How do you keep your gun(s) safely out of reach of children or crazy families/friends but close enough should anything happen? Do you separate the ammo and the gun? How far?
Question for gun owners
- Thread starter Dari
- Start date
MidasKnight
Diamond Member
- Apr 24, 2004
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Guns that aren't in common use are stored in the gun safe, mags and bolts removed. Ammo is also in the gun safe (all that will fit anyway).
Guns in common use are kept out of easy reach, but that is all. They are loaded, rounds chambered, ready for action. Of course, my sidearm is on my person so long as I'm awake, so that one isn't an issue.
The most important precaution is to raise your children to be responsible, and to give them frequent firearm training. That's how it's been for years, and why the incident rate is so low despite the commonality of firearms in America.
Guns in common use are kept out of easy reach, but that is all. They are loaded, rounds chambered, ready for action. Of course, my sidearm is on my person so long as I'm awake, so that one isn't an issue.
The most important precaution is to raise your children to be responsible, and to give them frequent firearm training. That's how it's been for years, and why the incident rate is so low despite the commonality of firearms in America.
Gunslinger08
Lifer
- Nov 18, 2001
- 13,234
- 2
- 81
In general, education is key. If you teach your kids about guns and gun safety from an early age, they are much less likely to do stupid things with them if you ever leave one out.
Pegun
Golden Member
- Jan 18, 2004
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It basically comes down to the environment that you live in. In my house, even though it's only me, my sister and dad when I'm home, NO ONE goes in my room except my dad to feed the fish or take his gun out. Its an understood rule that none of my friends of family members go in my room. In the environment of having a kid, the gun vault is a good idea, or an ammo box (it takes a bit of pressure to open it when fully sealed) on top of a cabinet or something.
TallBill
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2001
- 46,017
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I put a handgun in a drawer with the magazine in, round not chambered. Nobody is touching it but me or the wife unless someone breaks in. The rest are in a safe merely to not get stolen. Although right now I have several rifles sitting in my living room waiting to get cleaned.
Crazy family/friends? What the fuck?
Crazy family/friends? What the fuck?
I don't have kids, my fiancee is ok with firearms, and I don't have crazy friends or relatives.
Mine are generally not for home protection, they're WW2-era surplus and bolt action. I usually keep the bolt locked up in a safe, usually where the ammo is too, since it's just convenient for storage. The rifles themselves are cased but not locked. I figure if a criminal breaks in and came prepared with his own bolt, right down to in-spec headspace so they do not backfire, I'm in trouble.
Actually, the best decision would be to just run off with them, since they're probably worth a few bucks these days, especially my Swiss K-31. At least, it's tripled since I bought it.
Mine are generally not for home protection, they're WW2-era surplus and bolt action. I usually keep the bolt locked up in a safe, usually where the ammo is too, since it's just convenient for storage. The rifles themselves are cased but not locked. I figure if a criminal breaks in and came prepared with his own bolt, right down to in-spec headspace so they do not backfire, I'm in trouble.
Actually, the best decision would be to just run off with them, since they're probably worth a few bucks these days, especially my Swiss K-31. At least, it's tripled since I bought it.
ConstipatedVigilante
Diamond Member
- Feb 22, 2006
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This. It really comes down to respect for the weapon. If you teach your kids that it is not a toy, but a tool for self-defense and hobby use (ie, not for pointing it unloaded at your friend and pretending to shoot). My dad always taught my brothers and I to handle every gun with care at all times, always taking note of where it's pointed, what's behind the target, checking whether it's loaded, etc. I have some friends who I would never trust to hold a gun just because they would do stupid crap since they haven't been taught to treat every gun like it is loaded (which is what you should do at all times).
Edit: And as for when to start educating the kids, my dad started training my brothers and I at 13. I thought it was a good age since although we were still immature little kids, we were big enough to fire a gun without fear of it flying back, and we could understand the seriousness of safety rather than treating it like a game.
You can substitute "gun" for "power tools" if you want to make it less politically charged, so that anti-gun folk can understand it better, too.
Growing up, we had a basement full of dangerous tools. Things that probably cause more accidental injuries than guns do on a yearly basis. I had my own area with a work bench and things that I was allowed to use. I don't remember a whole lot from that time, I was maybe 3 or 4, but I still remember my dad telling me, "Respect the tools." Years later now, I own a home, and when he came down last week and dropped off a few things to keep in my work shop, he repeated the same thing.
Education certainly does go a long way, and just like I know how to not cut my fingers off with a circular saw, my kids will know about gun safety (and how to not cut their fingers off with a circular saw, because just like me they won't get to use those unsupervised until they're older and have proven some level of responsibility).
/ramble
ConstipatedVigilante
Diamond Member
- Feb 22, 2006
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Well put, sjwaste. My dad didn't really teach me that much about power tools, but at my age (turning 19 this month) he knows that he's taught me enough that I'm going to be very careful if I need to use it - and he knows that I'll ask for his help if I'm unsure about something.
