Best quick-access storage options for home with young kids?

[G.C.Montgomery]

Gun proofing your kids works no matter where they go. Even if their little buddies are ignorant and/or mentally impaired, your kid should at least know to leave the room and find an adult. As they get older your idea of what is and isn't appropriate may change.

My general practic is to keep the gun on me until I got to bed. We don't have kids and the home's perimeter is secured such that we know people are coming as soon as they enter the yard. So, I'm comfortable sleeping with my flashlight and loaded pistol (in it's holster) lying on top of my nightstand at the new house. When kids enter the picture, I'll move toward putting the gun in a locked container when I'm sleeping. For the time being, I prefer a higher state of readiness.

As for secure containers; all that have been recommended work well. Biometrics represent great advances in technology but, it is not my preference. I prefer simpler options like the Ft. Knox "Pistol Box" handgun safe. Like the "Gun Vault" that so many have mentioned, you can operate this safe by "feel" in the dark. Unlike the "Gun Vault," the Pistol Box features a purely mechanical "Simplex" combination lock that requires neither keys nor batteries which is why I like it. The only downside is, like all Ft. Knox safes, it ain't cheap!

[thefatneck]

I have had good experience with the GunVault 1000 mini safe as a lockbox for my van. It is quickly accessible, and allows you to choose how complicated you want your entry combo to be. Rather than numbers, it uses a combination of finger-pushes that can be done easily in the dark. It can be mounted in a number of places, and would make a good bedside safe, IMO.

http://www.gunvault.com/minisafe.nxg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Back to the main question. This is the one I have used for years. I have two of them. One for upstairs and one for down stairs. They are well worth the money. I took all the extra keys and put them at my in-laws house. You can find them at Sportsman's or Cabelas. My main issue with them seems to be we put other " important " paperwork in there too. I am going shopping for a " real " safe to put all the documents in real soon.
My opinion is that with as much as you get in and out of it you will not have an issue punching the code in correctly in times of stress. I know with some of the jobs I do I am stumbling around trying to get dressed quickly at night and I manage to get it opened with out issues every time. Good luck!

[JackRR]

I have a gunvault and a big safe. I like the finger push combination of the gunvault. I practiced over and over in the dark and I feel confident of accessing the weapon when I need it. Every now and then when I have get up in the middle of the night I practice getting into it. That is about close as I can get to practice in a groggy state.

Make sure you change the batteries on the gunvault on a set schedule. Manual says every 12 months. If you get into it daily I would change them every 6 mo. The batteries are still good so use them in your remote controls. Gunvault with dead batteries=bad news.

Now that I have the big safe, I go to it first. Got a 12g ready to go in there.

[mr.72]

Anyone have any experience with this:

http://www.academy.com/index.php?page=c ... 00095-3013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have an Academy gift card from Christmas that would get one of these. I don't know that spending over 2x as much for a GunVault would be worth it.

I am still on the fence about whether I think I need something like this. My kids are 12 and 15 year old girls. They could care less about the gun and it's only in the night stand drawer while I am sleeping. If I had a dedicated "night stand gun" I am sure I'd put it in such a safe, since it would be there while I am out of the house. I think the "night stand gun" and the quick-access safe are a package purchase. Once I get a gun for my wife to carry, I am sure we will move the car gun back into the house and I will have to deal with this.

[LarryH]

I am still on the fence about whether I think I need something like this. My kids are 12 and 15 year old girls. They could care less about the gun and it's only in the night stand drawer while I am sleeping.

Do they never have friends spend the night? Since your girls are used to Dad having/carrying a gun, it's old hat to them, but it might sound "cool" to some of their friends who haven't had that exposure.

[mr.72]

I am still on the fence about whether I think I need something like this. My kids are 12 and 15 year old girls. They could care less about the gun and it's only in the night stand drawer while I am sleeping.

Do they never have friends spend the night? Since your girls are used to Dad having/carrying a gun, it's old hat to them, but it might sound "cool" to some of their friends who haven't had that exposure.

No they really don't have friends spend the night often. I'd say, almost never. The kids' bedrooms are upstairs, ours is downstairs. Anyway I have a not-so-quick-access little gun safe that I lock up the gun on that one or two nights a year when other kids are over (I am more concerned with my nephews and nieces, who are ages 5-9).

If I had a gun that didn't get back on my hip first thing in the morning, I would get a quick access electronic safe. I might just go ahead and buy one now.