Toddler and Home Defense

[mag1 0]

I was wondering what you guys do if you have a toddler (4 year old) in the house and you own a pistol for home defense.

Where do you keep your pistol at night? Is it locked? Stored in easy reach? Loaded?

I was keeping mine on my nightstand at night, then locking it up during the day.

Now I want to keep it in a side mattress holder instead of between the mattress and boxspring, leave it there during the day, and just take the mag out and put that in the safe. But afraid I may forget once in awhile to remove the mag.

Then at night, take it out and put in the pistol. Just not sure..

A lock box would be a good idea also.

Just looking for some options and do not want to put my son in any harm.

Thanks,

Joe

[alec.mc 180]

http://www.gunvault.com/

 

I have one of these secured to the bottom shelf of my nightstand, and even though I have no children in the house, I feel much better with it locked up, but still be able to open it in seconds.

[RubberBullets 65]

Cant say enough good things about the gunvault sv500. Find yourself a stud between the bed and nightstand and lag bolt that goodness into the wall. Permanently mounted and quick access when needed.

[mag1 0]

http://www.gunvault.com/

 

I have one of these secured to the bottom shelf of my nightstand, and even though I have no children in the house, I feel much better with it locked up, but still be able to open it in seconds.

I like that bio fingerprint one..Thanks, never saw these before..

[Shocker 151]

I have the fingerprint one. Its not super speedy but its virtually silent and you can operate it without looking (i.e. under furniture, in the dark).

 

My son is not even 1 yet but I'm more worried about his future idiot friends than him.

[mag1 0]

Just checked, $153 on amazon..Gonna order 2 now..

Thanks guys, that was quick!

[Smokin .50 1,907]

At 4 years old, I taught my son how to shoot his .22 LR single shot. Told him never to touch my loaded guns. He didn't. He graduated college last year. He's in Iowa with his own hand gun.

 

Do what you feel you have to. As for me, I showed him how to clean them and safely handle them (unloaded), and that took the mystery out of it. NEVER any problems!

 

Get that kid a rifle and teach him how to use it. You'll have a shooting buddy the rest of yer life!

[MedicYeti 96]

My handgun is in a locked box, mag loaded, chamber empty, box is out of sight and out of reach. Key is out of sight and out of reach. I plan on getting one of the above mentioned safes in the near future. My son knows about my guns in the man cave, under my supervision he gets to pretend shoot them. He has not seen me get my defense gun. I make it a point to lock him out of the room if I'm going to do anything with it.

I figure, he doesn't know where it is. If he could see it he can't reach it. If he uses something to reach it he can't unlock it. If he does all the above, he doesn't have the strength to operate the slide. As he gets older I'll keep re evaluating my safety measures.

[Texan 1]

IF you have a head board, nail or screw an old holster to the back of it and keep it there at night. or mount the holster to the back of the side table next to your bed if you have one. Easy access at night and put it in the gunvault during the day. works for me. I have 2 kids - 6 and 4.

[Sandy 44]

gun vault is a good start..education is the critical part. Make sure if the gun was accessible for any off the grid weird reason , they know what to do and how to do it safely.

 

My kids are 1 , 4 , and almost 6. Guns are ready to go should we need to defend ourselves , but in safes around the house.

 

A word of caution about biometrics. Program your fingerprint as many different ways as you can so you do not get denied if you come in under stress at some weird angle , buy a safe that has a key combo override in case your finger is nit in its original condition when you have to use that safe , and keep the finger reader clean. It avoids being locked out because it can't read your print , and it also avoids someone from bumping it open because your print is left behind.

[ChrisJM981 924]

gun vault is a good start..education is the critical part. Make sure if the gun was accessible for any off the grid weird reason , they know what to do and how to do it safely.

 

My kids are 1 , 4 , and almost 6. Guns are ready to go should we need to defend ourselves , but in safes around the house.

