Secure your firearms properly!

Now look I am the most pro gun person you'll meet. But I am also a proponent of proper training and safe gun handling.. when I say that I mean as a responsable gun owner you have to be in control of all your weapon's at all times! when their not in your hand they should be unloaded or secured with trigger locks, gun safe or some other devise that prevents something like the story I'm about to share...

RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, Pa. – A World War II veteran says a woman who pretended her car had broken down so she could get into his Pennsylvania home grabbed two guns from his collection and engaged him in a shootout before jumping out a window with the weapons.

Donald Kaighn (CAYN') tells Philadelphia's WPVI-TV the woman sprayed him with lighter fluid and wrestled him in the kitchen Monday night before he grabbed a gun and chased her upstairs, where she found two guns and they had a shootout. He wasn't badly hurt.

The 84-year-old Kaighn says when he went downstairs to call police the woman snatched jewelry. Fingerprints show she leaped from a second-floor window of the home in suburban Ridley Township.

Link to story

No one would have expected that to happen, but it did, and due to his lack of properly securing his unattended weapons he very nearly paid a hefty price! If it's in your home you are responsible to insure unauthorized persons do not gain access to your loaded weapon's! That's not asking a lot is it?

I agree,

However I believe more is at fault. I personally wouldn't be letting ANYONE I didn't know in my home unless I already had my Mossberg properly secured in my own hands.

Because of a lack of foresight, he almost paid a hefty price.

Seriously though folks...if you have more than one gun, lock the damn things up. You gonna need 3 rifles, 2 pistols and a shot gun all at a moments notice? Not likely.

Cool, if someone tried that here they would be dead. We lock and load for a reason, people who have a problem with it can go cry to someone who cares.

I don't own a gun as of right now but I did. The reason I got rid of my .38 Taurus... Someone was trying to break down my front door.. For some reason I couldn't seem to grab my handgun. When I finally did It took everything I had to pull the trigger. What happened next made me get rid of my gun.. When I heard the unbelievable LOUD Bang when if fired it WOKE ME UP from sleeping. I actually had a dream someone was trying to break down my door, and since I used to keep my handgun by my bed you can fill in the rest.. I waited an hour thinking the cops may show up but luckily no buddy seem to notice. I was lucky I wasn't shot or shot someone else.. I still have the bullet hole in my wall.

By the way when you shoot a handgun or any gun indoors it's UNBELIEVABLY LOUD.

reply to post by midnightbrigade


you are of course right... but lets be fair... A mad man knocking on my door with a hatchet is just going to get himself shot in the face... A lady in distress begging to use my phone to call for help is going to get an entirely different reaction... if our places were reversed I too might have let her in... but the minute she went for the lighter fluid she would have been surprised I carry a XD-40 Subcompact in a pancake holster.

Anymore we just have to set aside our Gender bias too... that'll get you killed

[edit on 2-12-2009 by DaddyBare]

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by midnightbrigade

 

you are of course right... but lets be fair... A mad man knocking on my door with a hatchet is just going to get himself shot in the face... A lady in distress begging to use my phone to call for help is going to get an entirely different reaction... if our places were reversed I too might have let her in... but the minute she went for the lighter fluid she would have been surprised I carry a XD-40 Subcompact in a pancake holster.

Anymore we just have to set aside our Gender bias too... that'll get you killed

[edit on 2-12-2009 by DaddyBare]

What??? You carry even when you are at home relaxing in front of the TV with a beer?

reply to post by BillyTheCat


Sure.

Just because you're home watching a Seinfeld rerun doesnt mean some nutcase isnt going to smash in your sliding door or knock on the front door pretending to sell magazine subscriptions so he can push the door in and bust you in the face.

I also place one on the bathroom sink when I'm showering or taking a crap.

When you're home relaxing do you remove the batteries from your smoke detectors?

reply to post by BillyTheCat


You bet I do... even went to all the trouble of getting a concealed carry permit too...
want to know why???
six years ago my fifteen year old son was murdered, took a shot gun blast to his chest...
if I had a weapon on me at the time it might not have happened...
I still have three other kids and now a beautiful happy little granddaughter....
I wont make the mistake of being unarmed again...

Some lessons you learn the hard way...

reply to post by DaddyBare


Sorry to here about your son DaddyBare.

I agree with you though, all weapons should be locked up and secured if it's not on your persons or with arms reach. It's like some people I know that have guns stashed all around the house, all loaded. Doesn't make any sense, I've always though that is a good way to get shot by your own gun. The last thing you want to do is arm an intruder.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by BillyTheCat

 

You bet I do... even went to all the trouble of getting a concealed carry permit too...
want to know why???
six years ago my fifteen year old son was murdered, took a shot gun blast to his chest...
if I had a weapon on me at the time it might not have happened...
I still have three other kids and now a beautiful happy little granddaughter....
I wont make the mistake of being unarmed again...

Some lessons you learn the hard way...

Wow! sorry to hear about your son, friend.

Here in the UK some folk think that I'm a little strange for having a 500 Slugster in my gun cupboard.

