Home defense with small children?

[Aggar]

What do you guys do about home defense with small children? I've got a 9 month old baby that's starting to crawl. I have my 9mm hk p7 up stairs in my nightstand in a lock box and the rest of the guns downstairs in the safe. I don't feel that I'm very prepared if shtf. I need some ideas. My wife is not affraid of the guns as she has her ccw and has a ruger mk III .22 pistol that I bought her. She can shoot my 9 but doesn't like it. I would love to have defense weapons readily available but out if reach of my daughter. Thanks.

Ryan

 

[Citronman1980]

I put up a couple of those quick draw magnets on my bedroom wall about 5 feet up. I have one on my side of the bed as well as my wife's side.

I have one magnet that has a 1911 w/ a light on my side and and a G19 w/ light on my wife's side.

Whenever we leave the house we are sure to put them in the safe of lock box to keep them safe.

 

[Bendrx]

Not really enough info to give much input, but if you're wanting a dedicated HD firearm with consideration for your baby. I think a charged but unloaded (not chambered) shotty, if your wife doesn't like the recoil and you want one you both can use then maybe a 20ga or a .410 even. In order for it to fire it would have to have the safety turned off, rack the it depending on your model - I say go with a pump. As always keep it someplace safe but accessible. If your daugher did get ahold of it for a minute it would be hard for her to hurt herself, and alot harder to discharge it. Conviennce is the enemy of safety. The more convient the less safe it's likely to be. The key is to find the happy medium.

If you were speaking more of ways to harden your home, I wasn't really clear on what specificly you were looking for. Then do the simple stuff like keep your house lit up at night, lock doors and so on. You may also consider some thorned plants by windows to discourage entry. I wouldn't put up any signs unless you have an alarm, then the alarm co.s sign would be good. Light timers could simulate activity during hours your away from home too. May want to look at a neihbors house and figure out how you would want to break into it. Most likely the ideas you come up wit will apply to your home. You know your home well, which is why I suggest looking at a neighbors. You want to place yourself in the future plant foods shoes.

Hope this at least gives you some ideas. Also, you can make your own alarms. You can't set up traps, but if it just sets off a visual or audiable warning then you're good. Even bells on your doors or a squeaky floor can be a good heads up. Chances are the potential invader will start running as soon as it goes off and not want to stay and fight. But if they do, then you have a heads up and don't wake up to a something bad.

 

[Demo]

I know you'll get a lot of great advice here. I just want to add something that may or not pertain to you or even most, but here goes.

I am the primary defense in/at my home. I like good beer. I use to like a lot of good beer at once...

Since having children I keep myself fog-free. I'd be worse then useless if someone broke in while I was severly buzzed.

All the training and weapons, etc. are useless if your faculties are too impaired.

 

[Eddie]

IMO it is easier when they are small than when they get older. Once they can get into drawers and closets they will know exactly where you keep everything in the house. The guns will need to be locked up until you decide that your kids are safe without locking them up. We go with a combination of carrying weapons on our person and strategically placed wall safes.

 

[kludge]

Once they are mobile you MUST start taking precautions. Good for you for getting prepared. Once they can climb onto a chair, they could climb other things. Even the top shelf of the closet is not safe. I have five, and this is a FACT.

NEVER leave a loaded gun unattended. Mine is on my hip or in the lock box. In fact I'm thinking about getting a new lock box - one that locks automatically when closed.

 

[cosermann]

I like the Gun Safes | Home Gun Safe | GunVault products (available various places, like budsgunshop.com and others) - quick access, but out of little hands.

 

[SmileDocHill]

I'll second the "gun vault" specifically the mini and the mini deluxe. You can turn off the beeping so it is a silent process to get the contents out. You can get into them quickly and they are strong enough to keep curious kids out. If you go to walmart online and order it to be sent to the store to be picked up it is considerably cheaper than anywhere else I have found. I keep my S&W M&P pro and a Kahr pm9 and an extra mag for each all in this safe. It is tight but if properly placed the extra mag lifts the edge of the gun up so it is easier to grab. I drive through Kirklin all the time (2x/day) if you want to check mine out I'll bring it with me some day. (I'm usually nice but in the spirit of full disclosure I just came from your thread mentioning you are building a home range.)

 

[chachi73]

what about a picture frame hide a gun thing that they sell on sportsman's guide.

