Well, I finally took the leap and picked up a Cannon gun safe.  Holds 28 and already full.  Should have got the bigger one.  AR's don't fit like Marlin 60's.  And you forget about all those mags...

Oh well, my question is, I now keep all my firearms in the safe with the exception of a 38 revolver that sleeps in the bedroom with me.  Now I have yet to be attacked by the Zombies, but I do feel ill prepared with just the 38, and a 1-2 minute time frame to get into the safe.  Plus it is downstairs.  Do most of you keep a shtf weapon out of the safe and in the house somewhere all the time?  Put it back in the safe when you go to work?  I can't bring myself to leave one out all the time, and write it off if I have a break in or fire.  I can't decide what to do?

Help me out here guys.....What is my best option....

Quoted: Well, I finally took the leap and picked up a Cannon gun safe.  Holds 28 and already full.  Should have got the bigger one.  AR's don't fit like Marlin 60's.  And you forget about all those mags... Oh well, my question is, I now keep all my firearms in the safe with the exception of a 38 revolver that sleeps in the bedroom with me.  Now I have yet to be attacked by the Zombies, but I do feel ill prepared with just the 38, and a 1-2 minute time frame to get into the safe.  Plus it is downstairs.  Do most of you keep a shtf weapon out of the safe and in the house somewhere all the time?  Put it back in the safe when you go to work?  I can't bring myself to leave one out all the time, and write it off if I have a break in or fire.  I can't decide what to do? Help me out here guys.....What is my best option....

If it were me...............

I'd prioritize............and I would
safe all the goods I could except a couple of wall-hangers

On that rack- put your favorite AR,  favorite Bolt action, favorite rifle w/optics etc. (all without magazines or with locks, for safety reasons)

There are some good wall-hanger racks w/locking mechanisms

then..... keep that .38 within reach



Oh, and one more thing Southrnshooter, I wish I had your problems

Personally, I think a long gun for home defense is a bit much (kinda unweildy). yeah, I know there will probably be some that will disagree but this is my opinion. I keep most everything in the safe with the exception of a Glock 19 w/ an M3 Tac Light. The amount of ammo in the Glock and spare mag is more than enough for most situations.

Now, in the unlikely event of a riot or I become the target of organized crime, I'll then have more firepower on hand.

I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded.

Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded.

You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.)

Great question, and I will give you my idea of how I address the problem.  

Even thought I live in CO, were we have the make my day law, I still keep only PC item out for home protection.  The fact that if I ever do need to go to court in a self defense trial, I want to be able to show that the firearm used was that the standard Law enforcement uses as service arms.  This means that the first firearm that can be easily reached is a 357-wheel gun.  This at least allows me 6 shot of full power to get me out of bed and to the M-9 with two extra mags.  At over 45 rounds in hand, this allows me enough time to further my movement and get the door safe open if needed.

Now since I have non-locked firearm in the house, my kids were trained on the serious of firearms/ related items since they were able to walk.  To put it bluntly, they were trained not only in their actions, but also the actions of friend that they may have over.  The fact that there is a gun room at our house, and at any time I may have to leave a firearm out to deal with family matters has been tested on more than a few occasions by my kids, and there actions proven effective time and time again (read: from a firearm on the bench to gun powder still loaded in the hoppers)

To sum it up, the safe is used to lock up firearms to prevent them from being stolen.  This means that the safe is in no way to child proof any of the firearms.   Teaching your children and wife firearm safety should have been completed before the first firearm was ever brought in the house.  You/ they are not only responsible for your/ there own actions, but also the people that they bring in the house. If you have an event at the house that requires the safe to be used to person proof the firearms, then fine, but having them all locked up when needed is not desirable.

I do have children and proper safety precautions are always taken. I was raised around firearms in this same manner as will my children.

The lock and the safety are called education.
My Dad taught me ALL weapons or firearms are LOADED untill I check them and even then they are STILL LOADED!
If you have to worry about someone else picking one up then they need to be educated or restricted from that part of the home. We keep 2 handguns and one shotgun out of the safe and if thats not enough to get My Dad to the safe then it wouldn't matter what we had out.
Our safe isn't to keep anything out of the wrong hands ( but it helps ) but in case of a fire.
A 38 revolver is an excellent handgun, a no brainer as my Dad says, Just point and squeeze, no safties to fumble and will get the job done , my choice is always my 20Ga :) I just like my shotgun and love to go shooting the clays in the air as they try to get away from me .

