Securing firearms at home

[TripleDigitRide]

In many of these recent news stories involving children who decide to go on a shooting rampage, it appears as if some gun owners find it acceptable to leave their firearms unsecured in the home, even with children present. How about you?

While at home, I almost always have a firearm within arms reach. The rest of my firearms are secured in a locked safe. I have a teenage daughter who's been raised around firearms and taught how to safely operate many of them. I would like to think she would never feel the need to go on a shooting rampage, or accidentally shoot herself or someone else. As a responsible gun owner, I feel it's my duty to do everything I can to ensure that never happens.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Keep on educating and learning responsibility about firearms. Don't let a child get too influenced about other's attitudes about firearms. Know and love your child and be aware of everything you can. If you see problems that you might think could cause problems concerning firearms, deal with them before they get out of control. You know, things like mood changes going through puberty, and stuff like that. Awareness and prompt action to deal with things go a long way.

 

From what you say, you keep them as secure as you can, already.

Edited January 21, 2013 by 6.8 AR

[TripleDigitRide]

Keep on educating and learning responsibility about firearms. Don't let a child get too influenced about other's attitudes about firearms. Know and love your child and be aware of everything you can. If you see problems that you might think could cause problems concerning firearms, deal with them before they get out of control. You know, things like mood changes going through puberty, and stuff like that. Awareness and prompt action to deal with things go a long way.

From what you say, you keep them as secure as you can, already.

Yeah, I feel like I do everything I can. I'm wondering how common it is for gun owners to leave firearms easily accessible to children and anyone else who enters the residence.

[UncleJak]

I keep mine locked up too.  My son has a few guns and all of them are locked up and he can only access them if I let him in the safe.  Sometimes he just likes to get them out and inspect them, which is fine as long as I am nearby.  He doesn't have the combo and will not be given the combo until he is much older and wiser.

[jhc77]

I was raised around them but my wife, not so much. I find it odd that she doesn't care for them much as her father was in the Army for 20 plus years. My nightstand gun has been moved within a few steps of where it was, out of reach (due to the wife) since I have a 3.5 year old. Downstairs is out of reach of the kiddo as well. All others are in the safe. My son will learn firearm safety as well at some point. I still have the Winchester 67A that I learned with for him.

[Jonnin]

The trouble with kids is curiosity.  A kid will look in a drawer, under a bed, in that closet, etc.  Adults that visit do not usually crawl under your bed or whatever!  A criminal might look there if he thought he might find a gun -- hit or miss depending on where you have it and how much time he has to look.   Unsupervised kids have all the time in the world to look and the curiosity to do it and the lack of manners to do it.... bad combination.

 

Having no kids, I keep a couple of junkers ready to go in a  couple of strategic locations, well hidden but if someone broke in and searched, they could find them.   That would be bad enough, but I can live with it.    Better that I have them if I am home during a break-in than keep them locked up out of fear where they do me no good.

[mikegideon]

No kids in my house. I always keep one close, but the rest are locked in the safe. All my Glocks stay chambered, even if they're locked up. If the hair is up on the back of my neck for some reason, there's an AR close as well.

[TripleDigitRide]

The trouble with kids is curiosity. A kid will look in a drawer, under a bed, in that closet, etc. Adults that visit do not usually crawl under your bed or whatever! A criminal might look there if he thought he might find a gun -- hit or miss depending on where you have it and how much time he has to look. Unsupervised kids have all the time in the world to look and the curiosity to do it and the lack of manners to do it.... bad combination.

Having no kids, I keep a couple of junkers ready to go in a couple of strategic locations, well hidden but if someone broke in and searched, they could find them. That would be bad enough, but I can live with it. Better that I have them if I am home during a break-in than keep them locked up out of fear where they do me no good.

That's basically how things were before my daughter. It is slightly more troublesome to carry a gun around the house, but after years it's become second nature.

[npgunner]

I keep one near me at all times. The rest are in the safe, unloaded. If I'm home, the safe isn't always on lock-down, but I make sure it is locked before bed and when I leave. I keep my standard EDC stuff (knife, light, gun, keys) on a shelf on the door, so am in and out of it frequently. I keep loaded mags next to all the guns in case I need them. I don't have any kiddos running around the house, but if I did or do, keep everything physically on me, or in the safe.

