I personnaly feel its irresponsible to not secure your weapons while you are away, home or car. If you can hide it can find it. So I am not a fan of stashing wrapons around the house, unless you are home 24-7. A locking box is minimal, very minimal, but the idea is to not have your stuff stolen & get into criminal hands.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

My 80# Airedale is my 2nd line of def, locked doors/windows as first.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I disagree about the personal responsibility part but the other item is true and I wouldn't argue with you that if I hide it you can find it but first a burglar has to get past my alarms, my dogs, etc. If he is that committed and has time then he's going to find a few guns. I keep them hidden strategically for when I'm home and I just can't deal with putting them all away every time I go out. If I go away for any lengthy period of time that's different, then they don't need to be placed strategically until I come home again. That I can accomplish and always do. Since I rebuilt my home after the 2018 fire I have not gone anywhere except overnight once, I think. And maybe not even once........

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Come and take it!!

I personally don't stash guns around my home. I have a dedicated home defense handgun in my handgun safe attached to my bed.

During the day I pocket carry a .380 all the time. I do have a customer/friend that is a very well known Navy Seal that everyone would recognize. He has three small kids and keeps 8 handguns staged around his home in handgun safes. I know he and his wife have one on each side of their bed and the other 6 are spread out in their house. He's probably on the Taliban hit list though.

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Glenn
FAS1 SAFE

If I felt I needed a gun at hand 24-7, then I would just carry said gun everywhere. Simple, gun is always under your control. Sorry it is irresponsible to not lock up guns when you are away, but your life your decision.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Not going to argue or say what I do, but almost every Armed Citizen column has a story of a homeowner or person away from home RETRIEIVING a gun and using it in self defense when an attacker is upon them or their loved one.

Don't think they had time to run any combos on locked boxes, so they must have had firearms secreted in areas that they used for home / self defense.

Retrieving a gun can mean anything. No I dont lock my carry gun up when I am home, its on my nightstand. Its the stashing guns around the house that is just not really smart, unless you never leave home, ever. Same for car guns, what ever that is supposed to mean. If uou feel you need a gun at home, have it at hand, always. Its irrisponsible, its how many crimnals get their guns.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

You can never, ever, anticipate .... when a lost, drugged up, low life will show up at your home, even in the “nicest areas”. It could be late on a Saturday night, or 3 pm on a sunny Wednesday.

My neighbor was awoken last night by a noise and looked up to see the stairway light flick on. He went to the bedroom doorway and saw a guy walking up the stairs. When he yelled “Get outta my house!”, the intruder pointed his own 1911 at him. He had left his gun, wallet, and car keys on a table by the front door, quite convenient for the intruder. His wife called the police and when they arrived, it was discovered the guy had driven away in their pickup, which had been parked in front of the house. As he was standing in front talking with the police, the guy drove right back by the house in his truck. A police chase ensued through the neighborhood, again coming right back by his house, and finally ended two blocks away. Police fired one beanbag round that struck the guy’s arm as they were inviting him to exit the truck. Once he complied, my neighbor’s 1911 clattered to the pavement and once in custody, another .22LR was discovered in his waist. An exciting night in the neighborhood!

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SWHF #691

All this talk about stashing guns around the house in multiple places makes me question why we build house that any fit 20-year old can enter at whim via a couple kicks or shoulder-slams against a door. 'Not saying we should be living in Fort Knox type houses, but what they're building today is ridiculously flimsy. Our homes should be secure places - secure enough that people aren't thinking about stashing guns everywhere.

Easy to harden ext doors, but unless you are willing to pay $40k + more for a home, windows are the weak point. Easy to break in any window, some tape & a padded hammer, pretty quiet, but when no one is home, a brick will do.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Try a 150# Anatolian Shepheard.

1. Locked door
2. Fuzzy Puppy
3. P.O'd owner with Pre 29.

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SWCA #3356, SWHF#611

I can tell you from personal experience, that if thieves kick your door in one afternoon, your wife may sleep with the lights on for a month, and stash a .38 in the mixing bowl in the kitchen for easy retrieval.........LOL

For about $1200 15 years ago I hardened all my outside accessible windows with security film from 3M. Combined with a glass break alarm on a few of the most obvious window break in points, the cost to secure my windows was nowhere near even $2,000.

