Posted on 08/30/2010 10:19:51 PM PDT by fred4prez
Thanks for the advice. Yeah, had I known there was a person out there I definitely wouldn’t have ventured outside, but like I said I just thought it was another raccoon or something. Next time I’ll be sure to have my sidearm instantly available, yet hidden so the situation isn’t escalated unless I am directly threatened.
You guys crack me up.
so you should not have gone out there at all without calling a neighbor or friend to alert them as well as 911,even though sometimes that is worthless.....my husband would have carried a gun.....and I'd be maybe grabbing a gun too,...
Where I live, those high-voltage fences are illegal.
So I have a row of barberry bushes along the property line. You might get over the fence, but if you land on one of those bushes, you will be in pain — severe pain.
As long as it’s warm the gators handle things, in cold weather I’ve got to do it myself.
Apparently you need a scarier dog on the premises. Or perhaps just adding a dog might give a “stroller” pause.
I have my doubts as to the man’s veracity. If I were looking for a lost dog, I wouldn’t go into someone’s fenced yard, particularly at night.
Okay, that’s terrifying!
TN and TX have a close historical relationship, and I can only hope that the Volunteer State chooses to enact laws to protect its citizens from miscreants that come out after the sun goes down.
/johnny
Don’t be so hard on yourself. You didn’t expect anyone to be in your backyard. Everyone is caught by surprise sometimes, only to question ourselves, wondering how we might’ve anticipated the situation. Look at it as a test, something to make you think the next time.
I agree that this guy probably was up to no good. Your story caught my attention because, once, around this time of night, while visiting a friend, she caught two men hiding outside on her property. Indeed, they had started out looking for their dog. But, then they noticed the house...
So, even if the guy really did start out looking for his dog, he might’ve become curious about your property. Maybe even curious about you. You were right to call the police.
I like motion sensored lights that turn on and off. especially one with two bulbs where the second one turns on and off with motion and the first goes on at dark and off in the morning light. It gives a feeling that someone might be watching.
Shooting someone unarmed could cause big headaches, it would where I live.
At least you got her to talk to ya. I hear the grocery store is a nice place to meet people.
Motion sensors with several bright floodlights that come on. Add a loudspeaker that blares out, “Put down your weapons, we have you surrounded!”.
Maybe take a few pictures of that ‘deer in headlights’ look’.
With Razor Wire, Maybe?
Now you are thinking. Only pull your pistol on another person if you fully intend to kill them, not wound, not threaten. It also means you or your family are in imminent danger. Otherwise get in a good defensive position, preferably in your house, call the cops and let them handle it.
City feller. If I think it's a rat or coon or 'possum, I carry a .38 with snake shot for the first two rounds. After that, it's expensive jacketed hollow points.
Because a cougar or bear just gets p!$$ed when you sprinkle it with snake shot.
Bottom line. If you don't know, it's the monster from Alien. Things can only get better when it's just a cougar, rabid skunk, or 2-legged rattlesnake.
/johnny
I would be very cautious about trying to hold someone against his will. I'm not a lawyer, and there are probably many situations when it would be the owner and not the trespasser who is more guilty. False arrest, kidnapping and such come with heavier penalties than walking across someone's lawn, and very few people can remember and recite these laws when under stress.
I'm sure there are other opinions, and there are 57 states with their unique laws, but I think that generally a firearm should be used only to protect life. Most types of violence fall into this category if they are capable of hurting you. But if a prowler, even if a criminal, is not aggressive then attacking him would be illegal. Trying to hold your neighbor at gunpoint will not be well received, even though that neighbor shouldn't be at your backyard. I heard an opinion that a firearm should be always concealed, except for a second or two right before you shoot. Using a firearm as a scarecrow is dangerous; for example, have you trained to counter simple moves aimed at relieving you of the said firearm? A criminal most likely knows how to do it, since it's his business. Many homeowners were shot with their own weapons.
The best deterrent against forces of the dark is ... light. Install floodlights with motion sensors, and a few good (megapixel) cameras if you can. Record the streams from cameras when there is movement. This would have warned you about the intruder; you will never walk into your backyard, in slippers and a bathrobe, expecting to find a fox but instead finding four armed burglars. You will have evidence of the encounter that will help you if you ever need to use the firearm to defend yourself and your family.
If you decide to get camera(s), get only good ones. They cost some money, but they are worth it. Tiny cheap indoor thingies will not survive the rain, and even if you put them into a dry enclosure the quality of their picture will not be sufficient.
You can also install an IR beam (a source and a detector) above your fence. This is very cheap these days; the simplest one (both parts) can be put together for $10 or less. Use Tiny AVR on both ends. One will be driving the IR LED with short pulses, and another will be looking for those pulses. This is extremely cheap today if you build them yourself.
If you get a decent security setup of this kind, once someone wanders onto your property all the lights will turn on (at night) and all the cameras will be recording. Very few burglars will want to proceed. As they say, you don't need to outrun the bear :-)
All in all, a homeowner in a city *will* occasionally encounter intruders on his territory. There are just too many people packed close to each other, and the boundaries between households are easy to hop over, even if there is a fence. Have a firearm with you if you are willing to use it in need. But don't brandish it, and don't attempt to arrest people left and right. Most conflicts can be resolved peacefully; a good number of them, like it appears to be in your case, are just a misunderstanding. It is better to walk away from the conflict unless your real name is Judge Dredd :-) If you still think you have been wronged, file a complaint with the police, attach images from your cameras, and if the guy comes again and threatens you, you now have a good story to tell.
Does this have anything to do with the 1940’s FBI Coffee Co. Orgies?
LOL,wow
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