OP
s1mp13m4n
Member
Thank you all for the help. 
How do you keep firearms accessible and away from a child?
- Thread starter s1mp13m4n
- Start date
bluegrassarms
Member
Education and a gunvault for the handguns. You can set them to a combo code and not just fingerprints, and also set them to sound an alarm if someone fails to get in on 3 tries, which lets you know your child or someone else is monkeying around with it. They line up with your fingers so you can open it at night, one gunvault will hold both handguns.
For the shotgun I'm not a big fan of trigger locks. they can be cumbersome, slow, most are low quality and you have to have a key. Still if the handguns are in a more accessible safe it may work for you. You can get a basic digital lockable "safe" for $500 or so that would hold it and be a secure option.
Another option is to take a drill to your brand new pretty gunvault and run a cable through the door with a stud that you then run through the receiver in the shotgun (unless she's a breech loader) so you'd have to open the gunvault to get the cable off the shotgun. I haven't done it but I've heard about it being done that way.
In the end it comes down to education though b/c if a child (even 5) is absolutely determined to get a gunvault open they can probably manage with a big enough hammer and enough unsupervised time. The idea is to keep them out of temptation's way, make it a high hurdle, and work on the education side to eliminate the desire to do something so foolish.
I grew up with loaded guns in the house, or guns that had ammo that I knew how to load, from before the age of 5. You just didn't mess with the guns without permission. By 6 I had my own 22 rifle and went shooting but it wasn't kept in my room. By 12 they were, not sure when that changed. No handguns though, just rifles and shotguns. Handguns were for adults, not kids, unless supervised.
All that said, I still recommend to everyone that guns be more secure these days. If nothing else I just don't trust the other kids who may talk your child into doing something.
For the shotgun I'm not a big fan of trigger locks. they can be cumbersome, slow, most are low quality and you have to have a key. Still if the handguns are in a more accessible safe it may work for you. You can get a basic digital lockable "safe" for $500 or so that would hold it and be a secure option.
Another option is to take a drill to your brand new pretty gunvault and run a cable through the door with a stud that you then run through the receiver in the shotgun (unless she's a breech loader) so you'd have to open the gunvault to get the cable off the shotgun. I haven't done it but I've heard about it being done that way.
In the end it comes down to education though b/c if a child (even 5) is absolutely determined to get a gunvault open they can probably manage with a big enough hammer and enough unsupervised time. The idea is to keep them out of temptation's way, make it a high hurdle, and work on the education side to eliminate the desire to do something so foolish.
I grew up with loaded guns in the house, or guns that had ammo that I knew how to load, from before the age of 5. You just didn't mess with the guns without permission. By 6 I had my own 22 rifle and went shooting but it wasn't kept in my room. By 12 they were, not sure when that changed. No handguns though, just rifles and shotguns. Handguns were for adults, not kids, unless supervised.
All that said, I still recommend to everyone that guns be more secure these days. If nothing else I just don't trust the other kids who may talk your child into doing something.
Arik
Member
There is no ideal answers. For night time you could try just shoving the handgun in between the mattresses.
I wouldn't trust biometric safes or any safe requiring electronics and/or batteries. I sure wouldnt want it to freeze up when I need it most
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
I wouldn't trust biometric safes or any safe requiring electronics and/or batteries. I sure wouldnt want it to freeze up when I need it most
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
bluegrassarms
Member
I'm not all warm and fuzzy on the biometric aspect. I'd stick to the push button type, but to each his own.
Grayfox
US Veteran
Another vote for teaching the child firearms safety and taking the curiosity out of it.
You can't hide anything from a child and the more forbidden it is, the more they want to get their hands on it.
You can't hide anything from a child and the more forbidden it is, the more they want to get their hands on it.
FAS1
Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2012
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 103
If you aren't comfortable with a handgun safe that requires electronics, look at the ones that offer a pushbutton mechanical lock. Just as fast and more durable and reliable. These style safes are usually heavier gauge steel and when bolted down to something large and heavy, the floor, or even a wall stud provide reasonable security.
I do have a large safe that my shotgun stays in. It is not my primary HD gun, but it is loaded just in case.
I do have a large safe that my shotgun stays in. It is not my primary HD gun, but it is loaded just in case.
You didn't say if your handgun was a pistol or revolver. When I began my LEO career we were taught to use our handcuffs. One end over the closet bar and the other through the open frame of the thirty-eight. While a little tricker w/the pistol it might work.
