What do you guys use to protect your loved ones

[motordude]

Any ideas on an alarm system for my detached garage. A bit of neighborhood crime has been going on and I am getting a bit on edge. Garage has 2 windows, overhead door and side door. Looking for something that can alert me in the house if any unauthorized entry happens, with an audible alarm.

[three_wheelin45]

I use my cur dogs and a 12. gauge. Had a problem with thiefs one time and I dont think anyone else wants to come back. ((no I didnt shoot him, well I shot at him he was half way across the pasture by the time I got in sight.

[250r_doverdemon]

a string on all the windows and doors hooked to a 12 gauge with a confedy load would work..

[Dirtcrasher]

My shop is connected to my home alarm and all the entry points are covered and a motion detector are installed. It is also a panic zone, so no time to even let someone get in. I am down 4 feet because I have air lines, cable, 230V circuit but you could do a simple conduit buried down a foot or so with phone line in it for the alarm. Alarm systems are very cheap as well as cameras that record onto your PC.......

[playasridebmx]

rig a train horn to a wire to where if a window is shaken too hard it sounds the horn
personally i use the 12 gauge method with a 30 cal m1 to back that up if i run out of shells.. i also live in a small town with A LOT of hardcore bible thumpers, and havent had a doorknob on the front of the house for about 2 weeks now.. its pretty quiet around here, lived here my entire life and have only had a bike stolen from the house i grew up in a few blocks over

[hillbilly 200x]

a freind of mines had steel doors on his shop and he used to have 12v car batters hooked up to them. who ever tryed to get into his shop got a good shock

[250r_doverdemon]

or even a magnet sort where when the window/door opens a ^^^ train horn or something goes off

[three_wheelin45]

a freind of mines had steel doors on his shop and he used to have 12v car batters hooked up to them. who ever tryed to get into his shop got a good shock

:lol: that is awesome... What a genius :mad:

[dcreel]

9mm Makarov

[Dirtcrasher]

:lol: that is awesome... What a genius :mad:

OK, place your left finger on the negative, and your right on the positive of a 12V DC auto battery; Does it shock you?? No.... Maybe if you stuck your tongue across the 2 but otherwise there had to be a whole lot more to it than just some carb batteries..........

[HuffieVA]

.357 Sig and a Sig .380 for the wife along with a killer Shih Tzu and stealth Lhasa Apso to keep the thiefs occupied long enough to aim...

We had an alarm once and I accidentally set it off one night when I got home from work... my wife hopped in the truck and ran to the store and I tripped the alarm we just moved to Virginia and I apparently didn't look like I belonged in the neighborhood and my wallet was in the truck... so I ended up face down on the front porch with a foot on my head and the kids screaming until my wife got back from the store. after the cops left I ripped the damn thing off the wall and threw it in the front yard (which set it off again)... cops returned "less than impressed" and after paying a lawyer to explain to a judge that I was verbally abusing the alarm and not the officers we made a conscious decision to never have one again...

[tri again]

electric fence is cheap, like 40 $ will get one.

I just got an infrared tasco camera for under 100 but haven't played with it yet.

I want a keypad alarm that will bleed ones ears if they get in, but best t keep them out in the first place.

We were sitting outside, well, falling off to sleep actually and
heard someone tip toeing thru the weeds a hundred feet away.

shhhhhhhh!

and sure enough a couple seconds later

OWWWWWFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

Someone hit the electric fence trying to sneak around the barn

I guess it could be hooked to doorknobs too

They have a cheaper fence charger for small animals
that doesn't need a ground somehow.

It just runs out 100 feet or so and YOU be the ground when you hit it,
(i guess)

Gotta make it look like critter control, rat barrier..something less
obvious than dirtbag prevention specifically.

remember, boobie traps are illegal
and considered premeditated.

altho my gun safe has pepper spray with flourescent dye attached to it.

A thief can also sue you if they cut themselves breaking in.

we need more ideas.

[350XJEDI]

a pitbull and a golfclub works well for me ,never seen anyone run so fast, no more problems the 9mm is backup plan

[tri again]

a door bell that plays the sound of a shotgun cocking ?

oh wait, bad guys don't ring doorbells.

No wait, yes they do to make sure you're not home.

My favorite is when they show up in matching overalls and
a nice new rental truck and steal EVERYthing in your whole house.

The neighbors may even help or wave to them when you're off at work.

[tri again]

Any ideas on an alarm system for my detached garage. A bit of neighborhood crime has been going on and I am getting a bit on edge. Garage has 2 windows, overhead door and side door. Looking for something that can alert me in the house if any unauthorized entry happens, with an audible alarm.

harbor freight has what they call a driveway alarm for 15$

It has a sensor that can be 300 feet away and dings inside the house.
May also be called a mailbox alarm.

It can also DING LOUDLY when someone walks around your house.
Hide the sensor up high and hide the ding thing too, both units outside.

They'll have to leave before they even get in because just walking around
outside keeps setting the alarm off and THEY can hear it.

I hook up old radios and alarm clocks to my regular motion sensor lights
so if you walk around my barn, christmas lights and country music comes on.
Keeps most people away, including me.

