On Friday, my wife and I welcomed the newest member of the Concealed Carry Academy family. Although, unlike my other employees, this one won’t prove useful for a number of years and will probably end up costing me a small fortune… Her name is Scarlet and she weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces.
Now that I’ve had my first child I can fully understand how someone could go all Charles Bronson Death Wish for messing with your child. I also understand why people’s gun purchases diminish after a child. (Let’s just say I almost had a heart attack when I found out the price of the baby pictures they take right before you leave the hospital. And yes, we got them. I may be cheap, but I’m wise enough to pick and choose my battles.)
And now that I’ve got my first child at home I thought it would be appropriate today to cover the topic of how I lock up all of my guns. I have a lot of guns in my house and I utilize a variety of safes and “gadgets” to keep them secure.
The two most common safes in my house are the Gun Vault and the Stack-On PDS 500.
Both of these safes are fast opening, allowing the gun to be accessed in 3 seconds or less. Personally, I have guns stored on every level of my house and thus, one of these safes is on each level so that I can quickly access a gun if need be.
Also, both of these safes require me to punch in buttons to open them and they don’t use any biometric/fingerprint scanning. The biometric technology in most safes is not good enough yet and you don’t want to be killed by an intruder because you swiped your finger 15 times and the safe still wouldn’t open.
For my long guns – shotguns and rifles – I do a few different things.
For some of my guns I have them locked in a hard side case. For guns that I want slightly quicker access to I use the Breechvault (made for shotguns by the Gun Vault Company) and the Magvault (for my AR-15, also made by Gun Vault.)
Of course, there a dozens of different firms that produce vaults and safes, but the important thing to remember is that all guns should be locked and secure somehow. In other words, I meet a lot of people who tell me they have guns hidden in their house in secret locations (like the clock the NRA sells that really holds a gun.)
These are obviously not a good idea, especially if you have kids around because they only hide guns, they don’t safely secure them. One other thing I want to quickly cover is what I discussed last week. When I’m in my house I’ll often carry my Ruger LCP or a S&W snubby in my pocket.
When carrying these guns I’m always mindful of where the gun is pointing to make sure I’m not muzzling anyone. And if I ever take off my pants to shower or change, then the gun obviously goes right into a safe and not on the ground still in the pocket of the pants.
And don’t forget, even if you don’t have young kids you probably still have friends, family members, plumbers, electricians, the cleaning lady, and other people walking through your house. So lock up those guns so nobody can access them, except you and your spouse.
Congratulations on the new family addition!
A most excellent article with very practical advice. Congrats on the new addition as well.
Congrats on the new family addition and very good points that all of us parents as well as others need to keep in mind concerning firearms in the home. When my gun is in its holster I am constantly aware of where the muzzle is pointing so I can avoid sweeping someone with the muzzle while the gun is in the holster.
Congratulations on the new arrival!!! And the fortune she will cost you is not small by any means .. if you do the math between now and 18 and then include college tuition into that equation.. you will see the cost of raising one child is staggering.. then think about the additional cost if you have multiple children…
Congrats on the new arrival. Safes are an excellent idea. However, are you aware that your link to Amazon for the Stack-on PDS 500 has multiple comments that this safe can easily be opened with a simple paper clip? There’s even one comment that provides a link for how to do it and they demonstrate it pretty convincingly. Sorry, but this safe should not be endorsed.
I have a 2 year old and 3 guns. I have one of those stack on safes bolted to the wall on a high shelf in a closet and drawer safe for the nightstand by my bed. If a gun is not in the safe I’m wearing it holstered. Now that she is running around I keep a constant eye on her. If she is upstairs, we (my wife or myself) are upstairs with her. Same with downstairs. Keep your guns secured.
Hows the covert real estate buying ans selling going? This guy is a joke. Look hime up on youtube. You have covert ho-to advice on anything you can make some money at. I don’t. Believe you have the weapons experience or training you say you have, and I surely wouldn’t. Pay the ridiculously highprices for your classes or you advice on how to make $10800 for each concealed weapons class. Congratulations on the little girl.
I have been reading reviews on the biometric gun safe. I came across Barska as being the best in the biometric safe area. Anyone have any experience with this brand?
Congrats on the birth of your first one. Most of my guns are stored in a
full size gun safe that holds a bunch of guns. I have become a little
lax since I don’t have any small kids around. I need to step it up and
get one of these small safes. Thanks for the article to remind me.
