How do you store your defensive weapon(s)?

[Saturnine]

I'm pretty set on getting a Remington 870 12ga for home defense. I live next to my college campus in an apartment with my girlfriend. I'm trying to solve any potential problems before I get the shotgun, and so far all I'm unsure about is how to store it. I live in a small apartment, so a safe is likely to take up too much room, and it wouldnt do me much good if me gun's stuck in there when I need it.

We're both responsible adults with no children around, so keeping it out of little hands isnt an issue. However, I'm not sure about whether or not I should have it locked up somewhere in case we're burglarized while we're away. So far I'm planning on keeping it in the closet, three feet from my side of the bed. Someone has suggested installing hooks inside the closet, above the door to hold the shotgun, so a potential thief may not notice it when looking into the closet. I've also been told to put a dead bolt on the closet door. I'm new at this and not sure about exactly what I'd be comfortable with as far as security/accessibility goes. I'd like to hear how some of you guys store your home defense weapons, as well as any suggestions you might have. Thanks guys.

 

[Eyesac]

Before I could buy handguns I would keep a shotgun behind an open closet door... But that's 'cause I lived by the tracks, and didn't want hobos to be able to walk by and see my SG sitting next to my bed in the open. Easy to get to, not completely in the open, and worked for me.

 

[Alex45ACP]

http://mossberg.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=97

 

[Regolith]

Eyesac....that's what I'm sort of doing right now.

My philosophy is if there's no worries about small children or child-like adults messing with it when they're not supposed to is to have the shotty nearby for easy access when I'm at home or in bed, and locked up in a safe when I leave the home without it.

 

[Novus Collectus]

I live like a slob, so this idea would work great for me, but you can do something similar. When you leave the house, put on the floor and throw some old dirty clothes on it.
Unless they tripped over it, I seriously doubt any thief would ever think to look under a bunch of smelly appearing, dirty rags in plain sight.

 

[Fred Fuller]

As a rule, unattended firearms (i.e., when no one is home to see to them) should be securely locked away. If nothing else, this is more likely to keep them from falling into the wrong hands in the event of a burglary. In some states and localities, "safe storage" is mandated by law- make sure you know what the law is in this regard in your jurisdiction.

There are numerous options, some of them pretty inexpensive, which allow for reasonably safe storage of an unattended firearm. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a safe to make a single firearm more secure. The options are too many and too varied to attempt to cover here to any degree.

To answer the original question specifically- I carry a handgun on my person while at home, and there are a few long guns which are kept out of the safe and placed out of sight in strategic locations in the house while we are home. When we are both away, everything that doesn't go with us is locked in the safe.

lpl/nc

 

[Saturnine]

As a rule, unattended firearms (i.e., when no one is home to see to them) should be securely locked away. If nothing else, this is more likely to keep them from falling into the wrong hands in the event of a burglary. In some states and localities, "safe storage" is mandated by law- make sure you know what the law is in this regard in your jurisdiction.

While there is no law mandating safe storage in my area, I agree that I should keep my firearms locked up while I'm away. How does a dead bolted closet door compare to the lower end gun cabinets in terms of security? I'll also measure the closet and see how much stuff we end up throwing in there when we're done moving in, I might have room to put a small cabinet in there, but I dont know if the girlfriend will appreciate me hogging all the closet space.

http://mossberg.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=97

I live in an apartment, and I'm not sure if I'd be allowed to mount that to a wall. I'm also not sure about how many available wall studs would be in convenient locations. I'll look into it though, even if it's not allowed, I might try it and just fill in the holes when I leave.

 

[35Rem]

Mount that mossberg thing in the closet. Owners won't notice or care about a hole in the closet, I'm sure.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Most interior doors- to include closet doors- are hollow-core, meaning they have thin wooden or veneer panels on the outside and a sandwich of flimsy material inside. They aren't very secure, even with a good lock. And even if the closet doors are good solid-core doors, if they are set into a typical drywall-and-stud interior wall, the closet still won't be very secure. Finding a locked closet is going to tell a burglar there is something in there worth his attention, and if he has the time he will break in there.

Still, it is better than nothing at all.

And coupled with something like the Mossberg wall lock, the time it takes to forcibly remove the gun is more likely to thwart the average smash'n'grab burglar.