Doug M.
Member
During the day, on your person. No better alternative exists. At night ... I dunno. I would not use something like the old handcuff technique because although secure, it would be a real problem if you needed the gun in a hurry. Child proofing becomes important, and when they are old enough to have friends over, the guns have to be secured from them since IQ divides by the number of friends we have present. They also need to know that NO ONE EVER gets told about guns you have.
tbs1911
US Veteran
I have a two year old daughter. I simply keep my HD pistol on a bookshelf (over 6' tall) beside my bed. Plenty high where she cannot reach it and will not be able to for some time. I used to keep a 12ga up there with it but that has since gone in the safe.
Deus, Familia, et Patria
Deus, Familia, et Patria
KKECK5
Member
ALL my kids are over 40. no problem there, however the grandkids do come over. So i try to strike a happy medium between safety and state law. (which says all guns must be under my control, or locked with a tamper proof lock or in a locked box). My guns are around the house in locked boxes/safes with combinations.. 3 tries to guess the number, then your locked out for a while before you can try again...A thief might walk away with the box and/or safe, but the grandkids who are small won't...One is kept bedside with a loaded .38 and a .40 inside. I'm good to go, till i forget the numbers, which might be sooner than later.
KKECK5
Member
Years ago i sat my kids down and let them hold my unloaded guns with me sitting right there..I told them all about them and explained how they worked and what they could do to a person. They were also told not to tell their friends about them.. As far as that was concerned, they were left at the station house. Once they were satisfied they never asked to see them again. AND i will confess, on certain nights when i knew i had a early tour or court, i did use the handcuff technique.
Last edited:
Thank you
You know EXACTLY where I'm coming from plus the fact that I'm talking about teenagers (and that they are boys).
You know EXACTLY where I'm coming from plus the fact that I'm talking about teenagers (and that they are boys).
I have never forgotten a news article I read, maybe 40 or even 50 years ago, about a cop who used to hang his holstered gun and gunbelt over a chair when he got home. His young son -- I dunno, maybe four or five -- got the gun and somehow shot himself in the stomach. His dying words, per the article, were, "Daddy I didn't touch your gun!"
I believe in educating the kids. Letting them see and touch and hold the unloaded guns, and telling them never to pick one up when unattended. But I also think it is better to be extra safe and keep them locked up or otherwise inaccessible to children.
I think when sleeping the under-the-mattress approach is actually a pretty good idea.
Anyway, it is good we are all aware of this issue, and I thank the OP for bringing it up.
Let's be careful with the little ones.
I believe in educating the kids. Letting them see and touch and hold the unloaded guns, and telling them never to pick one up when unattended. But I also think it is better to be extra safe and keep them locked up or otherwise inaccessible to children.
I think when sleeping the under-the-mattress approach is actually a pretty good idea.
Anyway, it is good we are all aware of this issue, and I thank the OP for bringing it up.
Let's be careful with the little ones.
Maze 686
US Veteran
I've taught this to rookie officers for years and it works for unloaded semi autos too. You run the handcuff between the trigger and the trigger guard. Alot of guys would drink at parties and I would tell them to hang up their guns with their coat over it.
Maze 686
US Veteran
As for kids, education is key. Second is security.
Like most I keep a loaded pistol/with light attached for home defense.
It is in a holster and in a quick opening safe that I bought at Cabelas, it has a cable that secures it too or can be bolted to the floor,wall, or a table top.
My rifles and shotguns are in a safe. Many safes can be had for as little as a few hundred dollars. Safe prices have dropped alot in the last couple of years. Shop around and you'll see they are worth the price to be secure.
Like most I keep a loaded pistol/with light attached for home defense.
It is in a holster and in a quick opening safe that I bought at Cabelas, it has a cable that secures it too or can be bolted to the floor,wall, or a table top.
My rifles and shotguns are in a safe. Many safes can be had for as little as a few hundred dollars. Safe prices have dropped alot in the last couple of years. Shop around and you'll see they are worth the price to be secure.
I faced that same issue, and I just decided to put all the guns in the safe, and ammo cans in a locked closet. Kept a baseball bat by the bed. It is a tough situation. I got my first rifle when I was 8. It was the only gun in the house, and I wanted one. My dad made it safe. When we went to the dump to shoot tin cans, he would bring one box of shells. We would shoot them all, and go home. This way, there were never any bullets in the house
vito
US Veteran
Unless you live in an area rife with crime, you take a lot more risk of a child getting to an unsecured gun than you do of needing that gun for family protection. Training and education are great, but as others have said, curiosity and/or playmate urging can easily overcome parental guidance.
