Storing M1911 with the slide locked.

Outlaw75 said:

Trying to figure out the best way to cable lock it. My 25 year old step son (who lives with us) is having emotional issues and my wife is insisting that I cable lock the pistols. He's made suicidal gestures before, so we're not taking any chances.

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That seems a simple and easy precaution. I wish you good luck on the issue.

Suicidal tendencies, comment, or jokes shouldn’t be taken lightly and easy access to guns is a concern.

BTDT with a step child.
Show him the door And tell him you love him, but it is time he lived on his own, but you will still be there if needs you.
In the meantime remove the firing pin.

Outlaw75 said:

Trying to figure out the best way to cable lock it. My 25 year old step son [has] made suicidal gestures before, so we're not taking any chances.

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Bless you for this. If I were in your terrible situation, I think I'd remove and hide the firing pin. It's easy enough to do and assuming your stepson isn't a gun nut like us here he'd be unlikely to overcome that problem should he finally make the decision.

Cable locks can be cut.

I'm not a psychiatrist so I won't offer any advice there, but there's plenty of info online about monitoring people with chronic depression for signs that they're preparing to act. But one trick you might consider is marking the pistol, once inerted as above and stored safely, with some way of detecting that it's been tampered with.

No problems that spending $10 on a Wolff standard spring to have spare could not put right in about 60 seconds--if there was an actual problem.

Field strip it. Or take it further. That should do it.

Outlaw75 said:

Trying to figure out the best way to cable lock it. My 25 year old step son (who lives with us) is having emotional issues and my wife is insisting that I cable lock the pistols. He's made suicidal gestures before, so we're not taking any chances.

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Is this gun used for home defense? If so, maybe consider a good quality handgun safe that would be a little harder for him to get access to the gun and bolt it down. A cable would be very hard to remove in the middle of the night if needed and he could probably cut the cable with just a good pair of dikes. The locks on most are not very secure either.

Cable locks won't stop a 25 year old. He could just use bolt cutters. Off-site storage would be the best solution.

Outlaw75 said:

I've got a safe. This is more to placate the Mrs. than anything else. She think he's going to slip in at some point if it's open and my back is turned and get a hold of one.

He settled down some over the weekend, hoping he storm will pass soon. This is not our first rodeo. He's on the autism spectrum (Asperger's) and having some trouble leaving the nest..

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So it sounds like it's in a full size safe so it's not intended for home defense (I assume). You could partially disassemble the guns if you thought it was necessary to appease her.

It also sounds like your wife isn't very confident on how you "manage" your safe. Judging by her concern "She think he's going to slip in at some point if it's open and my back is turned and get a hold of one," it appears that you must often walk away from the safe with the safe's door still open. If that's the case given your circumstances, she probably should be concerned. I would always close the door of the safe and then it shouldn't be an issue. She's going to have to see that you are doing it consistently before she relaxes a little.

Keep in mind someone with suicidal tendencies might take someone with them and you want to prevent that even if you think that's not a reality. Most wont feel threatened by a family member, but it happens. I wish you the best!

An alarm trigger on the safe door and with WIFI, you can be alerted to this as well. Removing the firing pin, spring and FPS render the weapon neutral and placing those into a locked safe or off site location will help.

I recall this video and thought it was good but a destructive attack this isn't fool proof.

Gun Cable Locks Attacked With Hand Cutters