For most of my gun owning life I have been in homes without small children. This meant that securing firearms was not of any particular concern to me. In college I got a locking steel cabinet to keep guns in because I had roommates and well, we drank a lot. Mostly I did not want some random person at one of my roomies impromptu gatherings to stumble into a gun and through idiocy or malice do something dangerous. However except those times I just kept whatever the defensive flavor of the week was out or in my nightstand.
As I have stopped having roomies and my gun collection grew I have kept weapons around the house for defensive purposes. We had a gun or two in every room we really spend time in at our place in Alabama. Fast forward a couple years and insert a toddler. The topic of guns and kids stopped being theoretical about the time he was able to move around.
Since my kid can barely shove food that is put in front of him into his mouth the odds that he could load a weapon are about 0% but I figure it is better to be cautious now while we have some time to figure out workable plans.
To me the obvious solution to firearms and small children (prior to the age where they can mentally understand firearms and be trained which, depending on who you ask is somewhere between 3 and 21) is to either lock guns up or have them under my direct control be it on my person or next to me.
I got a small lockable case for my carry pistol. Small enough to easily fit into my overnight bag if need be. The long gun that has been following me around lately is a folding stock AK. I needed a way to keep it secured. A big case would be kind of a pain as the only ones I have are 4 feet long and bulky. Though I will keep my eye out for one just long enough for my AK's new more compact folded footprint. My solution for the AK was to take a long lock and run in through the ejection port and mag well and lock the thing.
These solutions cost about $20 total. When I am back home we will need to put considerably more thought and expense into firearms security but that is a post for another day.
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Being of the mind that we pick and choose where money goes we went with the simple route. Ammo is stored in a cabinet in a room with a toddler lock on the door. Thus she can't access the ammo. We currently have more long guns than handguns. Long guns are in hard cases with locks on the case. Hand guns are different. Right now mine is in a hidden compartment in my truck which is locked in the garage when I am not in it. Hubby's is in his night stand unloaded. His clip is up high but within the walk to our bedroom door so it can be reached and the gun loaded as we need it for protective purposes. Our plan is to each have a lock box hanging on the wall with print access so that they can be kept loaded but for now this works. The older child knows that our room is off limits and so is the ammo. She has her own 10/22 (As you know since you helped me, lol) but has a healthy awareness of the rules. The little one is 2 and we teach her the rules every time we go out. She hears it often and repeatedly. She will be well aware by the time she is 5 I am sure. You are doing a great job!
Personally, I have small (sized for one pistol) electronic combination safes next to bed and in kitchen - kids can't open them and gun can be kept loaded and ready. My long guns all stay in the safe, unloaded, as they won't be my first line of defense if someone kicks-in the door. Education for the kids is the best solution, of course, and my kids have been shooting and memorized the four safety rules since the age of 5.
We have a fingerprint access only safe in our bedroom for our handguns. Extra clips are there as well. That way our three boys cannot open it no matter what. Only mom and dad's prints will work. Long guns are in a locked cabinet in our room, and ammo is out of reach else where in the house. Our boys know the rules, but we cannot always know what someone else's kiddo might do. We found this works best for us for now, got the safe on Amazon reasonably priced.e
Interesting post Ryan. I wish more people gave as much thought to firearm safety.
Your post shows you adapted safety measures to fit your situation at the time. That is the key.
I have no children living with me and few visitors. Friends that do visit are also shooters and have no need to 'play' with my firearms.
All guns in my house are loaded, cocked and locked. Most are easily accessable. When g-kids do come by, everything is put away and kids are supervised. I have taken the older ones to the range and will take the younger ones in due time. Safety rules are drilled into their little heads and constantly re-enforced while any handling of firearms is going on.
As anonymous said, "Education for the kids is the best solution, . . .". Even if someone doesn't like/want to shoot, they should be taught how to handle, check, and unload a firearm safely.
The four firearm safety rules apply to any gun in any situation. Storage, however, is dependant on your situation. And with kids around, you can't be too safe.
Take care and may God Bless.
DesertRatJak
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