[rfgarcia]

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]

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]

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.:embarassed: 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.:yup:

 

[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.

 

[CopperKnight]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[Colin]

We are required to lock up our guns, what I will get in a couple of years is a biometric safe that will open to your finger print, they are very expensive up here right now. As we are also required to trigger lock our small arms, I use one from Wally world with a LED light in the key, helps me find the trigger lock in the dark (red light to) The key also has a different shape which I can feel in the dark. When my daughter grows up I will educate her, but will also put a combo lock the main safe so you will need the keys and combo. I am trying to figure out if I can make a gun safe that would also satisfy the trigger lock legal requirement, sort of a safe with a post that goes through the trigger guard, but comes away with the door.

 

[older gunner]

Since most now have gun safes, my reply may be a bit archaic. However, when my first handgun was bought, it was a Hi Standard .22 semi auto. I wanted to keep it ready to fire since I bought it in responce to threats to my wife. I kept the loaded mag on the top of the door moulding to the closet on the inside of the closet. It was well hidden and too high for my toddlers. The pistol was kept in a high drawer. This worked well for the early years. When my brood got older, I kept the guns (had a few by then) secured in a dresser drawer with a cheap key lock. My real safety was keeping the ammo well locked. I used a GI ammo can with a padlock and hasp attached. This worked very well. I Also made it a point to work with the kids re: teaching and let them handle the guns whenever they wanted, as long as I was present. I also took them shooting often. I never had a problem. They all still shoot.