Kristina

Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.)

i raised three kids who are now in their 30s, i had a gun in every room except their bedrooms, i taught them at the earliest age possible that MY guns are NOT toys & should never be touched unless they had my permission & i must be present at the time !! in fact when they were very small & could not hold up a 6" Python i then gave them a plastic toy gun & drove the point home there is a difference, & they very rapidly learned real from fake.

Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.)

I have a 3 year old, and he knows not to ever touch any guns without me.  He can ask at any time to look at any guns he wants, and then he can touch anything but the trigger.  At first, he wanted to see all the guns about 3 times a day.  Now he never asks any more.  Some pistols are kept in a small safe, all other guns (AR, pistols, shotgun, etc.) are kept unloaded or with empty chambers, and I know he's not able to rack any slides.  When he gets a little older I might reconsider the situation.

Just keep an eye on moisture, if it's in the basement.

Get a cheap thermometer/humidity meter combo from walmart (under 6 bucks) and watch
the humidity levels in your safe.

My old house was fine, but my new one runs up over 70% humidity, and even with a Dri-rod
safe warmer, my SKS started getting rust whiskers till I started running a dehumidifier in the
basement.

I have 3 boys and I think they all have respect and knowledge of firearms, But I still keep them locked up.  I have no safe so I made a room for them and keep the 42 firearms and all the ammo locked up in there.  I would never forgive my self if something happened to any of my boys, wife, or there friends.

All my guns are in the safe except the H&K-USP C/45 on my hip and one of my 870s i keep behind the curtain at my headboard. When i leave the 870 go`s in the safe and the H&K comes with. My 870 has a light which i think is something one might need in the middle of the night and the only reason i would use a pistol and not a rifle/shotgun is when i have no choice.

edit for rephrase of statement.

You guys who have taught your children to be safe around loaded firearms, that's commendable. I hope to do the same when my daughter is old enough.

However can you guarantee that there will never be a time when any other child will ever be in your house? Relative's children? can you gurantee that no other child will ever wander into a room where a loaded firearm is kept? Can you guarantee that your wife will never bring home a firend who has a child, when you are not there, and that they not will not lose track of that child for 60 seconds?

I can't. That's why mine stay locked up. I'm not saying you are wrong to do what you do, it's just that I worked in a pediatric Intensive care unit for years and saw endless tragedies that should not have happened. I saw many children who drowned despite being "drown-proofed", very young children who were maimed or crippled (including one spinal decapitation) on ATVs while unsupervised who had been taught the safe way to ride, and serious gunshot wounds from very young children who had been taught gun safety. Their parents thought they were doing the right thing.

Again, not trying to say what anyone else is doing is wrong.

I just believe you just can't be too careful.

Quoted: You guys who have taught your children to be safe around loaded firearms, that's commendable. I hope to do the same when my daughter is old enough. However can you guarantee that there will never be a time when any other child will ever be in your house? Relative's children? can you gurantee that no other child will ever wander into a room where a loaded firearm is kept? Can you guarantee that your wife will never bring home a firend who has a child, when you are not there, and that they not will not lose track of that child for 60 seconds? I can't. That's why mine stay locked up. I'm not saying you are wrong to do what you do, I just worked in a pediatric Intensive care unit for years and saw endless tragedies that should not have happened. I saw many children who drowned despite being "drown-proofed", very young children who were maimed or crippled (including one spinal decapitation) on ATVs while unsupervised who had been taught the safe way to ride, and serious gunshot wounds from very young children who had been taught gun safety. You just can't be too careful.

I can be sure no child can go in my room unsupervised and get to a gun. My place here is not to explain myself and every action that I take. I understand your concern but believe me, I know how to take care of my child. I know what steps I must take to make this happen.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.) i raised three kids who are now in their 30s, i had a gun in every room except their bedrooms, i taught them at the earliest age possible that MY guns are NOT toys & should never be touched unless they had my permission & i must be present at the time !! in fact when they were very small & could not hold up a 6" Python i then gave them a plastic toy gun & drove the point home there is a difference, & they very rapidly learned real from fake.

I have 2 kids and I taught them blah, blah, blah.... goody gum drops for you. This is a different era with different problems. Kids 30 years ago didn't even think about  bringing guns to school (much less actually do). You can teach your kids what ever you want until you both turn blue in the face but what about when one of his friends come over? A neighbor?  A relatives kids or anybody else who hasn't been taught (or worse, knows better but doesn't care)? You going to follow these other people around the whole time they are there?

