Silly question.  I am rather paraniod about leaving loaded weapons around, but also like the idea of having a weapon ready for home defense/protection.   I currently am using a 1911 model .45 for my home protection piece and was wondering what is the best condition to have it stored for access when needed.  Currently I have the clip loaded (I rotate through three clips, leaving one loaded for only 3 days), but the chamber is empty.  Should I chamber a round and keep the hammer down?  Does anyone store their weapon cocked and saftey on?  Just wondering.

The gun will not fire
unless someone (when a round is chambered and  the hammer is cocked)
places the thumb safety in the fire position,
depresses the grip safety,
and pulls the trigger.
If there is no one around
who will do this under the
wrong circumstances
it shouldn't matter.

Makes "It just went off"
sound silly doesn't it? [:p]

Silly question, do you have kids in the house? A wife or signifigant other?? Is the SO gun savvy?

If there are kids you have got to store it so it is accesable to you but not to them.

Why rotate mags? The posts here say you wear out springs by "cycling" them not leaving them either loaded or unloaded. If I needed a handgun for SHTF I would want 2 mags. minimum ready to go. They say when auto loading handguns fail to operate properly it is usually due to mag. problems.

However you store it make sure you are sure what state it is in, nothing worse then pulling the trigger and nothing happening, or ejecting a live round because you racked the slide on a loaded chamber.

I just bought a Mini-Vault. It is real secure, real secure, and relatively fast to operate even in the dark. The downside it is kinda small and cost $140+. It does allow for a variety of mounting options, has a user settable combination(lots of possible combo's), and also work with a key.

Of course YMMV, and just throwing some stuff out to see if you can use any of my ideas.

Couple thoughts....

A magazine (not clip) will go a lot longer than three days...like three months, no problem.  If you don't believe me, load one, leave it a year and take it out and fire it.

Think of one of the keyed trigger locks; keep the only key on your chain with your car keys.  As soon as you get home, put the key in the lock and leave it.  You'll never forget and leave the gun unlocked when you go away (or if you do, you won't get far) and Joe teenager can't break in while you're gone,find the gun and shoot you with it when you come home.

The best place to store your weapon is in a holster on your person.  That way you can always get to it.  Since you have a 1911, you should go cocked and locked (with 1 in the chamber).  Get a good holster with a hammer strap, if you are concerned about an accidental discharge.  Do not worry about leaving your mags loaded.  I have left mags loaded for several months with no ill effects.

I keep a .45ACP Condition 1 beside the bed with two clips.  It's inside an electronic touch-access safe that's bolted to the floor.  I can open it in two seconds in the dark (I know thanks to that 400 lb black bear sorting the recycling on my back porch.) My 10 year old son and 6 1/2 year old daughter know its there and are forbidden to even touch the safe without my permission (they've never asked).  The neat trick about the safe is that if somebody tries to access it and enters the wrong code, an LED will blink to let me know it's been tampered with.  So far, no blinks.  By the way, if someone from Lowe's reads this, kiss my ass.

You can do a search but it's been stated many times that you can leave a mag loaded indefinitely, doing less harm than loading and unloading it.

I leave my Desert Eagle with a full mag but nothing in the chamber.  I did a test and neither of my children are strong enough to pull the slide back to chamber a round.  Anyhow they're only here two days a week and I'm home the whole time, so no sweat.

Whatever you do, don't get in the habit of chambering a round and letting the hammer down. Could be pretty nasty if it slips. I use a 1911 for home defense and right now my baby son (18 mos) is too small to cycle the slide so I keep a loaded mag and an empty chamber. Soon I will be purchasing one of those electronic jobbies for storage when I'm not home. The idea of keeping it on you in a holster is a very good place to keep a firearm. Then when you go to bed, just put it under your mattress... your kids would have to wake you to start messing with it. Also.... teach safety to your family. VERY IMPORTANT

Here is what you should do:

When You Hear: I need to keep my gun nearby, so if a robber comes into the house I
can protect my family.

The Facts Are: Homes with guns are much more likely to have a murder or suicide of a
family member than in homes without guns.

What You Can Do: Remove any guns from the house. If a gun must be kept, keep it in a
locked box and store bullets locked up somewhere else.

Mini-Vault seems to be working really well for my accessibility/peace of mind when I've got a responsible, but curious pre-teen son.
If you would like a good complet overview of the
whole issue, may I suggest either or both of
Massad Ayoob's books ; "In The Gravest Extreme"
and/or "The Truth About Self-Protection" .
Great instructor and GREAT books that will get
YOU thinking, instead of just "repeating".

Anti-gun comic Louis Anderson had a routine in his stand up act describing his move to Montana.

Once there he was told by everyone 'Get a gun.'

He got a .357, and played with it in front of the mirror for a while and then, suddenly realizing how dangerous it was, unloaded it and put the cartridge box out in the garage.

One night, he heard someone break into his home.  The burglar was slowly creeping down the hall toward his bedroom. Scared to death, Louis calls out-

'I've got a gun!' To which the burglar replies,
'Yeah, I know, I got your bullets!'

Eric The(StayFrosty)Hun[>]:)]

GEEEEEEEZ Imbrog|io- could you just chill a
bit??

And let the Newbies gain from experience

rather than Dogma !!!


[pyro]

Some sort of lock box with at least a Simplex
lock, under or near the bed, should be considered
if there are kids.  Kids, even 18 month old ones,
have a nasty habit of getting older and stronger.

As to magazine loading...  A simple and IMHO
wize recommendation I learned a couple of years
ago, here on ar15.com, is:
When you have to change your clocks twice a year
that is the good time to change the battery in
your smoke detector, and rotate your loaded mags.

DanM