Guns and Kids....in the house???

[MossMan]

I'm curious what everyone else thinks or does about this. I know most of us have at least one loaded gun somewhere in the house. Where do you keep it? How do you make sure it's in a safe place? I've got cable locks but what good is that if you need it in a hurry:rolleyes:

My kids are 2 and 1 month so I know it's put away good now. But what about later:confused: Can you ever really be sure. This came up in conversation with my wife yesterday when I mentioned buying another gun (Glock 27:D ). We talked about this and carrying in the vehicle. She isn't too hot about either but she is tolerant of the one in the house. I told her it's like wearing a seatbelt...you hope it never gets used but better safe than sorry.

What do you do? Obviosly the best plan IMO is to teach the kids about safe and responsible ownership but it's a little early for that. So what about the mean time.

[APRILRAZZ]

Gil was able to bring a gun into the house only if he had a lock box and some sort of trigger lock. The clips are full but not in the gun either.

[cj7jeep81]

I don't ever plan on keeping a loaded gun in the house. Not worth the risk in my opinion. If I lived in a higher crime area I might, but not out where I live. I'll just keep them all locked up in my gun cabinet. I think the most important thing is to teach the kids how to respect the guns. That's the most important thing.

[SanDiegoCJ]

I grew up with loaded guns in the house my whole life. When
I was very young they were out of reach on the top shelf of a
closet. As I got older they moved to a drawer in the nightstand
by my parents bed. I was shown the weapon and told that I was
NOT allowed to play with it. I "KNEW" what that meant so I kept
my hands off. My father taught me to shoot when I was 10.
You can have weapons in the home if you exercise caution and
teach your children. It worked with my brother and me.

[JeepinIan]

Teach the kids young about safe gun practices. Shoot a watermelon with it a& let them see what it will do.
Do not let them know where you keep the gun.
Do not keep the clips with the gun, but close enough that if you have to use it, you can load it quickly.

Personally, I have no kids, and a loaded sawed off 12 gauge in my bedroom. I figure if the dog wakes me, I haveenough time to get the gun, verify the target, and kill em.

[Bobzooki]

Once my kid finished hunter's safety, I brought out ALL the guns. Both he and my wife were wide-eyed. He successfully demonstrated how to safely handle each and every one, and how to check to see if it was loaded. From that point forward, there was never any concern about the guns in the house, even the loaded guns. When we have small children in the house they are unloaded and put away.

[NastyNate]

There was always a loaded handgun in my dad's drawer beside the bed. I knew it was there. I was allowed to shoot it anytime I wanted too, as long as my Dad was present. Since we were very open about that, and the fact that I wasn't to even open the safe if he wasnt' around, it wasn't an issue. I didn't have any curiousity issues, because all I had to do was ask, and we would head out back and shoot some cans or whatever. Kids can find a way around any gun lock. Education is the key.

[deadmeat]

Yes, education is the key.
My dad taught me to shoot when I was 5.
Taught me gun safty as well, which is the most important part, which leads to...
All guns are loaded all of the time! Until YOU verify otherwise.

[YellowSub1962]

lock up the guns, guns are bad and kill people








seriously though, lock up the hand gun. Get a 12 gauge. your kids hands wont be big/strong enough to work the safety and/or chamber it till they are old enough to know how to properly use it. Education is the key like was said. and a little precaution goes a long way....


:usa:

[MossMan]

Originally posted by YellowSub1962
seriously though, lock up the hand gun. Get a 12 gauge. your kids hands wont be big/strong enough to work the safety and/or chamber it till they are old enough to know how to properly use it. Education is the key like was said. and a little precaution goes a long way....


:usa:

This is what I've been thinking about for the house. Small dbl bbl 12 ga and hang it over the door, inside a closet. very secluded, yet very handy:D

[MikeW]

Ever since I was in first grade, I used to either read or flip through my dads copies of Outdoor Life. There were alot of "Eddie Eagle" safety promotions in the magazine courtesty of the NRA. Thats why at a young age I knew better to stay away from them, and mind my own business.
I believe there are alot of irresponsible gun owners that shouldn't own a firearm in the first place.

