How to Set Up a Defensive Perimeter

Things got a whole lot quieter as you escaped the crush of people on the highway and are now winding your way through country roads to your bug out location. The burned out cars are now fewer and far between, and there's far less people walking on the wayside to escape the disaster you're fleeing from, but you're not out of the woods yet. In a major crisis, security is paramount. The safety of your family comes first, and you can't rely on a remote bug out location to provide the defenses you need to survive. Today, we'll run through what it takes to set up a defensive perimeter around your property, so you're not caught unawares by marauding looters. Let's get into it.

Keep out of sight

The first tactic relies on the phrase ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Your bug out location needs to be well concealed from any roads, waterways through your property, and the natural lay of the land, so the unsuspecting looter is simply unaware of your existence and passes you by. A good way to establish this initially is to be as far removed from any urban centers as possible, and use the landscape of your property as an asset in concealing your shelter.

Early warning systems

The more time you have to mount a defense against a group of attackers the better. For a low-budget approach, dogs are a great natural alarm system, though they can be loud and give away your position if you're trying to stay covert. I'd recommend installing solar-powered motion sensors at strategic locations along your properties perimeter line, so you're alerted as soon as there's a presence on your land, and as you get closer back to your home base escalate the systems you use to include flood lights, security camera's and the loudest damn alarm siren you can purchase. Wireless systems are available that allow you to monitor everything from your phone, and disable any false alarms from anywhere on your property.

Multiple defensive lines

When I think defenses, one of the most effective means that comes to mind is large, heavy walls. Think ‘Berlin Wall’ style walls. Unfortunately, these type of walls aren't practical to build around your entire property in a residential-type setting, and the expense far outweighs the benefits unless you've got an endless supply of cash to burn, and you aren't really worried about the first point above. Practically, your focus should really be on establishing multiple lines of defense. Here's how it would work:

1. Use natural landscaping to keep randoms from accidentally ‘stumbling across’ your property
2. Sculpt the area to funnel any attackers into designated entry points
3. Setup multiple defensive positions to target any intruder coming through an entry point
4. Have fall-back positions allowing a retreat from a superior force
5. Surround your inner shelter with solid walls able to withstand high-velocity rounds
6. Fortify the walls of your home, and don't forget to create defensive positions to fire from
7. Have a designated safe room for younger family members to safely ride out any attacks

One particular point I'd like to make here is to have a perimeter in place that keeps anyone with ill-intent at least 100 yards from your home. This will drop the average persons aim with a firearm significantly, and stops an attacker from being able to launch home-made firebombs at your home. If they can't get in to raid your supplies, you can bet they'll want to burn your home to the ground.

Increase the difficulty

There should not be a single ‘easy-access’ route to your property. Use sharp turns on any private approach roads to stop vehicles using speed as a means to breach your defenses, and creative landscaping by felling a tangle of trees can help to funnel any visitors into the approaches you're ready to defend. Unless they're high-voltage a wire fence is going to do little, you'd be better off with pyramids of razor-wire, or using latticed barbed wire propped up around knee height to ensnare any unwelcome visitors.

Be ready to defend

The last part requires training, but your team is the most essential part when it comes to maintaining your defensive perimeter. Ensure you're effective and accurate with long-range firearms like a rifle, as you want to keep any potential looters as far from your property as possible. If you're bugging out with a group, conduct your training and drills together to ensure cohesion, and everyone knows their roles should the community come under attack from an external threat. One of the biggest risks when you're defending a position like this is the risk of friendly fire. In reality, most of us aren't going to open fire as soon as someone steps foot on our land. Not everyone is going to be out to take advantage of other survivors, and people deserve the benefit of the doubt, especially in a crisis. What you need to be ready for is the people who do have ill-intent, and ensure you've got everything in place to provide an escalated level of defensive force should the need arise. After all, the safety of your family is what's most important.