[steverjo]

I know that all guns should be considered loaded. I have several hand guns, one of which i keep loaded and readily available for home defense, all my other guns are stored unloaded.

Is there a device of marker that can be used or attached to the gun in such a way that it makes it obivious that it is the one that is really loaded?

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's Sir-

I use a "sticky notepad" that reads like this:

DANGER: Loaded Weapon
DO NOT TOUCH

or how a'bout this one:

DANGER: USE CAUTION WHEN OPENING
AS THIS SAFE CONTAINS LIVE RATTLESNAKES~!

[camsdaddy]

Although every gun I own is fully loaded I guess I can understand your concern. You could store with the slide open and install a zip tie in the ones that are unloaded. Or maybe a piece of yarn

[The Bushmaster]

I have three handguns and one rifle (.22) loaded in my house. I know which ones are loaded and where they are. The rest of my 20+ firearms are unloaded and stored in a safe...As far as I am concerned...ALL of my firearms are loaded and treated as if they are loaded. When I remove one from the safe I check it even though I know I put it in the safe unloaded. And I am the only one that has the combination to that safe...

I may understand your plight, but see no reason to mark loaded or unloaded firearms if you handle ALL firearms as if they are loaded anyway...

You can purchase tags at the store that have strings attached to them that you can place on the trigger guard that you can write "LOADED" or "UNLOADED" on them...

[gravis86]

The responses so far make is seem as though they believe you want to know which one is loaded so that you can safely treat the others as if they are not loaded. This is also the impression I got from reading your post.

But after reading your post through again, it became clear to me you would like to know so that you know which one to pick up in a pinch. My solution would be to either start carrying the one that is loaded, or load them all.

Many minds have been known to fail under pressure, and there is nothing to say that all the marking in the world would help you grab the loaded one when the time comes.

[ctdair]

All guns are loaded until otherwise proven. You should not be rely on a reminder.
I have many guns that I leave loaded constantly and other guns I have not loaded for over a year. However I always open and check the action on any gun I handle to verify its condition. I am guilty of always thinking my .45 is loaded but i do have a wife or son who can access and unload it at any time. Hope that one never sneaks up and bites me. Meaning I would hate to hear a click instead of a bang when I had grabbed the .45 in a hurry.

[mekender]

id say store the loaded one in a different manner than the others... for example, keep it in the nightstand while the others are in a safe, or a dresser or closet

[19-3Ben]

What Mekender said. I keep the unlaoded guns secured somewhere, and keep the loaded gun either on my body, in the nightstand, under the bed, etc...

[Liko81]

Some handguns have an indicator to show that the gun is loaded. Some revolvers have a smaller backstop to the cylinder that shows the edge of the cartridge. However, mechanical devices can fail and visual cues are useless in the dark, so therefore rule 1 of firearms handling applies: Treat every weapon as if it were loaded, unless you yourself have checked it.

I would recommend storing the gun with the chamber empty and the mag loaded but out of the gun. It's the work of a second to pop the mag in and pull the slide, and if someone's in your room you're not gonna reach that gun, loaded or not. You can then, if you have to, store the gun with the slide open to guarantee it's unloaded (as well as make it easier to ready the gun; load the mag and flick a switch), but I imagine long-term that would be bad for the recoil spring.

[stevemis]

Sometime during my travels, I came across some red plastic gun cleaning sticks. One end has a circle, which gives you a place to grip and the other end is slotted for a cleaning patch. I open the slide, drop it into the breech and into the chamber and close the slide. I've then got an incredibly obvious visual marker that the chamber is indeed empty.

[zxcvbob]

You could tie a ribbon around the one that's really loaded (so you can grab it quickly) Of course you know that the lack of a ribbon does not mean the other guns are not also loaded.

My go-to gun is always loaded and it's stored in a different place than the others. When I take that gun to the range, I load a different gun and put it in the hidey-hole, so that one is always ready and I know where it is.

[Jim K]

"Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the loaded gun..."