Keep your primary Home D gun out but well hidden. Do teach your family safe gun handling but lock the rest of your frickin guns up. I'm sorry but you paranoid SOB's that keep a loaded gun in every room of the house are exactly the type of people that make the rest of world think we are all nuts! If you spend your time thinking about whether the time it would take you to get the rest of your "arsenal" out of your gun safe is going to make the difference between life and death in a SHTF scenario, I suggest you go find a nice man in a white coat to talk to. I'm sure he can prescribe something nice for you

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.) i raised three kids who are now in their 30s, i had a gun in every room except their bedrooms, i taught them at the earliest age possible that MY guns are NOT toys & should never be touched unless they had my permission & i must be present at the time !! in fact when they were very small & could not hold up a 6" Python i then gave them a plastic toy gun & drove the point home there is a difference, & they very rapidly learned real from fake. I have 2 kids and I taught them blah, blah, blah.... goody gum drops for you. This is a different era with different problems. Kids 30 years ago didn't even think about  bringing guns to school (much less actually do). You can teach your kids what ever you want until you both turn blue in the face but what about when one of his friends come over? A neighbor?  A relatives kids or anybody else who hasn't been taught (or worse, knows better but doesn't care)? You going to follow these other people around the whole time they are there? Keep your primary Home D gun out but well hidden. Do teach your family safe gun handling but lock the rest of your frickin guns up. I'm sorry but you paranoid SOB's that keep a loaded gun in every room of the house are exactly the type of people that make the rest of world think we are all nuts! If you spend your time thinking about whether the time it would take you to get the rest of your "arsenal" out of your gun safe is going to make the difference between life and death in a SHTF scenario, I suggest you go find a nice man in a white coat to talk to. I'm sure he can prescribe something nice for you

I am not going to disagree with you that a locked up gun is safer than one laying out for a child. I never leave a gun sitting out for anyone to get to however. At night my rifle gets loaded and stayes by my bed (mag in, not chambered)... At all times my Sig stays loaded, round in the chamber right next to my bed. At any time I am out of the room it gets blocked off, when my son gets older and starts having friends I will replace the door with one with a lock. Once again, this is not your place to make any judgment on what is best for my kids.

The things that make me go HMMMMMMMM
Yes I actually took a shotgun or rifle to school, and it was in the late 70's.
How else could you go hunting on the walk home?
Yes things are diffrent now, sadly not enough parents spend time with their own kids for whatever reason and they have no role models except from the damn t.v.
Parents are parents to raise, nurture and teach their kids and if we did that just maybe a lot of the problems would solve themsevles ya think?  a piece of metal wether it's steel, or aluminum or unobtanium maters not , it has no thoughts no feelings and is inanimate, we use the tool for whatever purpose and have to be taught and have to teach the proper use of that tool. Take the curiosity away and then we can learn but not until that curiosity is met.
Locks are never enough, a kid can and will defeat even a safe if they are curious enough to want to see whats so carefully locked away. Education is always the best way to avert an accident. With education the possibility is reduced. Nothing is ever guaranteed but it can be reduced and made less probable.


Greg

Thanks for all the replies.  Lot to think about.  My original concern was am I undergunned with a 38 if I wake in the night to someone breaking down my door.  As far as kids, I do have 2 small children.  Both have been trained as I was, to not touch a firearm unless with dad.  They have had their time to handle every gun in the safe, and it is not soemthing "magic" to them anymore.  They look forward to range time with the guns.

There have been several home invasions lately in the area, and with the real firepower locked in the safe, I wondered if anyone kept an AR or shotgun out for night time protection, and if you took the time to lock them back in the safe in the morning.  My 38 and anything else that may be out would definately be out of reach of the kids and secured.  I would hate however, to come home and find my home defense AR stolen, because I chose to leave it out.

Redfisher, I wish it had 28 AR's in it, but most of my firearms are passed on family treasures.  Grandpa had a lot of 22's and shotguns.  That was my main reason for getting the safe.  Insurance money can't replace them.  But it's also a nice place to keep a couple of AR's as well.

Everything stays in the safe, all ammo in a locked cabinet.  For those times I feel inclined to keep something handy, it's a Glock 17 with a Streamlight M6, unloaded and hidden away but easily accessible. The magazine stays with me at all times, in pouch in my pocket.  When we leave the house, it goes back in the safe.

If I need anything more than that for home defense, I'll probably be SOL anyway.

Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.)

I grew up with firearms all over the house and my daughter (now 14) did the same.  As long as you don't neglect to teach them proper safety and respect, there is no problem.  _DR do you lock up your kitchen knives?

