0121 – SDFAQ Self-Defense Handgun Storage in the Home

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Last week I spent some time shooting with some friends.  Ted who is also a student of mine had a great question about storage of home defense handguns.  This is a common question and certainly an important one to address.

When we talk about the storage of self-defense handguns there are two principles that we need to take into account when we decide on our storage method.

• Fast and easy to access for authorized users
• Inaccessible to unauthorized users

For me this means that when I spend time in my home my gun is concealed on my person.  This meats the criteria of the two principles.  There is no faster deployment of a handgun than from my holster except if I’m simply going to hold the gun in my hand all day.  At the same time, there is no place that a gun can be kept as secure as on my person.  Even locked in a safe the gun is only being secured in a passive manner.  On my body, I have the ability to keep my firearm secure in an active manner.  to the point of being able to defend the gun with the gun if need be.

But as Ted noted, it just isn’t possible to keep a gun on your body all the time.  Specifically Ted was concerned about the time when he was sleeping.  Locked in a safe in the basement keeps the firearm relatively inaccessible to unauthorized users, however it is useless as a self-defense tool.  So how do we store a firearm so that it is secure but easily deployable should we need it.

• Many considerations to take into account
  • sleeping habits
  • children
  • location of you and your weapon compared to likely points of entry
  • no one solution is perfect for everyone
• Quickly Accessible
  • via gross motor skills
  • no keys or rotary dials
• Out of Sight
  • many times people discover that their home has been invaded when they wake up to someone standing over them in their bedroom
  • this takes discipline as out of sight means out of mind for many people.
• Easily Secured
  • we don’t want a system that is difficult to use
  • if it takes time or is a hassle we won’t use it.

My System