Secure Your Weapon

rfgarcia · April 8th, 2006, 03:46 PM

Not sure if there was any thread on locking up your guns. As most of you I have a few little hatchlings in the house and though they are not of age yet I know that there will be the time where snooping becomes and issue and as any parent my heart drops at the thought of them gettin near my firearms. I have a Taurus 24/7 and a M&P. The 24/7 has it's own slide lock but the only safety on the M&P is to not have a round in the chamer.

Now I am going to educate the little ones, boy 4yrs, girl 10 months, but why leave things to chance. I'd just like to know what others have to secure their weapons. I'm looking at a gun safe but not exactly sure which to get yet.

gddyup · April 8th, 2006, 04:22 PM

Welcome! I myself have a 3 yo boy and my wife is ready to give birth to our second any minute now, so I know your dilemna. I bought a GunVault Deluxe safe to hold my handguns. I currently have 3 of them and they all fit inside the safe without any problems. I didn't ahve the beans to get something really big so the Gunvault fit my budget and needs just fine.

Gunvault

I got the 2000 in the deluxe version since I wanted the extras. If I remember right, I paid just about $125 for it via the web. I think it's an excellent product if it fits your needs. Easy to use and holds a few handguns without any difficulty. Its more than enough until I can get into a nicer dedicated gun safe.

Even with that, education of the little ones is the utmost key in ensuring they grow up with a healthy respect for firearms and firearms safety in general. Kudos to you for making that a priority.

elkhunter · April 8th, 2006, 04:58 PM

You are a few years away from any in depth training except for the Eddie Eagle video. Now that'll keep their attention for hours at those ages. The real hands-on training comes later.

I only purchased a gun cabinet a few years ago, before then; I had them (long guns only) in soft cases up on a high shelf in my walk-in closet. I was the only one who knew where they were and needed a ladder to get to them. I don't know if you would want to play that game. (I only had a few long guns at that time anyhow.)
I got the cabinet when I began hands-on training with my oldest son when he was about 11 yrs old, and when I began purchasing pistols and other hunting guns. It is a cheap cabinet, I don’t have a lot of $ and my guns are not all that valuable, that is, no high priced collectors. The most valuable is probably my Winchester .32 special, handed down to me from my grandfather. I figure it might be worth a few grand at the right gun show, but it is an ere-loom, and will never leave the family if I can help it.
My pistols are in ….. safe places, in the house where they can be accessed in a time of need. When we leave town, all guns (not going with us) are in the cabinet.
My oldest son, now 14, knows where the P-95 is, if he should ever need it when he and his brother & sister are alone and an intruder comes around. He’s pretty good with the P-95 and carries it for self protection when we archery hunt. His training continues, he can now disassemble and re-assemble in about 40 seconds, blindfolded, and shoots a pretty good group too. (My “fine young man” he is.)

Anyhow, that 8 gun cabinet I have was purchased at Wally World a few years back for about $70 or $80. It’s not fire proof or especially heavy. Any hard core thief could probably rip into it, but for the value of its contents, he’d be a fool. It’s also buried in the midst of a bunch of storage crap in the basement no self respecting thief would want to dig through.

I keep drooling over some of those big “safes” but gotta keep saving for one of those. Problem is, every time I save up some, I end up buying another gun instead.

rfgarcia · April 8th, 2006, 08:03 PM

I was looking at the gunvault and like the idea and size.Of course the price is nice and within range, though if I can budget for a $500 piece I can do that for a safe to protect my family from it. But my question is also, how you like the key function on it and/or the push button. I think that I am a little ways from a big safe though, I do have a 22LR which is stored in our storage unit since I hardly shoot the thing, but do plan on buying some rifles in the future so I am not too far from it and am always looking.

CopperKnight · April 8th, 2006, 08:15 PM

I've got an electronic two shelf handgun safe for the bedroom. Cost me $100 (gunsafes are specifically exempt from sales tax in Washington State). Beeps when the buttons are pressed and has a loud and annoying alarm if it is moved or the wrong combination is hit 3 times.

