Question for parents

[damagefactor]

Breech lock in, mags nearby but not next. Key in an easy to reach spot, all above eye level of an adult.

A little much, but I've got kids and the gestapo runs the local schools! I plan to get a biometric safe soon, they aren't that expensive and will allow for immediate access to my wife and myself.

 

[elkhuntingfool]

My long guns are locked up in a gun closet - only I have the combo - my wife doesn't care to have it. Hand gun is in a small safe in the closet when asleep - but with one eye open

 

[geekWithA.45]

The near universal concensus on the matter seems to be 3 levels:

"In use" = on person, 2.5 seconds to deploy

"Defensive Storage" = high state of readiness in a fast access lockup, 5 ish seconds to deploy, if standing nearby

"Deep Storage" = low state of readiness in a not necessarilly fast access lockup. > 5 seconds, likely a minute+ to deploy

 

[XDKingslayer]

GunVault deluxe w/ AC adapter next to the bed for the HD weapons, big safe for the rest.

Ditto

 

[answerguy]

I keep them all locked up. Even though the baby is unable to get into anything, I don't want anybody else to get into them and put the family at risk. In my mind, the risk of an accident is higher than the risk of anything I could prevent with a weapon in my neighborhood.

How many times safer would you say locking up the guns would be? Maybe about 16 times safer?

 

[answerguy]

What I did with my P-38 was keep it with the chamber empty, safety on, magazine not fully inserted and out of reach. If needed it I would grab the gun, bump the magazine into place, rack the slide and flip the safety. Took all of 3 seconds.

 

[jabotinsky]

Great thread! Mobile kids are a hassle, that's why there's duct tape!

I've got a 2 1/2 year old and 6 mo. old...we may even have more if my wife has sex with me again which she won't if she discovers that "the black gun" is really several.

I use redundant systems. Vault high up, 5 digit combo, key with me on chain, full mag not in gun, hard to rack etc.

Also, I've trained myself never to bring a loaded gun in the house, always clean/empty in the shed. When carrying, I leave an empty chamber. I trade off a few seconds but I've reached this old age (and still stoopid enough to keep accumulating kids and guns!).

Lock em up, keep em locked up forever...the guns that is, my daughter won't get locked up in a nunnery until 13...

I think sometimes that gun ownership is especially right for obsessive-compulsive types... the cleaning and safety precautions require some degree of discipline and positive habit formation...

 

[moojpg2]

keep the ammo separate from the guns

I think the biggest thing is keeping the ammunition away from the guns, I'm 19 now, but I remember when I was really young like it was yesterday,lol( like 2-3yrs, too young to understand gun safety), I was able sneak away from my mom for a few hours to always find my dad's guns and i'd look at them and stuff, but there was never any ammunition easily accessible so shooting them, or loading them never crossed my mind. My dads ccw was always on him, or in sight. The fact of the matter is that no matter where you hide them/lock them up, the kids will eventually be able to find them and get them. I was picking locks by the time I was 5. You've got to remember that kids have an unbelievable amount of free time to do whatever they want, so it is not unreasonable for them to sit there and push the buttons on a combination safe for 3 hrs, or look for where you've written it down, or find the spare key, or whatever, they will get it open eventually if they want to. The big thing is not keeping them loaded, or keeping ammunition near them, after all, a 2yr old kid isn't going to know that you can't put the 30-06 round in the .38 special. From personal experience, it's pretty safe to say that they won't be able to put two and two together if the ammunition and guns are stored separately. Of course, I was shooting .22's and stuff with my dad by the time I was 4 or 5 , so by then, it wasn't a big issue because I knew gun safety, and knew not to show my friends the guns. (one time i got caught showing my friend "my" .22 when i was 6 and boy did I never do that again, I must have had a hard time sitting down for a week,lol)

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I was also very concerned when we started having kids. I read in an NRA magazine that when they are young and want to see the guns let them. It has worked fine and they are all out of the house now. The grand kids will only be here every month or so because of where they live. The guns will be locked but they can have the same privileges as their parents.

 

[skidooman]

I dont have kids, but have an ex-girlfriend whom I dated for a while has a 2YO son, he had a little green plastic revolver that made a clicking noise when he pulled the trigger, he usually shot at the tv, but occasionally he would shoot me or his mom, then he would get my talk about not pointing guns at people, I'm pretty sure he didnt grasp what I was saying, but I know it wouldnt hurt. He keyed in on my airwight a few times, and I would unload it and let him hold it, and talk guns with him. But my experience was always keep it on your person. Easy, fast access, and you know where it is at all times. Also there was a thread on here a bit ago about the same thing. I remember one person saying his kids often used his holstered weapon as a step to get onto his back. I thought that was pretty funny.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

I think the biggest thing is keeping the ammunition away from the guns,

+1. Worked for my parents. Three kids and none of us ever found the ammo. I would go with the ammo separated from the long guns, with handguns that have to be loaded either on you or in a quick access safe. That being said, I've never seen anyone under the age of 5 that could rack the slide on a 1911.

 

[GCW5]

I agree that training from the beginning is the best way to go.

My 3 sons are now 26, 25 & 22, with kids of their own, they still ask permition to take a gun out of the cabinet.

 

[Colt]

But seriously, if you hear your kid yelling for help or something outside, even going across the room to get a gun would take far too much time.

If you don't want to carry a gun while in your house, think about mounting a quick-access handgun safe in the coat closet near the front door. Handy for answering the door late at night and convenient if you need to run out the door during emergencies. (kid calling for help outside)

 

[TheGunGuru]

hiding a gun is not a good way to keep kids from playing...or god forbid...killing someone with a gun. My dad never hid his guns, we were all taught to never play with them and neither myself or brothers ever did.