 

A word of caution about biometrics. Program your fingerprint as many different ways as you can so you do not get denied if you come in under stress at some weird angle , buy a safe that has a key combo override in case your finger is nit in its original condition when you have to use that safe , and keep the finger reader clean. It avoids being locked out because it can't read your print , and it also avoids someone from bumping it open because your print is left behind.

 

What she said. I have a Gun Vault Bio (GVB 1000). Sometimes it reads my print quicker than other times. As Mrs. Pete stated it is a good idea to store multiple images of your print in case you don't get your whole finger on the scanner. I would also recommend scanning in your middle finger on your strong hand and your pointer finger on your weak hand, You never know what the situation might be and I believe it can store up to 50 prints. Mine beeps when it reads the print then beeps again 3 times in rapid succession to acknowledge an accepted print. The door springs open with some force so you do want it clear of anything. I wish I could disable the sound on mine. It has a power plug to connect to the wall and a battery backup. I suggest putting in a lithium battery since they have a 10 year shelf life.

[mag1 0]

Thanks guys

[GlockinNJ 0]

My handgun is in a locked box, mag loaded, chamber empty, box is out of sight and out of reach. Key is out of sight and out of reach.

 

Me too.

 

I use this and it serves my needs perfectly:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stack-On-QAS-1304-Profile-Access-Electronic/dp/B0013LO0F6/ref=sr_1_24?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1342662693&sr=1-24

[phoenix_iii 0]

Just so you know, once they hit about 10, they can pry open a gun vault. I got burgled and they left the vault and the large screwdriver they used behind. Gunvault Deluxe... Pry-resistant my as..

[RubberBullets 65]

once they hit about 10,

 

Care to expand on this? 10 what? seconds?

[Regulator72 80]

Care to expand on this? 10 what? seconds?

 

I took it as 10 years old, assuming thats what he meant. I have a safe in the nightstand, as well as my 12g pump hanging inside my walk in closet, just above the door. We have a 7yr old, that knows better than to touch any gun, and he was taught proper gun safety. He comes shooting with me from time to time. My other 2 kids, (21 months, and our newest is only 1 week!)

 

I have easy access to the shotty, I thinking this is the safest bet, 1, they can't reach it above the door, 2, if they did, they would need to load a shell, and pump the action. I keep the shells in a shell holder on the stock. I can grab, load, and pump in a matter of seconds, fast than opening any safe and racking the slide. on the plus side, I am out of view while this happens.. might not be the best plan, but for me it works and my kids/firearms are safe.

[Sandy 44]

Gun vaults are good for smash and grab thiefs and for keeping out kids too young to be safe. But if you have a thief with time on his hands , or a problematic pre teen or teen , any of these standalone bolt it to the floor type safes can be defeated. You need a big standing one with a real lock on it , or an in wall safe to deter a problem teen with tools or a burglar that targeted you because he knows you are in the bahamas or something and you don;t have an alarm system.. In other words , if you did not spend more than a grand on it , you are only protected against smash and grab and typical young kids.

 

I view these safes as being there so I can grab something quickly without have a loaded weapon laying around for any kids to touch. If I was going to be away , or if the situation arises where I have a kid I can't trust , they will be in a big safe that is like a piece of furniture , or heavy duty in wall that was installed professionally.

 

If you keep stuff in a 300 dollar safe , and you don't have other deterrents like an alarm system that is monitored , you should keep in mind that you may come home from a day's outing to see your own guns pointing at you.

[TheLugNutZ 21]

Have a 5 year old daughter. She knows a little about my guns and safety, but i dont think she is ready to go shooting yet. I do let her watch me clean them and she has held my pistols on several occasions just to take the mystery out of them. Maybe next year ill take her out to the range to watch a few times then try out the .22

 

My HD pistols are in a locked box next to the bed and i sold my shotgun b/c i was in an apartment and had nowhere to keep it accessible and safe. Now that we have the house i will prob make some sort of hanger in the closet for a Shotgun and a permanent place for the lock box for the HD pistol next to the bed.

 

I dont really care for the fingerprint vaults, too much potential error there in a bad situation. Key pad with back up key or standard combo lock in case the battery dies. IMO