Although my children are all grown, we now have young grandchildren often at the house, ranging in age from 2 to 13. I would never leave a loaded firearm unsecured, even in a "hidden" location where I am "sure" they would never go. Cemeteries have people who were in those situations.
I use an older Gunvault, that has the four position fingerpad. Its not biometric and not foolproof, but relatively secure and yet relatively accessible. I have it secured to the inside of my dresser/cabinet to a fixed shelf. While a determined thief with time will surely find a way to get my gun, children with a sense of mischief will not.
When I travel, on family vacations, I bring along a small portable key-locked steel gun box that I bought in a sporting goods store for $30. It includes a cable which can be looped around a fixed object and locked inside the box with the gun. The key never leaves my person so no one else has access to the gun. Safety overrides access and I don't leave myself totally defenseless.
Although my children are all grown, we now have young grandchildren often at the house, ranging in age from 2 to 13. I would never leave a loaded firearm unsecured, even in a "hidden" location where I am "sure" they would never go. Cemeteries have people who were in those situations.
I use an older Gunvault, that has the four position fingerpad. Its not biometric and not foolproof, but relatively secure and yet relatively accessible. I have it secured to the inside of my dresser/cabinet to a fixed shelf. While a determined thief with time will surely find a way to get my gun, children with a sense of mischief will not.
When I travel, on family vacations, I bring along a small portable key-locked steel gun box that I bought in a sporting goods store for $30. It includes a cable which can be looped around a fixed object and locked inside the box with the gun. The key never leaves my person so no one else has access to the gun. Safety overrides access and I don't leave myself totally defenseless.
papajohn428
Member
I know I keep saying this, but you can't child-proof a gun, you have to gun-proof the child. My tactic was to show them what kind of damage they can do, how godawful loud they are, and then I insisted they know how to work them.....ALL of them. Guns were scattered around the house, and the rule was that they could handle any gun they wanted to, after asking permission. Get caught around a gun without permission and you were way beyond grounded, you were in deep doo-doo for a long time, with ALL privileges rescinded. (That NEVER happened.) Weekly drills were conducted to prove they knew how to operate them, load and unload them, show muzzle awareness, I made it tedious and grim. It didn't take long before the mystique wore off, and they wanted nothing to do with them unless they were going to the range or the boonies with me to enjoy them.
Of my four kids, all are safe gun handlers, but the older three have little to do with guns, period. My youngest still likes to shoot every chance he gets, and he's a better gun handler than 90% of the cops I trained!
This system worked for me, but all kids are different. Mine got used to seeing guns around the house, they were common as furniture and no big deal. But when other kids came around, they were either 100% supervised or everything got locked up right now. I trust MY kids, but no one else's!
Of my four kids, all are safe gun handlers, but the older three have little to do with guns, period. My youngest still likes to shoot every chance he gets, and he's a better gun handler than 90% of the cops I trained!
This system worked for me, but all kids are different. Mine got used to seeing guns around the house, they were common as furniture and no big deal. But when other kids came around, they were either 100% supervised or everything got locked up right now. I trust MY kids, but no one else's!
I taught my kids about guns and safe handling from a very young age,but I did keep them locked up.You just don't know if that new friend they bring by has any sense at all.
Keeping guns from kids
When my kids were small we had two closets in our bedroom. Mine had a door that opened out. I built a shelf over the door opening, on the inside of the closet. You would have to know that its there, almost impossible to see, from outside the closet. I used to keep either my service weapon or my off duty gun up there depending on which one I wasn't using. Its a good place to hide money too.
Another suggestion is to get a S & W semi auto which will not fire with the magazine removed. Store the magazine separately.
John Murphy
When my kids were small we had two closets in our bedroom. Mine had a door that opened out. I built a shelf over the door opening, on the inside of the closet. You would have to know that its there, almost impossible to see, from outside the closet. I used to keep either my service weapon or my off duty gun up there depending on which one I wasn't using. Its a good place to hide money too.
Another suggestion is to get a S & W semi auto which will not fire with the magazine removed. Store the magazine separately.
John Murphy
Similar threads
