Storing my pistols--safe vs. lock

[andrewt]

I just bought my second handgun (G30SF) which will be my primary carry gun. My LCP will be carried when my wardrobe or social situation would make carrying the G30 inconvenient.

In your opinion, is it safe to store the gun I'm not carrying in a drawer with a trigger or cable lock, or do I need a safe? (unless I carry both... :getsum2:)

There's a safe in my brother's room (still living at home and commuting to school) where we keep our long guns that I could store a gun in, but having it in my room would be more convenient for me.

[diesel3500]

My guns are all locked up except for my carry gun. Which is also the same gun that I have next to my bed when home at night. I do have a small pistol safe for when I want that gun locked up. My wife does not like having the guns out and I have children at my house often. I dont want to take any chances.

[teecro]

Depends on what you want to keep the gun safe from? Theft then you need some sort of safe... If you just need to keep safe from curious fingers then a cable run through the action and keep the bullets, mag and keys elsewhere. There is absolutely no "law" written in the MI books yet that prevents you from just leaving it on the kitchen table; not that I'm suggesting that you should...

[zd3007]

IMO the question you have to ask yourself is, "Whose hands am I trying to keep the gun from?". I live in a neighborhood that isn't as nice as it was when I moved, so robbery is an issue. Since I am NOT interested in arming those who would break the law and hurt those around them, ALL guns and ammo that aren't going with me get locked up when I leave. If you're just trying to keep curious hands off, a cable lock should be fine.
As for trigger locks, while I've personally never seen it happen, I have it on good authority that most guns CAN FIRE with a trigger lock on them.
Just one man's opinion. :)

[andrewt]

Thanks guys. Turns out we had a safe in the basement from my Grandparents that they bought and never used. It's a SentrySafe, pretty small, about the size of my reel-to-reel tape deck but deeper (maybe that's not the best comparison these days, but they're right next to each other so...). Looks like it has a combination + biometric; I'm just about to read the manual. I have it next to my bed now.

How important do you guys think it is to have the safe bolted to the floor? I hope to be moving next year so I'd rather not have to permanently alter anything.

[teecro]

... How important do you guys think it is to have the safe bolted to the floor? I hope to be moving next year so I'd rather not have to permanently alter anything.

Again that is a question only you can anwser... What is your main concern: Theft due to break in or just keeping curious fingers out? Once my collection grew to MORE than two and it grew to be a hassle packing & unpacking them depending on the household situation I invested in a large safe but before that I felt comfy with just keeping them locked in a portable case.

[zd3007]

In the idea of theft deterrent bolting the thing to the floor is ideal, however there may be other options. Is there anything in the room you could attach it to that may make taking the whole safe a great big pain? Maybe you could fab something to attach it to a metal bed frame they would have to take completely apart? Maybe there's something else in the room you could pair it with that would be simply too big to fit through a door? Obviously I don't know what options you have and these ideas may be a bit ludicrous in your world. The point is, be creative if you must, but responsible gun owners do everything in their power to keep their tools out of the hands of those who would use them for the wrong reasons. Good luck!

[andrewt]

Thanks, I'll try to attach it permanently to something.