CCW with kids?

learning the definition of "always"

I, having worn guns for over thirty years, do not understand the question.

Put a gun or two on; lock the rest up?
(It was NEVER about MY kids; it was only about their friends...)


Okay, I'll admit defeat to metal detectors.
 
I keep mine in my range bag. When I am home it is with me at my desk in the bag, a night it's with me in the bed or near by. I think it is a good idea to teach the kids the rules. That will happen very soon for my two boys 17 & 13
 
I have a 9 year old daughter, she knows that Dad keeps the guns in the safe and she never goes near it. I do not let her see me holster a weapon, my daughter has an IQ of 145 and knows that I have a permit to keep our family safe. Since she was able to understand I have told her not to tough one and to tell an adult. I found out it worked last Christmas went my nephew left out a shotgun in the basement of my brothers house. She was so out of breath from running up the stairs we had a hard time understanding her. When we went to get the gun my brothers boy who is 9 as well was handling the shotgun. I was not a good night for both the nephew's.
 
Why not put the gun in one those quick-access safes, with the push buttons? I can open mine in about three seconds.
 
I've got boys 3 and 7 and know right where you are coming from. I DO "play" or interact differently with the boys while wearing my CCW. I like to CCW at 3 o'clock OWB right side and in every action and interaction with the kids I turn to present my left side or use my right arm to keep them away from the holstered gun.

When I'm not wearing the CCW it is locked in a little fire proof box in my closet. Too many kids shoot themselves or others with their parents guns for me to do differently. I like to think my kids are better than all the other kids and won't fall prey to peer pressure, but the potential consequences are way to severe to risk it. When they are older and I've had the opportunity to get them "trained-up" I'll probably relax a little.
 
My two boys are just 19 months and 3 months. For now, I keep the CZ on the nightstand with no round in the chamber, but the mag in. I know for certain he could not crawl out of bed, open his door, open my door, pick the up the gun, rack the slide to chamber a round, etc....as he gets older, I am thinking about one of those small safes others have mentioned. Any gun not being carried or out for defense in the house is locked in the big safe.
 
When I get home I take my piece and put it up high in a spot where they can't get to it, they don't even know it's there. At bedtime I put my piece in my safe and take out my 12 gauge shoty and lean it next to my night stand with rounds in the magazine but not chambered. It's safer and the sound of the pump action would more than likely be enough to scare away any would bad guys. Just my 2 cents.
 
carried all the time with my kids, and at home the guns were out.

Both kids had been exposed to them at an early age. Both had seen the damage done to animals and understood that could be them if they messed up.

Both kids were allowed to see and touch the guns at a very early age, but only with us around, once they got over the curiosity stage, they never bothered them again. IF they asked to see the guns, we took a few minutes and let them, talked to them about safety and let them see it.

Its the same as car keys if you handle it that way. Making a big deal out of it is like having liquor in the house and getting preachy about never having any. all it does is fuel the desire to have what they can't have.
 
When I grew up my father was a motorcop his snub nose was on his belt as soon as he put on his regular clothes any other time it was in his top right dresser drawer. As soon as he got out of uniform his leather jacket with gunbelt and gun were on a hanger in the hall closet. I knew I could not touch without permission, if I wanted to I would ask he would get it unload it hand it to me I had to inspect it for ammo also as, a few times he put emty brass in one cylinder as a test and gave me the revolver. At the age of about 7 he checked out a S&W K-22 from the Department and introduced me to hip shooting, then aimed fire. when I was 16 my older brother gave me a 1911 Colt made in 1913 When I had children I carried on the tradition but kept the guns high and hidden as my kids friends weren't as gun savy as mine. To this date knock on wood no accidents or injurys my youngest is 30 now. Now due to crime and the law I have all but my two carry guns a Sig 226/.40 and a S&W 340PD .357 in my Gun Safe
 
It's all about parenting from a vary young age if children are taught right-wrong-and respect and the word "NO" you'll have no trouble. Mine carry themselves now, but it was drilled into one of them so good not to touch, that in an emergency I have serious thoughts if He would of brought it to me if I asked. ;)
 
Basically, I always have the gun on my person until bedtime so its not a big issue in my house. When I go to bed the gun goes on the book shelf for easy access in case someone breaks in. Since it is always on my person during the day, or within arms reach late at night I don't see any risk to the kids.
 