[charlessummers]

Both of my children (Boy-14 & Girl-17) know how to load, shoot, and clean every gun that I have. Having said that, I kept my guns in a gun cabinet up until the Connecticut shooting. I trust my kids around the firearms. I do not trust their friends to know the dangers or the responsibilities of handling a firearm safely, but still felt reasonably safe with them in a cabinet, secured only with a little lock. After the shootings in Connecticut, I bought a gun safe and stored them all inside of there, leaving only the pellet rifles in the cabinet. Neither of the kids know the combination to the new gun safe. LIke I said... I trust them fully, and thankfully they do not have any emotional issues that would lead me to not trust them. However, I would feel terrible if something happened with any of my firearms that lead to the harm of another person or child, so I felt it in my best interest to do what I could to prevent that. I think all firearm owners should do the same, and I'm sure a vast majority do. I wish Adam Lanza's mother would have done the same.

 

I only keep two firearms at a time outside of the safe. One is usually either strapped to my side, or within easy reach... the other is usually with my wife.

[RobertY]

All of our firearms are in our bedroom and hidden. The wife and I know where they are so we can get to them fast. When the grand kids are here we do keep the bedroom door locked just in case. They know we have the fire arms so I think that is best. We will be getting one of those stackon type gun cabinets with shelves as soon as we can for another added precaution.

[peejman]

I'm working on educating my kids (5 & 2).  The older one mostly knows the 4 rules.  I do the "disarm their curiosity" method and try to let the see/handle them any time they ask. 

 

My long guns stay in a locked cabinet with trigger locks installed.  My handguns and the key to the long gun cabinet stay in a pistol safe with electronic keypad lock.

[Caster]

[quote name="mikegideon" post="891698" timestamp="1358783885"]No kids in my house. I always keep one close, but the rest are locked in the safe. All my Glocks stay chambered, even if they're locked up. If the hair is up on the back of my neck for some reason, there's an AR close as well.[/quote] Same here. No kids. Never will. I will say for those of you with kids, keep them locked up tight. BUT don't hide them. My old man kept his handguns hidden. Needless to say,I found them and knowing full well it was wrong, I played with them often. I was staying home by myself by the time I was 12 and I tell you, a 12 year old has NO business running around the woods with a 357. I did. Thankfully I didn't hurt myself or anyone else. I only did it because I wasn't allowed to see them. Had I been allowed to see them I wouldn't have cared enough to find them and boost them for their supposed secure location. Don't hide them people. It's not the gun it's the mystery that get kids in trouble.

[UncleJak]

Don't hide them people. It's not the gun it's the mystery that get kids in trouble.

Agree.  My dad kept his put up, but I knew about them and about safe handling.  When I was 14 he gave me access to the gun cabinet.  I knew I was not to use them for anything asides emergencies.

[Steelharp]

My kids are all grown now; but when they were little, I taught them all safety, took them all out shooting and removed the curiosity factor. When they saw them, they just had the, "Ah, it's just another of Dad's guns" mentality.

[peejman]

Same here. No kids. Never will. I will say for those of you with kids, keep them locked up tight. BUT don't hide them. My old man kept his handguns hidden. Needless to say,I found them and knowing full well it was wrong, I played with them often. I was staying home by myself by the time I was 12 and I tell you, a 12 year old has NO business running around the woods with a 357. I did. Thankfully I didn't hurt myself or anyone else. I only did it because I wasn't allowed to see them. Had I been allowed to see them I wouldn't have cared enough to find them and boost them for their supposed secure location. Don't hide them people. It's not the gun it's the mystery that get kids in trouble.

 

 

While I didn't run around the woods with them, mostly same here.  That's pretty much the reason why I let my kids see them.  In fact, Dad still doesn't seem to like letting me see his guns.  He's got his grandfather's shotgun.  He doesn't know much about it.  I wanted to see it so I could take some pictures and do a little research.  He wouldn't let me.  :squint:

Edited January 21, 2013 by peejman

[monkeylizard]

I knew where everything was in the house, including the revolver hidden under the mattress. Hiding things from kids doesn't work. Top shelf out of reach? Not for a kid with time, some dining room table chairs, and no fear of falling over.