I agree with this. Even responsible kids of a younger age are still physically too small, in addition to the maturity. Recoil can be dangerous, especially in a shorter weapon that could basically flip itself over, like that kid who shot himself w/ an SMG even while professionally supervised.
I'm not a parent yet, but when I am, I just hope I do a good job of making my kids understand the "why" of these decisions. When I was a kid, my parents did a good job of explaining that so I knew why it wasn't a good idea to just do these things when they weren't looking or something.
Mine are in a safe. Unloaded, except for the .357. I can open the safe in a fraction of a second, and moments later, lead can fly, should that be necessary.
The shotguns would require more effort to un-ass from the rack, so they would be secondary.
My safe is lag bolted to the floor and a cable runs through a lag bolt, so all the long guns are locked within the safe by a steel cable.
You're gonna have to work to get my guns.
The shotguns would require more effort to un-ass from the rack, so they would be secondary.
My safe is lag bolted to the floor and a cable runs through a lag bolt, so all the long guns are locked within the safe by a steel cable.
You're gonna have to work to get my guns.
I started with my daughter at 2 with the whole 'NO TOUCH' thing.
By about 4 it became even stronger emphasis on serious danger and VERY angry daddy. By this age if she saw a gun in a room she would flee from the room and tell us, very scared.
At about 6 (depending a lot on the child's development) I started to repeat basic safety (every gun is always loaded, never point at someone, not a toy, etc). This was to begin offsetting the terror we had instilled previously.
She shot her first gun (airsoft) at about that age as well, with me holding it too. Her first .22 was at about 8 or 9. She wasn't quite ready for it though, from a strength/size perspective (she was always tiny) so we waited another year to practice. This next year (she'll be 14) she'll get practice with larger guns and begin basic drills.
It's more than just gun training. Parents need to raise their children for total responsibility...understanding that everything they do has consequences and that they WILL be held accountable. I also can't overstate the importance of understanding death at some level. If they've lost someone close to them they will generally have a better grasp of what it means.
Well, it goes both ways, doesn't it? I mean, the fact he knows you'll ask if you're not sure means he taught you what you needed to know.
Like I said before, I'm not a parent, but to me it looks like educating your kids regarding potentially harmful things is more about instilling the need to make an informed decision, rather than go about something haphazardly, rather than hovering and telling them to avoid things entirely.
When I was a kid, I hated absolutes, but if I had a good enough reason it would invoke my sense of caution. I wonder if most little kids are like that.
Haha, reminds me of this one time that my marine buddy and I went to the range.
Two guys and two girls came in with a single cased weapon. They asked the range official to show them some basics, since they'd never shot before, or at least this is what I could gather with live fire around me and ear protection. They were in the lane next to us.
Anyway, the range official opens the case and jumps back. He looks at them and goes, "Ok, I don't personally have a problem with this, but the Virginia State Police may have a bit of an issue with you carrying a gun in the car like this, what they call 'locked and loaded'." As in, 30 rd mag and one in the chamber.
The guy taught them some safety, and then had them take a few shots. The first guy missed an entire clip on a target about 25 yards away. The only thing he "hit" was the frame, which prompted the official to come out and warn them.
We moved to the opposite end.
adairusmc
Diamond Member
- Jul 24, 2006
- 7,095
- 78
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He must not live in a free state if the state police have a problem with that.
I keep my loaded AR15 in the front seat of my truck, and there isnt a god damn thing any police officer will say about it around here.
I keep everything loaded in case I see something that needs to be shot. Feral Cats/Raccoons/Coyotes/Cougar and even wolves (not seen one yet, but a few have been ran over on roads around here. If they have a radio collar, the tactic is to just throw it on a passing train so he 'migrates' back to idaho). Also the two-legged tresspasing varmints too, but never had a problem with those yet.
I mentioned in another thread I do have loaded firearms in my house. I am not some college kid sharing a house with eight other people. My wife and I live alone in our own house, when people come over I don't typically let them rummage through my bed room looking for random things/firearms. The risk of someone I let into my home (friends or family) getting one of my loaded guns and taking it are about the same as one of those people bringing a gun in on their own, which is nil.
I do have a gun safe which holds various firearms and ammunition; the safe is it to keep my firearms from being stolen when I am not home and stays locked 24/7 unless I am retrieving an item or putting an item in. The people my wife and I are friends with are not the kind of people to steal a gun and go shoot up the school-yard.
I do have a gun safe which holds various firearms and ammunition; the safe is it to keep my firearms from being stolen when I am not home and stays locked 24/7 unless I am retrieving an item or putting an item in. The people my wife and I are friends with are not the kind of people to steal a gun and go shoot up the school-yard.
Virginia's a "free state" for sure. In fact, it's perfectly legal to open carry a loaded weapon in the passenger compartment as long as it's in plain view.
However, if you get pulled over, it may complicate things. Officer safety is important no matter where you live.
I don't want to get into the case law, but with what you're doing, if you get pulled over an officer is going to be allowed to search your passenger compartment. No warrant necessary.
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