Last night I needed to go to the store and get some milk for the baby, so I holster up and head to town. Now I am always glad that I have not needed to use my firearm, but after returning home I realized I was "extra-super" glad I didn't need it.
As I unloaded my 1911 from my waist, I noticed that the hammer was down, and I then realized I had not checked my weapon before carrying it.
Why was the hammer down, you ask? Well, the baby girl is 1 year old, walking around and getting into mischief, so in order to mitigate any risk of her finding a loaded handgun, I have decided to unload the chamber of my bedside gun so that she cannot fire it, since there is no way she could rack the slide. Yes, we keep her out of the area too, but that is just an added measure of safety and a good balance of having my 1911 readily avaiable in just in case.
However, I forgot about the condition when I grabbed it, so just a reminder...check, check, and re-check before you head out.
Be vigilant
Moderators: carlson1, Keith B, Charles L. Cotton
Maybe one of these would help. My son is precisly the reson I picked up a nightstand gun vault several years ago.
JohnC
Glad you mentioned this, does any one have input on one of these? Do they work? are they fast to open..... etcJohn wrote:Maybe one of these would help. My son is precisly the reson I picked up a nightstand gun vault several years ago.
I have the top-open model instead of the front-open model. It uses a 5-digit push-button code to open with both an external battery backup and a key backup. It takes me about 3 seconds to open it once I get to it (placement is everything!). It can be anchored (the screw holes are pre-drilled) or simply placed in a concealed location. It isn't REAL heavy, but will stop my kids. I wouldn't expect it to stop someone with time & knowledge, but then, no safe will.Diode wrote:Glad you mentioned this, does any one have input on one of these? Do they work? are they fast to open..... etcJohn wrote:Maybe one of these would help. My son is precisly the reson I picked up a nightstand gun vault several years ago.
Diode, they work fine. The door springs open and you can program any combination of key stokes. There is a key lock so that the safe can be opened if the batteries run down or if it loses it programming for some reason (mine never has). I keep the key in my long gun safe. I got it for Christmas 5 or 6 years ago, so I change the batteries every year around Christmas and have never had a problem.
I do have other combination safes (the electronic push button kind), but the gun vault is the quickest opening.
My one issue with the safe is that if you hit the wrong code, you have to wait a second or two for the lights to flash before you can try again. On the positive side, it has a tattle tale to let you know if anyone has tried to open the safe using the wrong code.
If mine quit working today, I would not hesitate to pick up a new one. I believe Academy and Gander Mountain carries GunVaults.
I do have other combination safes (the electronic push button kind), but the gun vault is the quickest opening.
My one issue with the safe is that if you hit the wrong code, you have to wait a second or two for the lights to flash before you can try again. On the positive side, it has a tattle tale to let you know if anyone has tried to open the safe using the wrong code.
If mine quit working today, I would not hesitate to pick up a new one. I believe Academy and Gander Mountain carries GunVaults.
JohnC
Good to hear, thanks! I have need of one and I was hoping they worked well. Any brand better than others ?John wrote:Diode, they work fine. The door springs open and you can program any combination of key stokes. There is a key lock so that the safe can be opened if the batteries run down or if it loses it programming for some reason (mine never has). I keep the key in my long gun safe. I got it for Christmas 5 or 6 years ago, so I change the batteries every year around Christmas and have never had a problem.
I do have other combination safes (the electronic push button kind), but the gun vault is the quickest opening.
My one issue with the safe is that if you hit the wrong code, you have to wait a second or two for the lights to flash before you can try again. On the positive side, it has a tattle tale to let you know if anyone has tried to open the safe using the wrong code.
If mine quit working today, I would not hesitate to pick up a new one. I believe Academy and Gander Mountain carries GunVaults.
I didn't know they made a top opening model. I like the front opening model because it is spring loaded and really flys open quickly.Mithras61 wrote:I have the top-open model instead of the front-open model. It uses a 5-digit push-button code to open with both an external battery backup and a key backup. It takes me about 3 seconds to open it once I get to it (placement is everything!). It can be anchored (the screw holes are pre-drilled) or simply placed in a concealed location. It isn't REAL heavy, but will stop my kids. I wouldn't expect it to stop someone with time & knowledge, but then, no safe will.
You are right about it being light weight. I only count on it to keep kids out. For theft prevention, i have another digital combination safe that I bolted to the top of my long gun safe. Not theft proof, but they'll have to spend some time on it.
JohnC
It's made by ADG Sports. Here's apic with the top open & my SA 1911A1 full size in it to give some perspective:John wrote:I didn't know they made a top opening model. I like the front opening model because it is spring loaded and really flys open quickly.Mithras61 wrote:I have the top-open model instead of the front-open model. It uses a 5-digit push-button code to open with both an external battery backup and a key backup. It takes me about 3 seconds to open it once I get to it (placement is everything!). It can be anchored (the screw holes are pre-drilled) or simply placed in a concealed location. It isn't REAL heavy, but will stop my kids. I wouldn't expect it to stop someone with time & knowledge, but then, no safe will.
You are right about it being light weight. I only count on it to keep kids out. For theft prevention, i have another digital combination safe that I bolted to the top of my long gun safe. Not theft proof, but they'll have to spend some time on it.
You can see the battery contacts just around the side from the lock on the front also. The whole thing with gun & three mags weighs about 20 lbs.
seamuxTX is right, high shelves aren't safe. Sometimes I forget that the more normal kids are pretty good at climbing, etc.
How about something primitive? Like a high shelf instead of the night stand.
I've an autistic son who gets into all kinds of things (and sometimes throws things into the trash... I think that's how we lost all of our remote controls :) So I've built a lot of high wall shelves around the house and they work great.
In your situation, a small shelf w/ low raised edge tall enough where your daughter can't reach may offer a cheap and fast-access solution.
How about something primitive? Like a high shelf instead of the night stand.
I've an autistic son who gets into all kinds of things (and sometimes throws things into the trash... I think that's how we lost all of our remote controls :) So I've built a lot of high wall shelves around the house and they work great.
In your situation, a small shelf w/ low raised edge tall enough where your daughter can't reach may offer a cheap and fast-access solution.
Last edited by j1132s on Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
No joke!! My 19 month old twin daughters can already get just about anything I put on the wetbar or kitchen table, and they're not even two feet tall yet!seamusTX wrote:Sorry, high shelves are not safe. I don't remember how old my son the first time he moved and climbed up on a chair to get a Popsicle out of the freezer, maybe three or four. They learn these things overnight, and the first time is always a surprise.
- Jim
I hope to find a gun safe of this type under the christmas tree this year!!
When I was three, I shimmied up the TV antenna pole and walked around on the roof for a while. I sat up there and watched Mom hanging clothes on the line out back.
I shimmied back down, went through the house, and told her where I'd been. (Hey, I was proud of being a good climber!) She didn't believe me, so I showed her.
I had almost reached the eaves when she had that privet hedge switched picked and stripped. Switched me all the way to the ground, she did!
Moms just don't understand.
Kevin
I shimmied back down, went through the house, and told her where I'd been. (Hey, I was proud of being a good climber!) She didn't believe me, so I showed her.
I had almost reached the eaves when she had that privet hedge switched picked and stripped. Switched me all the way to the ground, she did!
Moms just don't understand.
Kevin