Wife-Shotgun-Storage argument

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NavyGuy

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It's probably not a surprise, I'm in the Navy. I go back to sea duty this year and will be gone quite frequently. I want to get an 870 youth 20ga for her for several reasons, but that's not the subject here. It's how I want to store it, and how she wants to store it. She wants a gun safe for the bedroom. I want it to be readily accessible, no fumbling with combination's at 2:30 in the morning. You should know that we have two children, 4 and 6. I want to hang the gun on the inside of our wide closet at the top, out of sight and no way the kids could get to it even if they knew it was there.

What she fails to see, at least in my opinion, is:
1. She is a sound sleeper and doesn't have time on her side.
2. Is groggy when she wakes up, and won't quite realize what's going on, time again.
3. The panic she'll be faced with when she does realize what's going on, then having to deal with the safe.
4. She does not have the best memory in the world, the gun safe could sit there for months on end never being opened, then she has to remember combinations in split seconds.

Add all these up, and I don't feel comfortable at all about the safety of my family. I know they make finger print entry safes, but I still don't like the idea of having to fumble with any safes for a defense weapon.

Do any of you have stories where locked up firearms ended badly in a defense situation?
 
Not first hand. An old girlfriend's mother told me a somewhat funny story once.

She was woke up by the sound of breaking glass. She got her little sentry firebox and was still fumbling with the keys when her bedroom door opened.

She said he must have thought no one was home (she didnt have a car), he seemed a little surpised to see her there. She took advantage of this, and asked him to leave by whacking him upside the head a few times with that little firebox, and the .38 she had inside it.

He was in such a hurry to leave he ran through the screen door.
 
Could she be taught to use a speed-feed bracket arrangement?That way she could quickly access the crowd pleaser,and STILL not have frighteners on RE your young children and a loaded shotgun.
Of course,I would PROBABLY tell you to consider a 4 inch revolver,and /or a carbine:MOst of the women in my life found that they LIKED shooting them at the range after some gradual,gentle persuasion.
I do not know enough about the fingerprint safes,but I am guessing they are electronic...if that is the case ;could they still be accessed in the event of the power being cut off?
How about an OC Fogger unit,until she gets more cmfy with the concept of firearms for fun and defense??
 
You trying to derail every thread on the site today im6with6sako?

With young kids you definitely need to make sure the gun is out of reach. The top of the closet doesn't fit that bill in my opinion. My 3 year old is smart enough to drag a chair to the closet.

Maybe think about a pistol in a biometric safe by the bed...that's what I use. Kids can find a key, learn a combo, find a hidden gun...but they can't duplicate my fingerprint. My safe is made by Bioscript and ran about $300. It will run off a 9v battery or you can plug in into the wall.

I wonder if anyone makes a biometric safe for long guns?
 
I would not keep a loaded firearm within kids reach or where it's not secured by something that they absolutely can't get into. Those little buggers are smarter than you think.

I have several gunvault safes with fingergroove pads that opens right up. I have then mounted under my night stand and my desk downstairs. I can get to my handguns in no time .

Really easy/fast to get to the firearm while being kidproof.

Shotgun is not THAT easy to use for SD unless you are well trained for it....and are hard to store secured in household with kids.
 
I'm sorry, I mis-spoke. My handgun safe is made by GunVault.

Here's one site with it. I don't know if it's the best price or not...just one of the first ones that popped up when I Googled it.
http://www.deansafe.com/gubio10bifha.html

Bioscript makes the fingerprint reader I tried to use for my wall safe. I built a small room off my closet with a steel security door and mag lock...finger print reader was going to work the mag lock. Ended up having too many issues with it and bought a keypad instead.
 
GunVault Bio
yhst-14628535264555_2051_571631
 
The issue here isn't familiarity with firearms, she competed on a high powered rifle team before we were married. She wants everything locked up, and I agree when it comes our sporting guns, not the defense guns. I don't see defense guns locked up as safe, I see them as inaccessible.
 
I have a bit of experience with this, sure.

I have one of these:
bwv_FULL.jpg

Unless your finger is in EXACTLY the same position as when you recorded it, it won't open. That said, it holds 8 fingerprints, and we each recorded our fingerprints 4 times each. No problems since then - we hit one of them. That's on my wife's side of the bed, right in the wall.

She can get to it, in the dark, in about 2 seconds.


I also have one of these:
IMG_7058.jpg


This is on my side of the bed and is where mine lives when it's not on me. I can get into it, in the dark, in about 2 seconds.

My shotgun actually lives in the big combo safe in the bedroom closet. No, she absolutely can't get to it quickly in an emergency - probably 30 seconds. But, neither can the kids/neighbor kids.
IMG_7056.jpg




I have seen fingerprint safes large enough to hold a shotgun - but they're pretty expensive. It depends on your budget I suppose.