It's got a pretty good mounting plate so it can be screwed to just about any level top. I'll check for the make on it and modify the post when I can.

gddyup · April 8th, 2006, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfgarcia

I was looking at the gunvault and like the idea and size.Of course the price is nice and within range, though if I can budget for a $500 piece I can do that for a safe to protect my family from it. But my question is also, how you like the key function on it and/or the push button. I think that I am a little ways from a big safe though, I do have a 22LR which is stored in our storage unit since I hardly shoot the thing, but do plan on buying some rifles in the future so I am not too far from it and am always looking.

The "keypad" is easy to use and the barrel-key override is there in case you need it. The one I have has a movement alarm where it will start blasting away if there is an attempt to move it and it also has a tamper tone in case someone tries getting into it without knowing the combination. It's easy to open one-handed in the dark so you can keep your eyes in scan mode while accessing the safe.

rocky · April 9th, 2006, 10:42 AM

When my kids were younger ,I kept the guns locked up, now at ages 9 & 11 , they know how to shoot and not to touch the guns w/ out permission. I now us a gun safe too. Keep my carry gun on my waist and the rest are locked up.
Showing the kids the destructive power of bullets thru exploding watermelon, water jugs and the like seemed to send the maessage home to em, guns can be deadly. also honest discussion (ages 4&6) seemed to help them understand , guns are not toys.

Rugerman · April 9th, 2006, 12:27 PM

I have a gun safe that holds all of my long guns and cleaning kits and other things. My CCW is either on my side or locked up in the safe.

BlueLion · April 9th, 2006, 04:28 PM

Just bought an amored safe from Wally World. It has a hidden hinge and pre-drilled holes to mount on the floor or wall. This safe is by Sentry and can easily hold two or three pistols. Just to give you an idea of the width. I can stand a small can of Break Free up inside it. It was 49.96. I needed because my first child will be born soon and I want to be able to continue to leave the wife the .38 for her protection. I have transitioned to the 1911 as always carry. However, will be looking into getting an XD soon. Anyway the safe, is heavy, secure and armored.

Tom357 · April 9th, 2006, 10:54 PM

Just be aware that barrel keys like those used on the Gunvault and on some bike locks can easily be defeated by a BIC disposable ball point pen, and that teens are more aware of this technique than adults.

April 8th, 2006, 03:46 PM	#1
rfgarcia New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 5	Secure Your Weapon Not sure if there was any thread on locking up your guns. As most of you I have a few little hatchlings in the house and though they are not of age yet I know that there will be the time where snooping becomes and issue and as any parent my heart drops at the thought of them gettin near my firearms. I have a Taurus 24/7 and a M&P. The 24/7 has it's own slide lock but the only safety on the M&P is to not have a round in the chamer. Now I am going to educate the little ones, boy 4yrs, girl 10 months, but why leave things to chance. I'd just like to know what others have to secure their weapons. I'm looking at a gun safe but not exactly sure which to get yet.

April 8th, 2006, 04:22 PM	#2
gddyup Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Derry, NH Posts: 897	Welcome! I myself have a 3 yo boy and my wife is ready to give birth to our second any minute now, so I know your dilemna. I bought a GunVault Deluxe safe to hold my handguns. I currently have 3 of them and they all fit inside the safe without any problems. I didn't ahve the beans to get something really big so the Gunvault fit my budget and needs just fine. Gunvault I got the 2000 in the deluxe version since I wanted the extras. If I remember right, I paid just about $125 for it via the web. I think it's an excellent product if it fits your needs. Easy to use and holds a few handguns without any difficulty. Its more than enough until I can get into a nicer dedicated gun safe. Even with that, education of the little ones is the utmost key in ensuring they grow up with a healthy respect for firearms and firearms safety in general. Kudos to you for making that a priority. __________________ Firefighter/EMT My own piece of the web... The Right of Defense It is better to be the widow of a hero than the wife of a coward. - Dolores Ibarruri

