Home Defense but keep child safe

K

krmgator

New member
I haven't seen any other posts on this but I have a puzzle I am trying to work through and need some suggestions.

Trying to "set up" my weapons for quick accessibility for HD; using a 16 ga 5 shot Browing and a S&W 4" .44. Want to keep them loaded and at the ready but trying to think tactically where to put them. To complicate things, I have a 10 year old son that I don't want to "find" and possibly discharge.

I am in the process of teacing gun saftey and we have been to the range about 1/2 dozen times, BUT he is a 10 year old boy and has all the curiosities that go along with that. I have a nightstand beside my bed, a small fire safe under the bed and my wife's walk in closet on my side of the room.

Keep them locked up and take my chances? I have considered them keeping them loaded and on the shelf in the closet. If an intruder comes in, it would probably take 15-25 seconds to get to them in the dark.

Any of you balancing keeping the house safe but the kids with no accidental bullets in them?
 
I have a 3 and a 4 year old. I've been looking at getting one of those finger print reading safes and attaching it to a night stand or the side of the bed frame in between the bed and the night stand. This way I can reach down quickly put my finger on the safe print reader and .5 seconds later I can have my 9mm or .45 ready. As for the shot gun, currently its in the garage in the safe. Really hard to find something that it can go in and also stay by the bed. With kids, theres no way of placing it under the bed like your everage home owner!Also being married, I cant just put a 4 foot tall safe next to my bed, if I do, probably wont stay married too long! :no: lol
 
Adequate firearms training for all members of the household is a MUST. All adult household members who are legally able to handle firearms should be trained at minimum on how to secure firearms and render them "safe". With children, it's up to you as a parent to determine if the child is ready to learn how to handle the firearm or if the "Eddie Eagle" approach is appropriate (Stop! Don't Touch, Leave the Area,Tell an Adult). One option is to have a small firearms locker installed on or around the night stand. You can keep the firearms safe open while you're in the room, so your firearm is readily accessible. When you need to leave, simply close the safe and "click", it's secure. As for the shotgun, you have a few options. They have wall mounted units that are often used by LE to secure the long guns in the vehicle. You can use a similar device to secure the shotgun to the wall when you're home. When you go out, put the shotgun back in the gun safe.

I have a 5 year old boy who has been properly trained in not touching my guns without my permission. I still exercise proper firearms storage techniques to minimize the possibility of my guns falling into the "wrong hands". When I'm home, the handgun is on my person or within arm's reach.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.



gf
 
All of my children (I have four, aged 16, 14, 8, and 6) understand how firearms work. The older three have handled and shot with many of our firearms (the teens also go hunting with us). They know they cannot touch nor handle them without permission.

During my waking hours, I wear my gun on myself, regardless if I'm home or out doing errands or at work. The rest of the firearms stay locked in the gun safe. At night, my personal gun is within reach in a container easily opened by my husband and me. One of those hand-safes mentioned upthread will work.

- Ceicei
 
This is something that I also feel strongly about, and with good reason. When the grandbaby is here, the guns that are kept loaded and "close at hand" are all unloaded and locked away, except for the gun I carry on my person. I am adamant about this because -

When I was about 10(ish) My friend and I were playing with my dad's guns (He was a LEO, but never bothered teaching me gun safety - he couldn't be bothered.) And I cranked a .38 special round off into the floor of one of the rooms in our house - and about a foot away from my friends' foot. I was never caught for this, I replaced the expended round with a fresh one, and disguised the bullet hole in the floor. Thankfully, all that happened was it scared the bejeezus out of both my friend and I, and we never played with the guns again.

I will do *whatever it takes* including educating my grandson when he's old enough to understand, to see to it that this never happens in MY house. Hopefully, you will, too.
 
Eddie Eagle and having them secured with an adult is not present is the best solution.

When I was in Shawshank (married with step children), they were kept locked in the master closet with trigger locks or within easy reach of me. Children were not allowed in the master bedroom without me or my exwife present.
 
That is a road I will have to walk in the next few years. For now, seeing as my daughter is only 15mos, I leave it on the nightable whenever I am not carrying. I am an adamant believer in safety, and teaching. When she gets older, you better believe I will teach her, AND show her what firearms are capable of. As far as storing it @ night, I am mulling around some ideas. I have a couple locking boxes. Also, I believe that having the dogs is also a good first response, so if I need to get to the weapon, I may have some extra time d/t the dogs alerting me, and not being awoke by a "bump in the night" which sometimes doesn't allow enough time.

But, teaching is DEFINATELY the key to all of this. I remember the impression my mom & siblings still have when grandpa let the fire the .44 as a lesson. All they needed was one shot w/ that, & lesson learned. (As far as the "toy" part went) The rest was all about safety. Teach them young, enforce it, and you are doing better than most. We taught my nephew @ 5 w/ a paintball gun, and when he was able to play w/ us a few years later, he was one of the safer ones there, reminding us adults. Now, he is 14, & still holds to those lessons.

