1. 96 THE New Pioneer | Summer 2015 newpioneermag.com
Rural life Homestead Defense
By Serah Keating
Steady
A mother’s guide to preparing and protecting
the rural nest so she and her family will prevail.
fter printing the last presenta-
tion for Monday, I headed out
for the weekend. I rushed out
the door so I could surprise my daugh-
ter Charlotte and pick her up at school
and take her to a new frozen yogurt
place in town. We have a girl’s week-
end ahead since Chris is out of town
working for the next couple days.
Our house sits on 10 wooded acres
in the country and we don’t mind
spending time alone there. My mother
is a 911 dispatcher in the county we
live in, so I have no delusions about
the amount of break-ins that we
have here, even in this quiet, sleepy
country town.
Arming Up
I decided that nothing was worth
letting harm come to us. A friend
suggested that I get a .38 Special
revolver. Before making the purchase
I went to the range to familiarize
myself with such a firearm. I found
the recoil too much for me to handle
comfortably. I wanted to be certain
that I can maintain control of any
firearm I’m going to use to defend
myself and my family. After trying
different gun types I ended up going
with a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
semi-automatic. This came out of the
box reliable, functional and simple. It
also came with a number of different
grips, and as a petite woman, I was
able to make it fit perfectly to my
hands. I followed the S&W gun with a
Springfield Armory XD(M) 9mm and
take both guns to the range regularly
for practice sessions.
I took lessons from a local Spe-
cial Forces veteran. We talked about
safety, stance and the fundamentals
of marksmanship. We added the shot
timer to simulate stress and train me
to keep shooting until there was no
longer a threat, something I had never
thought of. One shot, if not aimed
goesas she
A
IDENTIFY YOUR MINDSET: Identify what
you will and will not do in a situation. Not
everyone is capable of pulling the trigger in
an emergency, and that is OK. If you know
you need to run, then you need to make a
run plan. How will you get out and what is
the fastest route to that escape? If you are
going to stand your ground, you need to
make a plan for that as well and at what mo-
ment you will defend yourself. Plan for what
you can do and be honest with yourself.
BE A HARD TARGET: Having a layered
defense is important. My first layer is know-
ing my neighbors and forming relationships
with them. We all know each other and keep
an eye on one another’s properties. This is
especially beneficial when going out of town.
My second layer is floodlights, then locked
doors and windows, then my dogs and finally
myself. You can add to this as well. Simple
things like raising lower floor window height
and planting rose bushes under them makes
it harder for an intruder to break into your
house. It makes you a harder target.
CONTINGENCY PLAN: Always have a
backup plan. The backup plan may not
work as well, so have a contingency for that
as well. Train and rehearse every possible
outcome of a scenario. Be prepared for every
eventuality and know what you will do each
time. Doing this will give you confidence and
you will be ready to act when the time is
necessary to protect your family.
Serah Keating
watches Charlotte
run the trail back
to their house.
Floodlights illuminate the area
around the author's house.
3 Keys To Fortification

2. Summer 2015 | THE New Pioneer 97newpioneermag.com
properly, will do nothing but enrage
an assailant. I learned how I was
slapping the trigger and had to learn
trigger squeeze and reset. I learned to
shoot with both eyes open and to keep
them on my target. I learned to be
comfortable with my weapon.
The Plan & Dry Runs
I have had many talks with my daugh-
ter on gun safety. Charlotte and I are
mentally prepared because we have
a plan that we have rehearsed, and
we fully accept the world that we live
in exactly as it is. While I want quick
and easy access to my weapon in an
emergency, I do not want my daughter
to be able to get it. No matter how
many talks you have, accidents can
still happen. I knew I wanted access to
it quickly, so I did not want a tradi-
tional gun safe. After some research,
I decided on a Gun Vault SpeedVault
(gunvault.com), which is biometric. All
I do is lay my finger on the scanner
and it pops open in an easy-to-grab
position. It was also easy to mount on
the side of my nightstand.
I installed floodlights on both sides
of my house as well as one in the
driveway. I have two large dogs that
are wonderful family pets. They act
not only as an early warning system,
but are a better deterrent than any
house alarm I could have. The aver-
age response time for a 911 call is 20
minutes and the average break-in
only lasts 10 minutes. Having a plan
already in place, and having the dogs
can buy precious minutes, and to me
this is vital.
If trouble comes our way, Charlotte
knows to stay upstairs and call 911.
She knows our address and we have
made practice live 911 calls so she
knows exactly what to say and feels
comfortable with it. Every emergency
department allows this. I call them
beforehand and let them know her
name and what number she will be
calling from. I have Charlotte do this
once a month so she will get in the
habit of doing it. We have the number
listed right next to the phone as well,
so even in an emergency if she were
scared she would not forget who to
call. When we practice this scenario,
we always do so like it is really hap-
pening. We do it the same way every
time and change the outcome.
I open my safe with one hand
while reaching for my phone with
another. I use voice command to
call 911. I yell for Charlotte to stay
upstairs. She knows this means she
is supposed to call 911 as well. This
may seem redundant, but if one of us
gets cut off the other can still talk to
emergency personnel. Also, having a
job to do and someone to speak with
will help to keep her calm.
I go to a single point in the house
where I can cover and see all en-
tryways into my house. I am also
protected in this position as well,
and will stay there unless the house
is breached. I shout to the intruders
that I am armed and the police are on
their way. Hopefully this is enough to
deter them. If not, I am prepared for
the next eventuality.
Don’t Be A Victim
I have done my research and know
that the Castle Law exists in my
state. I have every right to protect
my home and my family, with deadly
force if necessary. The attackers can
have anything they want outside, but
if they enter a door or a window, they
will have made their worst decision.
That is my phase line, which is the
moment when I will act to protect my
daughter and myself.
I am a woman, a mother and a
professional. I like living off the beaten
trail and have accepted that the world
can be violent. I have also accepted
that there are victims and there are
people who make decisions and some-
times they are between bad and worse.
Not for my little girl, not tonight. I will
make the hard choice and protect my
home and my daughter, but most im-
portantly, I will always have a plan. If
you have not trained, practiced or gone
through drills, you will not react quick-
ly when neecessary. No one makes a
heroic decision under stress, you only
react to what you are conditioned to
do. I want to be conditioned to be calm
in the face of adversary and danger so
that my daughter and I will be safe. ❂
“I will make the hard choice
and protect my home and my
daughter, but most importantly,
I will always have a plan.”
Far left: Dogs can be
an effective early
warning system,
and, for the author.
are a better deter-
rent than a house
alarm.
Top left: The author's
easily accessible biomet-
ric GunVault SpeedVault
gunsafe.
A firearm does no good
unless you know how
to use it. Practice is
paramount. You must
be comfortable with a
firearm so you are ready
to use it efficiently.

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7. 16 THE New Pioneer | Summer 2015