I think I could make a song about that.

Jim

[mjrodney]

I too have multiple locations where a firearm is loaded and secured.

But one of those locations is the big safe where the bulk of my collection is stored.

Should I, or my bride, need a firearm from the big safe in a real hurry, I prefer to eliminate any possibility of grabbing the wrong firearm.

All the handguns in the front of the safe, all those within easy reach, are loaded.

No need to look them over. Just grab one.

I should add that there are no children in our home.

[Shooters Plus]

I do the same to some of my handguns. Some are loaded for quick access and some are not. How I know which are ready (loaded) is the ones I put magazines in. If it has a magazine in it I know it is ready. If it does not have a magazine then it is empty.

On the other hand, there is always one ready on my side or a table very close by at all times.

Good luck :)

[Black Majik]

Pull the trigger. If it emitts a *BANG* sound, it's loaded.


I'll echo others, a gun should be checked everytime for the status of the gun whether it's loaded or unloaded. A presscheck into the chamber can verify the state of the pistol. Or you can use a pistol that has a loaded chamber indicator, either with the extractor sticking out or the hole in the top of the chamber hood. But still, a presscheck should be performed to verify if it's loaded or not.

[vanilla_gorilla]

I just leave them all loaded.

[bruss01]

The custom at our house is that the ones that are in the safe are unloaded, and anything out of the safe is loaded.

The rationale is that if a gun needs to be accessible, it needs to be ready for action. If it doesn't need to be accessible, it needs to be under lock and key for safe storage. If I find a gun outside the safe and it's not loaded, it either goes into the safe or gets loaded right away. I can't imagine anything worse than grabbing a gun in an emergency and then finding out it's not loaded when you needed it to be.

We do not have any children in the household and always put everything away when having someone over who does. They are cautioned going in that our house is NOT child safe and we have loaded guns in the house. That seems to cut down on the rug-rat traffic going through our place, which is a blessing.

Our available (loaded) firearms are always tucked discreetly out of sight, except when we get a helicopter circling overhead (which seems to be a near-weekly occurance these days) and then we have one immediately available right next to us on the coffee table/kitchen counter/dining table where ever we happen to be.

I choose to unload firearms in storage because there isn't any point in having ammo in them while they're being stored, and if I am taking anything to the range it has to be unloaded for vehicle transport (it's the law here). Also, if there is a fire the temp required to damage the firearm should be higher than the temp required to cook off the ammo - cooking the ammo inside a loaded gun would very likely damage or destry the gun, whereas the same gun, unloaded, simply heated to the cook-off temp, might not be damaged or destroyed.

That's how I roll, and why.

[alucard0822]

A Firearm is always loaded, however, some are more loaded than others. The bulk of my firearms are always locked in the safe unloaded. a single pistol is loaded in a holster on the inside of the safe's door, just in case someone tries to force me to open it. there is also a small hand safe bolted close to the bed with a loaded pistol, flashlight and emergency phone numbers, that small safe is locked while I am not home, but unlocked when I am about to lay down for the night. No kids at home, but probably I would follow the same procdure if they were.

[Zundfolge]

I think some of you guys are looking at this backward.

Yes, for the sake of safety you should assume that any firearm is loaded, because the consequences of being wrong and thinking its unloaded when it is indeed loaded can be grave.

But when you need a loaded gun and you assume its loaded, the consequences of it actually being unloaded are also pretty grave.

I recommend storing loaded self defense guns separately from unloaded guns, that way you know which one is loaded based on where it is.

[beretta92d]

i have it easy...(sadly)
having only one gun,i don't have to worry about having to know which one's loaded or unloaded..

the storing separately idea sounds like a good one though.

[Grizfire]

For me, I only keep one out for HD and it is loaded, all others are unloaded and in the safe.

[Black Adder LXX]

I'm with the 'different type of storage' crowd. My home defense guns are in a small quick access case. My others are locked up in a different location and are stored unloaded. I always check them regardless of location.