[JonB]

I keep my M9 loaded in one of those small handgun safes w/ the touch-pad lock. My kid (18 months) isn't strong enough to push the buttons, and even if he was, you have to press more than one at a time in a combination, so I'm not concerned about him opening it for a few years yet. BUT, da' wife doesn't like it, so I need to figure something else out. I was thinking about mounting it on the wall in the closet up high out of reach.

Education is the key of course though.

[mike]

I also grew up around them. At about 9 or 10 (christmas inbetween) I asked for a BB gun. Christmas morning I opened a bolt action .22 long rifle. My dad felt that a BB gun was a toy and got me a weapon. My oldest child knows how to handle all the weapons in the house and how to render pretty much any weapon safe. My youngest two will be taught that as they get older. Right now the only weapons that they can get to bear the biggest danger of falling on them.

[GloNDark]

Originally posted by YellowSub1962
seriously though, lock up the hand gun. Get a 12 gauge. your kids hands wont be big/strong enough to work the safety and/or chamber it till they are old enough to know how to properly use it. Education is the key like was said. and a little precaution goes a long way

That's the reason I keep my 12 gauge pump action out and over the door. He won't be able to pump it, and I never keep on in the chamber. And when he is old enough to operate it, he will be older enough to teach em how to use it properly and respect it.

However anything else is locked up and has a trigger lock on it.

[fullygruntled]

Originally posted by YellowSub1962
lock up the guns, guns are bad and kill people

seriously though, lock up the hand gun. Get a 12 gauge. your kids hands wont be big/strong enough to work the safety and/or chamber it till they are old enough to know how to properly use it. Education is the key like was said. and a little precaution goes a long way....


:usa:

Ever seen a young person (or even my wife, for that matter) try to work the slide on a stiff-sprung 1911? It's its own safety device.

I still use the lockbox, and will thoroughly teach my kids about safety. Worked fine for me, and for most of my friends who had deer rifles, pistols, shotguns, and whatever else in their houses growing up.

There are too many potentially hazardous things in the world to just think completely separating your kids from them is adequate, or even bright.

[SilverZuk]

You keep them in an “Off Limits” area of the house.
You need to explain to the kids, scratch that.
You need to read the kids the riot act about “off limit” areas as soon as they are old enough to understand.

My dad drilled a small hole near the back of his nightstand and inserted a nail into the hole to “lock” the drawer. This was also an “off limits” area to us growing up.
He could reach the nail in bed, in the dark, and get to his super black hawk 44 mag. If ever needed.

I keep mine high, kids are less likely to get to one on top of the refrigerator, curio, top draw of chest in back, top shelf of closet, etc.

Also, I wouldn’t recommend keeping a round in the chamber with kids around. It would take considerable effort for a 2 y.o. to jack the slide back on most any auto pistol.
It would also be a good idea to keep the loaded magazine and pistol separate too.

I had a co-worker that moved here from California. He was extremely anti-gun, his wife was worse. I asked him if he educated his 3 yo son about gun safety. He gloated, and said, “that’s not a problem in my house.”
My reply was “yes, but you neighbor’s all have loaded guns in their houses. Does your kid ever go over to play?”
Education and respect is the key.

If you are interested in buying a gun, let me know. I can get good deals around town.
Plus, you might want to shoot some of mine before you make up your mind what you want. Are you going to the trails Sunday? I might bring a few up to shoot.

[SilverZuk]

We never had a gun safe until I was college age, and the gun collection was getting big.
Dad had an old wooden cabinet in a closet with his and my guns in it. I got my first gun at age 7 or 8. A 410 single shot. I had shot guns many times before. Dad would hold me in his lap at age 4 or 5 and let me pull the trigger while he aimed at while out shooting.