I have spent additional money on other hardening projects, but my total is still under $6,000. I have an average split level home. The amortized cost since completing these projects is now about $500/year and going down. Best insurance I ever bought.

Film is better than bare glass but still breaks & easy to get thru if you aren't home. If building a home, polycarb type windows on first floor would be better but more $$.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Mine has our 38/44 HD on a cabinet shelf in the kitchen.

Perhaps overkill or put as a backup we typically have both a semi and a revolver in the same area. My desk here: in one drawer a M&P .40 and even with how reliable a modern semiautomatic is not foolproof so in another drawer S&W 25-5 just in case of a problem. The odds of an issue with one, not likely, the odds of issues with both almost nonexistent. I would prefer having a backup than to wonder how I will be able to get to another room.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

When not home,one on my person.When home,one on my night stand.Along with a near by cruiser ready Savage 320 12 gauge.Everything else is locked up

I won't argue with y'all, but I disagree vehemently with the concept that guns hidden around a home is irresponsible. I have locked doors, with Master Lock door bars on every door except the one that I exit, every portal has an alarm, there are dogs, and no gun is just "out there". If someone gets in and has that much time they're going to find the safe room, break open the safe, etc.....

More than likely they'll grab a TV, maybe some items that look valuable, and scoot before everyone in the neighborhood wakes up. When I'm home I'm armed but, still, it's nice to have home defense resources and only I know where they are instanter, as we say in the law business.

We can agree to disagree but I think that for gun owners with no kids around it's irresponsible to NOT have home defense weapons readily accessible, and hidden. They're not on the coffee table, folks....

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Come and take it!!

I too keep pairs around........

I also keep this'n handy as well.

I believe in the ol' adage, "Use Enough Gun".

This'n handles fast as lightening and hits jest about as hard.



.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

And plus it is a fine looking shootin' iron.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

What is that cartridge?

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Retired Career Security Guard

I'm going to guess .45-70.

To answer your questions:
Yes, I have firearms placed in strategic locations.
No, you are not nuts for doing this.

While I generally have my daily carry on me at all times if possible, my wife doesn't. And sometimes I don't. I use V-line handgun safes in a few strategic locations. I can have the safe open and the gun out in about 2 seconds. I’ve had the safes since my kids were small, but still continue to use them now. If I didn’t have the safes, I’d still have the guns in their places.

I’ve noticed that some of the arguments out here against having those guns are the same ones the anti-gun people use against having a single gun. The fact of the matter is that no matter where you live, there’s still a chance of criminals showing up. And if the gun is IN MY HOUSE, then it’s secure. I’m not responsible for what a criminal might do because he broke in and stole it.

[/QUOTE] . . . if the gun is IN MY HOUSE, then it’s secure. I’m not responsible for what a criminal might do because he broke in and stole it.[/QUOTE]

Legally true in most jurisdictions, but not all.

Morally, blind.

And Norma Clouse is still dead.

My morals are not defined by the criminal's actions.

That goes for if the criminal steals my truck.
That goes for if the criminal steals my bow.
That goes for if the criminal steals my tools.
And that goes for if the criminal steals my firearm.

I had to spin up the Google machine after reading the above...

Quite the story.....

I didnt enjoy the ending ........

Mr VanHorn was given a 2nd chance , whereas the Clouse family was not.

Exactly. Trust me it can happen anywhere... ANYWHERE.

I wear one on my hip from morning til bedtime. No need to stash anything here or there. It's on my right hip.

As was Wilson; she's blown that chance again and again in Maricopa County.

Virden hasn't been the same since the murder. Big, evil events change very small towns and the lives of all who live there.

I have plenty of firepower but my first line of defense is a 110 lb Rottweiler with a pretty deep voice. He's also got pretty good hearing and gets pretty upset if someone even comes up the driveway. He's a good boy.....

biku324- All of your responses on this thread are simple, sound, and well-thought-out.

