Loaded Home Defense Gun(s) and Kids - Is it possible?

I agree with making your kids gun safe I believe everyone should have to go through gun safety training. My daughter has been shooting since she was six and has never messed with a gun when were not at the range or hunting. I have found a biometric safe works well to store my home defense gun

Worrying that your toddler is going to insert a magazine into your 1911, rack the slide and shoot is quite unrealistic. So probably until they're at LEAST 5-6, simply storing it where they shouldn't get to it, and with the mag removed and chamber cleared, is a reasonable level of caution.

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You should see my neighbor's 2 year old. He showed me how to use my Ipad the other day. He also has quite the mechanical mindset and loves toy guns, knowing how to load his Nerf rotary magazine.

You should see my neighbor's 2 year old.

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I've yet to see a 2 year old with the hand strength to rack the slide of a pistol.

And if you have a Springfield Armory XD or a 1911 I doubt that the 2 year old's hand would be able to deactivate the grip safety while trying to rack the slide.

Still, older kids cannot be trusted around guns.

I use both of these safes to store my HD guns. Most emergencies will be late night/early morning so I wouldn't mess with any locks that require fine motor skills under stress and in the dark. This rules out keys, combo spin locks or even 10-key type buttons.

I'm using a Gun Vault for next to the bed, and Barska Biometric Gun Safe (locker) for the shotgun.

Gun Vault holds 2 pistols, brights and reloads. Is opened with 4-button combo latch that you set. This can be done in total darkness.

Barska can hold up to 20 "fingerprints" so you can enter digits from both hands as well as add family members as desired. For Barska biometric, first push the button and then place your finger in the panel for confirmation, it will then unlock.

no toy guns in house

as was said--gun proof the kids. when my daughter was growing i would test her to keep a secret. when she had proven herself ( age 5) i introduced her to the 4 rules and a 10-22. she kept the secret till she graduated high school. very liberal where i live.

for home defense i used 2 browning HP's placed up & away and the wife & i carried the loaded magazines. yes safeties can fail and i functione tested them every time i changed the clocks.

now she is of age ( and an instructor in her own right) and got a present...one of the BHP's.

each child and family is different enough that you have to figure out what will work for you...and be prepared to make mid-course corrections.

Common media pap--guns should be unloaded. Yes, sporting guns should be unloaded when not in use-cleaned, lubed, and stored securely. But the natural law right of self defense and the constitutional right to keep and bear arms have little to do with sporting arm. HD guns should always be loaded, period. Put them in a safe or whatever to help prevent unauthorized use, but keep them loaded so you are just one key turn away at most.

I will also speculate than not 1 American in 10 is capable of training their kids properly with something approaching 100 certainty to see that the guns were not misused by the kids or guests. I also would not want a burglar to get a gun out of a night stand drawer when I was not home. Sort out your risks and keep your LOADED guns somewhere secure but accessible.

Depends on the kids and the situation. For all of the kids who are regularly in my house, I can leave them out, loaded, no problem. But for my oldest (ex step) child who is 14, I don't trust him as much. He's impressionable and a bit loopy sometimes. My youngest is autistic, and really has no concept of what a gun is. He also has boundless curiousity and no boundaries at all. If either of them were around often I would certainly have to be more secure.

777funk said:

I'm not one who believes that unlocking a safe in the dark is faster than popping a magazine in a pistol or putting a shot-shell in the chamber and slamming it shut.

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If your HD weapon of choice is a handgun you should be able to retrieve it with one hand in the dark in a matter of seconds. I think I could do this faster than load a magazine and chamber a round. Not to mention one handed vs two could be a real help if you happen to be fighting someone off. My HD gun is always chambered.

Definitely with everyone on educating/gun-proofing our kids and having the only firearm available in the house on my hip at all times.

At all other times, all firearms are secured (in a large gun-safe).

Kinda hard to defend the homestead if your peashooter is empty and stored separately from the stuff that goes "bang".

I agree with post #2, gun-proof your kids.

My HD guns are in a Barska biometric programmed for my prints and the wife's. Inside it are a 12ga pump, a M&P 15 Sport, and a Sig p2022 9mm - all loaded and ready to go. On my nightstand is my carry gun of the day, again loaded and chambered. If we have grandkids overnight, I put my CCW in the Barska unless it's my 11 yo (going on 30)grandson - who is well-trained in firearm safety.

All the rest of the firearms are in safes. Every safe has at least one loaded handgun. Add in the alarm system, two noisy dogs, several nosy neighbors, a long driveway off a quiet street, and a safe in my primary vehicle - and I think we've got it adequately covered.

My sons were 6, 7 and 11 when I got 'em. Before I married their mom, we all went to the range. They each got to shoot, and that ended the curiousity issue. They all own and respect firearms as adults, and now we're working together to train the next generation. Oldest son chuckled when I asked him if it was OK for me to take the 11 yo to the range to shoot a pistol - he said that it could get expensive....

Teach your kids and make the guns hard for them access.

First, I treat all of my firearms alike. I would never consider loading any of them before storage in the main safe whether ideal for defense or hunting.

Second, I still say best policy is carry it then keep it where it's accessible at night. Here's a nice solution for those not wishing to push buttons: http://www.crossbreedholsters.com/BedsideBackup/tabid/99/List/0/ProductID/14/CategoryID/4/Level/1/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName. From hip to bedside, repeat daily.

smalls and 481 said it above.

