Kids

[growler46901]

I've got 3 kids ; 12 yr old. 10 yr old, and 16 month old. I have a pistol in my nightstand and a revolver tucked under my truck seat.
What is the best way to keep these weapons quickly accessible, yet safe from the kids?? Any opinions are appreciated!

thanks,
Growler

 

[chezuki]

Gun Safes - Home Gun Safe - Handgun Safes | GunVault | GunVault

 

[THard6]

if they are out and you can get to them.. the kids can get to them.
Buy you a lock box or something you can put on the wall and lock the gun in it close to your bed. and keep the key close and handy to you! and only you!
(there is one for sale here on INGO)
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ted/257595-sentinal_gun_security_cabinet.html

the KEY to this is to start educating your two older children about guns! hope you come up with a good safe solution

 

[88GT]

Educate your kids.

And if that's not enough, they make small safes that can be located on the nightstand or nearby that have quick entry.

 

[Skywired]

I bought a small safe that recognizes my fingerprint and my wife's. Mounted to the bed frame next to where I sleep. One finger in the slot, it flops open, gun in hand....quicker than fumbling in nightstand drawer.

 

[KW730]

Educate your kids and get a biometric safe. That's the best compromise you can make as far as being secure and quickly accessible.

 

[remauto1187]

I bought a small safe that recognizes my fingerprint and my wife's. Mounted to the bed frame next to where I sleep. One finger in the slot, it flops open, gun in hand....quicker than fumbling in nightstand drawer.

Could I please get a link to the one you have or make and model? TYVM

 

[arthrimus]

When I was a kid, I knew the exact location of every gun the family owned. I never once fiddled with them when I knew I wasn't supposed to. My father instilled in me a great deal of respect and discipline in relation to firearms starting at the age of two. My best suggestion would be to immerse your kids as deeply as possible in gun usage and safety. Kids aren't stupid and they are not clueless. Guns will only present a danger to your kids if you fail to adequately train them.

A biometric safe is fine I suppose, but it is a barrier between you and your gun, an electronic one at that, and that makes me deeply uncomfortable. If it works for you, then who am I to judge, but I would try to solve the root of the problem (your insecurity regarding your children and your guns) rather slapping band-aids on the problem which could limit or even completely inhibit your ability to actually protect your family.

 

[92ThoStro]

When I was a kid, I knew the exact location of every gun the family owned. I never once fiddled with them when I knew I wasn't supposed to. My father instilled in me a great deal of respect and discipline in relation to firearms starting at the age of two. My best suggestion would be to immerse your kids as deeply as possible in gun usage and safety. Kids aren't stupid and they are not clueless. Guns will only present a danger to your kids if you fail to adequately train them.

A biometric safe is fine I suppose, but it is a barrier between you and your gun, an electronic one at that, and that makes me deeply uncomfortable. If it works for you, then who am I to judge, but I would try to solve the root of the problem (your insecurity regarding your children and your guns) rather slapping band-aids on the problem which could limit or even completely inhibit your ability to actually protect your family.

Second this.
I never touched the shotgun behind the front door as a kid at my grandparents or my mothers handgun in the dresser.

Having a two year old is a little different though. And a safe might be the best option until that one ages a little. Or put a child safety device on the stand.

 

[Bigtanker]

Biometric Gun Safes - Fingerprint Gun Safes | GunVault

Here is what Gunvault has. Might find a better deal locally or online.

 

[Skywired]

Could I please get a link to the one you have or make and model? TYVM

This is what I have:

MVB500 - Microvault | GunVault | GunVault

 

[remauto1187]

When I was a kid, I knew the exact location of every gun the family owned. I never once fiddled with them when I knew I wasn't supposed to. My father instilled in me a great deal of respect and discipline in relation to firearms starting at the age of two. My best suggestion would be to immerse your kids as deeply as possible in gun usage and safety. Kids aren't stupid and they are not clueless. Guns will only present a danger to your kids if you fail to adequately train them.

A biometric safe is fine I suppose, but it is a barrier between you and your gun, an electronic one at that, and that makes me deeply uncomfortable. If it works for you, then who am I to judge, but I would try to solve the root of the problem (your insecurity regarding your children and your guns) rather slapping band-aids on the problem which could limit or even completely inhibit your ability to actually protect your family.

I truly do see your point and for the most part agree with the basis of it. Kids these days need to be taught respect. I too knew better than to touch a gun unsupervised when i was young.