with kids

as inferred above...I started teaching "firearms" early, at developmentally appropriate skill levels...drill ; safety, respect, proficency.....and get a dog.:)
 
+1 guntotin_ fool- I did exactly the same thing with my stepchildren. I shot woodchucks and rabbits with high powered rifles, then showed them what was left, "THIS, could be you if you handled my guns without permission and had an accident". They quickly got the point. They also knew that I was proud of them, and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. They were allowed to handle my guns any time they wished, as long as they asked me first and I was present. They learned to hunt and target shoot and handle guns responsibly.
 
response

I work from home, if I am wearing jeans that day, I put a .45 in a owb holster - if I am wearing shorts or warm up pants, I grab one of the pocket pistolas.

That said, I also have wall mounted "safes" (those little black clamshells that open with keys) inside a closet in my office, the living room and the garage. Inside each of those closets, I take one of the keys and use a twist-tie and affix a key to the inside of a hanger in a shirt or jacket (that my wife knows about). What that allows us to do is get access to a pistol in an event and we are not armed.

As far as the rest, I mounted a "U" bolt kind of thing to the floor of my closet in my office, each of the "not in use" pistols that are long term storage are in the original case with a cable lock around the handle so they can't get opened and then I ran a cable lock down through the handles of the stack of pistol cases and locked it to the floor. This way if there is ever a break, they have to work to steal the stack of pistols.

As far as the kids, they know I have them (although I dont know about you guys, but it seems to be out of sight out of mind) - I always have a cover shirt on. There are times when I have one in any stage of assemble (or disassembly) on a drafting table in my office - but the ammunition is locked up in ammo boxes in the basement, so even if kids got their hands on them, there are no bullets.

T
 
Whether there are children in the house or not, a gun owner is obliged to keep his tools under control 24/7. If a person takes that to mean keeping their carry piece on while they're home, or locking up the gun & ammo securely as soon as they arrive, then that's what they should do. Personally, it would mean keeping my carry piece on until I lock it up at night, next to the bed. We all do what makes us feel safe.

One thing I'll never do is keep a gun unsecured, even if all I'm doing is running to the bathroom or sleeping. I don't want family to get hurt, and I don't want a burglar to find a free Python sitting on the kitchen table when all he wanted was to pinch my electronics. I think a quick access safe is a good compromise if I have to take a gun off.

Certain methods of carry are family friendly, too. Deep carry & pocket carry are great for this, though sometimes a kid will bump their head against your piece when they come for a hug.

Communicating safety policies with family is very important. My wife didn't know much about guns when we met, but she's learned very well. Being that she's an owner now, decisions about what we do with our pieces are as much hers as they are mine. We're still trying for kids, and we plan on raising them well.
 
I have a daughter, 12, who goes with me to the range regularly, knows (and I quiz her before every session) the rules and owns her own Buckmark 22 which she is pretty good with.
I carry at home all the time, but all the other guns in the house are locked up, including hers, and she doesn't have the combination. When I go to bed, I lock my carry gun away in the safe.
I keep my favorite SD gun in a push button safe by the bed and my #2 favorite under the bed in a combination lock box.
She knows not to touch, EVER! if one gets inadvertantly left out, but kids are kids, so if it's not on my person, it's locked up.
 
When I get home my CCW goes into a locked box safe and it stays there until the next time I leave. I have the only keys. My bedside gun is in a GunVault with quick access buttons. My kids are 2 and 3.
 
Ok, here's come my sick sarcastic humor that nobody should take offense to. When I was that age, I played with cap guns. Back in those days, they made real cap guns, made out of metal, had weight to them, and were simply cool. Now a days, I don't think they even make cap guns anymore, let alone ones made out of metal. I say load up some empty shells with primers only or get a cap and ball revolver and load up some percussion caps and let your kids run wild.
 
When our kids were little, I often took them shooting, and still do now that they are 31 and 27. However, when they were little, the pistol was in a locked metal toolbox, with a loaded magazine also inside, but not inserted. The key to the toolbox was on me, or next to my bed.
If they had the "touch" keypad safes then that they have today, I would have bought one.
Don't expect your kid to always behave. It's always sad when they don't, but in this case it could be tragic. Now that they're grown, their guns are often laying around the house with mine. But little kids are only human. Without sounding like an "anti," the odds of them hurting themselves is higher than the odds of needing a loaded, unlocked pistol at the ready.
Keep your guns locked while the kids are little.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top