I will grant that it certainly gets tiresome to put a firearm away every time you leave home, and remove it from safe storage in order to have it available every time you return. But it is part and parcel of fulfilling the responsibility you have as a gunowner to keep your firearms out of the hands of those who would use them for evil purposes.

And it is tougher for renters than for homeowners too, since renters are more limited in the alterations they can make to their residences.

Look into the smallest size long-gun security cabinets made by companies like Homak, Stack-On, Sentry etc. They can be secured to wall studs by drywall screws (with washers) or lag bolts inside the closet too, and will give you a place to store other small valuables as well. While nowhere near as secure as a true safe, these cabinets will serve to keep their contents away from prying eyes as well as secure from the typical smash-and-grab sort of burglar. If you want to see some first hand, look at any of the big-box sporting goods stores. Prices on them are generally pretty reasonable as well.

Or if you don't want to screw it to the wall in the closet, you can perhaps use a larger size steel cabinet as a faux blanket chest at the foot of the bed or as the base for a coffee table in the living room (make a lightweight, easily removable top if you're any kind of carpenter) or the like. Placed on the floor on its back with the door facing up (a piece of nylon webbing or loop of 550 cord secured to the door will make opening it much easier after it's unlocked) and loaded down heavily with lots of extra ammo or anything heavy, it will be hard to move other than by pushing it across the floor. And on carpet, that will be pretty difficult- if you want to make it more so, put some of that rubbery non-skid shelf liner stuff under it. Those little steel boxes are hard to get a hand-hold on, especially when they are loaded heavily. If you use it in the bedroom, do cover it with a folded decorative quilt or blanket or the like for padding though- those little steel boxes have dang sharp corners too, and they bite. BTDT.

hth,

lpl/nc

 

[ravencon]

There are two primary motives for securing a firearm--to hinder theft and to hinder tampering. I didn't use the word "prevent" since nothing will absolutely prevent either.

Most guns I own are in a theft deterrent, heavy gun safe. Defensive weaponry for reasonably quick access is kept in tamper resistant storage--in full compliance with my jurisdiction's strict laws.

The only unsecured firearm is one that is on my person.

Even if your jurisdiction doesn't require all guns to be secured it is prudent that you do secure them. My common sense and conscience both demand it. Even if you may not be criminally liable for having an unsecured gun, you may end up being held liable in a civil action. Even if you are presently without assets, hopefully, you won't be forever. A civil judgment will follow you around for a very long time.

 

[Regolith]

I'm not big on the locked closet concept. My uncle's home in Las Vegas was broken into and most of his firearms were stolen. He had kept them in a locked closet, which was in a locked bedroom. The thieves simply kicked their way through and took 'em.

Of course, they knew knew what they were looking for. It was later determined the thieves had been acquaintances of his girlfriend's daughter, who had failed to keep her mouth's shut. Nothing else was stolen.

 

[LT1coupe]

A gun cabinet is a great investment. We just graduated to a nice keypad operated fire resistant safe that is big enough for our important pictures & papers. Prior to that we had a relatively inexpensive one from Academy that allowed me to store loaded guns even when we had kids at home.
An 870 is an excellent choice for home defense, I have an old Wingmaster with a used 20" police barrel & an inexpensive mag tube extension loaded with 7 rounds of #4 buckshot that is always behind the bedroom door when I'm home. I don't keep one in the chamber, I consider the chachunk, chachunk sound to be my non leathal warning

 

[outerlimit]

To answer the original question specifically- I carry a handgun on my person while at home, and there are a few long guns which are kept out of the safe and placed out of sight in strategic locations in the house while we are home. When we are both away, everything that doesn't go with us is locked in the safe.

Do you really do this everytime you come home or leave?

I may come home and leave ten times a day, I couldn't imagine doing this.

I don't have a real safe and won't be able to have a real safe here, but I would like to make my guns a little more secure somehow, I was thinking of buying one of those Sentry Fire Safes. I do have one of the smaller ones, but it's only big enough to hold some papers.

 

[Fred Fuller]

outerlimit,

I have a big advantage- I'm retired.

I usually leave home (by that I mean going off the property) about once a week on average. So no, it's no trouble to lock everything down when we're both gone. My wife is still teaching, so she's gone part of the day every day and most Saturdays- she does whatever running around on errands that needs to be done in town most of the time. We aren't both gone at the same time very often, that being the case it simplifies things for us.