But unfortunately I have seen personally what happens when a moronic uncle leaves a H&R 12ga in his closet where his 13yr old son gets ahold of it and shoots his 6 yr old brother in the neck and kills him. Supposedly nobody knows where the shell came from....Uncle claimed it was not loaded.
I was first in the family to arrive at St. Mary's Hospital (Decatur, Illinois). It was already too late. I was the "man" when all the women of the family came into the room to say goodbye. I also got to be the one that had to quickly reposition the sheet so it did not uncover what was left of his left side of his neck. I also got to be the one to help strip the parent's bedroom (where it happened) of all the carpet and bird shot filled dresser and repair holes in the wall.
Trust me people, I do not wish any of that on anyone. My aunt and uncle are still to this day a trainwreck.
So where do we all go from here? Take a chance that "our kids" or maybe even "other peoples kids" understand respect and hope that they do but not ever know for sure and keep our loaded pistol in easily accessible places unlocked to get obviously very needed additional seconds for reaction to a life/death situation OR do we lock them up in some form or fashion (trigger lock, safe, vault, etc.)? If you are wrong and a kid gets ahold of a unlocked gun, most states say YOU goto jail. I doubt I need to mention that "you" will also have a dead child on your conscience for the rest of "your" life.

So if mods want to move this to its own thread, I welcome it. I really would like to hear members thoughts and practices when children are in the home.

BTW...here is the Obit

Adam Tyler Gilbert
Moweaqua
Adam Tyler Gilbert, 6, of Moweaqua, died at 5:23 p.m. on Friday, August 17, 2001 in St. Mary's Hospital, Decatur.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21 in Seitz Funeral Home, Moweaqua with visitation from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in Westside Cemetery, Moweaqua. Memorials may be made to Moweaqua Ambulance Service and Gregory Elementary School.
Adam was born in Decatur, IL on March 2, 1995, the son of Ralph and Diana Martin Gilbert. He was a student at Gregory Elementary School where he would be entering the First Grade.
Adam is survived by his parents, his brother Randy and sister Pamela at home and his grandparents James and Barbara Epps, Findlay; Ron and Jan McGregor, Pana; Charles and Debbie Martin, Stoney Creek, North Carolina; great grandmothers Mabel Wenke, Wichita, Kansas and Louis Brown, Osyka, Mississippi.

 

[Valvestate]

I got one of those biometric gunvaults too. Press button with middle finger with index finger on the reader. In about 1 second it opens. Power from outlet. Battery backup by 9V. Haven't had it long enough for the battery to die yet. No issues so far.

 

[KW730]

I truly do see your point and for the most part agree with the basis of it. Kids these days need to be taught respect. I too knew better than to touch a gun unsupervised when i was young.

But unfortunately I have seen personally what happens when a moronic uncle leaves a H&R 12ga in his closet where his 13yr old son gets ahold of it and shoots his 6 yr old brother in the neck and kills him. Supposedly nobody knows where the shell came from....Uncle claimed it was not loaded.
I was first in the family to arrive at St. Mary's Hospital (Decatur, Illinois). It was already too late. I was the "man" when all the women of the family came into the room to say goodbye. I also got to be the one that had to quickly reposition the sheet so it did not uncover what was left of his left side of his neck. I also got to be the one to help strip the parent's bedroom (where it happened) of all the carpet and bird shot filled dresser and repair holes in the wall.
Trust me people, I do not wish any of that on anyone. My aunt and uncle are still to this day a trainwreck.
So where do we all go from here? Take a chance that "our kids" or maybe even "other peoples kids" get it and hope that they do but not ever know for sure and keep our loaded pistol in easily accessible places unlocked to get obviously very needed additional seconds for reaction to a life/death situation OR do we lock them up in some form or fashion (trigger lock, safe, vault, etc.)? If you are wrong and a kid gets ahold of a unlocked gun, most states say YOU goto jail. I doubt I need to mention that "you" will also have a dead child on your conscience for the rest of "your" life.

So if mods want to move this to its own thread, I welcome it. I really would like to hear members thoughts and practices when children are in the home.

