# Unscecured gun in the home.



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

You'd think that a couple of young teens would know better.

?Police: Boy playing with gun shoots friend, 13, in the face - CBS News


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

Seems like the majority of the shootings lately have been in Chicago or Pennsylvania.


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

Teens _should _know better, but kids do stupid things - that's why they're called "Kids."

Adults should know better than to have guns accessible to kids - that's why they're called "Adults."


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## Wyoming_1977 (Feb 24, 2016)

I don't have children (thank the Lord), but if I did, all my weapons would be locked up tighter than a nun's virtue.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

win231 said:


> Teens _should _know better, but kids do stupid things - that's why they're called "Kids."
> 
> Adults should know better than to have guns accessible to kids - that's why they're called "Adults."


Agreed! My point was that even teens can't be trusted.

I've known teens that acted more like adults, and adults, that acted more like teens. I'm sure that we all have, at some time or another.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

Kids can be educated - I mean _educated_ - about guns and their safe handling. The education needs to start well before the teen years. And of course, gun safety needs to be only one element of the education. When the young person turns 13, he/she should be actually ready for the ceremony.

The neglect of responsibility is accumulative over generations. If Grandpa didn't teach Pa, Pa probably doesn't know his responsibility. The Sphinx shakes off the dust and heads for Jerusalem.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

Kids can be educated about weapon safety. Not uncommon for boys when they reach their early teens and hormones are flying and they're trying to fit in with other teens....
"Hey, I know where my folks keep their gun(s)" and it can go downhill from there.


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## Wyoming_1977 (Feb 24, 2016)

My Dad kept 3 rifles, a shotgun, a revolver, and all the ammunition for them in a rack in the bedroom. I never touched them because I was threatened under pain of death to never touch them unless he was around. I only disregarded that ONCE, when I was 15 or 16 and a pitbull of the neighbors was trying to kill my cat, so I grabbed the 410 shotgun and sent Mr. Puppy to heaven. I was scared to tell my Dad I had done it because he was out of town at the time, but he wasn't mad at me. He still told me not to touch them after that. I guess I was just raised differently.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

BackyardCowboy said:


> Kids can be educated about weapon safety. Not uncommon for boys when they reach their early teens and hormones are flying and they're trying to fit in with other teens....
> "Hey, I know where my folks keep their gun(s)" and it can go downhill from there.


That's a failure. As the responsible elder, I would count it mine.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

When I was a kid, one of my best friend's father was a big-game hunter / guide, that frequently traveled out of the country. 

In their basement, was a wood and glass rifle cabinet that housed more than 70 rifles and shotguns. His father also had a cabinet that housed well over 50 handguns of all types and calibers. 

Neither cabinet was locked. I don't even recall them having locks on them. We did a lot of looking, but no touching. We both were about 8 yrs. old at the time. 

Most of the ammo was neatly stacked on a shelf near the cabinets.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

At that age, I would think that a 13 or 14 year old could tell the difference between a real gun and a fake one and that guns are lethal weapons. Don't get me wrong there's no excuse for leaving a gun around where unauthorized hands may get ahold of it. Nor is there any excuse for pointing a gun at anything that you have no intention of shooting.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

I always knew,
The bullet shoots out of the end of the barrel when you pull the trigger. I was self taught ,lol.

I did have a lot of practice before my first firearm.

- rubber bands n paper clips.
- navy pea beans and a plastic straw. Remember filling your mouth with the beans and blowing em through the STRAW
- hand made sling shots 
- hand made bow n arrows
- Bb guns

Didn't get into gun powder until I was fourteen 

:smt033


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

pic said:


> Didn't get into gun powder until I was fourteen :smt033


You snorted GUNPOWDER????


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## CW (Mar 20, 2015)

Often I have found experienced gun owners involved in many of these accidental shootings.

The adults know, the kids know, but still.....

Familiarity breeds contempt. It can happen to any of us. Its a major cause of workplace injuries... I've done this a million times......

One Time. That's all it takes. Just like a seatbelt. 
We "experienced" owners shortcut safety for a moment..... but then we are professionals.

Forgot to spin the combination dial...

Forgot to pop the mag AND CYCLE...

Leaver/pump action - tube fed, there always seems to be one left inside ...

Left the revolver loaded cause I was just going to was my hands before putting it away...

Left the purse a little too close to child who was sleeping...

Underestimated the ignorance/capabilities of a newbie...


Kids, They Know Better! .... yea right... tell my auto insurance carrier.


Its a reminder, a challenge for us gun owners to be constantly diligent. Build and maintain the good habits. Encourage them in others...

And maybe invest practice time cycling an auto from C1 to C3 on the draw. Just sayin.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

BackyardCowboy said:


> You snorted GUNPOWDER????


The gunpowder smoked after I lit it.

But I didn't inhale.

I should have added fireworks to the above list.

