What Most Gun Nuts Get Wrong

George Ure and Gaye Levy, Contributors
Activist Post

Gun nuts?  Okay, we admit that we wanted to get your attention.  As you may recall, we wrote about basic home security a while back.  Today, though, we thought we would share a few of our more advanced thoughts on this subject, since the topic of defending the homestead is a popular and ongoing one.

Of the Two Gs, George happens to be the most well-trained, competent gun owner, but Gaye is learning.  Both of us, though, are seasoned business executives who tend to start problem solving with the strategic view first with the specific goal of working out viable solutions in advance.

So, in order to set the stage for this week’s discussion, perhaps a graphic that explains how a “strategic thinker” looks at the problem of home security is in order because it is really a different approach.

We start by acknowledging that a lot of people think in “gun nut” terms.  And while there is nothing particularly wrong with that, it doesn’t take into account that those bent on committing crimes these days are not the doofuses and idiots portrayed on cop-show TV.  Quite the contrary.

Understanding Crimespace

But first let’s look strategically at a model we’ll call “Crimespace”:

We start by looking at the timeline of crime (red arrow) which makes it clear to us that a good portion of crime is not spontaneous; and, in some cases, groups of criminals (they call themselves “crews” in most jails) begin their deed a week or so in advance of the actual crime.

The process for a “crew” begins with planning.  That is, they will take a vehicle, say a nondescript in the boonies of Washington State, and begin by having the “crew” moll (often times a female) just drive an area.  The “crew” is working and area, looking for houses where there is no one apparently home.  They are also on the lookout for what appears, from the outside, to be an upscale home.

Which brings us to the first line of defense against home intrusions: the outside of your home should not be the most prosperous one in the neighborhood. Rather, you really want to look extremely unattractive to criminals.

Imagine yourself driving by a home with an old BBQ and a half-dozen or more not particularly recent vintage outdoor furniture items (table and chair type stuff) sitting out in front of the house.  Yes, there may be a boat there, too, but the bottom doesn’t look particularly clean, the trailer looks unused, and a tire is flat. Say, is that a gun target with a decent grouping in that tree over there? And an ADT, Honeywell, or other recognized monitoring system?

Hmmm . . . as a professional crew working this area, this is not an attractive house compared to . . .
The house next door which has a brand new shiny car, shiny new BBQ, only two chairs outside and my, oh my, isn’t that an impressive late-model bass boat with one of those new trolling motors visible? You tell us (this isn’t hard, right?) which house gets hit?

The next step the crew takes might be a second or third drive-through the same area.

Maintaining a Look Out

Here the strategic high ground is pretty easy:  be in a block watch or neighborhood watch program in your community, and pay attention to improbable cars driving around at odd times of the day. Mornings are a little less problematic, since most crews are night owls and tend to sleep till noon.
But watch for the following:

• An odd car that you do not recognize with a couple of males inside with pulled-down baseball caps.
• Vehicles driving around mid-day such as at 2 PM.
• Vehicles with a heavy window tint.
• Mud on the license plate on an otherwise clear car.

If you see these things, we would put our money on that being a crew on the prowl.

The way a professional crew works (don’t ask how we know so much, just realize one of the Two G’s was a big city news director for a long time) is to begin their robbery by dropping off a lookout with a radio.  Long ago this was a CB radio, but more recently it is FRS/GMRS radio.  So a scanning radio is a good thing to have since it can be dual-purposed. One that scans and does the 2-meter ham band can be put together for under $100 or $200 at most.  You say your radio seems to have been modified to transmit on GMRS?  Gee, gosh, must be a manufacturing defect.

We assume you have the sense to call the police upon hearing scanner activity at night on otherwise quiet GMRS channels.  And please, make that call early because it’s the best “reach out and touch” that you have.

Before the Cops Arrive

As long as the cops have not shown up, the crew (one or two usually) make their approach to the home. If they are really pro, they will check with night vision to see if there are cameras. This is why you need a minimum four-camera surveillance system, but ideally eight, around your home and grounds.

Additional infrared illumination is also useful, as many professional crews can tell with a simple glance at how much UV is being thrown around in the (otherwise) dark and know that they are up against security-aware people. Some folks use additional on-ground motion sensors in a wider perimeter, and though they can set off alarms in the middle of the night, like George’s cats, Gaye’s raccoons and both G’s deer, that wider electronic footprint gives plenty of time for night vision and (if needed) body armor and what have you.

Clearly, electronics present a first and important delay for an approaching crew, as do four or eight camera systems, because with a camera system, not only does the crew need to get something of value for all their time (crime pays for these guys, until they get caught and then they live free in jail) but they also have to hunt around for the video gear and dispose of video evidence. So the moral here is don’t make it easy for them to get to the video gear.

What About Locks?

Are strong locks a deterrent? That depends on the experience level of the crew, but most average house locks are opened in 30-seconds to two-minutes.  Remember, though, that in outlying areas or where there are no close neighbors or if your home looks abandoned, the odds go up of window entry.  This is especially true if you have good locks.

If you can’t afford good locks, a good dog kept indoors at night is a real asset. Tucker the Dog (Gaye’s pup) is set off by the slightest things being out of place.  He is a mighty barker when strangers are around.

If you don’t have a tip-off from the alarms, night vision, dog, and scanner, this is where things get into gun nut territory, but not until after a trip into the kitchen where many criminals will help themselves to knives, which people proudly (and conveniently) put out on kitchen counters. How dumb are people?  Don’t ask.

The members of the crew go snooping around, and since most men keep their cash with their clothing, the route eventually gets around to the bedroom. If you wanted to be clever, you could build up a “dummy wallet” with about $40-dollars and expired credit cards in it as bait. A quick check of a wallet in dim light or night vision (these crews are sometimes pretty bright) won’t be thinking expiration date checks in the field, so they can be fooled.