You can also use floodlights and Hendrix real loud.
But people may want to hang around for That!

There are also smaller alarms that are for shopkeepers
that simply ding when you walk by.

Then again, what would you do if you DID hear a noise or knew someone was out there.?

I'm gonna try a critter camera so I'll at least have pictures
of whomever is sneaking around.

You can't really shoot anyone unless they're in your house so all this
talk about guns is fun but I wouldn't want to have to live with that..
even if I was a million percent justified.

Maybe call ( I will too) call the insurance company and see what they recommend
in order to replace tools and trikes. Some 10 dollar alarm may cut insurance in half.

As the economy gets worse, there will be more break ins for sure.

There are some brilliant minds on 3ww so maybe we can come up with something
really cool and comforting.

[Frankencelery]

I live in the kind of location where a someone could cut open my garage with a sawzall if nobody was home, and there's nobody close enough to investigate. Ok, not very likely, but the point is they could make any amount of noise and nobody would notice. We love our seclusion, but it's got some drawbacks. Besides locking my garage, I don't do anything special, and I've always worried that I could lose my trikes pretty easily.

I love the idea of using technology- super loud alarms or even cameras, but I pop in and out of my garage on a regular basis on any given day. You have to be disciplined to use systems like that, because you have to disarm every time you go in, and then re-arm again when you leave. I'd set the damn thing off myself and like HuffleVA said, it would be out in the yard with me kicking it like the fax machine in Office Space.

The best thing I've heard is people running a chain through all their trikes. I don't know if you'd even have to chain them to anything. I usually have 4 or 5 in the garage at any given time, and if you chained them together, they're effectively impossible to move around. How big of a chain do you need to foil the average bolt cutter?

[just ben]

kryptonite. locks, not green rocks. a good disc lock also they have a chain and floor anchors that are tough to cut unless they bring torches with them. even if they get into you garage ect. they wont be going anywhere fast

[atc007]

.357 Sig and a Sig .380 for the wife along with a killer Shih Tzu and stealth Lhasa Apso to keep the thiefs occupied long enough to aim...

We had an alarm once and I accidentally set it off one night when I got home from work... my wife hopped in the truck and ran to the store and I tripped the alarm we just moved to Virginia and I apparently didn't look like I belonged in the neighborhood and my wallet was in the truck... so I ended up face down on the front porch with a foot on my head and the kids screaming until my wife got back from the store. after the cops left I ripped the damn thing off the wall and threw it in the front yard (which set it off again)... cops returned "less than impressed" and after paying a lawyer to explain to a judge that I was verbally abusing the alarm and not the officers we made a conscious decision to never have one again...

LMAO,,,but I realize you WEREN"T !!

[tri again]

I just tried out my 80$ tasco 5 megapixel trail cam last night.

I was waiting for an sd card since they don't tell you it won't work without one.

Anyway, I set it to one pic every 10 seconds and low resolution
of 2.5 MP

Dead dark outside and it caught me out by the truck about 30 feet away and I could read my license plate.

a 256 meg sd card which are worth about a dollar these days will hold around
500 pictures at low res.

The 'flash' is infrared so you can't see the 'flash' but you can see the led's
glow faintly.

It will take up to a 16 GIG sd card so what's that, a million pictures?

and you can set it to one or 3 pics every 10 seconds up to one or 3 every hour.

They say the batteries can last for months but I've only had it for a day.

I guess it also can record 15 second video too.

So to get the pics, you can either press setup and up and see how many pix were taken, pull out the sd card and use an sd reader, like at a store that prints pix, or hook the whole thing to your computer with a usb cord and look / save them.

I saw one with a build in screen but the price was really high.
Guessing if nothing bad happens, you can just leave it 'out there' until you need to see who's been snooping around.

I'll keep fooling with it and report back.

[thestud25]

I have a 75lb Pit Bull and a loaded 30/30 by my night stand. My trikes are locked away in my attached garage.

[thestud25]

I just tried out my 80$ tasco 5 megapixel trail cam last night.

I was waiting for an sd card since they don't tell you it won't work without one.

Anyway, I set it to one pic every 10 seconds and low resolution
of 2.5 MP

Dead dark outside and it caught me out by the truck about 30 feet away and I could read my license plate.

a 256 meg sd card which are worth about a dollar these days will hold around
500 pictures at low res.

The 'flash' is infrared so you can't see the 'flash' but you can see the led's
glow faintly.

It will take up to a 16 GIG sd card so what's that, a million pictures?

and you can set it to one or 3 pics every 10 seconds up to one or 3 every hour.

They say the batteries can last for months but I've only had it for a day.

I guess it also can record 15 second video too.

So to get the pics, you can either press setup and up and see how many pix were taken, pull out the sd card and use an sd reader, like at a store that prints pix, or hook the whole thing to your computer with a usb cord and look / save them.

I saw one with a build in screen but the price was really high.
Guessing if nothing bad happens, you can just leave it 'out there' until you need to see who's been snooping around.

I'll keep fooling with it and report back.

I would put a piece of black electrical tape over the LED.

