Who's right - me or the wife?

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If I had a kid I would keep all my guns locked up, but if you do not want a safe or do not have the money for one currently. I would suggest you get a padlock and put it in a drawer and padlock it, so your kid can not get in. Padlocks are easy enough to brake in a emergency and your child will not be able to get into until he is ten or so.
My brother learned to pick the lock on our old house when he was around ten, still knows how in case he locks his keys in his truck (it has happened).
I personally do not keep my carry gun locked up but I do keep it out of sight and there are no children in our house, also it is always near me.I also second getting something the wife can use.
 
You have asked our opinion. 99% of us, who are gun owners, mostly married and with kids, have agreed. You know the answer. You know what to do.
 
My 3.5 year old can push my 150# wife across the hardwood floor on a ktchen chair. Kids are stronger than you think. Don't bet your lives on the assumption that he can't rack the slide. One day, he will grow to be strong enough, whether you know it or not, and you might find out too late.
 
I have seen videos and read that kids of that age can rack the gun using the edge of something as Larry said.

They were shown how the gun works and given obviously unloaded guns to rack and they did it. Sometimes the little ones formed teams with one holding and other doing full body strenght pulls. But one kid could with a table edge and leaning on it.

Needs to be locked or on you.

Also, it was found that the best instructions and stern talks don't always take.
 
I'd be worried about *other* people....other kids that are over, babysitters, relatives, etc, etc.

Kids are naturally inquisitive...at some point they will pick up the gun and look at it, especially if it's easy to get to.
 
The other thing is that no matter how well trained your kids are, it's a shaky proposition to trust them when dealing with "forbidden fruit" like a gun.

Reminds me of the guy who was just bitten by the dog that "never bites". For a few bucks all of the risk can be removed with no downside.
 
Yeah... I think you're wrong.

I don't doubt that your wife and son can't rack it. But there are so many things that can go wrong. You take it shooting and forget to remove round from chamber. You dryfire it one night, load it up, and forget to put it back into your "safe" state. You get "comfortable" with the situation, don't ever change, and before you know it your son (or a friend) are able to rack it.

V-Line makes a lock box that will handle one or two firearms. It uses a purely mechanical simplex style lock (no more electronic stuff for me) that is simple to operate. You can keep your gun fully loaded and have it ready in an instant.

You can order those off the web - including from Amazon.

For the record, I have no relation to V-Line, I 've just found that their boxes work well. I can't say the same for the 2 GunVaults and 1 Stack-On I had fail.
 
The story I read was on 1911Forum several years ago, so I have no idea where it is now.

But IIRC, a couple of toddlers (3-4 years old) took a 1911 into a closet to play with it, and ended up racking a round in and firing one into the floor. Luckily, neither was hurt, but I imagine the parents almost had heart attacks.
 
A buddy keeps a pump shotgun on top of the wardrobe in his bedroom. The top of this piece of furniture is about seven and a half high and there are no chairs in the room that his two small children could use to climb up on to reach it, even if they knew that it was there, they don't.
 
Ditto, to dammitboy's answer, after enough years you'll learn she IS right,(at least if you wanna keep peace in the homestead) 4-1/2 is still too young to be trusted to be "gun smart" get a bedside gun-safe or at minumum HIDE it somewhere only you can access quickly, but most importantly get a gun that your wife can operate effectivelly,should someone get the jump on you it's good to know some-one else can help defend your home,, my youngest is 13 so i dont have such worries, he can drop-plates almost as good as myself with my SP101 .357 (although the big-mean SD-loads scare him)
All my children have been trained to know WHERE every firearm is in the house and HOW to operate it safely,,
 
Most everyone in this thread has already told you to get a safe but because it’s such an important issue I’ll add my own voice – get a safe!

Maybe he can’t rack the slide right now (I wouldn’t bet on that) but how long before he is able to and how will you know when he is?

Score yourself a few points though – let your wife know that she was right and thank her for bringing it up. Then, while she’s still happy with you mention the next gun on your list. Offer to take your son to the gun store with you to do some “research” while she gets an afternoon off.
 
I concur!! Nothing is an issue..until the little tyke has a mishap..and then EVERYONE's life is altered!!!
 
buddy keeps a pump shotgun on top of the wardrobe in his bedroom. The top of this piece of furniture is about seven and a half high and there are no chairs in the room that his two small children could use to climb up on to reach it, even if they knew that it was there, they don't.
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Kids are plenty resourceful. I could easily see the kids opening up the two lower drawers and using them to climb up a little higher.

