Safe Gun Storage In Your Home

There are all manner of rules involved in gun ownership, including rules for keeping it secure in your home. For a quick review, we are going to revisit the four universal rules of gun safety, and then take a look at a few rules for safe home storage.

To begin:
Rule 1: Treat EVERY Gun As If It Was Loaded, All The Time! 
Rule 2: NEVER Point Your Gun At Anything You Are Not Willing To Destroy
Rule 3: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER Until Your Sights Are On Target
Rule 4: Know Your Target And What Is Beyond The Target

These are all common sense, right? You'd think so, but day in and day out at the range we see them violated, by customer after customer. (Yes, range staff does get a bit tired of being swept by muzzles and having guns pointed at us and others.)

Not only do those four common sense rules apply when you are out shooting, please keep them in mind as you devise a plan for safe home storage as well. 

While you are debating the best course of action, here are a few additional things to consider:
First, KEEP QUIET! Don't broadcast what you have, or where you keep it, in your home! Why provide potential bad guys with any additional information? Teach your children to not discuss family business outside the home as well. 

Secondly, examine your personal situation. Are you single? Or do you have children? Do you entertain and host guests frequently? What is the area you live in known for (high crime, low crime)? Don't allow yourself a false sense of security- crime can happen in the deepest of ghettos to the most elite. The only safe place is one you secure by being careful, cautious, and alert. Given your situation at the moment, your plan will vary. Plans are fluid and need to be adjusted accordingly. If it is normally you alone in your home, you need to adjust your plan should you agree to watch your nieces and nephews for an extended stay while Mom and Dad are on a 3 day get-away. 

Thirdly, can you be sneaky? Can you think outside the box? Being able to think creatively and on the sneaky side is going to be a great benefit in how you secure your firearm. Again- have several plans in place for various situations. A bedside placement isn't going to do you much good when a potential home invader rings your doorbell to see if anyone is home. 

Fourth, understand that having your firearm locked in a lock box or small safe is not necessarily going to keep you safe. The benefit of a locking container of sorts is keeping small children from being able to access it. It won't deter a thief from walking away with it, as they will simply pick it up and carry it out. 

The single best place to secure your firearm while you are in your home?
That is an easy answer: on your person. Carrying your gun on you has multiple benefits, from increasing your comfort level as you carry, to being secure in the knowledge that no one else (such as your kids) can access the gun. 

There are times when having your gun on you won't be an option- such as when you are bathing or sleeping. By examining your home and surroundings, you can come up with several different locations to place a firearm. Remember: securing your gun does not always have to mean locking it up behind a biometric safe bolted to your floor deep in your closet. Secure in this instance means out of sight and away from small hands.

If you are willing to invest in a storage option, but are not overly enamored with the large, heavy not overly attractive gun safes on the market, consider gun storage furnishings. Tactical Walls is a veteran owned company, using all American materials, that produces hand crafted items to secure your firearms. No one would ever expect that lovely wallnut shelf holding your service medal shadow box is also securing a short barrel rifle and handguns. Added benefit? Your children won't be able to get into it either. 

Just like every other aspect of owning a firearm, there is no one answer. Be flexible. Have multiple plans, for multiple situations. Be creative and think outside the box. Examine your situation often, and adjust your plan accordingly. Avoid that false sense of security like the plague- don't allow yourself to slip into complacency (ie: "I have a gun now, locked up in the closet, so we're safe. I can get to it in time and remember the combination of the lock before that intruder gets to me, no problem!") Complacency. Kills. 

Stay alert, think outside the box, and stay safe!

Until next time-
~Shannon