How not to keep a firearm for home defense

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brian0918
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How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by brian0918 »

My parents are left-leaning hoplophobic sorts. Not long after I first got my CHL, my dad went out and bought a handgun for home defense without even talking to me about it ahead of time. I was surprised my mom let him do that, but not after I saw how they were storing it.

They were keeping it in a closet near the front door, in a locked box, crammed under piles of stuff, unloaded. And he couldn't remember the combination, so he had to find the key. I had to remove piles of clothes and boardgames and shoes just to get to the box, then it was a feat pulling the huge box out of the tiny closet. Ten minutes later I finally had the box out, opened, and the magazines loaded.

They didn't really have an answer when I asked, "what are you going to do if a bad guy breaks in the front door?"

Now they keep the box unlocked in their bedroom, with the magazines loaded. Still not ideal, but a big improvement.

Now I just have to get them to actually shoot the darn thing. Baby steps. :D
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MyWifeSaidYes
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by MyWifeSaidYes »

"Having a gun" and "having a gun for defense" are two separate things.

"Having a gun buried so deep that no one will find it" I guess would be a third thing? :?

Of course, mine are in my back yard... :wink:
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Klingon00
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by Klingon00 »

Maybe they were keeping in in case the news media started reporting the beginning of the zombie apocalypse to pull it out and load it? :lol:

Isn't that how the story tends to go in zombie flicks? The main characters aren't into guns so they aren't prepared, but happen to find one stashed in a closet somewhere just when they needed it most? I wonder how common that is when someone gets a wild hair and goes out and buys a gun and then stash and forget about it?

I had an anti-gun mother and a father who was a lifetime NRA member. My dad had to keep the guns out of sight and out of mind for many, many years to keep the peace in the house. Thankfully we never needed them during that time since they were locked up and un-loaded.
carmen fovozzo
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by carmen fovozzo »

MyWifeSaidYes wrote:"Having a gun" and "having a gun for defense" are two separate things.

"Having a gun buried so deep that no one will find it" I guess would be a third thing? :?

Of course, mine are in my back yard... :wink:
There is something worse..#4 having a gun and no ammo..... :)
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QuackXP
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by QuackXP »

brian0918 wrote:Baby steps. :D
That is exactly what some people need. It sounds like they are not going to go from firearm hating firearms to condition 1 in the bed stand overnight. I'm sure the simple act of having a firearm in the house was a bit of a hurdle for them. Its good that you are there to encourage them to be safe and learn to use the firearm properly.
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TJW815
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by TJW815 »

carmen fovozzo wrote:
MyWifeSaidYes wrote:"Having a gun" and "having a gun for defense" are two separate things.

"Having a gun buried so deep that no one will find it" I guess would be a third thing? :?

Of course, mine are in my back yard... :wink:
There is something worse..#4 having a gun and no ammo..... :)

Don't you hate that :!: Damn hoarders
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farblue
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by farblue »

I know a couple of folks that rushed out to get their "home defense" firearms, and they sit locked up or hidden, and unloaded, and two of them haven't even shot their guns at all yet. :roll:
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tbrew85
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by tbrew85 »

farblue wrote:I know a couple of folks that rushed out to get their "home defense" firearms, and they sit locked up or hidden, and unloaded, and two of them haven't even shot their guns at all yet. :roll:

My father has always had at least one gun. There is the 22 rifle that he ended up passing down to me, a shotgun, periods of time where he had several handguns, etc. In his younger adult days he was quite a trick shot artist, and a quick draw artist with cowboy action type guns. AN EXTREMELY, accurate shooter.

He now lives in Florida, has a CHL (or whatever Florida's version of that is) and carries a Kahr .40 caliber. THAT HAS NEVER BEEN FIRED! I ask him occasionally "Dad, have you gone to the range yet to shoot that gun"? "No, not yet, I know I really need to" is the response I usually get. ugghhh......He KNOWS better!
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farblue
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Re: How not to keep a firearm for home defense

Post by farblue »

tbrew85 wrote:
farblue wrote:I know a couple of folks that rushed out to get their "home defense" firearms, and they sit locked up or hidden, and unloaded, and two of them haven't even shot their guns at all yet. :roll:

My father has always had at least one gun. There is the 22 rifle that he ended up passing down to me, a shotgun, periods of time where he had several handguns, etc. In his younger adult days he was quite a trick shot artist, and a quick draw artist with cowboy action type guns. AN EXTREMELY, accurate shooter.

He now lives in Florida, has a CHL (or whatever Florida's version of that is) and carries a Kahr .40 caliber. THAT HAS NEVER BEEN FIRED! I ask him occasionally "Dad, have you gone to the range yet to shoot that gun"? "No, not yet, I know I really need to" is the response I usually get. ugghhh......He KNOWS better!
Kahr recommends a MINIMUM 200-round break-in period for their pistols. Mine did not malfunction during the break-in period, but I hope your Dad gets out to the range, if only to make sure that gun actually fires...
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Political tags - such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth - are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.
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