When my son was 2+, would put his bathroom stool on the counter, drag a chair from the dining room, climb onto the chair , then stand on the stool to get at the cookies on the top shelf of our kitchen cabinets.


Think like a kid, you used to be one. Didn't you always find a way to get the things you wanted?:rolleyes:
 
Who's right - me or the wife?


Your wife is right!
Little ones can surprise the <removed> out of you. If it doesn't work this way, they will try that way. Little minds can be very creative!
"Until your an "empty nest", all guns need to be locked up"!
 
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I've solved this one already. No kids in my house. ;)

I don't have any fatherly advice, but I can tell you that when my nephews and nieces are down to visit, my firearms are all unloaded and double locked. I have other things that I can use as weapons if need be, and if you ask me the odds of a break-in are far less than the odds of an accident. If I had kids, obviously always locked up isn't the way to go, so I'd say grab a safe or lock box.
 
wow6599
Who's right - me or the wife?
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Toss the pistol into a quick open gun-vault. The kind that has the hand print on it. Keep it in there with one in the chamber and safety off. You'd probably spend as much time racking the slide and taking the safety off as you would opening the vault.
 
Are we occasionally wandering from the central question here?

Everyone agrees (I think) that you shouldn't leave unsecured guns around on your nightstand if you're not in your bedroom--or not even in your home.

What does stand discussing is how to balance access versus security from kids (or other unauthorized users) for a night-time home defense firearm.

Obviously we're hearing a lot of advice to lock it away, even with you sleeping a foot away. I am a bit surprised that we're not hearing more comments toward ease of access; that being expected to fumble open a case when half-awake will cost time, and etc., etc. As has been pointed out, we'd be up in arms if a law mandated that; and to the extent that such a law resembled DC's, it would be unconstitutional.

Yet many (most?) of us seem to believe such hindered access to an emergency rescue tool is clearly necessary. Would, for example, putting the gun out of reach on a high shelf just while you're sleeping be okay (and locked away or carried on you otherwise), or is a lock-box or Magna-trigger the minimal "acceptable" security?
 
I vote "Your Wife" on this one. Here's why. If something bad happens with that gun, even if the thing does not go off, you butt goes right into the "irresponsible gun owner sling" because you left a loaded gun out in the open where a child could get hold of it.

Any by bad I could mean as little as the child lays hands on it, drags it out and plays with it and the neighbor sees it, calls the cops. Try telling the cops (and the media) that the gun WAS NOT LOADED just because a round was not chambered. The cops will get it but they won't care and a boat load of people out there will see or hear that there were rounds in the mag so to them the gun will in fact be loaded...and in fact it really is loaded isn't it?

So your wife is 100% right on this one friend. Plus, your are counting on racking that slide in the dark in a panic with somebody battering down your door? I don't think so. Can you say "click"?

Dude, chamber a round, get a proper storage system for that gun, lock it up in there, practice deploying the gun (time your gonna spend racking the slide and making sure the mag was seated etc etc anyway) and be safe.

WIFE.
 
What most WIVE'S would write/say...

HoosierQ said:
I vote "Your Wife" on this one. Here's why. If something bad happens with that gun, even if the thing does not go off, you butt goes right into the "irresponsible gun owner sling" because you left a loaded gun out in the open where a child could get hold of it.

Any by bad I could mean as little as the child lays hands on it, drags it out and plays with it and the neighbor sees it, calls the cops. Try telling the cops (and the media) that the gun WAS NOT LOADED just because a round was not chambered. The cops will get it but they won't care and a boat load of people out there will see or hear that there were rounds in the mag so to them the gun will in fact be loaded...and in fact it really is loaded isn't it?

So your wife is 100% right on this one friend. Plus, your are counting on racking that slide in the dark in a panic with somebody battering down your door? I don't think so. Can you say "click"?

Dude, chamber a round, get a proper storage system for that gun, lock it up in there, practice deploying the gun (time your gonna spend racking the slide and making sure the mag was seated etc etc anyway) and be safe.

WIFE.
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What most HUSBANDS read/hear...

HoosierQ said:
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... butt... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Get hold of it.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... drags it out and plays with it... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... racking that slide in the dark... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... lock it up in there... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Click to expand...
 
Personally, if the handgun does NOT have a round in the chamber, i'd put it between the mattress and box spring, on my side of the bed and sleep on it. In the morning, i'd put it away...ALL when my child couldn't see what i was doing...

OR, you could just tell your wife you are going to agree with her, so you both can be wrong... lol

DM
 
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