As I became a teenager, all my guns stayed in my room. Just about every year I got a gun for Christmas. I never loaded on in the house, and never had an incident to this day.
I hunted every day after school from mid October to the end of February. No kidding, probably 4-5 days a week in the woods, sometimes more.

As I got to that stage, dad said only one loaded gun in the house – HIS. This would prevent us from shooting each other if someone did break in.
Scenario:
Hear someone break in. Both of us grab guns and go looking, I see dad’s silhouette and shoot him or vice versa. We were also to talk to each other in that event. “Dad, where are you?” That way we know to stay put unless in communication with each other.

If you would like to take the women shooting sometime, let me know. I can set up some fun courses and teach safety and shooting all at the same time. Scenario shooting, defensive, offensive, point shooting, just depends on how much time you all want to put into it.

[GonPostal]

Originally posted by JonB
I keep my M9 loaded in one of those small handgun safes w/ the touch-pad lock. My kid (18 months) isn't strong enough to push the buttons, and even if he was, you have to press more than one at a time in a combination, so I'm not concerned about him opening it for a few years yet. BUT, da' wife doesn't like it, so I need to figure something else out. I was thinking about mounting it on the wall in the closet up high out of reach.

Education is the key of course though.

Same here with the small handgun safe, but like you mentioned it's out of sight and out of reach from small kids. Both my kids are over 20 and have been educated regarding gun safety, but I still keep it in a quick access gun safe so that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.....

[MossMan]

Education is obviously a no brainer once old enough to understand. And I can relate to the pump, slide situations too. The only thing I keep close is my p-90 and I don't keep one in the chamber. I know my 2 year old can't get to it #1, and #2, he could never muster the strength to slide the hammer back.

And I'm getting ready to build a walk-in closet in our bedroom and I'm thinking it's prolly gonna have a small safe built in.:D

[LOKNLOD]

As said before, education and respect is the key.

AND KNOWING YOUR KIDS. Some kids can handle the responsibility of having weapons easily accessible. Some can't. The kid probably won't know which they are, but the parent should.

I had weapons AND ammo in my bedroom easily accessible from the time I was in middle school. And I already knew where my dad's guns were in the house and how to use them long before that. No harm done.

They also knew my friends, and knew I wouldn't let my friends jack around with the guns. I had one friend that we didn't trust around them, and we'd make sure they were put away a little better when he was over. (Good thing too, he later ended up shooting his sister accidentally with a .22 he stole from his grandpa....she ended up fine, thank goodness).

That's the short version of my take on the matter. I'm already worried about how we'll deal with it once we start having kids...when I was little, at least we didn't have to worry about a friend telling his parents and the BATF and DHS showing up at the house to check us out. Things will be much different (worse) for my kids someday :(

[Fearnothing]

My dad brought me up around guns and hunting. I did the hunters saftey course along with my dad and brother a couple of years back. I think knowledge is the best protection against an accident...

[desertoy]

I stay up at night worrying about how to handle this. My son is almost 4 and VERY currious about guns. For now all my guns are at my bro's house (cause I am in the process of building a new house) but personal pertection is a consern.
My brother and I grew up in a "pro gun" household. Our Dad was a cop and kept his service revolver in a closet up high out of reach. At least he thought it was out of reach. From the time we were 5 or 6 we could (and did on 1 or 2 occasions) get his loaded service revolver down and play with it. The only thing that saved us from shooting ourselfs or eachother was EDUCATION. My dad showed us at a really early age what a gun was, how to unload it, and what it would do to a water melon and a bar of soap if you shot them. He would let us hold his guns anytime he was around, constantly reminding us to "watch the muzzle", "never shoot anything you don't intend to kill" and "never kill anything you don't intend to eat" (when hunting).
Even though my Dad infact showed me how to keep my son safe when around guns (Education), it still scares me to death thinking about some of the situations that my brother and I got ourselfs into. We never got hurt. God only knows why.
So don't for a minute think that putting your guns up out of sight, or installing a trigger lock, or threatining them to stay away will keep your kids from getting to them and playing with them. If you can get to them, your kids can also. EDUCATION is the only way. Teach them to respect a firearm and show them how to use them properly. Also, teach them what to do if their friend takes one out when they are at someone elses house because it WILL happen.
Then prey to god to keep them safe.
If you are not willing to take the time to educate your kids, then you don't deserve to own a firearm.

