I have a child. How do you recommend I store my guns?


CDR_Glock

CDR_Glock

Glock 23
My child is 9. She has a friend that is a boy who plays video games with her. I have my guns stored in the following fashion:

Bullets in a bag out of reach-no bullets stored with guns
Gun case locked with trigger locks on all guns
keys to guns in a separate location with a stack of keys (only one opens the case)

This is an ok setup and I can get my guns ready in about 40 seconds.

However, I have considered carrying the keys on my own keychain and getting one of those Firesafes with the guns ready and loaded. That should cut the preparation time to just 10 seconds (for home defense). I live in a safe neighborhood that is gated an I have a security system.

What other recommendations do you have for my easy accessibility but maintain a safe house (without allowing kids access to the guns)?
 

CDR_Glock said:
My child is 9. She has a friend that is a boy who plays video games with her. I have my guns stored in the following fashion:

Bullets in a bag out of reach-no bullets stored with guns
Gun case locked with trigger locks on all guns
keys to guns in a separate location with a stack of keys (only one opens the case)

This is an ok setup and I can get my guns ready in about 40 seconds.

However, I have considered carrying the keys on my own keychain and getting one of those Firesafes with the guns ready and loaded. That should cut the preparation time to just 10 seconds (for home defense). I live in a safe neighborhood that is gated an I have a security system.

What other recommendations do you have for my easy accessibility but maintain a safe house (without allowing kids access to the guns)?
Click to expand...

Get a GunVault;

Gun Safe For The Home and Office | GunVault

You can open it faster than you can dial 911.
 
What Glockster said..
I would stay away from the BioScan ones, they have been proven that they can be fooled..

Having an unloaded gun, well you might as well have a brick..
You say you can have the gun ready in 40 seconds, but how long will it take when you think someone is IN YOUR HOUSE??? Nerves may slow down the process..
 
Children are naturally curious about firearms. Children are highly intelligent. Children will often get into mischief when parents are not around.

That said. I recommend storage with no keys. Keys can be found, and used.

Get a gun storage safe, box, closet, hole in the backyard, with a combination only lock. Only you and your spouse have the combination. Keep a copy of the combination in the bank safety deposit box.

I like the idea of the "bed room safe" Like the one glockster20 has in mind. You are able to keep your home defensive weapon locked and loaded at arms reach. Remember to safeguard the access also.

Remember the law, if you leave a firearm laying around, and a child gets hurt, you are looking at a serious felony, in addition to being haunted for your entire life. If it is someone else's child, you will be sued for all you have, and more.

I kept my firearms locked down when the children were at home. Now when little vistors arive, everthing goes into the safe. Everything.

I grew up around firearms. There was no lock and key. I was not to "play" with Dad's guns. That was the rule. Rules were followed, or I took a beating. I had a paper route, mowed lawns, and worked at Mcdonalds, at age 16. Kids today, are different. Life today is more complicated. You can't go back to 1950's thinking regarding firearms.

It's 2010. Lock em down.
 
Nine is plenty old enough to be shown, told and taught about responsible gun safety. Lay down the law. My dad was a hunter and a sportsman; he had me shooting when I was seven. I knew where all the guns were, which were loaded and that I was forbidden to touch ANY of them unless he was there to oversee it. Lord help me if I had! :hang3:
 
Teach your children. Then, teach your children. After you're done teaching them, teach them some more. My dad taught me when I was little. My daughter (7yrs) knows the drill. We learn on a daily basis, as I carry daily. If you're not carrying on your person, lock em away. Make them learn and recite the firearm safety rules. Take them with you when you practice, and set the standard.

My dad was USMC. He showed me the drill. But, he also told me if I was ever caught handling a weapon w/o him he'd rip my arms off and beat me with them. Yes, I tested him. Much to my dismay. He's in his 60s now and I still wouldn't mess with him, even if he were unconscious.

RH
 
We have three children and far more firearms. At about 4 or 5 years old we teach the children about shooting, guns and the requisite safety. My 7 and 9 year olds have their own 22s and they love to shoot. They have the rules of gun safety memorized and they are very cautious and diligent.

That said, they ARE children. So, our guns are kept locked in a gun safe. The safe also has an alarm that is part of our home secutiry system so if the cabinet is opened without my husband or I disarming it the police are automatically dispatched. Ammo is kept in separate locked boxes.

However, for home security purposes there is a fingerprint safe on my husband's nightstand with at least one loaded handgun.
 