There are ways to make things easier if you own your own home. Several companies make steel cabinets of a dimension to fit between the wall studs that hold one or two long guns for example. Those cabinets fit inside the wall and can be installed behind a curtain, inside a closet or behind a bedroom door so they are out of sight. Those are handy for a typical HD long gun but are a permanent installation and are best built in when the house is constructed, but they can be installed afterward also. With one of those all you have to do is lock the door when you leave and open it when you return.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, see http://www.safetysafeguards.com/site/402168/product/51653-SA . Note that several companies make similar products, this is only one option. Similar designs are made for handguns as well BTW.

I saw one design that bolted to the floor under a bed, and had a drawer that pulled out when unlocked to give access to whatever was inside. That could be an option for some- see http://www.truckvault.com/products/others/bedvault.asp for pictures. Note this one is pretty much the equivalent of a safe and is priced accordingly, I have seen one that was a cabinet type and cost about a third as much, I think that one bolted to the bedframe.

It really isn't a lot of trouble to reasonably secure a HD gun given some forethought and especially a little latitude with the building where you live. I like any approach that keeps the gun out of sight as well as secure, especially if you rent. No sense upsetting, scaring or tempting the maintenance guy, the bug man, the cable guy, the manager or any of the myriad of others who wander through your digs when you aren't home by leaving a GUN!!! out where they can see it.

hth,

lpl/nc

 

[Mikhail Konovalov]

Heck, I keep my Rossi .38 in a first-aid kit, and my Jericho in a hollowed-out book... That would have to be one creative theif to find those two!

My best advice for securing firearms is to hide them in a place someone wouldn't expect to find a gun. Stick your shotgun in the trash can and cover it with a bag, put it in your refrigerator, heck, even on top of a reasonably tall bookshelf will do. A safe will tempt a theif to look inside if he has the means, and a closet is no kind of concealment, but what kind of crook is going to decide to take the trash can?

By the way, +1 to Lee Lapin for his suggestions. Cool stuff there.

 

[DomMega]

I don't have any children in my home and don't have to worry about any of them tampering with my equipment. My hand guns are stored in a biometric safe that can only open with my fingerprint and the shotguns are in the closet or under the bed unlocked and ready to go. It would take a lot for someone to get into my home. I have the front door barricaded with boxes and such, a locked screen door before that. Then there's 3 flights of stairs one must venture up before they can get to me, but my stairs are squeaky so as soon as they starting ascending I'd hear them and even though it would be late night I'd still *$#! their whole day up.

 

[Ready2Defend]

I carry on me what isn't secured. Gunvaults for securing loaded SD handguns at stratigic locations around the house. BTW: having multiple stratigic locations means needing more guns to go in those places. So when I come back from the gun show with something I can answer the Mrs "but it's for the kitchen/laundry room....., in case the zombies attack while you are there. I'm only thinking of you." This does backfire some as the sig 239 and walther p22 are "hers" now and my daughter claims the taurus 608 as "hers".

 

[ZXD9]

My handguns are stored in a small floor safe by my bed. If I'm home it is unlocked. At night I take one out and lay it on the floor by my bed with a flashlight. My long guns are in a safe in my bedroom. My AK and 870 have a loaded magazine/tube, but nothing chambered. It is a rotary combination safe and the first two numbers are already set. The third number is just a short spin away.

 

[Rokyudai]

We have one XD45 on the first floor in a easily accesible drawer from either entrance. Upstairs in the bedroom, I have a Glock Model 27 handgun in a matress holster as well as a powerful INova X5 (5.8watt) LED flashlight on the nightstand. The entrance to the walk in closet (where the push button safe is) is through the bathroom (entrance through our room only) which is where we would go should we need to get better cover.

 

[Templar223]

How do I store my defensive 'guns'?

Loaded, ready for action.

Do I lock up my safety? No.

Do I worry about theft of said guns? Not really.

I don't worry about someone breaking into my home, stealing my guns then using said guns to commit still more felonies any more than I worry about a car thief stealing my car and using it to commit more felonies. A gun is merely a tool.

Sure, most of my guns are locked up.

However, my defensive guns are NOT!

John

 

[BersaManII]

One on the couch,
One on in the night stand drawer,
One by my monitor on my desk,
One in my range bag..........All with loaded mags and ready to go!