Can you break into your house?

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Penn

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So I pretty much made this house- hard to break in. The other day- when I got over to the neighbors- I realized I locked my keys in the house. For 3 hours- I was annoyed. Luckily she has a key.

So how did it happen?

I leaned over to pet the cat, and the keys fell out of my pocket and into the couch.

Which makes me wonder- does anyone actually hide a key??

This lock out- was the cats fault!!!
 
I hide keys, but not on the same property as the keys fit. Of course, if I get locked out, it is inconvenient to drive 46 miles round trip so I can get in. Makes me super careful with keys.
 
I think my neighbor has a key now for 8 months. The good news is we got some use out of it.

For fun- act like you are locked out- and plot a way to get in- that inspires ideas.

Your idea on wrong key is a good one- time is of the essence on crimes... so to slow it down is a plus.
 
I have family nearby that has spare key(s) to my house and vice versa.
 
I developed a little habit of never locking anything unless I had my key in my hand at the time. Pat the keys, pat the wallet, then lock. No exceptions, and it's saved me a few hassles.

Where I live, I don't have to lock anything much. If that's not the case for you... after snarkily saying "move, then", I'd say use a deadbolt only, which you cannot lock without the keys - no way to get locked out unless you lose them while afield.

I have a few dilapidated outbuildings, mostly used for storage. One of them has a key jar, like the old fishbowl full of pennies. Some backup keys for current things are in there - but only I know which couple of the thousands of keys in the jar fit anything. And only I know the skylight on my main home can be opened, and which ladder won't result in your immediate death...
 
Well, if someone wants in my house, they're going to get in one way or another, as my coward cats hide under the bed. However, my neighbors are heavily armed and on our side. In addition, if the wife or kid are home, they will shoot to kill. Period. None of that "wounding" shit at my crib, come in uninvited and go out in a bag.
 
Well, sure, if I'm home, an intruder is in a world of hurt - probably very short lived. I mean, it'd be a matter of which gun to pick up, if I needed one. My sawed off pool cues might be more entertaining when they are appropriate, after blinding them with the 2 million candlepower light. Would that be the FN 5-7, or the carbon 15, or the CZ-97? Decisions, decisions.

But the topic was how not to get locked out, which kind of assumes no one is inside.
Which is why my vehicles have tools - and guns - in them. It's just that most prefer a gentler way of getting in than wrecking a window if it's their own home.

The neighbors thing is one a lot of people don't understand because they've never had an actual community to live in - just "other people" out there. But it's potent as hell where it exists. Those who tell me no one guy can hold off the zombie hoards are missing out on that one. I'm sure that's true, but to get to my nondescript place, which is one of hundreds on my side of the county, you have to go through all my neighbors first - at the very least I get a real good warning, as gossip travels at the speed of light around here, not to mention the sound of gunshots. Why would anyone single me out? This place is hard to find even with directions! If you live in the middle of nowhere, the perimeter of nowhere is your perimeter. And those guys tend to be more watchful and paranoid, since they're at the edge of two unfamiliar worlds.
 
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Being a CZ kind of guy I vote for the 97. 18+1 in my SP-01:mrt:

I always carry an extra set of keys with me. They used to be in my wallet, but leaving a house key in something that contains your address seemed pretty stupid, so I started using a separate keychain from the main one and keep them in a different pocket.
 
I hope to have a country home within the next year or so. That's my goal at least...

After that, I will worry more about security. We have an alarm system here but that only does so much good.
 
If your mailbox is out by the road, and it has a bottom profile, perhaps a hide-a-key stuck to the underside....
 
I lock my stuff all the time.

Even the shed that nothing is in. It is MY STUFF. MINE.
 
Good thing you don't have a convertible, then, Penn. I sold one to a pal who first thing he does, put in a good stereo, then leave it in a grocery store parking lot, locked, while riding around with other friends. Returned to a slashed top - which are kind of hard to find for '66 Impalas these days to say the least. This was right across the street from the only cop-shop in 50 miles too.

By ostentatiously locking everything up, you send a signal to the world that you've got something worth stealing (even if you don't!). There's a mixed bag there. Security by obscurity isn't the best sort, but it's better than nothing. Better is to have the impression widely out there that it's not worth stealing from you, either because there's nothing to steal, or because you're such a good guy. That's how I handle the few thieves around this area - I hire them when they need money!

No lock can keep a real thief out for more than a few extra seconds if no one is watching - locks are for honest people. All it takes is a crowbar or a fireman's tool. Or a swift kick if it's a mobile home (though a chainsaw is more dramatic!).

