Many Many years ago, my mentor had a sign over his desk:
"Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill."

Truer words never spoken.

We had to learn something to make it this far; so use it!

to add to what Cliff commented on ...

make sure you have steel entrance doors with quality deadbolts and reinforced striker plates...vision peep holes

combination of motion sensor lighting with continuous yard light (I get a couple of years out of a compact fluorescent)

wireless alarm and video monitoring systems are reasonable...even without a monitoring service

curbside house numbers in addition to visible house numbers for EMS

good neighbors are a bonus

and if your gun safe is running out of room... pre drill a hole near your doors for a 16D nail with the head removed...slip a piece of rubber tubing over the nail..slide on an archaic revolver thingie's barrel you don't shoot any more (Security Six and .44 Charter)....

remember you don't have to open the door just because somebody knocks on it...

bws48...years ago, at an Area 6 USPSA championship, a couple of young SF NCOs were on our squad...from their equipment it was pretty obvious they were either Delta, or trying out for the teams..I was shooting a single stack at that time, and had a good run... and one commented "sir, how in the hell did you beat me?" and the natural answer... "old age and treachery, and I just wore out a barrel with 80,000 rounds thru it"

You are only fighting, needing to punch, or dispatching animals for survival, if things are pretty bad. Geezers are by definition at a competitive disadvantage and to survive need to consider going beyond what might be considered "fair" - even being "snarky" [whatever that means] and using "behind the back ploys."

We are discussing situations in which the goal is survival, not building your resume in the community. In such times, to be blunt, if the situation forces the choice, it is okay with me for you to go to your legacy first.

I liked the advice, myself.

What's the point of using Marquess of Queensberry rules when your attackers are just predatory punks? They're not going to report that you went by the rules, and you'll be just as dead.

And suppose you have family to defend?

Sue

GEEZERHOOD 101 – RETURN WITHERING FIRE
My Geezerhood home defense weapon costs $4.90/sec to turn on. Being a Geezer, cost is of no concern – the noise is. In 14 seconds I must stuff another 100 round Beta C Mag in it to continue.

Geezers also remember that you can't miss fast enough to win.


chaosmagnet (geezer in training)

I love the paranoia in this thread. I don't advocate naivete, or remaining clueless, but adopting shady tactics as my primary strategy is not in the cards for me.

It is perfectly true that sweetness and light will not always prevail, and certainly geezers ought to have learned that adaptability is a good trait. It is a good idea to keep your powder dry and have weapons in good shape.

I think if you look at the responses to disasters and tough situations, that cooperation and working together is far superior, with better results for everyone, than forting up and guarding your stash. It didn't work for Gollum and it won't work for you, either (precioussss,,,,where is my preciousss?)

Another thing. Susan, you are entirely too young to be commenting on a geezer thread...

Remember, we didn't get old by being nice.

hikermor, I am sorry we are having this apparent failure of communication, but as a geezer I have learned to just move on when it does not work.

Geezers should know what they need to survive, do their best to redundantly secure those resources, and trust themselves to judge how much of those resources to share with others, if any. Harsh decisions and apparent cruelty, as well as dealing with survivor guilt, may become the norm in extreme survival challenges. Geezers have usually had to learn some mental toughness and dealt with the negative judgments of others.

Probably geezers have already begun limiting their exposure to risk, but in a survival emergency this should become a reflex and habit. Do what must be done in as low key a manner as possible, no more. Limit movement, visibility, noise, and all the other "look-at-me" signatures.

Develop what-to-do plans for when things fail, as many layers deep as you can afford and figure out. Do what-ifs on ETS that assume the unfair and the unfortunate have happened.