I grew up with guns in the house, "loose" so to speak, I am now 38, and still alive and well, as well as my younger brothers....no harm be-fell us for being around "loose" guns...heck, we even had ammo that was not locked up as well....

Now, I do have a safe, not due to kids BUT for my piece of mind when I leave the house.

Any safe can be broke into, BUT hopefully this will deture the average smash and grab burglery.

 As for your question, all my weapons are locked, and my safe is full, I have a few C&R rifles that will be going on wall mount rack for display.

Might consider a dehumidifier like a Goldenrod, dessicant cans, or Bullfrog VCI emitters.  As far as the handgun, maybe look into some MagSafe ammo for a .38; this should add a safety margin for your household (shouldn't overpenetrate walls) and supposedly has very lethal results (even from a .32).  There are the smaller handgun safes (another additional expense) available that have a programable access code, and even ones that have fingerprint recognition that you can bolt to your nightstand, bedframe, etc.

Glaser saftey, we called them surgically impossible :)
Excellent for in the house and devastating in the target.
Just make sure your willing to pay the high price ( your life and your families is pricless ) and shoot enough of them to feel comfortable with them,  then we rotate them every 4 months by buying new and shooting the old.
Greg

Quoted: The lock and the safety are called education. My Dad taught me ALL weapons or firearms are LOADED untill I check them and even then they are STILL LOADED! If you have to worry about someone else picking one up then they need to be educated or restricted from that part of the home. We keep 2 handguns and one shotgun out of the safe and if thats not enough to get My Dad to the safe then it wouldn't matter what we had out. Our safe isn't to keep anything out of the wrong hands ( but it helps ) but in case of a fire. A 38 revolver is an excellent handgun, a no brainer as my Dad says, Just point and squeeze, no safties to fumble and will get the job done , my choice is always my 20Ga :) I just like my shotgun and love to go shooting the clays in the air as they try to get away from me . Kristina

Grydix
   It looks like you have a daughter who likes ARFCOM too.

Remman

Quoted: Glaser saftey, we called them surgically impossible :) Excellent for in the house and devastating in the target. Just make sure your willing to pay the high price ( your life and your families is pricless ) and shoot enough of them to feel comfortable with them,  then we rotate them every 4 months by buying new and shooting the old. Greg

IIRC glaser's have some issues with penatration on individuals wearing thick clothing.
Remman

No matter what you buy, even if its the largest safe or even an entire room, you will eventually run out of space.

Quoted: Quoted: Glaser saftey, we called them surgically impossible :) Excellent for in the house and devastating in the target. Just make sure your willing to pay the high price ( your life and your families is pricless ) and shoot enough of them to feel comfortable with them,  then we rotate them every 4 months by buying new and shooting the old. Greg IIRC glaser's have some issues with penatration on individuals wearing thick clothing. Remman

Thats why you shoot the shit out of them...

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.) I grew up with firearms all over the house and my daughter (now 14) did the same.  As long as you don't neglect to teach them proper safety and respect, there is no problem.  _DR do you lock up your kitchen knives?

No, but I do keep my .45 at the bedside in a keypad locked quick-release pistol box.

I sense I have offended some of you - this was not my intent. I do what I do based on my own experiences. I don't pretend to be able to tell anyone else what they should do and didn't think my previous post came accross that way. I apologize if it was interpreted that way. Each of us must make our own decisions on how to best secure their home, sometimes these will differ.

Sure do, now she wants to make a donation, She is a good kid and spends a lot of time reading on this board. Could be worse, could be all dolls and boys.

Yes thick clothing can be a problem with a lot of rounds, Hollow points that become plugged and effectivly becoming solids. Everything can be a compromise as there is no magic bullet.

Greg  And it was her idea to sign names so everyone knew the diffrence

http://www.smartlock.com/

I got the above and my problems were solved.  My safe keeps non-strategically place firearms secure.  The smartlock mag-loc keeps my strategically place firearms secure.  My wife feels better and so do I.  My children also understand to never touch firearms; and I've never seen them break the rule.  There is, however, that first time.  I'm not prepared to live with myself if anything like that should happen.  When I bought my first mag-loc I gave it to the teen-aged daughter of a co-worker and challenged her to decipher the push-button lock.  She failed.  She tried to pick the lock by sound, feel, whater and could not succeed.  There are other similar types on the market, but this one does not require batteries and passed some gov't test for safety.  Good luck.

