Protecting your house.........

cooperritchey · Apr 24, 2015

In the SHIFT what would you do to protect your house?barbed wire? bricks? what are your personal thoughts.

SHPD_Retired · Apr 24, 2015

Many of us live in housing developments so assuming something really bad happens I doubt it would be practical for us to attempt to put up those things you mentioned. I think that type of action would work a lot better for a rural home. I am guessing that about 10,000 rounds of 223/5.56 would be what I would have to rely on. I would love to live in the country, with a moat around my house with a retractable bridge. Maybe I just want to be a knight.. Ha Ha

U201491 · Apr 24, 2015

cooperritchey said:
In the SHIFT what would you do to protect your house?barbed wire? bricks? what are your personal thoughts.

A house is not defendable. If you do not have Bullet proof, explosive proof walls you are a sitting duck behind every wall.
Harden it or get out, as it won't do you any good. Think about the construction a little. Then think about 3K projectiles and what they will do to it. Ie get the hell out and find a defensible structure or better yet get ready to be very mobile. You better think about what happens to people in the sand box when they stay in a structure. ............................poof red blur.....

ok I'm done

Stomper · Apr 24, 2015

The trick would be to have a large enough perimeter defense with concentric layers of hazards to attackers before they could even sight in on your house. Taku is correct in that a standard construction residential house is nothing but a cardboard box to 2-3k fps projectiles from 9mm, 5.56 on up... then there IS that "drone factor" and becoming red mist, and such.

Sgt Nambu · Apr 24, 2015

A bottle of gas + a rag = poof!!!
You have to defend your home from without if you're going to defend it at all!

Stomper · Apr 24, 2015

^^^ this right there^^^

forefathersrback · Apr 24, 2015

cooperritchey said:
In the SHIFT what would you do to protect your house?barbed wire? bricks? what are your personal thoughts.[/QUOTE
A wall of lead, & melting barrels.

Stomper · Apr 24, 2015

I like a wall of dead and melting barrels mo' bettah!

Caveman Jim · Apr 24, 2015

If you haven't already done it it will not matter after..... :s0043:

Sgt Nambu · Apr 24, 2015

I like a wall of dead and melting looter carcasses! :s0031:

The Heretic · Apr 25, 2015

Contact!

The Heretic · Apr 25, 2015

Taku said:
A house is not defendable. If you do not have Bullet proof, explosive proof walls you are a sitting duck behind every wall.
Harden it or get out, as it won't do you any good. Think about the construction a little. Then think about 3K projectiles and what they will do to it. Ie get the hell out and find a defensible structure or better yet get ready to be very mobile. You better think about what happens to people in the sand box when they stay in a structure. ............................poof red blur.....

ok I'm done

Most houses are not defendable.

My current one isn't.

It serves its purpose in keeping the rain off my head, and it is better than trying to defend a tent or an RV.

When I retire the plan is to move further out (since I won't have to commute every day) and build something more defendable and self-sufficient (energy wise). To that end, it will be an earth bermed ICF house and at least some of it will have a rock facade. I am also thinking steel backed shutters of some sort since I will not be there in the winter (planning on traveling to warmer sunnier climes in the winter - maybe Costa Rica, Tahiti, New Zealand, etc.).

Also, a safe room in the basement, maybe with an emergency exit that doubles as an earth tube (ground coupled heat exchanger). Much of the design would be dual purpose - energy efficient and more defendable and more secure from theft/vandalism while I am not there.

I doubt I would ever need to defend it - I just don't think that the likelihood is that probable. But being energy efficient and less easy to break into can also serve as more defendable with a few tweaks and upgrades here and there. If/when it comes time to sell, then those features can be spun as "more secure" and/or "more energy efficient" and those buyers who are also looking for more defendable should rightly see the features as also serving that purpose without anything having to be said in that regard - the rest would just be blissfully ignorant.

Just Jim · Apr 25, 2015

Well since this is just a what if, I have a few ideas.

It all depends on where you live and the materials on hand. If there is heavy equipment available I would dig up the roads to restrict access by vehicles. It would never stop a tank but it would stop most looters. If there are concrete center of the road barriers I would use them to block roads. You could use those same barriers to place in key positions around the house.

Good heavy equipment is sitting around most construction sites just waiting to be used.

Sstrand · Apr 25, 2015

If you are thinking of staying in a static p0ssition . . .
remember the Branch Davidians!!!!
A couple of drones carrying fire bombs and you are toast . . .LITERALLY!

Sheldon

Just Jim · Apr 25, 2015

Sstrand said:
If you are thinking of staying in a static p0ssition . . .
remember the Branch Davidians!!!!
A couple of drones carrying fire bombs and you are toast . . .LITERALLY!

Sheldon

It's a lot different fighting off the government than it is looters. Government brings in the full power of the military, looters just have firearms and gasoline bombs. A good crew could keep looters at a distance. Branch Dividians didn't come out and fight because they were outgunned, looters might be fought off by making a limited access to your place.

If looters have drones I would be amazed, what would they get in loot if they burn it all up?

Put the looters on foot and give them little to hide behind.

Hayshaker · Apr 25, 2015

Just Jim said:
It's a lot different fighting off the government than it is looters. Government brings in the full power of the military, looters just have firearms and gasoline bombs. A good crew could keep looters at a distance. Branch Dividians didn't come out and fight because they were outgunned, looters might be fought off by making a limited access to your place.

If looters have drones I would be amazed, what would they get in loot if they burn it all up?

Put the looters on foot and give them little to hide behind.

The best you could hope for is that your neighbors are as well armed as you are every body watches each others back. Even then it will be almost impossible to defend your home against looters.
You might shoot a few ~~ then what ? they'll come back with more people and try again ~~thinking that you have something worth fighting for. Either way it's a bad deal.
Also what are you going to do with the dead bodies ????.

The Heretic · Apr 25, 2015

As mentioned, there location is important.

The further away from population centers and major routes of travel, the less likely you are to encounter people wanting to invade your home in times of lawlessness.

I am not totally out in the boonies, but I am a LOT harder to find than someone in the city.

Just Jim · Apr 25, 2015

Hayshaker said:
The best you could hope for is that your neighbors are as well armed as you are every body watches each others back. Even then it will be almost impossible to defend your home against looters.
You might shoot a few ~~ then what ? they'll come back with more people and try again ~~thinking that you have something worth fighting for. Either way it's a bad deal.
Also what are you going to do with the dead bodies ????.

It a SHTF I would shoot to wound , the psychological effect on his buddies from him screaming over a wound would probably be overwhelming. I am not into killing, just protecting my family. By wounding them they will either get carried away or crawl off.

Trick is limiting the access to where you are, don't make it easy to reach. In a world gone mad people are going to have to really think about defense. Old guys ain't going to run and couldn't run far if they had to so all you have left is defense. You run and you will just die tired.

The Heretic · Apr 25, 2015

Never leave an enemy alive after he/she attacks you if you are justified in killing them. You do not want to ever give them a second chance at coming back at you again.