Child proofing your home defender.

[theGinsue]

I did as my parents did which is exactly like HunterCO says, but I now have one of those finger combo safes (A "Gun Vault 1000". My youngest is 17 - the safe isn't for the kids but in case someone breaks in while we are not home).

You are right not to trust the finger combo safe. It's hard enough to open when you have all of the time in the world and are not under any stress. It's easy to press one of the buttons that you don't mean to press throwing off the whole combo. Too many failed attempts disables the combo for a few minutes. If you are rushed and under stress because someone is breaking into your home, this is NOT the time to prance around with this mechanism.

Pic of Gun Vault 1000:
(http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/co...220659sn02.jpg)



I fully recommend a biometric safe, but they certainly cost! I have a co-worker who has a biometric wall safe. He loves it and says it slides open in ".2 seconds" from the time he puts his finger on the reader. I plan to get one of these for myself and sell the Gun Vault.

Here is the info on the wall safe:
http://www.buyasafe.com/Wall_Safes_p/sl-20700.htm

[GunTroll]

Now were talking!

[theGinsue]

Just keep it on your hip until you go to bed.

That works if you only have one around that is not locked up.........

Are you all talking about the kid, or the gun?

[Pancho Villa]

All guns not kept for "ready" self defense: in some sort of locked container, with their actions locked open with one of those loop locks gun stores give away, and not readily accessible (ie a closet or something in the bedroom.)

Guns kept for "ready" self defense are to be on the person of one of the parents at all times except bedtime.

Bedtime gets a little trickier. I would consider some kind of shoulder-holster type setup draped over the top of the headboard. This way you can get to your gun if you need it in a hurry at night, but the kid can't sneak into the room and take it while you sleep (unless both of you sleep so heavily that your kid can get into bed, stand up and take your gun and get out without awakening you, in which case I hope you have a darn loud burglar alarm!)

Wife & I have discussed that, and thats our tentative plan.

[theGinsue]

Wife & I have discussed that, and thats our tentative plan.

Some folks have fire drills in their homes (okay, so do I), but we have "home invasion drills" too. Gets us in the frame of mind to know what to do in different scenarios.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Duct tape...

The kid or the gun?

EDIT.. oh nm.. ginsue sort of beat me to it.

[gnihcraes]

Gun vault 1000, works great, haven't had any issues "not" getting into it. It has a Key bypass if needed. Batteries have lasted years... that reminds me, time to replace them...

kc.

[SA Friday]

I've seen video of a 4 year old figure out how to rack the slide of 1911 using her body weight and the side of a coffee table. Some experiment they ran back in the late 70's early 80's. It scared the sh!$ out of me. Mine are in a finger combo safe. I check it weekly, change the batteries regularly, and it's faster than digging out the gun and mag, and then loading.

My primary defense is anyone getting into my house has to go through the 110lb Akida and manage to walk across the main floor with umteen-million toys on the floor with the lights off and not trip and fall doing both of those. By the time the actually did that and the door/window locks, they have to get upstairs. Hell, they can manage that without waking my very light sleeping wife, it wouldn't have mattered how I kept the gun.

[ryanek9freak]

I agree, if you can make it past my dogs, we'll have a chat.

I carry my 1911 on my hip at all times, even in the house. It stays on my nightstand locked and loaded when I'm sleeping. Bedroom door is LOCKED, no kids allowed to sleep with mommy and daddy. We broke them of that a long time ago. The guns I don't carry are locked away in a spare bedroom, that they kids wouldn't be able to get into without a chainsaw. I have an alarm system as well.

[Colorado Osprey]

Colorado Osprey wrote:
That works if you only have one around that is not locked up.........


Are you all talking about the kid, or the gun?

The gun....
I Don't lock up the kids..... but wouldn't it be nice sometimes??