[Moby]

Keep them locked up. Kids are kids, bad guys are bad guys. If you need it, you know where it is.

[Just Some Asshole]

take the wonder away from it and the kids will leave it alone

[mike]

Originally posted by Moby
Keep them locked up. Kids are kids, bad guys are bad guys. If you need it, you know where it is.

And if they ever wander into one on their own? Yep, great plan alright :rolleyes:

[0ILBURNER]

Originally posted by NastyNate
There was always a loaded handgun in my dad's drawer beside the bed. I knew it was there. I was allowed to shoot it anytime I wanted too, as long as my Dad was present. Since we were very open about that, and the fact that I wasn't to even open the safe if he wasnt' around, it wasn't an issue. I didn't have any curiousity issues, because all I had to do was ask, and we would head out back and shoot some cans or whatever. Kids can find a way around any gun lock. Education is the key.

This is interesting. Reading this post, I realized my father did the exact same thing to me - not only concerning guns, but also smoking and drinking alcohol. I could smoke or drink as long as I did it with him. I tried to smoke a couple of times but it made me so sick I dropped it, and still throw back a brew every once in awhile with my Dad.
I guess for me this technique worked :)

[Crucible]

I have a 7 year old stepdaughter, and when her mother and I were married, I had to do something before they moved in and still keep relative quick access to a weapon.

So....

I keep my .45 (primary defense weapon) in a locked mini-safe under the bed-it has a number combination lock that uses feel, so it can be manipulated in the dark (5 number pads), opening electronically. (10x12x4 or so.) It also has back up key locks in case of battery failure, but it will warn you beforehand; it can be screwed into the floor or other surface if you really want it (trunk of a car?).

The greatest thing about it is the built-in motion alarm that will go off if the unit is moved or jarred or tried to open using the wrong combination mroe than twice. I think I paid $125 for it at Galyans sometimes ago, and I know there's others out there like it.

The remainder, and most ammo, go into a more full-size safe, in the closet.

Cruc

[Moby]

And if they ever wander into one on their own? Yep, great plan alright

What I was saying, is kids, no matter how often they are told, and educated, will be curious about guns, my brother and I always got my dads .22 out of the closet. We were taught not to, we were educated about guns, we used guns under supervision, we knew better than it, but we did it. Kids will be kids.
If the bad guy enters your place when you aren’t there, the 12ga by your bed did absolutely nothing. Now the bad guy has your home defense weapon when he climbs in the next window.
I keep all of my guns locked up in a safe that only I can open.
My daughter knows about them, and most importantly knows what to do when somebody she knows pull out a gun.

[mike]

I didn't have to be curious about guns. I had a .22 I could go out and shoot if I so desired. ;) I agree about keeping firearms locked up, for pretty much the theft reason. But in the end the only thing that will keep your kids safe is education.

[Scratch]

Ever seen a young person (or even my wife, for that matter) try to work the slide on a stiff-sprung 1911? It's its own safety device.
This is the same I use for the exact same reason. I keep the firearm high out of there reach and the mag higher in a slightly different area. Not only does the 1911 have a hrd main spring and is difficult to cycle, but the military trigger pull and the grip saftey make it difficult for little hands to pull the trigger.

I don't worry about my own guns so much. I worry about them being at someone elses house and seeing a gun or their friends showing off theirs. Education is the key here. I've taught my boys to be firearms safe and when they are very young to let me know if they see one. I also take them shooting so thjat they don't have a big fascination. They have done that before so it is no big deal.
My pop did that with us with both alcohol and guns. I never needed to drink in school because it had no allure me. Growing up, my pop let me have a drink of his when I wanted.

