Warning: Some of these DIY perimeter alarms are dangerous. Be very careful and do them at your own risk.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed. If you are vulnerable—whether you’re asleep or bugging out—having a perimeter alarm to alert you to intruders can save your life.
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In this video, Sensible Prepper explains how to make six DIY perimeter alarms:
1. Hand Grenade Top and Shotgun Primer
Yes, you read that right. For this alarm, you’ll simply need to purchase shotgun primers (available online or at most gun shows) and a hand grenade top (with the rest of the grenade removed of course). You’ll also need a tripwire and a nail.
Set the grenade top through the screw first through the drilled holes. Then hammer your nail into a tree at about knee height or lower. Tie your tripwire to the grenade top, and place a shotgun primer into the grenade top. When the tripwire is yanked, the shotgun primer will go off to alert you to danger.
2. Mousetrap and Pistol Primers Method
This one is incredibly simple: Just prime your mousetrap and set your pistol primers on the trap, positioned so that they will go off when they come into contact with the spring. Wrap a tripwire around the spring and, when it’s pulled, the spring will launch forward and strike the primers.
3. Sentry Alarm Mines with .22 Blanks
Sentry Alarm Mines are trip alarms that have a trigger that can be cocked upwards with a spring. You then place a blank .22 caliber round into the bottom of the mine.
Attach a string to the trigger and set it up as a tripwire by running it between the mine and a nail hammered into a tree. When the tripwire is pulled, it will yank the trigger and cause the blank to go off.
4. Fithops 209 Trip Alarm
Another choice is the Fithops 209 Trip Alarm that strikes shotgun primers. You simply cock the firing pin back to the rear and lock it into place with the aid of a pin. Attach a tripwire to the pin, and when yanked, it will cause the firing pin to strike forward and strike the primer.
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5. Fithops 12 Gauge Trip Alarm
The Fithops 12 Gauge Trip Alarm is a bit of an upgrade over the Fithops 209. Not only is it built out of a more durable steel with a hard coat anodized finish (rather than the 209’s aluminum), it can be used with 12 gauge blanks, which may be more commonly available than simply the primers.
Furthermore, you can also get 12 gauge blank flashbangs, which will create smoke when struck to visually alert you to danger as well.
6. Driveway Alarm
Last but not least is a driveway alarm, which will audibly alert you when anyone walks or crosses by. Some driveway alarms come with a chime sound that goes off inside your house, so you will be alerted to someone’s arrival regardless of where you are in the home.
To see how to make these perimeter alarms, be sure to watch the video by Sensible Prepper below.
What about some usable tips on perimeter alarms for preppers in Australia who don’t have easy or legal access to firearms and associated products?
Kaz,
Do you have access to nail gun blank cartridges or lifeboat 12 ga . signal flares ?
Firing mechanisms can be made from rat / mouse traps . A 3/4″ pipe section can be used for 12 ga. The appropriate pipe size for rimfire blanks blanks will depend on caliber. The Aussies I met in Vietnam in the 60’s were fairly clever guys , you should come up with something that works if you have the right materials available .
There is the old “Rattling cans on a string” trick, put crackling twigs etc. around the place. Have a dog if you haven’t eaten it.
I remember seeing a design for a deadfall alarm someone had set up in a wooded part of their land. It was a log designed not to fall on someone, but to swing down and crash against a large tree. The only cost was a bit of rope.