April 8th, 2006, 04:58 PM	#3
elkhunter Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Colorado Posts: 253	You are a few years away from any in depth training except for the Eddie Eagle video. Now that'll keep their attention for hours at those ages. The real hands-on training comes later. I only purchased a gun cabinet a few years ago, before then; I had them (long guns only) in soft cases up on a high shelf in my walk-in closet. I was the only one who knew where they were and needed a ladder to get to them. I don't know if you would want to play that game. (I only had a few long guns at that time anyhow.) I got the cabinet when I began hands-on training with my oldest son when he was about 11 yrs old, and when I began purchasing pistols and other hunting guns. It is a cheap cabinet, I don’t have a lot of $ and my guns are not all that valuable, that is, no high priced collectors. The most valuable is probably my Winchester .32 special, handed down to me from my grandfather. I figure it might be worth a few grand at the right gun show, but it is an ere-loom, and will never leave the family if I can help it. My pistols are in ….. safe places, in the house where they can be accessed in a time of need. When we leave town, all guns (not going with us) are in the cabinet. My oldest son, now 14, knows where the P-95 is, if he should ever need it when he and his brother & sister are alone and an intruder comes around. He’s pretty good with the P-95 and carries it for self protection when we archery hunt. His training continues, he can now disassemble and re-assemble in about 40 seconds, blindfolded, and shoots a pretty good group too. (My “fine young man” he is.) Anyhow, that 8 gun cabinet I have was purchased at Wally World a few years back for about $70 or $80. It’s not fire proof or especially heavy. Any hard core thief could probably rip into it, but for the value of its contents, he’d be a fool. It’s also buried in the midst of a bunch of storage crap in the basement no self respecting thief would want to dig through. I keep drooling over some of those big “safes” but gotta keep saving for one of those. Problem is, every time I save up some, I end up buying another gun instead. __________________ It’s so much easier now days, to "Love and honor" my wife, when she is armed, and shoots a better group than I do. (Till death do us part, eh?) "The orriginal point & click device was a Smith & Wesson" -Unknown

April 8th, 2006, 08:15 PM	#5
CopperKnight Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Spokane area, WA Posts: 4,693	I've got an electronic two shelf handgun safe for the bedroom. Cost me $100 (gunsafes are specifically exempt from sales tax in Washington State). Beeps when the buttons are pressed and has a loud and annoying alarm if it is moved or the wrong combination is hit 3 times. It's got a pretty good mounting plate so it can be screwed to just about any level top. I'll check for the make on it and modify the post when I can. __________________ Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, but that you've decided to see beyond the imperfections. The only thing that stops bad guys with guns is good guys with guns. SgtD

April 9th, 2006, 10:42 AM	#7
rocky Senior Moderator Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: MI Posts: 11,767	When my kids were younger ,I kept the guns locked up, now at ages 9 & 11 , they know how to shoot and not to touch the guns w/ out permission. I now us a gun safe too. Keep my carry gun on my waist and the rest are locked up. Showing the kids the destructive power of bullets thru exploding watermelon, water jugs and the like seemed to send the maessage home to em, guns can be deadly. also honest discussion (ages 4&6) seemed to help them understand , guns are not toys. __________________ "In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." Thomas Jefferson Nemo Me Impune Lacesset Link to my kydex builds:http://rocknloadkydex.blogspot.com/

April 8th, 2006, 08:03 PM	#4
rfgarcia New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 5	I was looking at the gunvault and like the idea and size.Of course the price is nice and within range, though if I can budget for a $500 piece I can do that for a safe to protect my family from it. But my question is also, how you like the key function on it and/or the push button. I think that I am a little ways from a big safe though, I do have a 22LR which is stored in our storage unit since I hardly shoot the thing, but do plan on buying some rifles in the future so I am not too far from it and am always looking.

April 9th, 2006, 12:27 PM	#8
Rugerman Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 570	I have a gun safe that holds all of my long guns and cleaning kits and other things. My CCW is either on my side or locked up in the safe. __________________ George Washington: "A free people ought to be armed."

April 9th, 2006, 04:28 PM	#9
BlueLion Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: It Changes... Posts: 823	Just bought an amored safe from Wally World. It has a hidden hinge and pre-drilled holes to mount on the floor or wall. This safe is by Sentry and can easily hold two or three pistols. Just to give you an idea of the width. I can stand a small can of Break Free up inside it. It was 49.96. I needed because my first child will be born soon and I want to be able to continue to leave the wife the .38 for her protection. I have transitioned to the 1911 as always carry. However, will be looking into getting an XD soon. Anyway the safe, is heavy, secure and armored. __________________ Listen, Think and React.....Nuff Said.....

April 9th, 2006, 10:54 PM	#10
Tom357 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Richmond VA Posts: 692	Just be aware that barrel keys like those used on the Gunvault and on some bike locks can easily be defeated by a BIC disposable ball point pen, and that teens are more aware of this technique than adults. __________________ - Tom You have the power to donate life.

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