New Security Camera's Installed A Week Ago. Already Came In Handy.

[Artisan720]

I'm not sure what kind of forum to post this is but figured this comes in along the lines of "Home Defense".

Have 4 security camera's around my property. Very untrusting of my neighbors due to some unusual things that have been happening since I moved in. First they were very friendly. Dropped by the house to say hello. Invited us over to BBQ's every weekend and drink liquor. My wife and I aren't big on alcohol and they (virtually ever home owner on the street are related to each other, or have known each other for years and goes to these weekend meetings.) all carry a large beer belly. Eventually we stopped going.

Due to me leaving on business trips and my wife being home alone for 1-3 weeks at a time I decided to set up some motion detection security camera's that send an alart to my cellphone when they are triggered at certain times of the day. One is placed directly on my porch where people walk through the door. As I was installing it the old lady across the street (was watching her out of the corner of my eye) digs through my mail box and puts a letter in her pocket then walks up to me. She claims, "Oh this letter was put in my mailbox by mistake. here you go." while leaning over and very obviously looking at what it is that I am doing.

Then that night I am running my husky down the road. A few neighbors are sitting on their porch drinking(This is down the street from where my house is at.) A lady calls out, "Hey nice porch." I ignore her and keep going. Then she says, "Yeah, Your welcome." I have no idea what this means.

Other strange things happen. The landlord's repair guy comes in to redo the window on our bathroom. He is absolutely terrified of dogs so I put my husky in the backyard. It's cold out there with the snow coming recently and I throw her bed right by the back sliding glass door. A couple of hours later the bed has moved from the back door to the far end of the yard. It's too big for her to of moved herself (and as is normal for that breed she flat out will not carry anything in her mouth.)

After he leaves I check my camera's. There is a blind spot in my yard... And whatever moved the bed managed to move it exactly in the blind spot so I couldn't see a thing. It also did it at a time when I could see him on camera.. But here's the thing. He wasn't in the backyard, nor working in the bathroom. At that time I was in the garage breaking down a bunch of sterafoam boxes.... and he was standing at the front of the house looking at me through where the garage door has little holes in it - talking on the cellphone to somebody. Then he walks to his truck and puts the phone away.


Okay now this morning. I take my wife to work at exactly 5:15 am. We always leave at exactly this time. At 5:20 the neighbors to our left pull out of his driveway to leave. 5:35 a old rusty pickup pulls in front of our house and parks right on the lawn. Then walks towards that same neighbors house. It stays there all day long. In the evening I leave to pick up my wife from work. When I get back varies from an half an hour to an hour max. Well, an hour and a half from the time we get back home... A car pulls up in our driveway with 4 people inside. 1 person gets out and heads to the truck and gets in. I can't make out their faces but all 3 of them are looking at my house. The guy in the truck is definitely different than who got out that morning. Both vehicles quickly speed away down the road.

This has happened once before too a couple of months ago. But with a different truck. And I didn't have camera's back then. The truck is sitting there when I am getting back from dropping my wife off. A man's in the driver seat. I go in then look through my window. He drives away within seconds of me being home.


There are plenty of other events I haven't mentioned but are equally strange, I'm sure you get the general idea by now. I've never personally owned a gun before. There is this .50 caliber Magnum that caught my eye at the pawn shop. Tomorrow morning I'll be picking it up and sign up for the classes so I can carry. Not the slightest clue of what to make of this situation but I hope cache somebody somewhere on my property doing something they shouldn't and I'll happily bring this game to an end.



What kind of assumptions would you have if this happened to you - and what would you do?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hiram25]

I'd move! Welcome to the DC Forum from Delaware!

[kabe]

I wouldn't buy a .500 magnum for my first gun that's for sure

[sgb]

I'd move! Welcome to the DC Forum from Delaware!

+1 ..... I'd be looking for new digs. And 86 the .500 mag idea, think more like .38 or 9mm after taking a NRA first steps class.

[dukalmighty]

Did ya start out learning to swim by jumping in the deep end of the pool ? If your not a gun guy go to the range and try out a few guns,like a 9mm or 38/257 revolver,40 S&W/45 acp,find what you shoot well and then get one.Something that may be a better home defense weapon for your wife is a shotgun,it can be anything from a 12 gauge,to a 410 if she has trouble with recoil in the larger gauges and the loads they have for the 410 pistols will do a number out of the longer shotgun barrel.If she decides she wants to carry also,let her shoot a few guns and pick what works best for her.If I were you I might also talk to the local LEO's and find out what kinda background your neighbors have.,and possibly mention the vehicle swapping going on

[TaterSalad]

If you can't move, I'd highly recommend you double check and verify the length of your door jam screws (the screws that hold the striker/face plate in place within the frame).

