"I gotta problem. You know I have a two year old and another on the way. And also that I live way out on the fringe of the outer suburbs. So close to country it might as well be. How do I store my firearms so they are ready to respond at a moments notice, but also are put away safe from curious young hands."
That IS a pickle. And his ready guns are 2 or 3 long guns, 2 or 3 pistols, max, but also kind 'min'. So a tiny one-pistol gun stowage with a biometric lock isn't the solution.
Currently they have double padlocks on plastic gun cases. Slow to access.
Big combination lock safe? As secure as you'd want. Slow to access.
On two pegs above the door, out of reach? Quick access, but you know as soon as you do that the 3 year old learns to stack chairs and is touching the dang thing. No good.
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The closest I come up with that satisfies his needs is something like this:
I like push button access more than bioetric. When one of the combos is pushing 2 button simultaneously, that often defeats kids trying to get in. 1, 2-3, 4. Or summat.
Anyone else cracked this tough nut with something better?
6 comments:
You know those little covers they sell for pets' paws?
I protected my children from misusing my guns by teaching them at a young age (two and three) how to properly use them. Them I made them play with them until they got bored. They weren't forbidden, so they weren't all that interesting.
I've seen a toddler and numerous other children ignore a loaded machinegun (they don't have safeties) on the floor, because they were instructed in no uncertain terms that that was daddy's and not for them.
Don't hide your guns from your kids. Teach them. Guns are dangerous tools for adult use, just like all those other ones. Like the power drill and the circular saw. And the lawn mower. And the hammer. And the elctrical outlets.
I'd suggest a holstered handgun on the person all the time around the house, concealed or open. That makes it available and yet secured from unauth access.
I would additionally suggest keeping a long gun "cruiser ready" (loaded but not chambered) in the gun safe, using the day lock feature of the safe if it has one. Even if the safe isn't equipped with a day lock, you can get the same effect on a dial combination safe by opening the safe, then close the door handle and turn the combination dial a short distance from the last number. To open, just turn the dial to the right number and open it up.
There's no absolute way to be ready 24/7 no matter what, but I think you get about the max possible out of your defensive guns this way. Having even a mouse gun on you is something (or more gun, if that's what you can wear holstered all the time) and is enough to deal with many "situations". The cruiser ready long gun in the safe is as much as you'll have for Armageddon and it's ready yet fairly secure, and you have your handgun to get you to the safe if it really is something your handgun isn't enough for.
In addition to what others have said (introduce them, teach them, don't make guns taboo, wear a holstered firearm), Vaultek, while not cheap, seems to have all the functionality of instant access - PIN code, biometric, an easily concealable remote button for instant access, etc. It also offers intrusion detection, environmental monitoring, and a lockout feature.
The challenge is the cost and deciding if you want your safe to be attached to a potentially hackable network.
There is also the in between option - have 1 or 2 guns readily accessible, and the rest stored more securely.
I have an almost 2 year old, with a gun on me and a gun on a high shelf; everything else is locked up.
The guns are in our bedroom, which she doesn't have access to.
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