We also had weekly rocket launches (Estes rocket engines) shopping cart (donated by the local shopping store)command control,lol.

I used to work all alone Friday and Saturday night graveyard shift at a seven island gas station (we pumped the gas checked the oil cleaned the windshield) for just over 2$ an hour.
Very bad neighborhood, I kept a loaded 20 gauge Springfield pump (pulled it twice, no shots fired) handy, hidden , but accessible. Carried a very large can of mace (illegal) lol, I'm in Rochester, ny. 
Also had a silent alarm button I carried,,,,that was useless..... I asked a police officer who stopped in quite often, if I could test the alarm button,,,,nothing happened,,, he drove off,,,came back 30 minutes later,,,told me the call came in.
Had to deal with biker gangs,,, tough guys,,,gays before they came out, People who had no money,,,, pervert with their Manhood hanging out ( see post below ),,, that was the scariest.

Why did I write the last paragraph,, I was snorting gun powder,lol just kidding. The relevant factor IMO is ,,,each and every persons *potential* skill set , mentally and physically has plenty to do with genetics along with an early foundation of exposure to many situations that may not include the use of a firearm.

:smt1099


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Lol, just read my last post. In regards (above) to the perverts. This is a gun forum ,I do apologize for adding that type of garbage material..to be a bit more specific about that garbage, lol.

As a gas station attendant. When a vehicle pulled into the gas station, I approached the drivers side window to ask how much gas they wanted. 

That's when ,,, on only one occasion ,,,the driver gave me 5$ for gas , I couldn't help to see that he had matters ( manhood) in his own hand. Lol.

I was in shock, never said a word to the man. I actually pretended like nothing was out of place ,lol.

Pumped the gas,, see ya.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Some of the stories (incidents) I could relate............:smt170


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## rustygun (Apr 8, 2013)

A friend of mine was 18 or so when he moved out of his house. He hunted and had a few firearms one was a single shot pistol. He lived with a few other guys (party place). Well one of his room mates got drunk and high on whatever and was also pissed his girlfriend had broke up with him. He took the pistol from my friends room and went over to his ex-girlfriends house. Shot her dead on the porch. One shot. I believe she was 16 very pretty girl. It was a tough thing for my friend a lot of should of, could of, would of. 

I don't have kids but when the nieces and nephews show up I lock it all up. I wouldn't tell others how to handle things in their own home but there is one thing I do know is teenage brains don't always function properly. I still don't tell my mom some of the stuff I did when I was young.


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

My dad was one of those "Don't touch it" parents. He'd park his DeSoto, tell me to wait in the car & not to touch anything. (He wasn't very smart; a 5 year old kid will touch everything). I especially liked the way the whole car would shake like those 5-cent rides when I pushed that starter button on the dash. But he really learned his lesson when I played with that pull-out parking brake & the car started rolling. Could have killed someone. Luckily, it jumped the curb, hit a tree & stopped.


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## sdh91 (Dec 12, 2015)

I have kids and kids friends in my house so my guns are locked. I have invested in a quality, quick access safe. But even if I didn't have kids I would still keep my guns locked up. 

So here is my question.....For a lot of people, a home burglary while you are out is a possibility. So if you have at least one gun that stays at home while you are out and you are someone who does not lock up your gun(s), aren't you concerned that it could fall into the hands of a burglar?


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

sdh91 said:


> I have kids and kids friends in my house so my guns are locked. I have invested in a quality, quick access safe. But even if I didn't have kids I would still keep my guns locked up.
> 
> So here is my question.....For a lot of people, a home burglary while you are out is a possibility. So if you have at least one gun that stays at home while you are out and you are someone who does not lock up your gun(s), aren't you concerned that it could fall into the hands of a burglar?


I like gun owners who think ahead. Even worse scenario: You come home while an intruder is still there & you're looking at the wrong end of your own gun.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

You can raise your kids however you see fit, but you don't know how their friends are being raised.

Wife's friend found an unsecured gun when they were kids. But for the grace of God she'd be dead.

I "knew better" but I found the .38 dad stashed in the bathroom under a stack of towels way in the back. 

I played with that gun every time I took a dump. Granted, I did it "safely", but to this day I'm sure my dad has no clue I even knew it was there.


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

sdh91 said:


> I have kids and kids friends in my house so my guns are locked. I have invested in a quality, quick access safe. But even if I didn't have kids I would still keep my guns locked up.
> 
> So here is my question.....For a lot of people, a home burglary while you are out is a possibility. So if you have at least one gun that stays at home while you are out and you are someone who does not lock up your gun(s), aren't you concerned that it could fall into the hands of a burglar?


First off, very good point about a potential burglary.

The quick access safe would be very vulnerable in a home burglary . Maybe I'm wrong , what kind of quick access safe do you have.

Safes are like magnets, home burglars are very pleased to find them, and they do look for them.