With the 3+ inch screws holding the strike plate in place (vs the inch long screws), it's make your doors and the frames 10 times stronger. If you and your wife always enter threw the front door, put a door stop on the back door (just a 2x4 under the knob).

I really can't gauge or guess what is going on here... Can't tell if you have bad neighbors or you're just paranoid. But it sure as heck wouldn't hurt for you to beef up the doors/security for a whopping $5.

3 inch screws make such a HUGE difference and it's so inexpensive...

[ponchsox]

Did ya start out learning to swim by jumping in the deep end of the pool ? If your not a gun guy go to the range and try out a few guns,like a 9mm or 38/257 revolver,40 S&W/45 acp,find what you shoot well and then get one.Something that may be a better home defense weapon for your wife is a shotgun,it can be anything from a 12 gauge,to a 410 if she has trouble with recoil in the larger gauges and the loads they have for the 410 pistols will do a number out of the longer shotgun barrel.If she decides she wants to carry also,let her shoot a few guns and pick what works best for her.If I were you I might also talk to the local LEO's and find out what kinda background your neighbors have.,and possibly mention the vehicle swapping going on

This is good advice. I would definitely report this activity to the police and give them a description of the truck. If it happens again, hopefully they can patrol the area more carefully. I also think a shotgun in the house is a good idea, especially if your wife is going to be home by herself for an extended period. Make sure you get safety training, of course. Keep us posted and stay safe. As for you, a .38 revolver would be a good idea or a 9 mm if you are comfortable buying a semi-auto.

[Okemo]

What everybody else said plus Welcome to the forum.

[rdpG19]

This is good advice. I would definitely report this activity to the police and give them a description of the truck. If it happens again, hopefully they can patrol the area more carefully. I also think a shotgun in the house is a good idea, especially if your wife is going to be home by herself for an extended period. Make sure you get safety training, of course. Keep us posted and stay safe. As for you, a .38 revolver would be a good idea or a 9 mm if you are comfortable buying a semi-auto.

Call the police, plan on moving, sounds like your neighbors don't like you and it won't stop, As far as a gun, Shotgun for your house, 38/357 revolver is a great first Carry gun or a 9mm simi-auto. Don't start out with the 50cal.

[retsupt99]

I believe your neighbor yelled, "Nice pooch!", not nice porch. I wasn't there, but you WERE walking your dog.
Why would management allow anyone to park on YOUR lawn? It doesn't sound like a great neighborhood...MOVE!
I agree with those above, start with a pistol class and get something more manageable...you're not going to carry a .50, there's no reason.

[mkh]

Not the slightest clue of what to make of this situation but I hope cache somebody somewhere on my property doing something they shouldn't and I'll happily bring this game to an end

That sentence bothers me. Yes there may be something strange going on but it sounds to me like you may have the wrong mental attitude about arming yourself.

Wanting the biggest gun you can get and talking about ending things is not the way to start on a self defense journey IMHO.

[oakchas]

Welcome to the forum. Ditto to Hiram, Kabe, Sgb, Duk, Tater, Ponch, Okemo, Rdp, Ret, and Mkh. What they said.

.50 cal ain't a first carry gun... Heck, it ain't a carry gun, period... To defend the home while you're there, a shotty is inexpensive, can serve dual purpose (hunting, mebbe). To defend your own self... a .380-.40 is more than enough in the right hands.

[Rock and Glock]

3 inch screws make such a HUGE difference and it's so inexpensive...

Get three or four inch HARDENED deck screws - not those wimpy soft steel or aluminum screws.

Welcome to the Forum. Love KC!

[Hopyard]

A different view. I didn't read much in that post that couldn't have a fairly innocent explanation. The neighbors tried to be friendly when you first got there. The lady brought you the mail; shouldn't have taken it from the mailbox but I can see some room for misunderstanding about what occurred. Perhaps she started to put the letter into your box and then realized she could just hand it to you so it looked to you like she took it from the box.

Dogs do drag stuff. I don't know about that trait for the husky breed, but typically dogs do doggy things.

I think you are bouncing off the walls. Go see a doc, and don't get a gun.

[gunthorp]

Perhaps you're being a bit judgmental of your neighbors. It's important to be on good terms with family, inlaws, neighbors, and the local police. When bad things happen, we're all in it together. A neighborhood that BBQ's together can't be all bad. Unless their BBQ sauce is too hot for you, rejoin them and bring their favorite beverages along with whatever you like to drink. It sounds like the crowd might enjoy some high calorie cake, pie, or fudge, too. I bet sooner or later the subject of shooting will come up. Why, they might be able to help you try and choose self defense ordinance by taking you shooting with them. In that case, a box of their favorite ammo makes a great thank you gift.