Jason – at 6 years of age the Jr Olympics shooting program takes kids and teaches them gun safety. If they shoot with the program through their formative years, at age 18 they can qualify for a full college scholarship. Go teach your daughter to handle guns safely. In the meantime – yes keep them locked up!
Having had children that expressed interest in guns I have found that an honest approach to introducing them to guns works best. Once the child expresses interest in guns it is time to sit down for a long discussion. A parent or guardian may have to break this up into short sessions to not lose the attention of the child. They must understand that the gun uses on television are not real and then once that is understood, you should ask the child if they want to shoot a gun. So far I have not ever spoken to any child that did not answer yes to that question. I always obtain good hearing protection and have found that full face shield works best for a child. I choose a fruit item such as an orange and have the child handle it and tell them to compare it to their body such as their arm. I load a pistol with one round HP ammunition and with the child safety equipped I hold the pistol and invite them to put their hands into position to access the trigger with the fruit on the ground about one foot away. When they trigger the weapon, it usually makes the fruit disappear and leaves a good sized hole in the ground with fruit bits all over us. I then ask them what they think real guns do to people and they answer that they are no longer interested in guns. Locking guns up and the NO, NO, NO, approach only makes a child more curious and while you may lock up a gun your neighbor may not. I have had one foster child come home since another child showed her his fathers gun and she wanted no part of it as I explained how many BAD accidents happen. Let children know what real guns do and tell them to get away from children that show weapons without adults around and tell an adult immediately. Children are not stupid. Once they know the reality, they will have no interest in weapons. The children I have taught this to are almost entirely responsible gun owners now that they are grown. Be honest with a child and show them that you’re hiding nothing and they won’t touch a gun in full view, since they know the reality. Later when they express interest again, it is time for NRA instruction by a certified instructor of an operation like Frontsight.
I’m old enough to be a grandpa and my grown daughter is 35, so I have some experience with this. From reading the other comments it seems some are ready to lock all their firearms away while others are wanting to scare the begeesus out of their kids in order for them never to touch their horrible “weapons”. First of all, your firearms are not weapons any more than your baseball bat is – unless you have used either to harm a human being. So let’s lose that terminology. You are the best judge of your child’s intelligence and judgment. Keep your firearms and ammunition locked up (or on your person) until they are old enough in your opinion to be trusted with access. Also assess those with whom your children associate and make sure they are trustworthy as well. When they are ready – and only you can assess that – teach them about guns and gun safety, show them what they can do (without making them out to be evil), and gradually allow them more access. After all, many older children use guns every year to protect themselves or their loved ones against criminals or even animals (wild or domesticated). Check out the NRA mag “armed citizen” column frequently if you don’t believe that last statement. Guns are dangerous but so are kitchen knives, matches, electric sockets, letter openers, heavy pots and pans, and even buckets with water in them.
I don’t understand the point of either safe that you had a link to. One could easily break into them with a grinder and metal cutting blade, and because it is obvious that they are made for guns they are an appealing and easy target for thieves. If your goal is to make them inaccessible to children, you could just use the locking string thing that comes with the gun or put a lock on the box that the gun came in. I am surprised that Jason Hanson did not mention a large, heavy rifle safe that could actually prevent theft.
That being said, when I was a child I always knew where my parents kept their shotgun and handguns. I had access to them and knew how to use them from the age of 4. Same with my two sisters. If you raise your children right, there is no need to lock the guns up.
Really??? He’s just keeping them locked from access. I dont care what safe you put in your house, it can be stolen. And, I pray nobody ever gets hurt with a gun in your house. But hey, you told them not to play with them. Ya, tell that to the judge.
Well all the children are now adults and moved out of the house, so yeah nobody got hurt. The safes in the article can be removed in a backpack by and idiot teenager or drug addict that breaks into the house. Not all safes can be removed without power tools and making a lot of noise. Im surprised Jason Hanson does not keep his guns in a huge rifle safe that weighs several hundred pounds and is bolted to the floor joists or the studs in a wall.
I hope everyone uses some sort of safe to keep guns out of the hands of children but I do hope you all teach them on what they can do also. What I mean by that is, if you dont teach and show them the safety and destruction a gun can do then they are more likely to get hurt or killed if the come across a gun. I was taught to respect and to handle guns at a very early age and I thank my parents for that guidance. Remember Ignorance Kills!