A quality home safe is not cheap.

I lock up my guns in a very heavy duty safe. But I always keep one handgun hidden, harder to find then a quick access safe. A quick access safe is a great idea when you are at home.

But be aware that *most* _*( I don't know what kind you have ) *_are not burglar proof


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

sdh91 said:


> I have kids and kids friends in my house so my guns are locked. I have invested in a quality, quick access safe. But even if I didn't have kids I would still keep my guns locked up.
> 
> So here is my question.....For a lot of people, a home burglary while you are out is a possibility. So if you have at least one gun that stays at home while you are out and you are someone who does not lock up your gun(s), aren't you concerned that it could fall into the hands of a burglar?


Absolutely! All of my guns that are left at home are in a big 800 lb. safe which is bolted to the floor. Ammo is in a steel "Treadlock" chest also bolted to the floor. I also have a monitored security system. If someone wants 'em bad enough their gonna' have to work for 'em. By that time the police will more than likely be there. It took the safe company about an hour just to get it into the house using special equipment. It ain't gonna' be carried out so easily. The gun's that I carry are always on my person, I always carry more than one. Like those American Express commercials, "I don't leave home without 'em". They way I figure it, is if someone were to steal them and go to all of that trouble along with the risk of getting caught and they do fall into the wrong hands. No one can accuse me of not taking the responsibility of doing all that is humanly possible (other than keeping them at Ft. Knox or at the local police station) from falling into the wrong hands. We owe it to ourselves and our community to deny access to our firearms by both criminals and children.

There are all different shapes and sizes of gun safes to suit any collection. Whether it's one or a hundred. Most can be bolted to the floor and walls. Avoid ones that are made with thin gauge steel. Specifically those gun cabinets sold at your local sporting goods store. Closets with a little ingenuity can be turned into a mini vault as long as a solid wood or steel door is used along with a series of deadbolt locks (at least two per side) on both the hinge side and the door opening. The door can also be reinforced with heavy plywood on one side at least 3/4 inch. Time is a burglar's worst enemy, the object is to slow them down. Invest in a good monitored security system, they're not that expensive. Gone are the days of hard wired systems. You can customize wireless systems to suit your needs.

Every time a gun gets easily stolen or children get a hold of them, you can count on the media going into a frenzy over it. It's bad enough that we have to constantly be fighting to keep our God given 2nd Amendment rights intact. Why give the media more ammunition to use against us?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Duplicate see above.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

If we are out of the house, the firearms are locked up. 

When we are home, they aren't.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

When I was a kid, in the range of 8 to 10 years old, I used to play with one of these in a friend's back yard that backed up to a wooded area;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP_40#/media/File:MP_40_AYF_3.JPG

The one we played with didn't have any wood or plastic, other than the plastic grip (bakelite), that I can recall. And I don't know whether it was an MP-38 or an MP-40. I was fully operational and, of course, fully automatic as well. His father also had a German Luger but we rarely played with that. But there was also a German Mauser and an 1861 Springfield smooth bore that found our hands, too.


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## sdh91 (Dec 12, 2015)

pic said:


> First off, very good point about a potential burglary.
> 
> A quality home safe is not cheap. But be aware that *most* _*( I don't know what kind you have ) *_are not burglar proof


Very good points Pic and I agree that most quick access gun safes are not burglar proof and for that matter, not very secure. I did a lot of research and ended up buying a Fort Knox Pistol Box. It has a simplex lock and is made from 10 gauge steel. One of the other benefits of this model is the ability to bolt it down which I have done. While its not exactly hidden, its also not in an obvious location. And you are right, its not cheap. In fact, it cost about twice as much as a similarly sized Gunvault or Stack-on. When I decided to purchase a hand gun, I included the cost of secure storage in my budget. To me, having secure storage is part of responsible gun ownership.


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## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

sdh91 said:


> Very good points Pic and I agree that most quick access gun safes are not burglar proof and for that matter, not very secure. I did a lot of research and ended up buying a Fort Knox Pistol Box. It has a simplex lock and is made from 10 gauge steel. One of the other benefits of this model is the ability to bolt it down which I have done. While its not exactly hidden, its also not in an obvious location. And you are right, its not cheap. In fact, it cost about twice as much as a similarly sized Gunvault or Stack-on. When I decided to purchase a hand gun, I included the cost of secure storage in my budget. To me, having secure storage is part of responsible gun ownership.


My choice as well. I also have an Am Sec in another room. They now make the same heavy-duty type box with the same piston-assisted opening but they added a thick carry handle. (Same high price, though). You are correct, of course about responsible storage. I suspect one of the reasons some gun owners don't bother is they calculate how much ammo or accessories they could buy for the cost of a lock box. For me, it's well worth the peace of mind. And, I'd hate to have to say "I shoulda" after an avoidable tragedy.


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