BTW...here is the Obit

Adam Tyler Gilbert
Moweaqua
Adam Tyler Gilbert, 6, of Moweaqua, died at 5:23 p.m. on Friday, August 17, 2001 in St. Mary's Hospital, Decatur.
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, August 21 in Seitz Funeral Home, Moweaqua with visitation from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in Westside Cemetery, Moweaqua. Memorials may be made to Moweaqua Ambulance Service and Gregory Elementary School.
Adam was born in Decatur, IL on March 2, 1995, the son of Ralph and Diana Martin Gilbert. He was a student at Gregory Elementary School where he would be entering the First Grade.
Adam is survived by his parents, his brother Randy and sister Pamela at home and his grandparents James and Barbara Epps, Findlay; Ron and Jan McGregor, Pana; Charles and Debbie Martin, Stoney Creek, North Carolina; great grandmothers Mabel Wenke, Wichita, Kansas and Louis Brown, Osyka, Mississippi.

I thank you for your post and while I was considering whether or not I should buy a safe when children come into my home, my mind is now made up. Thank you again.

 

[brian.derby]

I will be ordering one soon. though I have older children, I do have guests once in awhile and believe me, they may not be as well trained as my kids.

 

[the1kidd03]

My 2 year old nephew knew proper firearms safety better than most adults at public ranges. Even then he knew not to touch a firearm without me or his father around and without asking. He knew where several were placed around my home and intentionally avoided them. Why? Because he knew if he wanted to fiddle with one all he had to do was ask and he had been instilled with the proper discipline to do what's expected of him in important matters.

By the age of 3 he could recite the weapons safety rules perfectly, knew the caliber and model of his father's EDC, and still never had a problem with firearms.

By age 4, since he had grown enough his father decided to let him shoot for the first time. He performed perfectly. Handled it safely and never had an issue.

I learned from a very early age too. I've also taught or helped teach countless kids of all ages.

Point is, nothing is a replacement for a proper education. If it's a self-defense weapon you never know how quickly you'll need to access it. Teach them appropriately so you don't have to fear them knowing how/when to properly handle a firearm.

 

[Denny347]

Education trumps everything. Without that, no firearm is truly safe as kids are smart and can figure out how to get them unlocked. My kids 11 and 8 have NEVER once touched/grabbed/moved my pistols. I have a couple of off-duty pistols I keep on my dresser and they were taught from infants to never touch anything on my dresser...including my guns. Guess what, they didn't and never expressed an interest to do so. I do lock them up if I'm not carrying them and I leave the house...better chance of keeping them if my house gets broken into.

 

[growler46901]

Thank you all for the advice and opinions. The nightstand does have a lock on it, but not a very good lock. The biometric safe seems like a good option, as it wouldn"t require keys and can be opened quickly in the dark.
My 2 older kids understand gun safety. They understand a lot of rules, but being kids, they still make bad decisions once in a while. I feel like I need to protect my family from others, as well as themselves.
Thanks again.
Growler

 

[rvb]

Point is, nothing is a replacement for a proper education.

I dont believe there is a blanket answer. I think you have to have the open mind to honestly evaluate whether the kids in YOUR life can be trusted to handle these situations. I think every kid is different. My oldest is 4... and honestly I right now cannot say I'd trust him to leave a loaded gun alone, no matter what we said or did.

You mentioned a nephew, not a child... a child you are not around 100% of the time I assume? That, like most kids, is probably on better behavior around you than his parents? There are a lot of variables when it's your kids. They have friends over, they have birthday parties, and sometimes curiosity just gets the better of them. Even 'perfect' kids can make bad decisions. To not have your guns locked up with littleones around is taking a risk (and a risk is defined by both impact and probability. The impact is obvious, you have to be comfortable with the probability for your situation).

I let my oldest littleone (pre-K) dryfire with me, I get the guns out anytime he asks, and we talk about safety rules and NEVER touching a gun w/o me around (and running to an adult like a teacher or another mom/dad). Has it sunk in? Dunno, sometimes I think I might as well be talking to our cat... but that's kids for you.

Even when they get older, I always say that even if your child is perfect, remember that every group of friends has a Michael Kelso ("70's Show" reference) who will be in your house when you're not home.

And the answers are not black and white either (eg "In a safe" -or- "under the pillow"). You can have them in a safe until you go to bed, then open the safe and close it back up in the am, for example.

-rvb

 

[concrete dog]

Educate your kids.

And if that's not enough, they make small safes that can be located on the nightstand or nearby that have quick entry.

Go with this.. My 6 year old know not to touch. He was taught early in life to respect guns.