How do I have a handgun ready but safe?

Question

What is the best way to be safe with my handguns now that my children are getting older and might be able to find them? I want to have the gun ready in case of home invasion so it is easily accesible, but I don't want to take a chance of my 3-year old finding it. It seems like most of the gun cases I've seen use locks (either key or combination). Is that the best I can do? Or is there a better way?

Answer 1

I strongly suggest you keep it locked up in a secure container.  Whereas there is always a risk of home invasion, statistically speaking the risk of a child (yours or someone else's) finding and using the gun is much higher.  Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

Answer 2

Keep the gun unloaded where kids can't reach it.  Keep a loaded magazine in your pocket.

Answer 3

Stay away from trigger locks. Kids have been known to break them off. They are also known to jam when trying to unlock them. Very unsafe!

I would recommend a safe with a fingerprint scanner. You can open the safe instantly that way and also be able to keep a gun anywhere in the house.

Answer 4

Take a serious look at these:

http://www.safetybullet.com/qa.html

Answer 5

I keep my firearms (semi-auto pistols) in my safe with magazines in the gun but no round in the chamber. This way there is no live round in the chamber.

As someone else stated, talk to your kids about your firearms. Let them know how dangerous they are but also how fun they are when handled safe. The best way to demonstrate this is taking a watermelon out to the range (if allowed) to demonstrate the power of a bullet.  Let them know that if they see a gun not to touch it and to find an adult.

The safe I use is a quick access safe with digital key pad (comes with a key too) and I have it next to my bed. I practice quite often on what to do when I hear something in the house.

Basically you should go to a local gunshop and take a look at all the possible quick access safes they have and see what works best for you and your needs.

Answer 6

Mmdjaajl must be living in a fantasy world if he truly believes that you can move away from crime, or that a security screen and door will somehow magically protect you. There is an old saying that it is better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it. I've been a cop for 10 years and have never shot anyone, but you can believe that my weapon and spare rounds are with me at all times on duty.

I commend you for being concerned about keeping your gun safe, but ready. Trigger locks are good in theory and horrible in practice. In a high stress situation your body will resort to gross motor skills. You lose the fine motor skills you need to manipulate a lock with a key or combination. Do you have a closet with an upper shelf? Keep it up there with the chamber empty, if you have a semi-automatic. Most three year olds won't have the strength to pull the slide back to chamber a round. Keep the other handguns under lock and key with the key out of their reach.

Once your child is old enough, don't keep daddy's guns a secret. Only you can judge when your child is mature enough to understand the consequences of their actions. But when they are, take them shooting. Let them see what a gun can do. When I was old enough my dad bought me a BB gun. What child wouldn't want a BB gun. And it was a Daisy Red Ryder BB gun, just like Ralphie had in a Christmas Story. The day he bought it we set up some tin cans and had a blast shooting them. A sparrow landed on the fence and Dad took a shot at it. Watching that bird fall to the ground left me with the impression that no matter how much fun they were, they were to be treated with respect. That memory and lesson has stayed with me for almost 25 years now.

Answer 7

Trigger lock.

Answer 8

Don't let them know you have one or else there will be a school shooting soon.

Answer 9

Try the double action type like sig p226. Separate the magazine with no chamber round. There is also the 1911 models with grip locks-you cant fire if the backgrip is not depressed. I thought i read of a trigger lock in a mag once.

Answer 10

Revolver are way easier to use than semiautos, but they are also a bit more dangerous around kids of untrained adults because all you have to do to fire one is pull the trigger.  Semiautos, on the other hand, are more complex in their operation and they always come with some sort of safety system(s) that have to be disengaged before the gun can fire.  Also, separating the magazine from the gun is an outstanding suggestion, since slapping that baby back in for service can be done in the blink of an eye.  Just make sure you have an efficient caliber that you can handle, not one of those "super-sized" calibers meant to knock down horses and cattle.

Answer 11

The simplest and most convenient storage method for home defense use has two parts.

Part one- When you're awake keep the firearm on your person at all times. This both alows you to maintain control and prevents you from having to go retrieve it when needed. Having it in a safe in your bedroom does you no good when you're attacked in the kitchen. Whether you can take it with you in public will depend on your local laws/permit requirements.

Part two- When you're sleeping there are two options. Option #1 is to simply conceal the firearm in a readily accesable spot (i.e. pouch between the bed & nightstand, undershelf holster, etc). Since the firearm would only be in this location when you are in the room sleeping there is a much lower risk that a younger child may use it. Option #2 is for if you don't feel comfortable having it unsecured even when you're in the room. Get a biometric safe with a key or keypad back-up (both if the keypad is electric). This will alow rapid access while keeping the firearm secure from unauthorized users. Also make sure that the safe is secured so that it can't be simply removed for later forced entry. Using trigger locks & other "security devices" or keeping the magazine seperate only causes you to have to fumble with something, often in the dark, to make the firearm ready to use. While you should know how to operate or load your firearm in the dark, with a biometric safe one need only place their finger on the reader and remove the ready firearm.

If you choose option #1 you should still have a secured safe to store the firearm in when you're not using it or secondary weapons.

Regardless of the method chosen, children in the home must still be taught basic firearm safety. Contact your local NRA chapter or shooting range for help with age based lesson plans.

Simply typing "firearm biometric safe" into Google.com yielded-

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=fir...

Chilebreath- not all semi-auto handguns have an external safety. All Glock handguns feature a Safe Action Trigger only. http://www.glock.com/english/index_pisto...

"ACTION

Safe and ingeniously simple: Contrary to conventional, the trigger is the only operating element. All three pistol safeties are deactivated when the trigger is pulled -and automatically activated when it is released."

The only way to "safe" them is to use an optional built in key lock module. Also several other manufacturers over models without external safeties.

- David

Answer 12

get rid of the gun & move to a place where there is very little chance of a  home invasion

or install security screens & doors then get rid of the gun as you will not need it

you must live in a very sad place if you think you need to have a gun at all