For those who have been prepared for home defense using pistols and shotguns, let me pick your brain....

We are planning to get a shotgun for home defense. We also have a special needs child in the house who is quite adept at getting into stuff. How do you store your shotguns? The cabinets that I have seen wouldn't stop this child, and the gun cases for pistols are too small.

Got any suggestions? Thanks.

Trigger lock with key on YOUR key ring????? Just an idea...

That's a start. Any other suggestions?

I keep mine on hooks on the inside of the closet above the door.

I was just looking at vehicle shotgun mounts online, most appear to be very secure and the mounting could be easily adapted to home use.

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"Shall not be infringed"

a safe works very well....

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

But a safe isn't much good for home defense.

Put it in your closet up high enough that the kid can't get to it? But never underestimate kids' ability to do things. That's a hard one to figure out.

I disagree. My safes have several ways of opening it, or maybe I should say unlocking them.

I can use the combination dial some time before retiring for the night and then lock it with a key. Entry can only be made with the use of a key at that time but it is easy open once the key is turned.

I can dial all the numbers of a safe with the exception of the final number and the dial will automatically stop at that number so it can be done in total darkness.

I can keep all guns in a safe until all in the house is ready for bed and then get one out to keep at a safe location in the event of need. With a scattergun, I can not chamber a round until one is needed.

I can also use a shotgun that has an external locking switch that will not allow a round be chambered until it is manually unlocked. This coupled with a safety slide makes a gun safer around ALL children.

A good safe is just as the name implies. SAFE. And the best way of storage there is unless you upgrade to a vault. This is true day or night.

Google "Sentry Home Defense Center"

This safe has a 4 button programmable keypad and opens as quickly as my closet door. Holds one long gun and a couple pistols.
It was a bit of a haul getting it up the stairs by myself. Easier with 2 people.

Roughly 1'x1'x4-1/2'

my safe is quite adept as to home defense...with the button keypad i can open it in the bat of an eye...is it perfect?no,of course not...but then there is no perfect solution...
i no longer have kids at home which may be the closest to a perfect fit however

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

With the first two children, refused to have guns--had big dogs instead. Times were kinder and gentler.

Big dogs have gone the way of all flesh. Smaller dogs now--good alert systems but not so tough. Times getting meaner. Learning how to handle guns for protection--but have to be safe around children.

Got the gun to protect the family but must always protect family against the gun [or rather own stupidity around gun]. So much about life is balancing on a tightrope.

No wonder I want a nap!

I use a GunVault breech lock - here's a link to what I'm talking about (I reviewed mine there on Amazon):

Amazon.com: GunVault BV-01 Breech Vault Safe: Home Improvement

Welcome to Lightning Access Decor

Watch the video. Don't let the kid see you put the gun in and how it opens.

The main reason kids want to "get into" stuff is curiosity. Take the kid out to the range and let them shoot a few rounds of high brass buckshot or slugs. The curiosity will go away...

Familiarity can greatly reduce curiosity. When my daughter was still a toddler, I got out several guns, made sure they were unloaded, and let her touch/hold them. We started talking about the aspects of gun safety I felt she could understand at that age and progressed from there. When she was about 12, she finally took me up on my offer to go to the range. She shot the middle out of the target, then decided that it wasn't much fun. She has no curiosity about guns now, but she knows how to handle and load/unload them. I'm not sure how that would fit into a special needs household, as each is different, but that's what worked for us.

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Insert short witty words here

I have three guns located around the house in this manner. I went to KMart years ago and bought 6 trigger locks all keyed the same ( look for the numbers on the keys.)

I even made a tether out of 3/32" air craft cable with a loop in each end(crushable ferrules) for securing shotgun/rifle/handgun in my truck. One end would loop around the seat frame and the shaft of the trigger lock would be pushed through the remaining loop when affixing the trigger lock.