By the way brother, if you placed my old cap badge back to back with yours we would cover the entire globe........

thanks BillyTheCat and Hastobemoretolife... I'd be proud to stand back to back with you guys anytime...

All I'm saying is when it happens... it happens fast... to fast... you have to plan ahead as all you have time to do is react...

DaddyBare, my sincerest condolences. I think anyone who has a child has got to feel a wave of horror reading about your loss.

Molan 27, that would make me sell my guns too. I have had a history of sleep walking in the past and it did concern me, but fortunately for me, the worst thing I ever did was urinate in the refrigerator. Wife was not happy.

My guns are scattered all over the house, I guess I better tighten up.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
thanks BillyTheCat and Hastobemoretolife... I'd be proud to stand back to back with you guys anytime...

All I'm saying is when it happens... it happens fast... to fast... you have to plan ahead as all you have time to do is react...

Same here. You are right about things happening fast, I've had guns and knives pulled on me before, it isn't a pleasant situation to be in. I couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like for you with what you experienced.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
Now look I am the most pro gun person you'll meet. But I am also a proponent of proper training and safe gun handling.. when I say that I mean as a responsable gun owner you have to be in control of all your weapon's at all times! when their not in your hand they should be unloaded or secured with trigger locks, gun safe or some other devise that prevents something like the story I'm about to share...
No one would have expected that to happen, but it did, and due to his lack of properly securing his unattended weapons he very nearly paid a hefty price! If it's in your home you are responsible to insure unauthorized persons do not gain access to your loaded weapon's! That's not asking a lot is it?

Yes actually it is. Should I similarly keep all my carving knives, hacksaw's, swords, and other weapons/potential weapons locked in a safe because someone might break in?
Yes, if you have children in your home then keeping your firearms in a safe is a must; however assuming that it is someones responsibility to keep firearms locked up at all times because someone might break in in ludicrous IMHO.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by BillyTheCat

 

You bet I do... even went to all the trouble of getting a concealed carry permit too...
want to know why???
six years ago my fifteen year old son was murdered, took a shot gun blast to his chest...
if I had a weapon on me at the time it might not have happened...
I still have three other kids and now a beautiful happy little granddaughter....
I wont make the mistake of being unarmed again...

Some lessons you learn the hard way...

I have always had guns.... my ex wife hated them for years... but after our daughter was gunned down right in front of her one afternoon in a mall in Bakersfield california... her attitudes changed quickly..... and my heart felt prayers and condolences to you sir..... it is hard to live with.... but somehow we keep going.....

Originally posted by BillyTheCat

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by midnightbrigade

 

you are of course right... but lets be fair... A mad man knocking on my door with a hatchet is just going to get himself shot in the face... A lady in distress begging to use my phone to call for help is going to get an entirely different reaction... if our places were reversed I too might have let her in... but the minute she went for the lighter fluid she would have been surprised I carry a XD-40 Subcompact in a pancake holster.

Anymore we just have to set aside our Gender bias too... that'll get you killed

[edit on 2-12-2009 by DaddyBare]

What??? You carry even when you are at home relaxing in front of the TV with a beer?

You do realize that 100% of violent home invasions happen at home, right?

reply to post by DaddyBare


I think anyone who owns a gun should be required by law to have a gun safe, that is how it is in the UK and it's rare you hear of a legal firearm being used in a crime.

I want to make ATS users aware of something though. Trigger locks suck, most of them can be removed with a paperclip in seconds if you know what you're doing. If you don't know what you're doing they can still be easily removed with a paperclip, just takes a little longer. What i'm saying is please, if you have children then don't rely on trigger locks.

All this bunkum about trigger locks is clump to be honest.
Keep your long-arm weapons in a gun cabinet but don't let the bad guy into your house either...
Good call on the dudes and lasses who carry around the house too!

Originally posted by ImaginaryReality1984
reply to post by DaddyBare

 

I think anyone who owns a gun should be required by law to have a gun safe, that is how it is in the UK and it's rare you hear of a legal firearm being used in a crime.

I want to make ATS users aware of something though. Trigger locks suck, most of them can be removed with a paperclip in seconds if you know what you're doing. If you don't know what you're doing they can still be easily removed with a paperclip, just takes a little longer. What i'm saying is please, if you have children then don't rely on trigger locks.

well you got few to no guns anyways and little to no gun rights..... and i keep mine right where they are handy and not locked up...never have had a problem at home and since my kids grew up around them there has never been one single incident where they messed with them.... all about education and safety...

and besides if I were to need my weapon...i damn sure do not want to have to go unlock it and get it out..... when the bad guy comes through the door you got mere seconds to determine what is going on and seconds to kill the dirt bag.... I want to have those seconds to be able to defend my self...properly and not cower and beg...

Amazing story thats ridiculous ... i usually keep the rifle locked but my shotgun i keep loaded... not cocked but loaded (intruders dont like the sound of a shell being racked) Poor guy glad hes still alive ... and sorry about your loss DaddyBare overall tho you are absolutely right