 

[Tactical Dave]

My son is a little older and walking now so everything is way high up..... I am over 6 foot and have to reach to get to it..... even when he is older it would be a small challenger to get to them. by then we will have safes.


Anything on my sons level he will find and play with. Some people get hose quick access single pistol safes that you can bolt to a night stand.... that might be an idea...

Personally I would not trust a magnet with kids because if forwhatever reason the gun fell it is fair game.

It comes down to what you think is best and safe really.

Once my son is old enough to understand he will learn what guns look like and that they are not toys and he should not touch.... then when he is older he will learn how to shoot them if he wants.

 

[darinb]

I am enjoying this thread since I have been thinking abotu this lately also. My kids are 1,5 and 7 and our safe room is our bedroom. As long as everyone gets to our room and our door is 5 foot from our kids rooms then all is well or so we thought. My wife and I recently did a test run for a scenario of a break in. My wife has a Taurus PT92Ar with a rail laser on it and I have a glock 19. We keep them in a small safe by our bed on a dresser. We got to the guns easily and teh kids got to our room fine but what happened in the room we didnt expect. The problem is our 1 almost 2 yearold who is a mommas boy wanted to hug on mom preventing my wife from manipulating her gun and since the laser has to be activated using a two hand grip a child in her arms was not good. The other kids we told to lay on the floor on the other side of the bed and dont get up but the little one when not being held would be in our line of fire so you have to be realistic to your situation. We learned that with kids careful planning and rehearsal is important. I like alot of the suggestions on her so please keep em coming.

 

[Gabriel]

What do you guys do about home defense with small children?

I'd normally opt for something with a little more lethality, but if you hit the intruder with the child center mass it may give you a few seconds to run out the back door.

 

[finity]

I'd normally opt for something with a little more lethality, but if you hit the intruder with the child center mass it may give you a few seconds to run out the back door.

 

[aetucker1]

A few things. I have a three and a half year old son...a VERY curious, nothing scares him, everything is exciting, son. I am seriously concerned about him getting into my guns so I do what I can...even if people think that it is to the detriment of being "prepared" if (or when) something happens.

Here are a few things that I do to make myself feel better in hopes of hopefully never having him touch a gun until I want him to. 1.) Guns aren't in my house just sitting around. I don't care if they are loaded or not. My son doesn't need to even see them sitting around. Too tempting. If I am cleaning them, I clean them and put them away pretty much instantly. If I'm not cleaning them, then they are on my person, or in a safe that has a keycode that only my wife and I know. I have one safe in my closet, and I am about to invest in a two biometric safes for by the bed and for downstairs in case SHTF. 2.) I never chamber a round. I dont care if I am carrying it or not. I figure that even if he were able to get his hands on the gun, it wouldn't be "dangerous" until the slide was racked....which he couldn't accomplish at this point due to his lack of strength. It takes a fraction of a second to rack the slide if something needs to "go down". I will take the chance that I have time to do that. 3.) I only own guns with safeties. The more the better...grip, thumb, trigger...throw 'em at me.

I know it sounds overkill...but who wants a dead child? not me.

 

[LawDog76]

We got to the guns easily and teh kids got to our room fine but what happened in the room we didnt expect. The problem is our 1 almost 2 yearold who is a mommas boy wanted to hug on mom preventing my wife from manipulating her gun and since the laser has to be activated using a two hand grip a child in her arms was not good.

Personal opinion and thats all it is. Wifey needs to learn how to shoot one handed and without a laser. Lasers always seem to fail when you need them most.

 

[88GT]

And don't forget proper EDUCATION.

Don't read too much into this, but there was a time when firearms were NOT locked up under 3 layers of defense with the ammo separate. It's all well and good to try and prevent access, but if you've done nothing to address what happens if access is gained, you're still up sh1tcreek, IMO.

 

[aetucker1]

And don't forget proper EDUCATION.

Don't read too much into this, but there was a time when firearms were NOT locked up under 3 layers of defense with the ammo separate. It's all well and good to try and prevent access, but if you've done nothing to address what happens if access is gained, you're still up sh1tcreek, IMO.

i completely agree with education...when the age is right.

 

[88GT]

i completely agree with education...when the age is right.

When they start understanding the spoken word, the age is "right."

 

[Rookie]

Easy. My gun is on my side from the time I get up till I go to bed. This solves two issues. First, I have complete control and immediate access at the same time. Second, my kids are used to seeing a gun and don't think anything about it.