I prefer to handle all these by choice of where to live, and who to live around, basic OPSEC, and social engineering. It works. No strangers even find this area - our neighborhood watch is serious too, and no neighbor is going to steal from me as it would cost them more in help I'd no longer give them than they'd get stealing, and they know it. Finding a real community to live in rates very high with me in terms of quality of life - more important perhaps than some money at the margin.

FWIW, my CZ is the one handgun I have (out of quite a few) that I've never gunsmithed at all on - it's fine as is. It's often the first or second one I hand to a guest to shoot, depending on the guest, as it seems to shoot quite well for everyone, unlike some other guns. Oh, the other one would be my S&W mod 14 with a red dot on it - so easy to shoot well it's not funny, which is very good for abject beginners to learn on - nice to get gratifying results right off if you want to keep the student motivated.
 
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Would be very hard to break into our condo, really only a talented team or insiders (who work here) could do it. Lots of minors barriers have to jumped over.

Agree w/ ancona & DCFusor, that if they are in here, and I get my hands on my gun, they leave dead.

I carry two sets of (key) keys as well.
 
DoChen, if you think it's hard to break into your condo, you're optimistic as hell.

I've had it done to me by the DEA. Takes milliseconds. If you dress right (black "camo" and baseball caps) no one asks for ID, you just stroll on in and whack the door with a fireman hooligan tool, a ram, or a 10 pound sledge. The neighbors all duck and call each other - and they're in faster than the time it takes to take a breath. If you want full cover, you bring a guy to hold that international symbol of authority - a clipboard. No one questions it. Or a bunch of guys wearing guns, some drawn. Even I didn't - I saved my fight for court, where I won. It's actually a fairly cool story I'll have to relate here at some point.

Of course, I'd use plastique, as I think it's a bit more elegant...
 
For the moment I am worried about criminal types burglarizing.

Wait, case could me made that .gov is criminal class too...
 
everything I own is broken- just about everything.
 
FYI, around here in the last year or so there were a few break-ins where the perps posed as police to gain entrance or at least make the victim think twice about fighting back.

DC, I shoot IDPA regularly with my CZ and it is flawless. And I'm not an obsessive cleaner or anything, just the normal field strip after a match. One of the reasons I picked it in the first place was due to its tank-like feel, it certainly seems like a gun that will last a lifetime.


PMBug posted recently a thread for door jamb reinforcements. It is not exeactly a vault door, but every second you can delay someone from getting inside is another second for them to reconsider their actions and another second for us to grab the gun and let the dogs out (or vicious attack kitties).
 
There are cabins in my area. A cabin is much more likely to be broken into then a house. In fact if you own a cabin- you can count on it being broke into.
 
I get creamed in handgun competition, I spend too much time aiming - I shoot too many different guns to qualify for "beware the man who shoots just one gun". Never really got the muscle memory for that yet. I stink at clays for the same reason. I'm only good enough to be scary to most people. To be honest, showing someone how fast you can empty the clip on a CZ into about a 2" group at 7 paces will do that fine. That's a lot easier than real competition, though.

Now, put me in benchrest, and I hold an all time world record...I once shot a perfect match in hunter-benchrest - all X's - can't beat that without changing the rules.

But that CZ, everyone shoots it well, I have a few guns like that (but more that only I or one other can shoot well). Something about the grip angle, balance, sights, dunno - but even people who normally shoot iron sights poorly do well with it, and I do better with it than my 1911 "race gun" when that has irons on it. The thing really brings out the smiles. The only thing I'd do to it if I took it apart is change the sear angle just slightly so you didn't cam the hammer back as much during the trigger pull (notice it does that even when already cocked), but it's a worthwhile safety feature and doesn't mess up the pull that badly. I've had a 1911 go full auto, and in .45, that's not all that much fun. And the CZ isn't a picky eater - anything you can cram in a clip, it'll shoot.

I think DoChen didn't get the idea that a criminal - especially one who thinks there's a big pile of gold to get - might take the time to dress up as an "agent" to make the entry trivial, and witnesses scarce and unreliable.
But I also have two trailers, which is what the DEA busted into, instantly. Most normal home doors - one hard whack with a heavy thing, and door, jamb, locks, and all are now indoors, in pieces - and in this case, the crooks have learned from the cops.

Social engineering is something more people should become familiar with. I wanted to get a sample from the drillings near here where they discovered uranium. Guarded, fenced, no way in. So, my partner (who looks the part of an official) and I put a sticker on the side of an old panel van, he had a clipboard, I a bucket (I play the grunt/driver), and we announced to the rent a cops we were from the VA dept of Nuclear materials (there is no such agency) and drove right in, got our bucket full, and drove right back out...It's amazingly easy to do that almost anywhere.

