Do you keep a safe gun (no I don't mean trigger locks)

[sturmruger]

Every once in a while you hear about a home invasion where the crook gets the drop on the homeowner. It happened in Montana just this week here is the link to the discussion. If you were to come home to a bad guy in your house chances are pretty good he is going to know that you have a gun safe. That is unless you somehow hide it. My problem is here in WI is we do not have CCW so if I ever walk into the house and meet a bg I am going to be unarmed until I can get to one of my stashed guns. I don’t have any kids so I am able to stash guns at strategic points around the house.

My question here is do you keep a loaded gun in the safe just for such surprises? If so what is a good safe gun

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Every gun in my safe is loaded. But there's not much else in there besides guns. I live where I can carry 24/7, and I do so.

So if the bg's got me opening the safe, I've already been disarmed and am being held at gunpoint, it's most likely too late for a "safe gun" to do me any good.

 

[gggman]

Realize that if a BG is holding you at gunpoint and forcing you to open your safe, he is going to kill you as soon as you open it.
If you come home to find a BG in your house, unless you have loved ones inside, do not go inside and confront him.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

gggman: That's my point. I live alone. So if I'm in this situation, Mr. Murphy has won the day.

I only hope that I would have the guts to try and gain the upper hand.

Given the amount of firepower in my safe, there is no way in hell I'll let someone like that get to my guns, even if it means getting shot and maybe killed. I've got no one to leave behind, in fact all but 2 of my close friends are already dead. So if me dying keeps someone else with family from getting killed, kidnapped etc., so be it.

BTW: Thanks for giving me a situation to mull over a while. I needed to make that decision for myself. Hope if it ever happens I've got what it takes to not open the safe.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

One other thing:

Does anyone else do a perimiter check before going in thier house? I always do, that's why I hadn't given this senario much thought.

What say you, am I paranoid or cautious?

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[Blue Line]

If you have the cell phone handy - either call 911 or a buddy that can back you up. The bG may already be armed or haveing ransacked the house found one of your hideouts. I have kids and keep guns in the safe unloaded but my duty gun is either out of reach of kids or locked away, if its not under my direct control. Also I have taken the time to show my kids about my duty carry and hopefully some of the mystery out of it also. They are 4 and 7 and have been to the range and seen the milk jug w/water trick. They know I have a gun and I've preached levave it alone and SO far. (knock on wood) that has worked.

I can't make a decsion for anyone but myself in that situation, but I would dial 911 - watch the house so the BG whereabouts are known - scan street /road for possible unknown vehicle etc. anything to aid in BG capture. Also tell 911 YOUR description especially if your carrying in order to avoid confusion when LEO shows up.

 

[sturmruger]

Allot of you are assuming the bg is going to notify that he is in your house. My guess is that he would sneak in a back door, not kick in the front door. The case in Montana sounds like the people were completely unaware.

 

[Series 70]

My big safe is in the basement. All guns in there are unloaded. Our carry pieces are in a GunVault in the bedroom closet. They are loaded. That's the rule - everything in the downstairs safe is unloaded, everything in the upstairs safe is ready to go.

Since I carry all the time, I never come home unarmed. If I was in your situation, I'd do what you do. I also have two dogs that would let me know if anything was untoward when I came home.

A perimeter check is a good idea.

 

[Island Beretta]

Very thought provoking thread.. in Jamaica you are required to have a gun safe before you can get approval for a gun permit. Nevertheless a safe can still be broken into or you can be forced to open it..

What to do..sheeesh..? I dunno really, the scenarios are so numerous.. one thing I tell my family that I will not accede to any dictates from any criminal that will tip the scales in their favour or more in their favour. One e.g. is that I will not willingly put my gun down, because they more than likely will kill me anyway and members of my family as well.

For me, I setup layers of protection to minimise the possibility of such occurences but these can be broken down.. In the final analysis, SOMETIMES YA GOTTA FIGHT WHEN YOU'RE A MAN!!

 

[benEzra]

If he's holding a gun on you from contact distance while you open the safe, he's close enough that you can control the gun and attack him with empty-hand combative skills if he's alone (John Farnam teaches some really good techniques on close-range disarms, I hear).

 

[entropy]

I am lucky in that I can do a perimeter check of the house as I pull in. (Road I take in covers E and N sides, ddriveway covers S and W sides.)
Maybe I have a gun where I can get to it, maybe not. My 870 has a speedfeed stock, so at least one in the safe has ammo handy at all times.

 

[SapperLeader]

I sort of have a safe gun, but not in the way you mean. I keep my shotgun cruiser ready outside of the safe for hd. My handguns are on me loaded, or in a handgun safe. Everything in my safe is empty with the exception of one. I keep a rifle ready to go with magazine inserted, chamber empty. That way, I can grab the rifle, chamber a round, and grab the extra ammo, and I have a rifle for any unusual circumstances. So its not for someone getting the drop on me, but just to have a rifle at a state of higher readiness than, heres that gun, wheres the ammo at?

 

[Shooter973]

Safe gun ?

Yes I keep a safe gun!!! Seems like a good idea to me. I'd rather have it and not have a chance to get to it than not have it and maybe have had a chance if it were there. Mine is a Taurus 9mm filled with Silver tip ammo. Chamber is loaded. Since it's in the safe I think that it is sensible to leave a round chambered.

 

[John Ross]

I would be reluctant to leave guns stashed around your house if the scenario you describe worries you. The guy in the house would probably find them before you came home.

Some ideas:

A prepared diversion near your safe, such as a powerful electronic strobe triggered by a switch you can activate with your foot or somesuch at the appropriate moment.

Innocuous-looking things near the safe that aren't, like a scrap piece of PVC that's filled with epoxy and lead shot, for crushing his skull after you trigger your strobe. Be creative.

A S&W with Magna Trigger in/near the safe, if you are willing to always wear rings on the middle fingers of your hands.

Some careful thought about how the deal might go down: Is he going to get the combination from you and open it himself, to prevent you from getting to your safe gun? Make you open it? What side will he be on? Behind you? Develop a plan for each.

You live alone, so you can set up your place any way you want. I'd have all sorts of contact weapons around that didn't look like contact weapons.

Lastly, and I say this with the understanding that criminals are sometimes completely irrational, I think the prospect of a BG breaking into your house and waiting there patiently until you got home so you can open the safe is much less likely than him accosting you outside just as you GET home and going from there.

JR

 

[Blackhawk 6]

I never gave much thought to someone forcing me to open my safe at gun point, nor does it concern me now. That said, Rule #1 states that I should treat all guns as if they were loaded, so I leave mine that way.

 

[JeepDriver]

Yes

I have a SP101 loaded in the safe.

 

[sandman33]

Everytime I walk in the house I have my 45 on me and I have a loaded shotgun stashed in my room ready to go (No one ever goes in my room). There has been a few times when I have come home to see the front door wide open with no one home. When that happens I pull my gun out and sweep the house. Luckily, there was never anyone present at the time

 

[tcsd1236]

The long guns in my safe are unloaded; I could not store them with mags inserted; just no room. My handguns are loaded.

 

[kool]

see i have a gun in my closet in my closet up high with a trigger lock on it so the kids don't get to it but i always do a perimeter check and to a tactical search of the house with my paintball gun