One of the safest ways to store a gun is to always have it on your person. You kids can't get it if you're carrying it.
 
teach your kids as much as you can about the rules of firearm safty and quiz them from time to time on them, but teach them all you can about it. i store my guns in a bolted down safe, but most of the time they are on or near me and i DONT have kids or anyone who comes to my home most dont have any either. if they do the guns get locked up. my ammo is stored with the guns most of the time or in a locked shooters box. just depends on whats going on.

good luck.

p.s. i love gun vaults or dac tech safes.
 
theicemanmpls said:
You take your shootin iron in the bathroom while your in the shower?
Click to expand...

Doesn't everyone? :biggrin:

SHOWERGUN_2.jpg
 
I keep 2 pistols in a Gunvault under my nightstand.I open when i go to bed and close it when I get up.

I keep my other pistol and a rem 870 in a locked Stack On Gun cabonet along with my ammo.

works for me. I have a 2 year old running around. The Gunvault and Stack On cabinet are locked at all times when she is awake.
 
Teach children what makes a gun dangerous. Take them shooting on occasion. Make sure they know how to safely handle a firearm.

No matter how careful you are, there WILL come a time when you err and the child has access to the gun. You'll forget to lock the safe....you'll get distracted and leave the gun on the kitchen counter....etc., etc. There are an infinite number of scenarios that could happen and it's only a matter of time when one of them rears its ugly head. When that happens it would be far better to have a child who is familiar with the weapon instead of being completely ignorant of it's true capabilities. And who's to say what happens when your child is at a friend's house. Do your child's playmate's parents have guns in the house?? Are they as careful and dilligent as they should be?? What happens if your child comes accross a gun at somebody else's house?

Train your kids. I had access to firearms from a very early age and of all the boneheaded things I did as a kid and as a teenager, not one of them involved a firearm. Credit my parents instruction for that.
 
+1 on Glockster's recommendation for a GunVault safe. For several years, I've been using a GunVault mini-deluxe fingertip combination safe. I can access my home defense gun in less than 5 seconds...if my wife wakes me in time for the party. This safe is large enough for my 5" 1911 with a Streamlight TLR-2 (light and laser) mounted on the gun's rail...and 3 loaded mags. The gun is always in condition one.

This model of GunVault also provides a motion detector which, if enabled, will emit a high-pitch tone if the safe is moved. Also included is an AC converter so you're not totally reliant on the safe's batteries. But I faithfully change out the 8 AA batteries every 6 months. Some folks have said the batteries will last for over a year even with daily access to the safe. I prefer to err on the safe side.
 
RixGotSkills said:
Teach your children. Then, teach your children. After you're done teaching them, teach them some more. My dad taught me when I was little. My daughter (7yrs) knows the drill. We learn on a daily basis, as I carry daily. If you're not carrying on your person, lock em away. Make them learn and recite the firearm safety rules. Take them with you when you practice, and set the standard.

My dad was USMC. He showed me the drill. But, he also told me if I was ever caught handling a weapon w/o him he'd rip my arms off and beat me with them. Yes, I tested him. Much to my dismay. He's in his 60s now and I still wouldn't mess with him, even if he were unconscious.

RH
Click to expand...

Excellent advice!!!!!!!!!!!! Teach them. We had a traggic accidental shooting just this week i am sure these boys were not thought anything about firearms safety. Also had one a couple of weeks ago a boy was shoot with a BB Gun and died. Very sad. So teach them everything you can and make they know the rules and how dangerous they can be when mishandled, and when they are not on your person or in your possession make sure they are locked away!

Vic.
 
Vic, you make a very good point about BB and pellet guns.
I was taught by my parents to treat them as real guns, even though we had no real guns. I was told that I would suffer the consequences if I ever misused my BB guns. I cannot tell you how dismayed I was to see some neighbor kid shoot his brother with his. It penetrated his shirt and skin and lodged in his brother's back. Man, what a jerk. I don't remember what his punishment was, but I hope it was at least forfeiture of his BB gun and a butt whoopin'.

"Toy" guns can build bad habits if they aren't treated with the respect they deserve.
 
Education. And a Gunvault - ready to use in a few seconds, and secure enough to keep out of the hands of MOST children. Not a safe, but a good compromise of safety and availability. My ready gun is right beside the bed with a spare magazine. Everything else is in the safe.
 
Thanks for the comments. I will educate my daughter on gun safety. I will also introduce her to the joys of shooting while treating the weapons with respect.

I bought an equivalent to the gun vault. It uses an electronic combination and holds 2 guns. My concern is that it does not have the ability to put the trigger locks on the pistols. Should I be concerned about that? I have 2 357s in the gun safe with bullets in a speedloader. I still feel uneasy about having them loaded, until I educate my daughter and notify my wife that guns are in a drawer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 335 (members: 0, guests: 335)

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
49,542
Messages
611,259
Members
74,964
Latest member
sigsag1

Share this page

Back
Top