To all parents, or future parents in the boat along w/ me.... Godd luck, & pray for wisdom in your choices.

mot
 
Absolutely DO NOT leave any unlocked guns around hidden or otherwise.

They see EVERYTHING. You might think your keeping it out of their sight, but your wrong. I remember that when I was growing up I knew exactly where my father "hid" his pistol (police officer), and I even knew the combination to the lock he put through the trigger guard. Kids climb and access shelves. They can get to, and find anything.

As a cop, and as a paramedic I responded to accidental shootings. The worst were the children shooting themselves. Some of those calls were at the houses of fellow cops. Children/teenagers cannot be trusted not to play with a gun, the same way they can't be trusted not to drive your car when your on vacation.

NO ONE except you can be trusted with YOUR firearm. If it is not physically attached to your body it MUST be locked up. ANY family member, brother, sister, friend, neighbor, etc., that has access to your house can use that gun against you or themselves. If you watch or read the news relatives kill other relatives. People kill themselves for no reason. You DO NOT know what another person is thinking or will do. Yes they have other means of accomplishing their mission but don''t live with the guilt of letting them use your gun.

True Story: Cop and a friend at a bar. Cop leans over the bar to get something, friend grabs cops gun and shoots himself in the head.

True Story: Wife knows where husband carries gun on belt. Wife grabs gun and kills herself.

Yes, It happens even when you have it on you. Don't make it any easier for a tragedy to occur.

P.S. I wouldn't go smaller than 12 guage with buck shot or slug for HD
 
My husband and I always had guns, but until Tennessee allowed HCP - we always kept them in the safe. Since both getting our HCP in 1999, we carry daily. My daughter now 15 - was taken out and taught how to unload and load - clear the gun..... how to shoot, all aspects of handling a gun.

We told her that she is to never touch without our permission - we told her that if she wants to handle a gun, just ask. We would allow her that curiousity but only with our supervision.

She goes to the range with us, weekely, loves to shoot - loads our clips in between my husband shooting and then myself. She has alot of experience for a 15 "girl" she is actually the talk of our small community, because most of the boys hunt, and when she can talk guns with them.. makes her the girl to be around...

I believe that saftey and taking away that curiousity helps in being able to take my gun off when I get home while I cook dinner, and not have to worry if it is in reach.
TEACH TEACH TEACH... they will really listen and learn when it is taught and engrained....
 
Read Link Removed and follow the links at the bottom to the rest of the articles for a good overview of safe gun storage and teaching kids about firearms.
 
JohnK87 said:
Read Link Removed and follow the links at the bottom to the rest of the articles for a good overview of safe gun storage and teaching kids about firearms.
Click to expand...

Wonderful link. I enjoyed reading it and this gave me a lot of things to consider beyond what I'm doing (particularly with how my children could handle situations that may involve their friends). Thank you.

- Ceicei
 
My oldest is not yet 3 so as long as I keep mine up high this is not an issue YET. I would however recommend as others have, heavy involvement, teach them safety, take them shooting, and the trick that seems to have worked for previous generations in my family, is to cure the curiosity by beating them to the punch. In my wife's family, the kids could look at or handle a gun ANY time they wanted, so long as they asked their parents, only handled them with their parents supervision, and always handled safely. This is exactly what I plan to do with my kids. At two years old my son had already been to the range with the family. we have a bolt action Savage MK II .22 rifle, and he loves to work the bolt and pull the trigger while I hold it.
 
Child safety

Your first line of defense is TRAINING kids are smart, they'll rise to the expectation. The second line of defense is SAFES, TRIGGER LOCKS, Etc.

Not trying to be a jerk and advertise, but i'd like to offer members of this forum wholesale pricing on biometric, combination, and key safes.

You pay the cost + shipping which is usually between $8-12 insured, I make $1 profit to keep the government off my back for my resale certificate as I am making a profit...

Feel free to compare prices on Ebay, this is truly a good gesture.

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Key/Combo gunvault $83+shipping GV1000C-DLX
Link Removed Link Removed

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Add 3% to the total cost for credit card transactions

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MOD: Please advise if this is not allowed as i've read TOS and think i'm ok to advertise..?
 
The most important thing you can do is satisfy their curiosity.

You may be able to keep your own guns under lock & key. BUT! What if your kids are visiting/playing with friends and a firearm is found?

I have a 9yr old and a 7yr old. Both my kids have shot/loaded/unloaded handguns, rifles and shotguns. They also have seen the damage a gun can do.

Unfortunately; as a matter of fact, my kids have been exposed to firearms so much, they are NOT in the least interested anymore. They are completely indifferent to the fact that Mom and Dad carry guns for protection. They understand the reason we carry is to protect them and others should the need arise. But, they just do NOT have any interests in guns or shooting right now.

They have been taught what to do if "they" or one of their friends finds a gun. (Unfortunately, this is a real concern.)
My kids have friends whose parents purposely "try" limit their kids exposure by hiding; or otherwise ignoring their childrens curiosity. (These kids have a "Great" curiosity and seem to be driven to get hold of their parents guns.)

