re preparing for the most likely scenarios, not the most entertaining.
I would like to address a couple of you readers; first, thank you for your comment Royalsfan, I appreciate the comment. Secondly, to Jumbo, you make a couple of good points and let me say thanks for your kind comments. They are much appreciated. And finally to Taxedn2poverty, you’re a good man. I really like your comments. I’m hoping that people will pull together when push comes to shove. I’m sure you remember the sense of patriotic community that was very apparent after 9/11. Most people are basically good and that quality will either keep some alive or kill them depending upon the situation they find themselves in.
Personally, I have a Plan A and a Plan B and both contain their own different paths that can be followed. I like to believe a person of your character and forethought will make it to the other side of the collapse. Your take on things gives me pause to rethink possibilities.
I have raised four boys who are now men and good shots. I have raised them to prize wisdom above all else. I intend for them and theirs to join me if they can when the shtf. I also have a couple of other invitees on the hook for the assets and abilities they bring to the table. My point is, my family comes first and I’m prepping to insure their survival and like many others I will do my absolute best.
One last thing, I’m working on a plan that would supply provisions for my entire neighborhood as well as getting them to work as a defensive unit. I won’t know if it will work until the shtf but I retain hope.
It’s coming quickly so I’ll leave you with a quite serious, God bless us everyone.
Ken
I have been saving glass jars from empty foodstuffs for a long time. I plan on breaking these jars all over the areas that are harder to defend, leaving only 2 in and out routes to the house. Basically directing my opponents into my choice of approach. Similar to nails in boards. There are also many barb wire fences close by that may mysteriously be missing a strand or two!