[tri again]

What was that story not long ago, the kid was washing his trike in the front yard,
ran inside to get a drink and it was gone when he came back outside.

We had a neighbor cut, flip, tetter and bale 10 acres of hay.

After they loaded up, someone came thru and snagged a truck and trailer load of bales.
so they were watching them load and leave.
They just made it look like they belonged there.

I pity those poor sob's if they do it again this year.

He said he's got a paintball gun good to a fair distance and he freezes the
ammo just to make them 'fly straighter'.

I had someone try to get into my tool room when I was home.

Was out back mowing, so someone was watching ME out in the field while someone tried to get in.

We all know it's gonna get worse as the economy slides.

A little valium in a piece of meet got tossed to my neighbors dog so he got neutrailzed.

These guys just learn how to be better criminals when they DO go to jail.

[tri again]

I would put a piece of black electrical tape over the LED.

well that led glow is actually the infrared 'flash' to take night pix.
It's really not too obvious unless you're looking for it and directly AT it.

For all I know, they'll steal that too.

[Mr_RPM]

Its really a scary thing to think about, its hard to keep locked up around here because people in my family are always going in and out at all different times, this does mean someone is usually up and awake to listen but still. Im not to worried about anyone taking anything. We dont have much worth taking here. I live in a rural area but that does not mean much anymore. I sleep next to my 12 gauge but its illegal to defend yourself in Michigan these days. It would not be worth the hassle of shooting someone unless my life was in danger, id rather have them take my stuff then deal with the court crap of shooting someone. I wish Michigan was a Castle Doctrine state, that would be nice. People in states with the Castle Doctrine really can say there security system is their Gun, but im Michigan its not that easy.
other then locking up and preparing for the worse, we just pray it wont happen. My area is still pretty innocent to any major crime, but that wont last forever. for now its gonna be God and My gun. you can take my stuff, just not my family (trikes and jeeps are counted as family =P)

[Scootertrash]

Its really a scary thing to think about, its hard to keep locked up around here because people in my family are always going in and out at all different times, this does mean someone is usually up and awake to listen but still. Im not to worried about anyone taking anything. We dont have much worth taking here. I live in a rural area but that does not mean much anymore. I sleep next to my 12 gauge but its illegal to defend yourself in Michigan these days. It would not be worth the hassle of shooting someone unless my life was in danger, id rather have them take my stuff then deal with the court crap of shooting someone. I wish Michigan was a Castle Doctrine state, that would be nice. People in states with the Castle Doctrine really can say there security system is their Gun, but im Michigan its not that easy.
other then locking up and preparing for the worse, we just pray it wont happen. My area is still pretty innocent to any major crime, but that wont last forever. for now its gonna be God and My gun. you can take my stuff, just not my family (trikes and jeeps are counted as family =P)

It appears you a legally able to protect yourself in the state of Michigan if in your home:


Originally Posted by Itstjs
Some people I talk to about the "No duty to retreat" or "Stand your ground act" have said, it only applies to you in your home. Ive always interpreted it as if I am leaving some place, some dude or group of people tries to mug me, I do not have to retreat if I have the legal right to be there, and I am within rights to pull and shoot the suspects if I feel my life is in danger.
Now, they have [guys i work with] say that I have to retreat, or run from them if I have the ability, ie not cornered etc.

What is your guys take on the law? Am I right, or are my co workers?
This is a pretty good layman's explanation, applicable to Michigan Law:

Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners - Forum question MCRGO - Frequently Asked Questions about Michigan Gun Laws

Q: During my CPL class we were told of the requirement to retreat before using deadly force. Upon reading the deadly force laws I cannot find where it states you must retreat before using deadly force. Could you please point me to the law that states you must retreat.

A: The answer to this question depends on the date. Michigan's new "No Retreat" laws go into effect on October 1, 2006. Prior to this upcoming change, the law stated that generally, you have a duty to retreat before using deadly force. By law, a person must avoid using deadly force if he can safely do so. "Duty to retreat" means that you must attempt to physically escape or evade a confrontation. There were three exceptions to this rule; 1) if you are attacked suddenly and violently, 2) if you cannot retreat safely, 3) if you are in your home or its attached appurtenances.

The new law says you have no duty to retreat, before using deadly or non-deadly force, anywhere you have a legal right to be. Of course, you still may only use deadly force if you are in imminent danger of being killed, seriously injured or sexually assaulted. The new laws are 2006 PA 309 and 2006 PA 313.

Prior to this new legislation, the rules on using deadly force and the "duty to retreat" were case law (common law) based. The new statutes codifies much of the law but also states that except as specifically modified, the common law as it existed on October 1, 2006 remains unchanged.


Citations from Michigan State Legislature:

Documents:
Section 768.21c Use of deadly force by individual in own dwelling; "dwelling" defined.
Section 780.972 Use of deadly force by individual not engaged in commission of crime; conditions.
Section 780.973 Duty to retreat; effect of act on common law

Link to thread at usacarry.com:
http://www.usacarry.com/forums/michigan-discussion-firearm-news/17382-michigan-self-defense-question.html

[rray62]

If I experience unwanted guests, I guess I could always throw my hedgehog at them!!