YMMV
Scratch

[maxotude]

Originally posted by SilverZuk
You keep them in an “Off Limits” area of the house.
You need to explain to the kids, scratch that.
You need to read the kids the riot act about “off limit” areas as soon as they are old enough to understand.


As soon as our daughter began toddling around she knew that she was NOT to touch my husbands gun cabinet--for any reason.This was drilled in to her.....
When she was around 7 years old and drew and colored a picture *for Daddy* he told her to tape it to the glass on the front of his gun cabinet and she just stood there and looked at him like he had lost his mind.....then she said"I'm not allowed to touch the gun cabinet Dad ;) "
I laughed at the look on his face and said "She's got ya there Babe!"

[InfantryYJ]

I grew up and they were readily available in the house, on the racks with ammo on the shelf below, they were never made a big deal and having five boys in the house, you'd think that we would be shooting up the neighborhood, but that never happened. My dad only took me out once or twice that I can remember to shoot, never teaching me any safety aspects or any of the stuff that I know now. When I was 8, 9, 10 years old, I do remember getting the .22 down and going to the swamps to shoot snakes and turtles,...all on a bicycle riding through town, but I did ask mom's permission first.

When Theresa and I were first married, I had a little .22, and it stayed in the closet with the rounds right next to it, it was never brought up that it was there, and the kids never got in after it. I eventually sold it, because I never shot it anymore.

If I had a couple right now, I'd do it the same way.

[Travis Waldher]

Originally posted by SanDiegoCJ
I grew up with loaded guns in the house my whole life. When
I was very young they were out of reach on the top shelf of a
closet. As I got older they moved to a drawer in the nightstand
by my parents bed. I was shown the weapon and told that I was
NOT allowed to play with it. I "KNEW" what that meant so I kept
my hands off. My father taught me to shoot when I was 10.
You can have weapons in the home if you exercise caution and
teach your children. It worked with my brother and me.

Same here, grew up with at least ONE rifle in the house.

Was brought up no touchy, UNLESS parent was there to supervise. I figure, it was to quell my curiosity, if the curiosity is gone, why mess with it?

It was never loaded, but the bullets werent far, when I was 8 I was probably young enough to reach both, but never had the desire too. Afterall, I was tought how dangerous they could be.

[Sully]

Originally posted by MossMan
I'm curious what everyone else thinks or does about this. I know most of us have at least one loaded gun somewhere in the house. Where do you keep it? How do you make sure it's in a safe place? I've got cable locks but what good is that if you need it in a hurry:rolleyes:

My kids are 2 and 1 month so I know it's put away good now. But what about later:confused: Can you ever really be sure. This came up in conversation with my wife yesterday when I mentioned buying another gun (Glock 27:D ). We talked about this and carrying in the vehicle. She isn't too hot about either but she is tolerant of the one in the house. I told her it's like wearing a seatbelt...you hope it never gets used but better safe than sorry.

What do you do? Obviosly the best plan IMO is to teach the kids about safe and responsible ownership but it's a little early for that. So what about the mean time.

I grew up with the guns in the closet. Unlocked, and with the ammunition in the same closet. I knew better than to even touch them without supervision and permission from a very early age, and never killed anyone accidentally, or on purpose.

I am also a realist, and understand that good parenting is no longer enough (or sometimes even an option) in today's society. In my own house now, my guns and ammo live in a safe, with the exception of my .40, which lives either on my person, or in my bedside table at night. If I am going somewhere where I cannot legally carry (the bar, etc), it joins the other guns in the safe.

I don't have kids of my own, but I have kids that regularly visit the house.