[strat81]

http://www.gunaccessories.com/AR15-M16Parts/FLAG-01_2.jpg
Insert that into the unloaded guns. If the gun doesn't have one of those, assume it is loaded.

[hqmhqm]

How about storing the gun with a loaded magazine in it, but the slide locked open. You just have to flick the slide release with your thumb when you pick it up, but is is obvious by looking that it has a full magazine.

[Grizzly Adams]

They are all loaded until proven otherwise!

[marv]

Six of my handguns are loaded and ready. Stashed in various places; home, vehicles, office. Four revos, two autos. None have safeties. All require a long deliberate pull of the trigger to fire. None are in sight. No one ever sees them but I know where they are.

[DZL HOG]

Do you normally keep a gun loaded in the house?? fully loaded??

If you keep the mags full, but maybe/maybe not one in the chamber, rack the slide regardless if ya need it in a hurry.
If it was fully loaded, ya just threw a round on the floor, but you still got more in the mag(most autos hold 10+, so you should still be good on ammo). If it wasnt fully loaded, now your ready.

If you are just picking up the gun to clean it or go out and shoot, drop the mag, and rack the slide then ya know for sure.

Matt

[fwm]

What Vanilla_Gorilla said.

An unloaded guns is as useful as a car with no gasoline. Keep'em all loaded. Let everybody in the house know their all loaded.

[miko]

Keep them all loaded in general storage - you will never, ever need an unloaded gun in a hurry.
If you do need to do something unusual with them - move, display, service - the process of real unloading will just reinforce the routine one has to do anyway.

miko

[Lonestar49]

...

Being fairly new to the "hand-gun" world, but have had great teachers as mentors, and the great "many" reads from within these forum walls, and add to that, in my 11 months, some 10k plus rounds total from all my pistols, this is my method:

1911's, if loaded, are in an Uncle Mikes IWB holster, cocked and locked, safety-on

Other 1911, in UM IWB holster but, with one snap-cap chambered, one in the magazine.. and uncocked.

All DA/SA guns are in DA mode, none have safety's.

Either way, my safety check when pulling any out of the safe is to first, drop the magazine, see if mag is "really loaded" which means it's heavy.. loaded, and chambered, rdy for HD/SD as opposed to: dropping a magazine with only one snap cap in it.. much lighter, visually confirmed, snap-cap.

Even then, with the unloaded ones, even when I reinsert the mag, I cycle the slide, pop out the chambered snap-cap, pop out the mag again, insert the the other snap cap, and then aim at ground, and test.. NEVER have I made a mistake, live rounds in gun, vs unloaded, snap-caps, only, in unloaded gun.

Also, The house rule is, IF my wife sees any of my guns OUT, and IN a holster, it IS loaded.. same for adult guest, as we have no children.

But she knows, as do I, always assume they are loaded, and verify if handling for whatever reason, other than, the ones that are out, in known locations, rdy for HD/SD, need no check, as they're on-duty, rdy, at a seconds notice.

The road to being comfy with loaded guns, chambered, rdy, and guns that are not, is longer for some than others, as the only person you can't fool, is the person looking back at-ya in the mirror.. yourself.

Take your time, the comfy zone comes and gets en grained in (your) ~ Book of Knowledge ~ nothing short of time put-in, doing it the right way, and seeing and feeling, not thru complacency, but "assured" thru doing it by the 4 basics of gun safety..

It works..

Enjoy the journey thru safety..


Ls


Ps.. just to clarify, snap caps do not look, color wise, like any real bullets I use, that are copper.. And the snap-caps are all-Burgundy in color and much lighter in weight.

[John C]

Cut some 12 inch long pieces of bright colored weed-whacker line and run it through the barrel and out of the breech. You can close the slide, it won't hurt the line or vice versa. That way you'll know immediate that the pistol is unloaded. Plus, weed-whacker line is cheap; you probably have some or know someone who does.

-John