Is there really a simple answer to the question of “How to store firearms?” Actually, yes there is a simple answer that applies to everyone.
You store them in as safe and a secure place as needed for your own personal situation.
The reality of it is that everyone has a different situation and need and it really boils down to how much risk you are willing to accept and how much you aren’t. Probably not the answer you’re looking for, but wait there is more.
I live in a quiet suburb in a mid-sized city in Texas. There is little to no violent crime in my city and certainly not in my neighborhood. So do I NEED a pistol on my bedside when I go to sleep? The statistics of my area point to me likely never needing to have one period.
It should be obvious that since I am one of those “I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it” kind of guys I might actually have one on my bedside or have my personal carry gun sitting by my keys when I come in and haven’t been upstairs yet. Hell if I thought I could talk Mrs. 12thGun into it I would have a shower gun. (That’s an actual thing believe it or not complete with a waterproof box and suction cups).
I know what some of you might be thinking “OMG!!! Chris you have a gun just out in the open!?!? Not even locked in a safe?!?! Yep… sometimes so. I don’t just leave them laying around all the time. If I have company coming over or I’m not going to use one that day they are secured. I don’t leave the house with them laying out and about. I don’t have children in my house.
My kids are both grown and out of the house. Both of them know how to shoot and care for firearms and the oldest already has some of his own. No one has access to my house except my wife and I. She has the combinations and keys to the safes, so Is that really an issue? Not for me and my situation.
If you ask me that same question 10 years ago when my kids were at home and their friends might pop in. That answer definitely changes. When we had a housekeeper who had access to the house when we weren’t around and yes that story changes. My firearms were in a safe and locked at all times unless I was using them. That same question 20 years ago when I lived in a neighborhood that was having a little issue with break-ins and yes that answer changes again.
Ask me that same question 10 years from now and who knows what my situation will be and if I need them completely secured at all times. I could have little grand 12th gunners running around the house who come visit and then they will need to be locked up again or we could be in a zombie apocalypse and you have to sleep with them at all times.
Clearly I am kidding about the zombie apocalypse, but you get my point. The real purpose of this blog post is to get you to think about your own situation and what kind of risk a firearm that is not locked in a safe presents for your current situation. Think about:
- Who is in your home? – Do you have any children or curious teenagers? Do you have someone who is depressed or has mental health issues living with you? Are you alone or with someone that has equal access to everything anyway? All things to consider.
- What is the likelihood of you needing immediate access to one? – Are you a small elderly person who lives alone in a house in downtown Chicago or are you a big old country boy in a small town in East Texas called Mabank?
- What are your local laws and political climate with regards to firearms? If you live in a gun grabbing city where the political climate is a lot more skewed to “GUNS BAD!!!” then there is added risk if your unsecured firearm fell into the wrong hands.
So yes I might have oversimplified my response that I had an answer that fit everyone, but it truly does fit. That is for you to decide, just know and understand the risks and the consequences.
Y’all stay safe out there.
