davidw

How many of you have kids at home old enough to be curious? I know many of you have don't will have your gun close to you at all times while home, even while sleeping. What do those of you with kids do?

I have one 16yr old & one 6 yr old.

I am looking for a new gun for carry and have been reading a lot of the discussions about a manual safety vs. no manual safety. Do you think with kids around it is important to have a manual safety on top of other safety measures taken. I realize a kid (especially the older one) can easily turn the safety. But I am thinking that if for some reason he ever got hold of it without a lock on it and he was just holding it the way a kids may, that it is one more safety measure to prevent an accident.

Opinions please.

David

Bfunk

Keep you're gun locked up when no on you.

I believe it is important to start talking gun safety as soon as a kid is old enough to understand. "Do NOT touch daddy's gun!"

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WHO DEY?!

"To my mind it is wholly irresponsible to go into the world incapable of preventing violence, injury, crime, and death. How feeble is the mindset to accept defenselessness. How unnatural. How cheap. How cowardly. How pathetic." Ted Nugent

varob

When my wife and I got married and started a family, all my guns ( that wheren't on me) got locked in the safe. SAFTY always comes first.

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Don't believe what you hear and only half of what you see!
-Tony Soprano

HITCH KING

Let them watch the Eddie Eagle video.

I can only tell you what I have done. My kids 10,8,2 all understand that I have firearms in the house. If they want to see Daddy guns all they have to ask. Will be happy to unload them and let them play with them AFTER I show them that the guns are unloaded. Just like any other new toy it gets old real fast. Then It just sits there unused. Still enforcing proper gun handling. Finger off the trigger. Knowing what is behind the wall, Understanding once you pull the trigger no turning back the bullet. I have left the guns unloaded easily with in their reach. So far they have not touched the gun. This is no means the end all solution but it works for me. I am not worried about my kids going to a friends house and them finding a gun at the friends house.

bzdog

I'd say the safest place for your firearm is on your person. If it isn't on your person, it should be in a safe.

-john

pgrass101

I have a 2 year old and a 9 month old, but when ever a gun is not on my person then it is locked up in a safe.

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Noli nothis permittere te terere

"If ignorance is bliss then shouldn’t most people happy?" -Thomas Jefferson-

Ape

All the comments on keeping it locked up if not on your person are right on!
But I would also suggest on teaching your kids all about guns and taking the curiosity away. The kids who are "accidentally" injured or killed every year are from guns that aren't locked up and parents who've never taken the time to completely educate their kids about guns.

My daughter is now 10 years old and has had her own guns since she was 6 or 7. She now has 4 guns of her own and is more safe handling guns than many adults I know. She's also fully aware of other people's handling skills while she's around, and she'll let you know if you're being unsafe at any point!
She also knows that if she's ever at another person's house and a gun makes an appearance without a responsible adult present....It's time to leave!

The only safety you should ever trust is the one between your ears. ;) Not the mechanical ones on the guns themselves.

BlueNinjaGo

My son is only 13 months old, so he's still too young. Obviously we don't keep our firearms ANYWHERE were he could get into in case he is strong enough to pull the trigger. My girlfriend has a 4 year old nephew who visits at least once or twice a week, so we have to keep it out of his reach as well.

I'd look into getting a gun safe, and if you're worried about having to access it in an emergency, look at fingerprint locks or ones that require buttons. Keys are good for back up, but fumbling with keys is a recipe for disaster in case of an emergency.

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CRags99

I agree with this. My instructor firmly believes in this principle and he has 2 grown children, both in the military now and also both qualified firearms instructors in their own right that prove this can be a legitimate way to raise children around guns. Especially your 16 year old. Don't make it tabboo. Be open and honest and if your kids are interested let them go to the range with you and learn proper saftey and techniques. Some of the best range days I've ever had have been with my dad and I know he feels the same.

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Glock 27

"Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot."

tokerblue

Teach your kids gun safety if they are old enough to understand. But I agree with the others. If it's not on you, it should be in a safe. I put mine in a GunVault. I have a 2 and 4 year old and no matter what you tell them, they're too young to understand. I can't see any reason why you would leave a loaded weapon laying around when you can access a small safe in seconds.