How do you secure your HD shotgun (long gun)

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Pancho

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How do you keep your home defense long gun ready at hand, safe and secure.
For years (before children) I could keep an 870 loaded and ready next to my bed. After children, that was out of the question and I had to find a different home defense answer. I figured that various trigger locks were out of the out of the question. Imagine being groggy from sleep at 2 o'clock in the morning trying to find your key and then trying to unlock the trigger lock.
 
Also curious, how do you guys do it? combo locks aren't quick enough, I can't imagine trying to do that in the middle of the night just out of bed, and also picture my self cursing under my breath because I have no idea where my keys are.
 
I have a cheap StackOn gun locker about three feet from my bed. It's mounted into the wall on two sides and to the concrete underneath it. It's got a shotgun, a pistol and a couple of flashlights in it. When I get home at night, I open it and leave the keys in the lock. In the morning, I shut it and I'm off to work. Simple as that. Plus, I never lose my keys. :)

The procedure only changes when we have kids at the house. Otherwise, I always have immediate access when I'm home and it's secured when I'm not. All the other toys are in an actual gunsafe somewhere else.
 
We have no kids in the home normally.
I keep the magazine loaded but the chamber empty. If a visiting child was somehow able to find the SG (highly improbable) it is doubtful they would be able to operate the disconnect and the safety. For those situations that require stealth I have a different system that involves a small pistol safe.
 
I currently rely on a bedside pistol for bump-in-the-night duty with which I would make my way to my gun cabinet where my long arms are locked up.

Unlike most, I don't worry about my weapons being stolen. They aren't worth a large sum of money, and my neighborhood is pretty safe with two cops (with marked cars) living on my street that terminates into a dead end. What I do worry about is my kid. The cabinet locks so a little one can't get into it. Should I need to get to my gun in a hurry, the cabinet would be no match for my fist or foot. It is simply there to protect my child from a tragedy.
 
Most people "child-proof" their home, We believe in house-proofing your children.

They're more likely statistically to be killed in a car, drown or run over by a car and killed.

Train your children well and they'll be safe even when they "accidentally" cross paths with a gun.
 
The accessible ones? I've hidden a PGO shotgun as well as a mid-sze pistol, hidden being the key word and no keys or combinations involved.
Al
 
No one under 40 lives in my house, so for me it's a loaded magazine and empty chamber. The gun leans against the wall near the headboard.

When kids visit the gun goes on a high shelf and the little ones are told not to go in Uncle LibShooter's room without permission. Everyone in my family tall enough to reach the top shelf is well versed in firearm safety.
 
One of my buddies used those cheap bicycle hooks (like you use to secure a bike to the garage rafters) to put his long gun just inside the master bedroom closet at about 7 feet up. It worked so well he was burglarized and they got the pistols but missed 2 shotguns in closets with this mount.
 
EMT40SW said:
One of my buddies used those cheap bicycle hooks (like you use to secure a bike to the garage rafters) to put his long gun just inside the master bedroom closet at about 7 feet up. It worked so well he was burglarized and they got the pistols but missed 2 shotguns in closets with this mount.
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A variation on this: use the same type hooks mounted inside the closet above the door (backside of door header). Totally hidden, easy to reach! :)
 
No special way. It's leaned in the corner by my bed. Four in the mag and the pipe empty. That's the safest way to have a pump because their safties aren't anything to write home about. I've got a six year old and she knows better than to touch it without permission. She also knows she can touch any one she wants with permission and supervision. I just bought a Blackhawk and she was very intriuged by it. She wanted to hold it and she did, as soon as she recited the four rules to me, which she did flawlessly.
 
Arkansas Paul said:
I just bought a Blackhawk and she was very intriuged by it. She wanted to hold it and she did, as soon as she recited the four rules to me, which she did flawlessly.
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Eddy Eagle or actual safe gun handling? The latter I've whittled down to: always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction as well as unloaded and your finger off of the trigger (until you're ready to shoot).
Al
 
Al, I'm not sure about the Eddy Eagle thing. I guess that's the scripted rules that are written down and accepted. What I make her say back to me is

1 - Never point a gun at something you're not willing to destroy
2 - Always treat a gun like it's loaded, even if you know it's not
3 - Never put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot
4 - Be sure of your target and whats beyond it

Don't know if that's the Eddy Eagle version, but if you follow those rules, you should never have a ND. Obviously there's more safety stuff we talk about, like eye and ear protection, but she says those four to me anytime we shoot or handle firearms. Start em early with the safety and they'll always follow it. I know my dad was VERY strict about gun safety and drilled it into me from the time I could talk. Now, at 29, I am anal about gun safety to the point of making people mad sometimes. Don't care though.
 
In a V-Line Closet Vault:

cvopen.jpg


More info: http://www.vlineind.com/html/closet_vault.html

If interested, shop around on the Internet for best prices. I got free shipping when I ordered mine.
 
Al LaVodka said:
The accessible ones? I've hidden a PGO shotgun as well as a mid-sze pistol, hidden being the key word and no keys or combinations involved.
Al
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Hidden? That's like writing "FREE CANDY" on the side of your gun. When a kid finds something secret bad things happen.

Mine is out of reach currently. The kid hasn't learned to crawl yet.

One thing I do remember as a kid is being forced to handle guns early on, before they became interesting and easy for me to work the action. I knew exactly where the guns were but never touched them.
 
I saw this thread and wanted to see what ideas people have about storing a shotgun for home defense. I have had a few requests from customers to offer something similiar to our handgun storage box that utilizes a Simplex style push button lock. Some want to attach to a wall and others to the bedframe. Could possible enclose the gun or just cover the trigger and/or chamber and provide a mount. Any thoughts?
 
I bought a police car shotgun rack on ebay that unlocks with the application of 12v power. When I get around to it, I'm going to devise a way to quickly (but securely) open it with battery power. I'll probably use a gang of switches that have to be on/off in a certain combination for the power to flow. Something (with practice) that I can do in the dark.
 
How do you keep your home defense long gun ready at hand, safe and secure
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That's somewhat of an oxymoronic statement. If it is ready at hand, then it really can't be safe and secure.

With kids, IMO, keep it cruiser ready, and then during the day, lock it up in a safe.

If the kids are old enough to understand guns, show it to them and take the mystery out of it. I did that with my kids when they were 6, took them shooting, etc. NEVER had an issue with them going into the nightstand or closet or ever telling their friends or showing them the guns - they were as innocuous as the alarm clock
 
Could possible enclose the gun or just cover the trigger and/or chamber and provide a mount. Any thoughts?
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one tactic we used in our college apartment was to store a pistol under a nightside table that had a solid foot around it. All you needed to do was knock over or roll the thing off the pistol. this was 30+ years ago and although a fairly good idea for us at the time not the best. This has always had my mind toying with the idea of modifying/making furniture to hide weapons by means of a hidden lock so even the presence of a safe is not known. Criteria of course has to be fast secure access.
 
I don't use a shotgun for HD, I find that using two hands on the weapon is not for me. I have a S&W 357 for my right hand and a light or cell phone in the other. It is hard to call the police when you are holding a shotgun.
 
"In battle, the only bullets that count are those that hit" --T Roosevelt
Cant rule out a SG for HD. Also, 911 is for after the BG has been neutralized which means I'm no longer condition red or someone else is doing the dialing.
 
At average HD distances the shotgun's pattern does not open up enough to make it advantageous. I prefer the shorter length and quicker follow up shots of a pistol. I do, however, have my Mini 14 ready to go just in case a long gun is in order for whatever reason.
 
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