I've seen some pushbutton combination wall safes that might work - but I don't know how hard it would be/how long it would take for a 6 year old to figure out the right combination.

riflewallsafe-index.jpg


I considered this one - but went with the big safe, mainly because I needed much more space.


So my two cents - if you can't get an actual "safe" or cabinet/enclosure of some kind with instant entry that will hold the shotgun, then the shotgun is not the primary home defense weapon. Lock it up when it's loaded up, period.

I will tell you this. If you simply hang it up high, expecting that the kids won't get into it, you're begging for tragedy. (And, in Texas....prison.) Kids will find a way. Teach them safety, teach them responsibility, and absolutely ensure that there is no possible way they could ever get them without your knowledge.
 
How about a strong lock and door for the bedroom? By the time the bad guy makes it through she will have time to deal with the safe.

It's my experience that if she wants a safe, you better get her a safe. Otherwise she'll get one herself before your ship's anchor chain has time to dry.
 
I've got a friend who's deals with a product called the Lock and Load Safe. It's a gun safe that can be installed in the wall beside the bed. It can be opened with a combination or fingerprint. The best part is that if you have a burglar alarm, the safe will automatically open if the alarm is activated. Assuming you have an alarm, should an intruder break in, the safe will automatically open, giving her quick and easy access to the gun with no input required from her. I don't know if they make one big enough for a 870, but I can give you his info if you're interested.

The website is:
http://www.lockandloadsafe.com/
 
It's the SecureLogic Wall Vault, by Energy Tech Labs.

http://www.securelogiconline.com/

It's not bad - like I said, a little tricky at first to get set so you can get into it quickly (fingerprint position), but easily circumvented by storing multiple versions of the same finger. It even lights up when it opens, and runs off a hidden power supply - so no batteries to rely on.

I paid $350 for mine at Cheaper Than Dirt, but I don't see it on their site anymore. I got mine in their retail store in Ft Worth.

I've seen them on Amazon or Google for like $250-$400, depending on retailer.

http://www.google.com/products?q=biometric+wall+safe
 
I'm in the same situation as you. I do have a big heavy safe in my closet, but it is painfully slow to access.

Solution: I carry a handgun on me at all times while awake, usually a S&W Model 15 or 642, or a 1911.

I also keep a Gunvault quick access safe stored inside the big safe during the day. Before I go to bed I pull it out and sit it on the floor next to my bed, angled perfectly so that I can reach over, dial in the combo and pull out the S&W 686 inside in a second or two.

Also before going to bed, I take my Mossberg 590 out of the big safe and sit it on a wire shelf in my closet, chamber empty and slide locked. The wire shelf is so close to the ceiling that I have to reach quite a bit to get it, and I'm 6'7" tall. Given the location of this shelf and the height it sits at, my 2 1/2 year old kid would have to get the step ladder out of the garage (no chair or stool in the house will do it) which is blocked by a big butt Ford Crown Vic that'd he'd have to move as well :D.

And he doesn't even know about the shotgun on the self at night, as he NEVER sees me retrieve it as he is always in bed before I do so. Additionally, the shotgun cannot be seen from the floor looking up.

In the end, I'm a fairly light sleeper and would most certainly hear him in our room. He's a good kid too, he'll wake up in the morning but he won't leave his room until we come to get him.

Anyway, in the morning the Gunvault and shotgun get put back in the safe and strap on my carry gun.

This arrangement may not work for you, but I wanted to share it. I've thought long and hard about my particular situation, and this setup works fine for us. Give your plan a LOT of thought prior to putting it into practice, whatever it may be.
 
I see hundreds, possibly thousands of posts on the shotgun being the ultimate HD weapon. How do you guys store them?
Click to expand...
I keep my shotgun in the safe.

I keep my AR a locked closet. The lady cant shoot my shotgun, but is pretty confident with the AR. So we use it instead.
 
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Lock it up through the day and pull it out when the kids go to sleep. It can stay within her reach or locked in the safe at all times.
 
Naw, I figure they already know and don't mess with me 'cause of my sunny disposition.

Seriously though, what works for me may be (would be IMO) totally inappropriate for someone in different circumstances. The umbrella stand should put that in stark relief.
 
1. She is a sound sleeper and doesn't have time on her side.
2. Is groggy when she wakes up, and won't quite realize what's going on, time again.
Click to expand...

She needs a Dog, and possibly barriers to entry.

You should know that we have two children, 4 and 6. I want to hang the gun on the inside of our wide closet at the top, out of sight and no way the kids could get to it even if they knew it was there.
Click to expand...

Do you have any chairs in the house? boxes? The kids WILL find it. My kids when 2 years old could move chairs and climb on top of counters and even refrigerators. There is no place in your house that is "out of reach" of a 4 and 6 year old.
 
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