I bought a gun safe in October 2010. We got it because my storage location for my one pistol (at the time) was not quite secure enough, and I had been thinking of getting other guns anyway.
So, I wanted to share some thoughts about keeping guns secure, and as a corollary, using guns safely.
That's it, in the photos below. It's a Stack-On GS-8 (bought on-line through Amazon). It's shown here with everything in place: all 5 of our handguns and all 3 of our long guns. (To see them all, click here.) The wooden parts you see are a custom shelving system, that I designed, built, and installed (thus letting me indulge my love of woodworking!). Ammunition and magazines are stored separately, in locked containers. The safe is also handy for things like keeping Christmas presents hidden...
There are three basic purposes for a gun safe:
1. Security against theft: A major purpose for a safe is to protect the firearms from theft. Mine isn't the strongest on the market, but it's a real safe (not just a gun cabinet), with a combination lock and three locking deadbolts...and it's fastened securely to the structure of the house, so no one's going to pick it up easily.
2. Security against unauthorized use: Another very important purpose for a gun safe – and usually of more immediate concern – is to protect against unauthorized access. I use my safe in a way that provides several layers of security:
3. Security of the firearms: It's important to protect the guns themselves, too...they do represent an investment, and need to be kept in good condition. My safe is not fire-resistant, but I expect it would provide better fire and water protection than anywhere else in the house. I keep my guns clean, lubricated, and protected against corrosion, and the safe has several silica gel dessicant packs to reduce humidity.
Finally, the best security of all is educated awareness. My entire family has been trained in the safe and effective storage, transportation, and use of ALL our firearms. To date (June 2014), as a family, we've shot over 13,500 rounds together! (Which, just for fun, Dan calculated as approximately 164 pounds of lead downrange!)
Whenever I take anyone shooting, my safety briefing includes the following three basic safety principles. They are the National Rifle Association's 3 fundamental gun safety rules (also used by the Boy Scouts), and I like their simple statement of each principle:
If I may, let me expand on them:
You might notice that EACH ONE is sufficient, thus providing important safety redundancy. That is, if the gun is always pointed in a safe direction, no one will be hurt if it's loaded and the trigger is pulled (in fact, that's how it's supposed to work, especially at a shooting range!). If your finger is off the trigger, no one will be hurt if it's loaded and pointed in an unsafe direction; and if it's unloaded, no one will be hurt if the trigger is pulled with it pointed in an unsafe direction. YOU MUST, however, ALWAYS obey ALL THREE, because eventually human nature will result in a mess-up, and the redundancy is what will protect you and others!
There are, of course, other principles that are important to know and to follow, too.
Some are health-related:
Comparison with other sets of firearms safety rules is left as an exercise for the reader. Some that you can find on-line are: The U.S. Marine Corps' four rules in Marine Corps Reference Publication (MCRP) 3-01B; Remington Arms Company's Ten Commandments of Firearms Safety; and Colonel Jeff Cooper's four rules of gun safety.
Would you like to come shooting with us? Even if you've never done it before, I'm always happy to share my guns and ammo. Give us a call!
See our list of quotations about firearms and shooting by clicking here!