All my stuff is in the safe except for my CCW/HD, which is on my body 24/7 (or on the nightstand next to me).

The only exception is my wife...who's carry is sometimes on her and otherwise locked up.

She's *always* dangerous.

No children in my home.

When I am up, the 'GI-45' is on me. Bedside table at night, in safe when visitors come over.

When I was a kid my father always had firearms sitting or laying around, myself, 2 brothers & a sister never messed with em, we were educated, we knew if we touched em we would get our britches fanned & none of us ever got shot by someone playing with a gun...........

I have taken my kids hunting and target shooting. In my bedroom I have a 12 gauge with a full tube loaded, within arms reach. My carry gun is in the holster on my nightstand, with one in the chamber.

My gun cabinet is closed and locked, but most of the guns in there are either loaded, or have rounds readily available, except for a few.

I have taught my kids, and many of their friends, about gun safety and safe gun handling. I honestly don't worry about them. Some of their friends... different story.

USAF_Vet said:

I have taken my kids hunting and target shooting. In my bedroom I have a 12 gauge with a full tube loaded, within arms reach. My carry gun is in the holster on my nightstand, with one in the chamber.

My gun cabinet is closed and locked, but most of the guns in there are either loaded, or have rounds readily available, except for a few.

I have taught my kids, and many of their friends, about gun safety and safe gun handling. I honestly don't worry about them. Some of their friends... different story.

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Still say we need a LIKE BUTTON.............

There are only two loaded guns in my house. One is in a locked GunVault beside the bed. The other is in another GunVault when it's not on my hip.

BTW, all ammo and reloading components are locked up, too, though not in high-security fireproof safes. About the only gun-related things that aren't locked up are my muffs because our 3-year-old likes to wear them when mommy's vacuuming.

I'm a big believer in edum-a-cate'em! As they get old enough, teach them how to shoot, clean, maintain, reload, whatever. Takes the mystery out of a firearm and they learn valuable skills along the way. Hiding them from it allows the Hollywood <deleted> and video games to leave them with their own conclusions and curiousities.

I keep all guns locked except my edc, and it stays next to me at night with magazine in and chamber empty. I keep an orange plastic version of my glock laying around the house so my kids do not think the gun is mysterious and curious. The plastic gun is a great trainer for them in regards to safe handling and shooting technique. They also go with me to the range almost everytime. At the range, if they violate my safety rules they have a time out for atleast 5 minutes.

777funk said:

I have always heard it's best to keep guns in one location and ammo in another. I tend to agree that this makes sense.

There's probably more chance of an accident with an accessible loaded gun than the risk most would have of having to quickly take down an intruder.

That said, where's the trade-off? Who wouldn't want the ease and speed of the loaded gun when called upon.

I'm not one who believes that unlocking a safe in the dark is faster than popping a magazine in a pistol or putting a shot-shell in the chamber and slamming it shut.

So where is the solution. I've always been out on this one.

And it's hard to live without children at some point entering a home (even for those without children). So it's a pretty real question for all walks of life. Curious what your answer is to this.

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First, the best thing you can do to eliminate/reduce accidents is proper training. Keeping loaded guns in the house with children is not unsafe when you do things right. When the children are too young to even thing about such things, they don't even know the gun(s) are in the house. Keep them in a safe place!!! It's just being responsible. I should mention it helps to be well trained on the firearm yourself, and proper safety habits. Once the children are old enough, train them!!! It also helps if you have obedient children, and also keep the guns secured. You don't get what you expect, you get what you inspect. Don't leave children to their own devices. Keep the weapons locked up! Do not trust children beyond their capabilities. Think about when you were a kid...you were curious and believed nothing bad would happen to you. Well, so do your kids.

I started my children at 5 years of age. I drummed safety into them, taught them how to operate the firearm and when one of them doubted me I showed them a rabbit I killed in front of them. That got there attention and they then realized why the safety lectures. I never had a problem with them even wanting to examine one at home.

jhco50 said:

I started my children at 5 years of age. I drummed safety into them, taught them how to operate the firearm and when one of them doubted me I showed them a rabbit I killed in front of them. That got there attention and they then realized why the safety lectures. I never had a problem with them even wanting to examine one at home.

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To each their own. What works, works! I think the best thing is for the adult to be the adult, and show their kids how to be a good one. No one knows their kids better than they do, and so your method worked for you. It would be great if a lot more parents knew how to be good parents...meaning they know their roll and don't let the kids just "grow up". Good advice your input.

When my son was 11 years old, he and a group of his friends were at a friend's house. One of the kids found a pistol sitting on some piece of furniture. The mom basically panicked but did at least tell the kids not to touch it.

My son walked over to it, picked it up (as the mom raised her voice to him), dropped the magazine, locked the slide back and made sure the chamber was empty ... it was. He then walked over to the mom, handed her the loaded magazine and told her the gun was now safe. When the mom asked how did he know what to do, he replied, "My dad taught me".

Educate your kids, teach them to shoot, teach them how to be safe and how to make a gun safe. You can't prevent 100% of all tragedies, but you can make your kids part of the solution and not part of the problem.