[cdarthvader]

My dad always kept the rifles in the gun safe, He always had his handgun by his bed and told me not to touch it, ever. One day when he shot a coyote he brought it back and pulled out his handgun and shot it in the head and let me see what kind of damage that gun could do...I never touched it unless he told me i could, Although whenever we would go shooting he would always let me shoot it :D

[DVanVorous]

I can understand the concern with kids and firearms but it sure seems like a whole lot of paranoia in this post. Why have a loaded gun in the house at all if you live in BFE or in a low crime neighborhood?

I started shooting (.303 Brit) when I was 7 as did all my bros and little sis. We were taught the classic gun safety and that guns were dangerous when "played" with. Use was always under adult supervision until we demonstrated proficientcy, maturity and a good bit of common sense around firearms. I finalised said education with NRA Hunter Safety (required for hunting). To this day my folks never have had a loaded firearm around and also never felt a need to lock the front door when they went out here in CO.

Even living in high crime areas of mid penninsula SF bay area CA for 19 yrs, I never felt the need to have a loaded firearm in the house, but I do have a few (handguns included) kept in a locked cabinet.
Guess looking like the friendly neighboorhood long hair old hippy-biker type and the 4 dogs takes care of the problem... ;)

D.

[jeepmauler]

Originally posted by SanDiegoCJ
I grew up with loaded guns in the house my whole life. When
I was very young they were out of reach on the top shelf of a
closet. As I got older they moved to a drawer in the nightstand
by my parents bed. I was shown the weapon and told that I was
NOT allowed to play with it. I "KNEW" what that meant so I kept
my hands off. My father taught me to shoot when I was 10.
You can have weapons in the home if you exercise caution and
teach your children. It worked with my brother and me.

100% how I was raised!! Guns EVERYWHERE! My friends would come over( 7yrs and up) and they were all fascinated by the guns and I knew that it wasn't even an option to even touch them without my dad there,PERIOD!! Never even a close call.IT'S ALL IN THE EDUCATION AS A CHILD.

[Travis Waldher]

Originally posted by DVanVorous
I can understand the concern with kids and firearms but it sure seems like a whole lot of paranoia in this post. Why have a loaded gun in the house at all if you live in BFE or in a low crime neighborhood?

I started shooting (.303 Brit) when I was 7 as did all my bros and little sis. We were taught the classic gun safety and that guns were dangerous when "played" with. Use was always under adult supervision until we demonstrated proficientcy, maturity and a good bit of common sense around firearms. I finalised said education with NRA Hunter Safety (required for hunting). To this day my folks never have had a loaded firearm around and also never felt a need to lock the front door when they went out here in CO.

Even living in high crime areas of mid penninsula SF bay area CA for 19 yrs, I never felt the need to have a loaded firearm in the house, but I do have a few (handguns included) kept in a locked cabinet.
Guess looking like the friendly neighboorhood long hair old hippy-biker type and the 4 dogs takes care of the problem... ;)

D.

There's places I go, I wished I had one. LOL

other than that, I don't see any reason to keep a loaded gun in the house myself. really.... how long does it take to drop a couple bullets in a revovler, or insert a clip?

[Scoutillac]

All my guns are kept is a secure lock box with the exception of the one I carry which stayes with me at all times. I do not keep one in the chamber as an extra precaution. My son knows that the gun is "Daddy's" and he is not to touch it. As soon as he is old enough he will be educated on firearms.

[jeepmauler]

Originally posted by Travis Waldher


. really.... how long does it take to drop a couple bullets in a revovler, or insert a clip?

..........too long!!

[DVanVorous]

. really.... how long does it take to drop a couple bullets in a revovler, or insert a clip?

..........too long!!


Surely you jest... :rolleyes:

Iffen I can get off 3 shots with a muzzleloader in under a minute (the expected load frequency for a minuteman and members of the continental army in 1776 iffen one looks it up incidentally). Loading up one of them new fandangled breechloaders has got to be faster.

D.

[Scoutillac]

Originally posted by DVanVorous



Surely you jest... :rolleyes:

Iffen I can get off 3 shots with a muzzleloader in under a minute (the expected load frequency for a minuteman and members of the continental army in 1776 iffen one looks it up incidentally). Loading up one of them new fandangled breechloaders has got to be faster.