I can tell you. Short of memorizing, then throwing the combination or key away, there is no place you can hide a key or the combination to a safe that an industrious 9 or 10 year old cannot find it. (When I was a kid I was able to find the key to our safe; and my friend whose parents sheltered him got my stepdads gun out a FIRED it in the house.)

My kids know guns are NOT toys. (even BB/air soft guns) However, they are totally and completly bored by the thought of joining my wife and I; in our practice sessions. One day, I hope they will find interest in shooting again. But for now their mom and I will have to be content by ourselves. (There is hope though; we recently went to a gun show and my 7yr old daughter showed interested in a "Pink" wheel gun.)
 
Hiding guns is the worst thing you can do. Let your son see and hold any gun you have. Anything kept a mystery is the first thing a child will want to investigate when you are not around.
 
HK4U said:
Hiding guns is the worst thing you can do. Let your son see and hold any gun you have. Anything kept a mystery is the first thing a child will want to investigate when you are not around.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with this. My kids are grown now so, for the moment (no grandkids), I don't face this issue. But my own kids were always around me, and thus around weapons of all sort, when they were growing up. We kept it very "matter of fact". They saw game that was killed and they saw weapons around the house (obviously unloaded). I also let them hold any weapon they wanted to while I instructed them on basic safety. No big fuss, just routine. I also made sure they understood that a severe ass-whipping would be in order if they fooled around with any of them if I wasn't around. Never did have to administer any a-whipping. Now, on the other hand, I did worry about their friends; but this is "gun country" and most of them lived in the same environment. I'm gonna catch hell for this, I expect, but I never did utilize gun safes or locks or anything like that. Guns were tools, albeit dangerous ones like power saws, was how I approached it.

This was the way it was for me growing up. Dad had guns, me and all of my brothers knew where they were, but we never did mess with 'em. They were just part of the culture.

Having said all this, I now feel that when the grandkids come around, guns are gonna be locked up. Maybe my brothers and I, and my kids were just lucky. The old ways aren't always best, I know.

OK, I'm ready...let me have it...
 
The possibility of needing the weapon for self defense is real. The possibility of one of your kids finding it and using it on you, a friend, or themselves is very real. Teach them!!! Ignorance and uneducated or unchecked curiosity will kill people faster than the bullet. That applies to all things not just firearms. Read tips and don't be afraid to spend the money for a gun safe such as advertised above. Imagine you have to explain to your wife why they are dead...I can't imagine a more horrific trauma than the loss of a child. Especially a loss in which negligence on my part was the cause… If your intention is to provide protection for your family then do so both “from” and “with” the gun..
 
JJFlash said:
I tend to agree with this. My kids are grown now so, for the moment (no grandkids), I don't face this issue. But my own kids were always around me, and thus around weapons of all sort, when they were growing up. We kept it very "matter of fact". They saw game that was killed and they saw weapons around the house (obviously unloaded). I also let them hold any weapon they wanted to while I instructed them on basic safety. No big fuss, just routine. I also made sure they understood that a severe ass-whipping would be in order if they fooled around with any of them if I wasn't around. Never did have to administer any a-whipping. Now, on the other hand, I did worry about their friends; but this is "gun country" and most of them lived in the same environment. I'm gonna catch hell for this, I expect, but I never did utilize gun safes or locks or anything like that. Guns were tools, albeit dangerous ones like power saws, was how I approached it.

This was the way it was for me growing up. Dad had guns, me and all of my brothers knew where they were, but we never did mess with 'em. They were just part of the culture.

Having said all this, I now feel that when the grandkids come around, guns are gonna be locked up. Maybe my brothers and I, and my kids were just lucky. The old ways aren't always best, I know.

OK, I'm ready...let me have it...
Click to expand...

Haven't you had enough already??? :sarcastic:
Sorry, had to throw that in...
No one can call it right or wrong. It’s the way things were handled in your house by your father & mother. You knew about them and you knew what they could do. There were rules and you followed them. EDUCATION is the best way to prevent accidents.
My son was at the table with me last weekend cleaning them after a trip to the range. He's 8 and wants to go with me, but here in MA at public ranges the law is 16 w/ adult due to the disaster that happened last year. (I will be looking into joining a private range this year). I will not hide them from him nor fail to provide both he and his sister with the education they need to protect themselves. They are locked in the pistol box in the top of my closet. They don't know the location of the keys and that’s all I hide from them.
 
Thanks for the thought, 6Shooter, but I do now think it was wrong or at the very least very unsafe. This is reflected in my statement that I would now lock up firearms in the event the grandkids were around. It's just too easy for a severe mistake to occur. Of course, like I said, they could pick up the power saw and cut each other up, I suppose.

The only rationale for our lax treatment of firearms that i could use to justify it was that guns were more "normal" in our society than they are today. Now, from an early age, kids are focused on guns by the media and education establishment and more importantly are indoctrinated with anit-gun messages. This all draws the focus to guns, and in particular, their "evil" nature. Thus, kids are drawn to them, often with mistaken fascination. We just didn't think that much about them.

I know this is weak, but it's all I got...
 
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