I love this topic. I bought my house because of its location on High ground with water at my back. There is no public boat launch so my escape valve is a boat to the other side of the lake but from the house we could take out anyone trying to canoe in up our back door very easy. Out in the open with a slow moving boat I can use the water like tracers and track the bullets right into the target. W e practice on moving targets out there. Out front like Salil says we planned our defenses out from the house down the hill a ways to keep anyone from firing on the house itself. Much easier to fortify several positions then to try and fortify the house. The power company was nice enough to clear a killing field for us under the power lines. All we had to do was build a series of sand bag deer blinds. Completly covered in old pine bows and logs and other cammo . To my neighbors they are deer blinds and they are for all purposes deer blinds but they are located in such a way as to give us interlocking fields of fire and command a view of anyone approaching for several hundred yards. One of the pits comands a nice 1/4 mile view of the road in both directions.

I have no delusions though. A trained military unit with even light artillery could wipe us out in minutes. But I think we would be safe from gangs of thugs and or starving people trying to steal our stores. The problem with fixed defenses is just that. They are fixed in one place. Unless we have several extra guys we are stuck in a defensive posture. I have two flank attacks planned by one shooter most likely me. where as I would get out to one side or the other and hit an enemy from behind and off to one side. This could give an attacking enemy the illusion of more men. The most important thing in any fight (in my opinion ) is knowing that you have a fight coming before your foe does. Early warning systems like motion detectors , trip wire flares, look out posts, sentries, neighbors sounding the alarm. etc. If a group doesnt know you are there and gets into range you have a huge advantage if you can hit enough of them in the first round of fire. I am working on connecting all of our positions with some form of communications. Most likely hard wired phones or walkie talkies. Dont shoot until they reach the yellow flag kind of stuff. I would not try assaulting my place if I were faced with the challenge. I would ask for a tank or use some kind of air strike. Night time is the big variable. Not many untrained thugs will try to assault a fortress in the dark. But anyone who has been trained knows that with some night vision attacking at night is the best way to overcome old shool defenses.

This topic reminds me of Buford at Gettysburg. He held the high ground for the union army until the infantry could come up and take the positions. Using dismounted cavalry they won the day against many more confederate infantry. They were dug in and had the high ground. The entire battle was won by that act. Every attack by the confederates were up hill. Pickets charge was over almost 1 mile of open ground ,uphill and under fire. round top, the peach Orchard, etc. all union army holding the high ground. High ground gives you that extra long view where you can make those longer shots. If you have not guessed I am a Civil war buff and have studied the tactics of that era and how they evolved into the way we fight today. Some basics still apply like flank attacks and suppressing fire. Great topic, thanks for posting. Michael

I second Salil and my home building site has been selected accordingly.

The military ridgeline is the best place. You have the full view of the valley and can more easily defend your farmland down there, you have the advantage of higher ground WITHOUT silhouetting yourself on the top of a hill. Anyone coming from the other side will exhaust themselves, you'll hear them, AND they will have to expose themselves as silhouettes on the hill crest to attack you.

You can hash opinions all day long, but that right there is the correct answer, period.

The stone wall at Fredricksburg. What a slaughter. Confederates were dug in behind a stone wall on high ground. Union troops came out of the city and had to cross a bridge and assemble out in the open in front of the wall. They lost 20 thousand men . There were some terrible lessons learned in civil war. Yup High ground is the only place to be in a gun fight. Michael

Just to rub it in, my place has thorns in all the right spots. Some of them are blackberry tangles, others are wild roses. the roses are the worst. Like freaking fish hooks on vines. I hate them, but in some spots I'll probably leave them anyway.

why not just have a mine field and a few tripwires that set off flares and smoke? Claymores,even. Surely you guys know how to make improvised munitions.