When possible I like to simplify things to the utmost.

Since the goal of "staging guns around the house" is to have one nearby no matter where you are, it seems to me that the goal is easily achieved by keeping one on your person. It has all the upside of 'staging'...and none of the potential downsides.

When I am home my edc is holstered on my hip. Yes, I sometimes take it out and place it on a table or desk, but it's still right there with me.

Now, if for some reason some of you aren't willing to do that, you have that choice... and I ain't mad at cha. That's the beauty of living in America.

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Stay protected my friends.

Wish me or the wife could figure out the 'strategic location' of my 1972 Walther PPK/S that hasn't been seen in over 6 months now. It's gone on 'walk about' before, but never this long. Usually by being covered up by something larger and discovered when that item gets picked up.

No clue now, but, there have been no break ins, visitors, or anything that could have caused it to leave the house.

It WILL turn up .... Eventually!

The wife and I both have 1911s as bedside guns that don't get moved and we both know exactly where they are located.

Rob

This months (November) issue of American Handgunner has an "Ayoob Files" story that involves "stashed guns" that I think all would benefit from reading.

American Handgunner With a Gun To Your Head: The Larry Goldstein Incident - American Handgunner You are surrounded by hidden, loaded handguns. Unfortunately, one of your kidnappers is holding a .357 Magnum to the base of your skull.

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Stay protected my friends.

Weighing in on the whole "staging" or "strategic placement" of firearms throughout the house thing, I disagree with the assertion that it is a universally unsafe practice, because the arguments against it are entirely reliant upon what-if scenarios including the presence of undisciplined children and/or the gunowner placing his firearms out in the open where anyone can see them and grab them with impunity.

Personally, I don't strategically place firearms throughout my home because it's easy enough to just carry my Ruger LCP with me everywhere I go, but if I were going to start strategically placing firearms throughout my home, then the average what-if scenarios used in arguments against the practice wouldn't apply to me because I don't have any children and don't intend on having any children. If I did have children then I would teach them not touch firearms the same why my parents taught me never to touch a firearm, by simply explaining that I could be hurt very badly or potentially be killed if I did. Seeing as most kids don't like even getting an itty-bitty splinter in their foot, explaining a bullet is much larger than a splinter and would pierce clean through the foot ought to be sufficient enough to convince kids not to play with guns, or at least it was enough for me to keep my hands off the loaded revolver my dad kept on the mantle.
Furthermore, I most certainly wouldn't leave them out in plain sight where an intruder could just as easily grab one and use it against me, but that's just common sense, and obviously arrogant fools who only consider their own narrow viewpoints to be valid/correct either intentionally overlook in order to strengthen their shallow arguments, or otherwise completely lack a working concept of common sense so they just automatically assume that whatever mistakes they would make are shared among others.

So long as the firearms are placed responsibly in discreate, secure locations in which they cannot be easily spotted or accessed by unauthorized hands, I don't see anything wrong with the concept.
Still, for me, I'd rather just carry a small, lightweight pistol on my person at all times, that way I already have something to defend myself with, regardless of where I am or what I may be doing. Even if I'm in the bathroom showering, I've got my LCP on the shelf right beside me.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Back to top. [See Ayoob story]

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Stay protected my friends.

What that story does is make the case for keeping guns stashed around the house, keeping a loaded pistol within easy reach in the safe, always wearing a gun at home, and keeping a gun in your car. Did I miss anything . . . ?

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I keep guns two guns in strategic locations in the house and one in a Chilton manual in the garage. Rather be irresponsible than dead

What a nice story with a fairy tale ending. I have some bad news for folks who are NOT long-term, well-connected doctors in small towns....your lawyer friend won't defend you for free, the DA doesn't know you, and you may not be a martial artist and pistolero gamester with loaded semi-autos stashed everywhere. Joe Average will very likely experience far different outcomes in enormous variation from an identical event

Having arrested a well-connected doctor in a small town for importing marijuana from Jamaica I'll cynically suggest that the so-called 'Wedding Cake Model' of criminal justice strongly reflects reality.