Get a UPS uniform and the only places hard to get into are the NSA and some parts of the CIA and Pentagon - and oh yes, the Visa computer centers.

Another more-famous social engineer, Kevin Mitnick, showed how easy some things are, because people are helpful. He calls the local Starbucks from a talk at defcon, says he's from Visa, and asks for the person to read off the last few charge card slips, as they're having a verification problem. The helpful person of course does so - and he's got 5 new CC numbers...and the verification codes, in seconds. It's that easy, all you need is balls.

People all too often assume that "you may not" means "you can't". Nope, not hardly.
I often enjoy pointing that out. Just as people confuse "need" with "want", they're not even close to the same except in the minds of spoiled brats.

Tell me I can't smoke, and I'll light up to prove you wrong - see, I AM doing it. You just meant I shouldn't. People go around in self-created chains, or allow others to put chains on them. I used to fall for that myself. No more.
 
FYI, around here in the last year or so there were a few break-ins where the perps posed as police to gain entrance or at least make the victim think twice about fighting back.

DC, I shoot IDPA regularly with my CZ and it is flawless. And I'm not an obsessive cleaner or anything, just the normal field strip after a match. One of the reasons I picked it in the first place was due to its tank-like feel, it certainly seems like a gun that will last a lifetime.


PMBug posted recently a thread for door jamb reinforcements. It is not exeactly a vault door, but every second you can delay someone from getting inside is another second for them to reconsider their actions and another second for us to grab the gun and let the dogs out (or vicious attack kitties).

OK, so you and DC are talking about a CZ. I have a CZ 9X18 Makarov, is this what we're talking about??
 
Oh, sorry.. I have a CZ 97b in .45 acp (CZ's a brand, they make a lotta guns).
The Czech's rock at this game.
 
Ahhh.....Ok. I like my little CZ Makarov by the way, it truly does kick ass and doesn't slam your wrist and hand with it's kick like my FEG Makarov does. It's lighter than my Glock 17 but heavier than the FEG, and is small enough to conceal carry.

In addition, I have a shitload of range time on it.
 
All this talk of handguns makes me a little sad.

One of the bad things about NZ, is the restrictions on handguns. You have to belong to a pistol club.

Here's all the rules (from Wikipedia)

B Endorsement - Sporting (Competition) pistols

Applicant must be a current member of a pistol club, a financial member of Pistol New Zealand (or in some cases membership of an approved club) and have attended at least 12 club shoots in the last 6 months before they can apply
Applicant must be sponsored by their club
The endorsement holder must attend at least 12 club activities (either at their home club or to another recognised club) in a financial year
Normally limited to no more than 12 pistols registered to their licence
Pistols must be of an approved sporting type i.e. barrel length of more than 10 cm (3.9 in)
Pistols can only be carried to and from the range in a locked container with ammunition in a separate container or to a gunsmith
Pistols may only be shot on a Police approved pistol club range.
 
ancona, your "CZ Makarov" is a CZ-82, an excellent gun. http://www.jgsales.com/handguns-c-16_155.html

I have a Makarov, which is a little heavier than the FEG, a little smaller than the CZ since it is a single stack rather than a double stack. It does beat the tar out of my hand for some reason though, probably need new grips.

I think these kind of 9x18 guns are a great addition to your personal security. They are perfect for grabbing when you take the garbage out, mow the lawn, work on the car, leave in the glove box/tool box/etc, or stashed away in the next room - any time you need something small, potent, and most importantly, reliable. These guns will cycle the nastiest of steel cased Soviet surplus, and that is a great thing when you need to get back to the long gun.

ID - NZ would be one of my ideal destinations if it wasn't for the gun laws, and even then it is still pretty high on the list. For going to 12 club activities does that really mean just "show up" for it, struck me as odd that you need to go to shooting competitions without a gun in order to get a gun to go shooting...
 
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ID - NZ would be one of my ideal destinations if it wasn't for the gun laws, and even then it is still pretty high on the list. For going to 12 club activities does that really mean just "show up" for it, struck me as odd that you need to go to shooting competitions without a gun in order to get a gun to go shooting...

dontdeBasemebro, Hell I don't know what it means, too many rules and regulations and I've never looked into it.

I did get a gun license and own a couple of rifles. The gun license process is simple enough. I had to go to a basic gun safety class and pass a simple test.

The hunting lifestyle is big in NZ. The entire South Island virtually grinds to a stop the first week of May when duck hunting opens. Seriously, I'm only slightly exaggerating; most men go off hunting somewhere for a few days with his mates (and a few bottles of whiskey and lots of beer).
 
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