[Dolomite_supafly]

My son, who is in the AIr Force now, started shooting at probably 5. We let him shoot whenever he wanted and starting at age 7 there were always guns around the house. Or at least he seen them every day. This took the novelty of the firearms away and to him they were no different than any other tool you might use or find laying around the house.

 

I think that is the key to a child being safe with a gun. If they see them as nothing special then they will show no more interest in them than anything else when you are not around. And starting about age 15 there where times when my wife and I had to leave the house for a day or two. During those times our son knew where the guns were and definitely knew how to use them. He never messed with them. And by age 17 he had a firearm "loaned" to him any time we had to leave the house for a day or two.

 

Our son has always been extremely mature and responsible so I had zero concerns with him being home alone. Especially with my crackhead brother running around trying to kill people.

 

In the end I think it is up to you to decide if your children should have access to the firearms for self defense. We have seen on a number of occassions where children have used firearms to defend themselves. I don't think there is a jury in the world who would convict the parent of a child who used a firearm to defend themselves.

 

He is not much of a gun person anymore and I think that is because I took the novelty of them away at such an early age. But in the end I think it depends on what you realistically think your child might do. If the child is immature or has other issues I say lock them up but never hide them.

 

Dolomite

[Guest Razz]

[quote name="monkeylizard" post="891787" timestamp="1358789269"]I knew where [i]everything[/i] was in the house, including the revolver hidden under the mattress. Hiding things from kids doesn't work. Top shelf out of reach? Not for a kid with time, some dining room table chairs, and no fear of falling over.[/quote] 1000x this. I am 2 of 5 and we all combed every square inch of our homes, eventually. We weren't bad kids but we pushed boundaries as far as they would stretch and more so when we were left alone. Now that I have an active son of my own, I know full well what he is capable of and will never let my guard down. For now, all firearms are locked up tight. When he's a bit older I will start teaching him about firearm safety.

[monkeylizard]

We even checked inside air ducts. It's amazing what you can find that fell through a register in an older home. Equally amazing is how well sound travels from one room to another through those things. Instant spy-network!

Edited January 21, 2013 by monkeylizard

[East_TN_Patriot]

I keep virtually all locked in my gun safe.  My home defense pistol is in my nightstand in a lockbox with a keypad lock.  My son is only 23 month, but I have already started teaching him gun safety because he loves to look in daddy's gun safe.  If I ever thought my wife or kids were so mentally ill that they were dangerous, I would likely sell most of my collection and keep the rest securely locked up.  I enjoy my guns, but will not place other people at risk.  I'll keep what I feel I need for self-defense and my basic shooting needs, and let the others go if I need to. 

[hlb14]

I admit i've been abit laz on this, a safe is at the top of my list now

[peejman]

We even checked inside air ducts. It's amazing what you can find that fell through a register in an older home. Equally amazing is how well sound travels from one room to another through those things. Instant spy-network!

 

 

Yep.  Our house had a finished basement.  There was a room downstairs where the vent when straight up to my sister's room.  Great place to do a little spy work and learn a bit about adolescent blackmail.  :)

[itchytriggerfinger]

I have to figure this one out as well.  My son is 4 and we keep a piece on top of the fridge and on a high shelf in the bedroom.  Otherwise, everything is in the safe. 

 

A little off topic, but in the same arena, isn't there a law that stating the gun owner will (can) be charged if a minor is caught with a handgun, or worse kills someone?

[TripleDigitRide]

A little off topic, but in the same arena, isn't there a law that stating the gun owner will (can) be charged if a minor is caught with a handgun, or worse kills someone?

I'm not aware of any such laws, but if there isn't, there should be. I think that it's our responsibility as responsible gun owners to help ensure our children aren't able to carry out some of the things we've recently seen in the news.

The fact that the mother of Adam Whatshisface didn't do a better job of keeping firearms from her son is beyond me. She obviously knew he was suffering from some serious mental issues, so it's beyond me why she wouldn't keep them properly secured.

I've seen other parents in similar situations act just as irresponsibility as she did. Then you have those other parents who are positive their children could not and would not do such a thing. It's simply not worth risking, in my humble opinion. Edited January 21, 2013 by TripleDigitRide