I know hiding the guns doesn't work because some of my friends had fathers who tried to hide pistols. I remember being about 7-8 years old and my friend showed me his dads gun...which was kept on top of a huge mirrored desk. Kids are very good at finding things they should not find...so don't try to hide the guns.

Lock the guns up in a finger print activated safe. This will work well, keeping the gun within fast, easy reach of you but not your kids. Once they are old enough though, teach them because even though your guns are locked up, they will have friends with access to their dads "hidden" guns. TEACH YOUR KIDS TO BE SAFE AND THEY WILL TEACH THEIR FRIENDS.

Simple, lock um up till their old enough to understand then then teach proper behavior and safe gun procedures.

 

[Fosbery]

If I had kids too young to learn gun safety and I was using a handgun, I'd pick a 1911 or similar single action auto. I'd keep it on me during the day or locked away if no CCW. When going to bed I would put it by the bed but unload the chamber - even if they can figure out how to chamber a round they won't be strong enough.

If a long gun then any shotgun or rifle without a round chambered and only unlock it at night.

If they wanted to sleep in my room I guess I'd just have to lock them up - I reckon the chance of needing it that fast is probably outweighed by the risk of accident when they're in the room like that. Might be interesting to find a kid whose parents don't own guns and try and teach him or her to rack a gun and see if it's possible. If not, then maybe just leave it out without one in the chamber even when they're in the room.

 

[jabotinsky]

Moo: "I was picking locks by the time I was 5."

Hey! My sister's place in Amherst was robbed in '94, was that you?


"You've got to remember that kids have an unbelievable amount of free time to do whatever they want, so it is not unreasonable for them to sit there and push the buttons on a combination safe for 3 hrs, or look for where you've written it down, or find the spare key, or whatever, they will get it open eventually if they want to..."

Then won't they eventually find the ammo, too? I like your analysis otherwise.


Yes: "I've never seen anyone under the age of 5 that could rack the slide on a 1911."

This sounds right, anybody can verify?

 

[obxned]

Up until age 5 or 6, a kid doesn't have the hand strength to chamber a round in a 9mm or larger pistol. Keep it out of sight in a relatively safe place and the chamber empty.

After age 6, I always depended on proper training, and we never let our kids alone in the house before age 12, and then never with their friends who might not have recieved proper training at home.

 

[wolf13]

I never messed with my dad's guns, but I think it had a lot to do with how I was raised. I'm currently 19, but have always remembered going up to our ranch which is a hunting club. I was taught at an early age that guns were not toys, and saw first hand what they could do.

I think the biggest thing with me, was I was NEVER given a toy or allowed anything that looked remotely like a gun until I was probably around the age of 10, at which point I was given a BB gun. I got scolded if I made guns with my hands, legos, or anything else. I really got in trouble if I went around acting like I was shooting people. It may be somewhat old fashioned now, but the first time I aimed a toy gun at someone was when I was 13 or 14, and that was with a nerf or water gun.

I say as soon as the child can understand, show them the gun, and take them shooting. I think it helps people understand what a gun can do.

 

[Eyesac]

Congratulations!

We are also expecting (jan15) and I've decided to get a Gunvault. We have a safe and I already carry 24hrs a day except in bed. The wife doesn't carry so the Gunvault will house her .357 when I'm gone and my .40 when I'm asleep. That should do it.

 

[tyesai]

I have a three year old and I remember going through the exact same thing you are right now. I always kept a chambered shotgun in the bedroom and I kept it that way till my daughter started crawling. Then I moved the shotgun to the closet and left it unchambered.

When she got to the point of walking and getting into things, I unloaded the shotgun and kept a pistol on top of my dresser wich is a little over 5 feet high.

At about 2ish she got to the point she could crawl up things, use her step stool ect; ect; I put the pistol up, took out the AK and kept that in the bedroom with a loaded mag on top of the dresser and the rifle empty next to it. With just a little bit of practice it became nothing to grab the AK, insert magazine and charge the rifle.

The side benefit of having a gun out all the time is it demystified it for the kid. At the age of three we are learning safety as well as we can and we have had the talk about if one of her friends shows her a gun to run away and tell an adult.

Anyway that is what I did.

 

[Black Adder LXX]

I have mine locked up in a couple of places in the house in a pushbutton lockbox. Wifey wouldn't go for carry in the house.

 

[phil_in_cs]

Don't forget that your kids will have friends, and these friends will come to your house. Anything your kids know (such as a combination, or where something is that you think is hidden) they can and will tell friends.

You may have raised your kids well, and they may know not to do something stupid, but that's likely untrue of the friend.

And if the friend is the one holding the gun, that makes your kid the target.

 

[Linda]

Educate, educate, educate that baby from the day you bring him/her home from the hospital. That is by far your best prevention. If their curiousity is satisfied, they won't go searching to satisfy it themselves. When that child is old enough to ask to see your guns, sit them down at the table with an unloaded gun, and let them help you strip it down and clean it. Let them handle the parts.

If your gun is an every day part of your life, the child will think it's no more of a deal than your cell phone and your keys when you walk out the door.

Kids are pretty smart, if you teach them. But if you hide things from them, that is when your problems will start.

Trust me, it's easier to talk to the kids about guns than the birds and the bees.

 

[hankdatank1362]

A big honkin' +1 to all of the education proponents. If you satisfy thier curiosity, then they won't get their grubby little paws on your guns when your back is turned. Heck, my 3 year old son can operate my bolt-action .30-'06 ... I mean operate, like open bolt, pull bolt back, puch forward, lock bolt all the way down, flip off safety, and pull the trigger. Scary, yes, but I always let him do it when he wants to, and lock it up when we're done. That way, when he's older, his friends can't get their grubby little paws on my guns, either.