My wife wants a gun for home defense. We both agree that a pump shotgun will be the best choice so as not to have a bullet go through the wall into the kids rooms if it is ever used.
Here is our dilemna. We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old so we do not want to just leave a loaded gun sitting around the house.
My question is: how do you safely keep the gun readily accessible with 2 kids in case of an intrusion?
Thanks!
I know you said a shotgun,but maybe a handgun,and one of these.
Have a Mossburg 870 leaned in my closet loaded and ready! Kids are taught not to go in daddy's closet!!!
2022 Skeeter ZXR 21
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Frogchunker »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I know you said a shotgun,but maybe a handgun,and one of these.
YEP ... that is the BEST alternative.
Since you brought it up, I'll give you my opinion. If your wife can confidently handle a gun, then I would suggest letting HER pick the weapon of choice. She is the one that is going to get it handed back to her if the time comes and she's hesitant to use it. Above ALL else, she has to get it straight in her mind that she can take a life with NO HESITATION. Otherwise, the need for a gun becomes a liability rather than an asset. I went through the same thing with my wife. She has become very proficient with her CCW, and has decided that she will not hesitate to defend herself or our household. That is the real issue. Securing the gun from the children is easy and can be done after the other questions have been resolved.
We raised three kids with a loaded shotgun in the house without a problem. From the start I taught the kids gun safety and how the system worked. I figured that if they knew about guns then they wouldnt be surprised and curious once they came across it in the house. It was a pump with 4 rounds always kept in the tubular magazine with the chamber empty. I still have it for my wife to use if ever needed. We also talked to our baby sitter's parents about teaching the baby sitter how to use if if ever needed. Thankfully the gun was never needed.
Mike
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Frogchunker »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I know you said a shotgun,but maybe a handgun,and one of these.
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Bug Bunny »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">Have a Mossburg 870 leaned in my closet loaded and ready! Kids are taught not to go in daddy's closet!!! </td></tr></table> Cool Gun! Do you have a Chevy Mustang in the garage?
My shotgun sits next to my bed. It is unloaded but the double 00 buck is right there for it. Same thing with my kids as others have said. They were both taught that guns are not toys and are not to be played with. One thing I instilled in them is that once that projectile leaves the barrel you can't bring it back. At that point you live with the consequences. Better to teach them young and right up front what the gun is for and what it can do. Also re-emphasize that life is not like the movies. People die when you shoot them but sometimes you have to take a life to preserve a life.
Best of luck
Basic 9mm pistol, glock, springfield xd, etc... Keep magazine in the weapon with empty chamber. A small child cannot work the slide action to chamber a round. Teach the gun safety and hands off by the time they are old enough to work the slide they will know better
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by NY Trooper »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">My shotgun sits next to my bed. It is unloaded but the double 00 buck is right there for it. Same thing with my kids as others have said. They were both taught that guns are not toys and are not to be played with. One thing I instilled in them is that once that projectile leaves the barrel you can't bring it back. At that point you live with the consequences. Better to teach them young and right up front what the gun is for and what it can do. Also re-emphasize that life is not like the movies. People die when you shoot them but sometimes you have to take a life to preserve a life.
Best of luck</td></tr></table>
+1 Both of our daughters learned how guns work and not to touch them at an early age. It's the parents that DON"T explain how guns work that have their kids get into trouble with them. We also taught our girls that if they see a gun at someone elses home that they should not touch it, but report it to the adults
Azure AZ200 (with stuff like cupholders, bathroom and table)
If you choose the shotgun just don't chamber a shell.
A shotgun blast will go through dry wall like it's not there. Your neighbors may be safer if you use a shotgun, but the people in the next room aren't.
Safety is in the usage.
Handguns are less clumsy and quicker to deploy under pressure than a shotgun. My suggestion is a revolver, which doesn't require chambering a round like an automatic, Under time pressure, it can make a difference - with proper training the difference is small - I don;t know your wife's experience with weapons. Something like a .38 or 9mm. You're not trying to knock down a charging bear, after all, and if you hit a guy in the torso, he'll damn sure be disabled. In addition, the recoil is not bad - she'll easily be able to get additional rounds off. Frangible ammo minimizes risk, but soesn't eliminate it.
Safes like the one pictured in a preceding post, trigger locks, and other devices work well. The big deal is to use the devices <u>all the time</u>. The decision point is which device lets her quickly make the gun lethal and simultaneously keeps kids from doing so.
So many honey-dos . . . . . so little motivation
The Taurus Judge loaded with .410 shells is a bad boy>
Check here for ideas.
http://www.invisivault.com/ful...html#
This dilemna is really not an issue at all...use whatever gun you are most comfortable with but get frangible ammo for it. I have a .45 next to the bed. Realistically a pump shotgun is great if the person is not right on top of you....the longer the gun, the more difficult it is in close quarters.
Question everything!
Short barrel 12 ga in the closet, shells next to it. Grandkids taught not to go in closet. I don't want it loaded...I WANT the intruder to hear me pumping one in the chamber.
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by GamblerPro2 »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">If you choose the shotgun just don't chamber a shell.</td></tr></table>
This is what I do. No toddler is going to figure out how to push the pump release, rack the pump, turn off the safety, then pull the trigger. I have 4 in the tube and can have 1 in the pipe in about 0.5 seconds if I ever need to.
Once they're a little older, it's time to get out the Red Ryder BB gun and start teaching them about guns and gun safety. The one toy I REFUSE to let my kids have is guns. They are not toys in any way, shape, or form.
some glaser safety rounds in an a pistol will not go through a wall.
<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by basscatlildave »</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">The Taurus Judge loaded with .410 shells is a bad boy>
yes sir, close range (length of a hallway) very effective.
To answer YOUR question, there were plenty of farm around ours when I was a kid that had weapons like shotguns and rifles hanging above doorways. Some were in kitchens, bedrooms, hallways. At our farm we had an enclosed back porch, there would be 10-15 long barrel guns standing in the corners. There was never any problem with kids ( there were twelve kids in my mom's family, I have over 40 cousins on that side). Gun safety was taught at an early age, but that is still a concern because of other kids that could be in your home. A push button lock for your bedroom door might be an alternative.
http://www.thehardwarehut.com/door-electronic.php
Thanks for all the advice! Some great ideas.
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