Gun safety in the home
 

The end of the year is coming and it's time to re-open the subject of a gun in the house here. My own personnal Osamma bin Momma is just about convinced that it's a good idea since home invasions are back in vogue in central florida. There is an 11 y.o. boy in the house.

I need to balance safely securing the weapon with having it accessable. There are a ton of options out there and I need advice, please.

I keep my long guns locked up with individual locks through the chambers and I also have a small pistol (GunGuard) safe with a hand lock on the top of it for my H/K USP 40. The combination is input with your fingers. There is a layout that your hand lays right on and you use your fingers to punch in a combo. If the combo is input wrong 3 times the safe locks out and can only be opened with backup key. I have twin 4 yr olds and I feel very safe with using the safes I have. I have quick less than 5 second access to my pistol.



Hope that helps.
JJ

I keep all of my long guns and most of my handguns locked in the big safe. I keep my duty handgun in this Gun Vault which is close to my side of the bed. I have two kids at home and I have to be careful.

GunGuard
 

I also use the GunGuard and am very pleased with the balance of security and accessibility it offers. Also, don't forget to secure your ammo.

Important side point to this conversation...
 

KYO-

I know I am preaching to the choir... But some people lurking may read this and may place to much faith in these devices verses their kids minds. I will use your circumstances ONLY as an example to illustrate my point.

IMO, The #1 thing you can do to ensure safety for your 11 yr old boy is to teach him proper gun handling and safety rules. Of course, safeguard your guns however you can within reason... but if you take away the "forbidden" allure of the guns by getting them out for him and showing him the proper respect for them then he may not feel the need to "sneak" it out when you are away.

That is how I was raised. Anytime I wanted to see my dad's guns (pistols, shotguns, rifles), he got them out for me. He Cleared/checked it... handed it to me... made me clear/check it... then preached nonstop vigilance about always pointing it in a safe direction and treating it as if it was loaded. I always had access to the guns through my dad, and they weren't considered some kind of secret holy grail of adulthood to me.

Again, preaching to the choir... but worth it to comment on it I think. An 11 yr old can probably defeat most safety contraptions if he has the desire and is if given enough time. I'm not saying don't utilize safe storage techiniques, just don't forget to tackle the other side of the coin. After all, he will be going to friends houses that may not be as smart as you about their firearm storage. Better that he knows...

Hijack over...

Saca:

That is exactly what I have done with my kids.

You gun proof the kids, not childproof the guns.

My kids have their own .22LR Chipmunk in the safe, and can see anything I have, all they have to do is ask. They can shoot any firearm I have as well, all they have to do is ask. They know how to clear and check most firearms as well, and are pretty good shots to boot.

My son did learn at age five that a .300 Win Mag is a bit much for him to be shooting off the bench, even with Dad helping, but hey, he learned from it. Both like shooting the ARs, especially with the .22LR conversion.

TR

Saca and TR are absolutely right. If I had to pick only one between giving the kids a good gun education/demystification, or a badass locking gizmo, I'll take the education any day.

Kids are smart, and they're paying attention when you think they aren't. If they're curious enough, they'll figure out how to open anything you keep your firearms in. The key is, as TR said, taking the kids out, teaching them firearms safety, and letting them shoot. Hell, do it a bunch of times (it's a good excuse for the wife: 'Hey baby, I have to take the kids shooting some more. Education, you know....'). :D Once they know what it feels like, how it works, and the destructive power of it, they'll be a lot more respectful and won't feel the 'hey, I wonder what it's like to play with that thing!' drive that they would otherwise.

The locking gizmos don't hurt. But they're the backup, not the primary.

I've been using a Gunvault for about 4 years now. It gets opened and closed about 3-5 times a day. I also keep a 1000 lb gunsafe for everything else. I'd recommend a Gunvault to anyone one with kids. I really have not yet seen a better product on the market.
TS

Guns = Cleaning
 

Exactly as you fellows suggest, my agency actually teaches new guys to introduce the kids and guns, eliminate the mystery, and hammer the safety issue home.