Let’s Move on to the Guns

Now – eventually – we get to the problem in the bedroom where the Mr. and Mrs. are sleeping.  For whatever reason, most couples don’t have his and hers guns, but this might be something you could give to headspace to. Women can be even more important than men, since there’s a stereotypical view that women aren’t as dangerous as men. Most people forget that lots of women have military experience, but, well, we’ll just let your mind wander on that one.

Last, but not least, we get into the real problem for gun owners: Do you shoot, or not?  If the criminal is in your home and is armed and you feel your life is being threatened, remember the old SF adage: “one shot, one kill”.  George’s dad once admonished him early on in life “It’s easier if there’s only one story to tell . . .” and that’s quadruply true today, as there are lots of lawsuits and nightmares out there surrounding cases where a homeowner defending property took the life of an unarmed person. That gets sticky and expensive.

So while some of what we’re talking about here may seem extravagant or pricey, consider the price of a criminal defense attorney carefully.  All that said, we’re big fans of his and hers 9 mm’s.

A few people we know also like shotguns for a number of reasons, not the least of which is they don’t need as much aiming to stop people. A little searching on the net will find an assortment of under-the-bed push-button mounts and there are strong arguments for sawed-off varieties.

As to specific brands, G1 is partial to the Mossberg 500, with a few tactical modifications while Gaye’s been holding dear to the Remington pump, which by the way is the training gun for US embassy security for extremely good reasons.  In either case, a bandoleer of additional ammo may be overkill, or not, depending on average police response times.

One thing and this is important:  Don’t be caught holding a gun when the cops show up looking for the perps.  Remember you called, right?  Holding the gun would just be dumb!

But. truly, the key to avoiding problems is to get ahead of the situation through widely available security devices, techniques, and a loud four-legged alarm system.  And as Tucker the Dog has proven, your four-legged alarm system does not have to be big to be mighty.

One other tip: You can get extremely good four-unit telephones with built-in intercoms and speakerphone capability for under $100. If you ever get on the defensive end of things, keep that dispatcher on the line and give your best efforts at play-by-play including a description of clothing, getaway car or truck, and so forth.

That’s because there’s an old saying among older crews: “You can’t outrun Motorola, and it’s hard to hide from Intel.”

Getting The Goods

The easiest way to really solve the problem of burglary and robbery (the one being unarmed, the other with arms) is to stomp out fences and send more people to jail for receiving stolen goods.  If you happen to get “hit”, spend some time on eBay or Craigslist since law enforcement has only a limited ability to keep an eye on what’s sold there. Having an interest in the outcome, you might turn up a few leads, and police are extremely responsive  most times when someone calls up and says “I found my [item] being fenced on eBay!”

There are some very bright people working this problem, but it’s hard to make inroads into both ill-gotten goods from burglary/robbery as well as shoplifting because there’s a pretty well-defined path from criminal to consumer that’s hard to stop up:

We don’t expect the debate over guns to end any time soon, but at least strategically, one can move the reaction-point up the timeline a bit with awareness, electronics, and pets.

Extra credit: You might want to visit the two articles on Backdoor Survival that discuss the “shoot, no shoot” dilemma:  If SHTF, Could You and Would You Shoot Someone? and Can Nice People Shoot?.

Coming Soon: The Two G’s, in collaboration with Panama Bates, are working on their first Strategic Living eBook.  The subject is practical home security, and it should be ready in another month or two.  Watch this space for an announcement soon.

Hang on and enjoy the ride,
The Two G’s – George & Gaye

. . . Your comments welcome here and atThe Electric Tribe.

Like this? You might also like:

• Is Your Home a Target for the Bad Guys? 12 Things You Can Do Now
• Survival and The Survival Knife: Everything You Need to Know and More

Spotlight Items: You can be a gun nut and still have strong primary defenses.  Here are some items to consider as you build up your fortress.

Keypad Deadbolt:  Need a good strong lock?  With this, you will never have to worry about locking yourself out plus, you can secure the deadbolt from inside the house.

Uniden Bearcat 200-Channel Portable Scanner: A hand scanner with ham band for less than $100. Very portable.

Two-Way Radios and Scanners For Dummies: Gaye thinks she is a dummy (she is not) but likes the “dummies” books none the less.

Security Decals – 4 Pack:  Security surveillance camera system warning decals/stickers. Increase security whether you have a system or not -no one will know but you. Less than $10.

Dorcy LED Wireless Motion Sensor Flood Lite: Not a bad deal. Runs for a year on 3 D-size batteries. About $20.

Defender Security System with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Cameras:  This will give you a good start on an exterior video system.  Eight cameras are even better but this will certainly be a good start.

Motorola FRS/GMRS Two-Way Radios:  There are lots of good uses for the these radios.  Handy while hiking, traveling, or simply keeping in touch with your partner while out shopping.

VTech Cordless Phone, 4 Handsets:  Back in the day, Gaye paid over $300 for a similar set.  Something to consider if you still have a landline.

Introducing Strategic-Living: a practical and useful online magazine providing inspiration and guidance as we make our way through the maze of changes that are coming our way. In collaboration with my friend and colleague, George Ure, Strategic-Living will offer a synthesis of Urban Survival and Backdoor Survival with much more detailed tips, tools and strategies for creating a vibrant and sustainable lifestyle wherever your path may take you. Think of Urban Survival and Backdoor Survival as your roadmap and Strategic-Living as your detailed guidebook. Here you will find articles and photos, diagrams and how-to’s, and a healthy dose get-out-there and do it with kick-in-the-ass inspiration.