D.

I think not, when some crackhead has a loaded weapon pointed at you 1 second is too long:eek:

[Schly]

I have to keep my guns and my ammo hidden in different parts of the house. I don't trust my SO's kid (13 yo boy) in the house with the guns.

He's a VERY good kid and is not a hoodlum or aggressive type at all but I haven't seen anything in his behavior that says he is trustworthy when unattended around a deadly weapon. I don't REALLY think he'd shoot anyone, but he hasn't shown the maturity to understand and respect them nor the responsibility to either be afraid enough to not touch them or play with them.

I just can't take the chance that he would goof around with them with his friends and have an accident.

[Kurtuleas]

My grandfather was nuts. He had ALL his guns LOADED and out in the open throughout his house. His reasoning was that there was no such as an "unloaded" gun and that you should treat it like it's loaded all the time.

I am not that crazy however, I have a gun safe for my rifles and shotguns, but I keep my .45 loaded in my nightstand. My son is almost a year and 1/2 so I am getting a trigger lock for it. I am worried that if I do need to use the gun in a hurry, it will render my weapon useless.

[MossMan]

Originally posted by Schly
I have to keep my guns and my ammo hidden in different parts of the house. I don't trust my SO's kid (13 yo boy) in the house with the guns.

He's a VERY good kid and is not a hoodlum or aggressive type at all but I haven't seen anything in his behavior that says he is trustworthy when unattended around a deadly weapon. I don't REALLY think he'd shoot anyone, but he hasn't shown the maturity to understand and respect them nor the responsibility to either be afraid enough to not touch them or play with them.

I just can't take the chance that he would goof around with them with his friends and have an accident.

sounds like you need to take him shootin.:idea:

[DVanVorous]

I think not, when some crackhead has a loaded weapon pointed at you 1 second is too long

Believe that under MY circunstances the dogs would have "sounded the alarm" long before I was ever confronted. I seriously doubt that even someone tweaking is really going to be happy at being confronted by an irate English Mastiff, a Pitbull, and a German shepard mix upon entering my domicile. Rather they just might decide to leave the way they came in and quite possibly a touch faster than their entry was... :D

In my case while living in the Bay area, the frequency of having a gang related shooting or armed robbery in either Redwood City (4 blocks off El Camino and 6 off Woodside)or the Shoreline area off of 3rd in San Mateo was around 5/mo. Even with that frequency I personally never felt a need to have a loaded firearm in the house.

It then boils down to a simple probability question, given the crime statistics specifically in your neighborhood, what exactly is the probability that this crackhead is going to break into your home and what level risk are you willing to take?

I'll lay odds that you probably would need one on the street more than in the house, and concealed carry is a touch off topic... :D

D.

[Schly]

Originally posted by MossMan


sounds like you need to take him shootin.:idea:

I have. And he actually owns a BB gun. I wish I could explain this kid to you. He is so nice and so gentle yet makes stupid decisions that damage things. He's always been like this. It seems to mostly stem from his friends encouraging bad behavior and him not realizing that it's bad behavior. His common sense and his forethought muscles need a LOT of excercise.

Like I said, he will never pick up a gun and hurt someone out of anger, hate, etc., but I can see him as the kind of kid that will be hanging out with a friend, find the gun, and if the ammo was right there, steps B, C, and D would soon follow before he would even realize that it was not a good idea to even touch the gun. The bright side is that he's too lazy/distracted to bother to actually search the house for the ammo so as long as it's in a very inconvenient place for him, he'll let it go.

[MossMan]

actually, even though the title doesn't suggest it, part of my first post was about me carrying in my truck (or elsewhere). My wife thinks it's asking for trouble. I think it's a legit precaution. How does everyone handle this when travelling with family in the car? If I chose to keep one on me regularly it would be in such a way that NO ONE would know I even had it.

