I've devised my own tests for my daughter, too. And yes, just as your dad, parts of my "SOP," if it can be called that, were tailored around what I knew of my daughter's physical and mental capabilities.Tweed Ring wrote:Wen I was a kid, my Dad kept two loaded revolvers in the house. Since, as a kid, I was inquisitive, nosy, and a climber - once a year, he would unload both guns, and give me a chance to pull the triggers. Once I reached the point in my young life, when I had the hand/finger strength to pull the trigger with both hands, the guns literally disappeared.
^ One thing I like to remind parents of is that not every situation can be foreseen. The empty-chamber idea is not a bad one, but remember that a slide doesn't necessarily have to be cycled "by hand." The toddler/child can simply have a hold on the gun while falling, catching the rear sight or even the ejection port on something that offered enough resistance to cycle the slide as he/she fell forward. Look at how we chamber a round with one hand - same idea.brian0918 wrote:At the very least, always make sure that your handguns have nothing in the chamber. Toddlers shouldn't be able to rack the slide, though that's not necessarily a guarantee that they're safe.