I also have little kids... boys, 8 and 4, aka The Cyclone Brothers. My 8 wanted to see the guns, so I got them out and, because he is HUGE into robots, I disassembled my Gov't Model and showed him the mechanical relationships. He loved all the mechanicals, but then I tossed in the ringer "Hey buddy, as long as it's all apart, lets clean it up a little." So we did, the whole "detailed wipe" with hoppes etc. Then we oiled it, and reassembled it. By the end he was clearly getting a bit antsy. Next time, I repeated this procedure. Now, I ask him "Hey Jacky, you want to see the guns?" he's like "Uh, no dad, that's cool." I swear, if he even smells Hoppes now he would probably take off out the back door.

Momma caught his 4 yo brother stabbing a box of cereal with a butter knife recently... I'm not at all sure if there's any teaching technique for that outside of "Stop stabbing my cereal boxes! Go to your room!" (Hey, ya gotta start where they are, right?)

I spent literally weeks trying to buy a gunvault and finally gave up -- every Internet site on earth and every gun store in SoCal was out of stock. So I bought a different safe for my handguns. Long guns are out of kids' reach (they are only 4 and 2) with cable locks on them and ammo stored in a distant and inaccessible location, but I am getting a large long-gun safe shortly.

At what age should child gun training begin? So far, I have just told my oldest that guns are not toys and that he should never touch a gun without a grown-up's supervision and never point a gun at anybody.

Hey TS, can I get one of those in multicam? :D

I agree with your post 100% My four kids were handeled this way, during my 34 Years as a LEO and 30+ in the military.
:)

Something new to me. Toy guns...
 

Tons of good stuff for us dads to consider on this thread (stuff that doesn't age since 2004). I've only just begun developing our own "gun SOP" for our home as the kids are now a bit older and we'll soon be in a place that allows guns.

I heard something last night though, that had never crossed my mind. Whether or not allowing our kids to play with toy guns helps or hinders in our quest to raise gun-savvy kids.

A Marine was relating a childhood memory to me of how he was forbidden from playing with TOY guns or making makeshift "guns" out of sticks, PVC pipes etc. (a near impossible request of any boy, I imagine).

His father's theory was that his exposure to guns would be supervised by himself 100% of the time and that allowing his son to play with TOY guns would detract from building and reinforcing good weapons handling habits. So he forbade it. His son's only exposure to guns would be feeling the recoil on the range, hearing the muffled blast through his earpro and seeing the gaping, bloody hole it could leave in a game animal and so on.

Although my dad raised me with guns nearly the same way, I was not prohibited from playing with TOY guns. I want to be careful, however, in assuming that my own experience as a youngster is the BEST thing for my kids.

(Caveat. I'm referring to inappropriate toy gunplay (shooting people), not playing Davy Crockett fending off a bear)

Still undecided on this one.

This thread touches on two important topics. #1., Gun safety in the home and #2., home security. Nothing I can add to gun safety that has not been addressed so...

I think all would agree the best defense is a defense in depth with multiple layers overlapping, supporting and complimenting each other. First, lock your house door's at night and even when you are home during the day. Lock all first floor windows at night. Sleep with your primary means of Commo next to your bed...cell phone or land line. Install motion activated lights all around the perimeter of the house; install them on out buildings and sheds as well. Deny bad guys cover by keeping shrubs and bushes near the house well trimmed. Invest in a very loud alarm system tied into your local LE and have the key pad installed in your bedroom. Buy a dog...if circumstances do not permit a dog...go to a pet shop and buy the biggest dog dish you can find and leave it in the most likely avenue of approach for any bad guy to see. If you do buy a dog; a 130lb man stopper is not necessary --just a dog that barks when alerted. When you see local/State LE, introduce yourself and let them know who you are etc...get the phone number to the dispatch desk not just 911. It's your decision if you want to tell them about the firearms you have in the house...some people may want to keep that on the down-low ;). Train your spouse on how to use the home defense weapon of choice. Develop a plan to defend the house if all above fails. I tell my wife (recently diagnosed as pregnant with our 1st BTW) that all she needs to do is defend the bedroom and call the cops and stay on the line as long as is practical. If the bad guy makes it through all the above (not to mention a big guard dog) then he is motivated and truly dangerous and not some crackhead looking for loose change. Train her to shoot until the threat stops moving...completley.
Just some tips...any others???

Congrats on the upcoming baby, Five-O!
 

Now you get to join in making all the "fun" decisions that kids necessitate. Yay!

:o