[DVanVorous]

How does everyone handle this when travelling with family in the car? If I chose to keep one on me regularly it would be in such a way that NO ONE would know I even had it.

Depends on where yer headed. I had a near OOPs borrowing my Dads truck. Seems he did exactly that and I went to the airport with it. The plane was late ariving and I was getting tired driving the circle at DIA and was considering parking and going into wait for my wifes plane to arive. I did one last turn around, was able to pick her up drove home only to have my dad tell me that a loaded gun was under the seat...They were on high alert and searching all vehicles going into the lots at the time... :eek:

D.

[cdarthvader]

Originally posted by DVanVorous


Believe that under MY circunstances the dogs would have "sounded the alarm" long before I was ever confronted. I seriously doubt that even someone tweaking is really going to be happy at being confronted by an irate English Mastiff, a Pitbull, and a German shepard mix upon entering my domicile. Rather they just might decide to leave the way they came in and quite possibly a touch faster than their entry was... :D

In my case while living in the Bay area, the frequency of having a gang related shooting or armed robbery in either Redwood City (4 blocks off El Camino and 6 off Woodside)or the Shoreline area off of 3rd in San Mateo was around 5/mo. Even with that frequency I personally never felt a need to have a loaded firearm in the house.

It then boils down to a simple probability question, given the crime statistics specifically in your neighborhood, what exactly is the probability that this crackhead is going to break into your home and what level risk are you willing to take?

I'll lay odds that you probably would need one on the street more than in the house, and concealed carry is a touch off topic... :D

D.

True the odds are against someone breaking in, But then again if/when someone breaks in it's to late to go out and buy a gun.

[fishuntr]

Good thread Mossman; and a lot of good, common sense replies. As Desertoy said in his post, he grew up in a home with a lot of firearms. He also alluded to the fact that he and his brother were(are) a couple of hardheads. They came by it honestly. Being in law enforcement, I had to keep my handguns closeby, and loaded. I was a desert cop, subject to being called out any time, night or day, and frequently was.

My dilema was in just how to do this safely. I did keep the loaded handguns high ina closet, supposedly out of reach of the boys. but you read what he and his brother did. The only solution was and is education. I wont go into it, because Desertoy already told you, but to reinforce what he said, we really did get get the guns out, almost anytime the boys wanted. You MUST satisfy this curiousity (fascination), or they will on their own.

I taught hunter safety to a lot of people for many years, and, more recently taught Home Firearms Safety, and Personal Protection classes. We had long discussions over this issue. There are a lot of criminal/civil liability issues in even owning a firearm today, particularly in California.

This issues is a continuing concern for me and my wife still. We both carry concealed most of the time. My two sons have two 4 yr olds who stay at our house a lot. They are every bit as curious as their dads were about firearms. All our hunting type firearms are always kept unloaded, but our handguns are loaded, and kept in high places away from the grandsons, for now. We recently bought a small gun safe.

[DVanVorous]

True the odds are against someone breaking in, But then again if/when someone breaks in it's to late to go out and buy a gun.

Too true... But you might fill me in on this "buy" concept, all mine are hand me downs from my dad, gifted or DIY from parts... :D

D.

[TheTonka]

We have always had guns in my family. Recently we came into a large collection of guns via a death in the family. The collection is being liquidated but a few pieces are being kept.

The biggest things I have learned are :

education - We were always taught that ALL GUNS ARE LOADED ALWAYS. no exceptions. We were also taught that if you see a gun go tell an adult FIRST. Never play with a gun, never pick up a gun.

Probably the biggest risk is not your kids but your kids friends. How do their parents treat guns in the house? How are they going to treat guns in your house?

I knew 2 kids in High school that dies from gunshots. One was shot by a friend who wanted to show him his dads pistol. The other killed himself when he was visiting a friends house and found the friends fathers service piece(The father was a cop).

Accidents happen. My guns are being kept at my parents untill the kids are older.

Mike B