I keep 2 guns in the house at all times. One of my 1911's and a Mossberg 500 decked out with ALL the home defense goodies. In a SHTF situation, I'm already well armed as I also keep a B.O.B. in the closet next to the Mossberg. The Mossberg is kept in an in-wall gunsafe that takes me about 30 seconds to get into including the time from bedroom. I figure I can fight my way to it w/ the 1911 if it comes to that. It's a plan that I think works the best and covers all situations. Hope this helps. Take care.

....fill er up!

keep the .38 w/in reach
i would also buy a smaller safe UPSTAIRS and put a AR, shotgun, and some other ones to be readialy available

guns on both floors, locked up nice and securly too, but easily accessable

Something to consider for those who keep loaded firearms in the house.  You come home and walk into a burglery in progress AND GET SHOT WITH OYUR OWN GUN....?? There are ways to deactivate or secure a weapon when unattended.  Trigger lock, shotgun rack uesd in police crusiers can be mounted anywhere in your home or vehicle.( available from Galls police supply in Lexington Ky.) yes, they sell to the public, and have an 800 #. Just a short story here. My son learned to shoot when he was 5 yrs old. had respect for guns and I didnt worry about him messing with our guns. He was 21 and in college when he came home unexpectedly during the week with a friend. I had just cleaned my Browning Hi Power and put it on the table when he and his friend came in. My son left the room and his friend whom I never met before picked up my Browning and started pulling the trigger , ( since its a single action only it didnt go "click") he pulled it harder and several times.  As it was not loaded, i sat and watched it disblief... THEN LIT HIS YOUNG IGNORANT ASS UP AFTER WRENCHING MY GUN FROM HIS HAND. He obviously never had any gun learning at all, but the reaming he received that day will be burnt into his brain for many years. Point is it only takes a split second for an accident to happen no matter how old or well trained your kids are.
blade409

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I dont have a safe, I have a gun cabinet but I keep my Sig close by my bed and my AR propped up by my bed loaded. You obviously don't have children in the house. (At least, I hope not.)

in CT, you can go to jail for this....

"you may never store a loaded firearm in a place where a minor may have ready access to it."

the key words are loaded and ready access.


i think it's regulated under unlawful storage of a firearm guidlines or whatever

laws may be different in other states, but i think as a gun owner, you should never keep loaded firearms around children, regardless of how young they are.  thats an accident waiting to happen

My safe holds 52....It isnt big enough

I have read all the postings to this and have taken a lot of information. I have more guns than I need but not as many as I want. I keep three wall hangers out. A loaded pistol in a keypad safe by the bed and all others locked up, to include the bulk ammo. I have three daughters and all have been taught good gun safety, handling, firirng. This includes my 5 yr. old. I never hid the fact that guns were in the house from them. Every chance I could they would be with me when I took one out. I want them to understand that like every tool, it's the person using it that is dangerous. I started them at a young age about gun safety and continue still. I do what I call "gun found drills". Obviously unloaded!. I place a gun somewhere in the house and tell the kids to walk to each room. When it is found they are to stop, don't touch, walk away, and find an adult. I don't make it a game, but do praise them. This came in handy one day when my oldest was visiting a friend. To keep this short. She called me for a ride home because guns were not being stored properly at her friends house. I picked her up and had a talk with the father. The situation was corrected but by her own choice, my daughter does not go over there anymore.   I also do it will ammunition ( loaded mags and loose rounds). I want them to understand that if ammo is in the house then a gun is also.
I as a parent have the responsibility to keep my children safe. That does not mean to never bring a gun in the house. It means to be a responsible gun owner and to teach my children the same.  

I have two small boys so keep firearms out is not an option for me.  I do keep my Swamprat fixed blade next to me on my dresser along with my Surefire for immediate access.  My dog lets me know when anyone or anything is anywhere near my house, he sleeps with the kids.  With my dogs warning, I can open my safe and grab my Rem 870.  It took my 45 seconds to gather my thoughts, open my safe and grab my loaded hotgun the last time my dog went ape shit.  I say anything becuase the last time he went nuts there were 6 large cows in my front yard outside my kids window eating my plants.  The cow experience was a great reality test for me.  This is the price I have to pay for having small kids.  I love that dog.

As a test, you might want to set your alarm clock for some random time in the night and see how long it actually takes you to get in to your safe.  Getting in to it while you are half stupid from sleep might give you a realistic time to work with.  

Kimber near the bed.. Cant use the shotgun 'cause my dog would be all over the guy first, and Id hit him too.

If I cant fix a prob with 8 rounds I am in deep shit!