Firearms in cabins -- re the two escapees

People fortunate enough to have a "cabin in the woods" can't pack all their worldly possessions every time they visit. Nothing wrong with an old shotgun or .22, in the closet or on the wall.
Life is full of chances, why spend your time worrying about what might happen to someone else?
 
We don't leave firearms in our cabin. On the other hand, ours is a shack compared to those on either side (lake shore properties, so a bit cheek-by-jowl); any self-respecting burglar would pass ours by, and if they didn't, well, there's a thrift-store microwave and a vast quantity of books...

We do keep it locked up, though.
 
Firearms in cabins

I have some firearms in my cabin. They're out of sight and would take some time to find. That said, my cabin is in an area that's very uninviting to thieves.
 
I don't own a getaway cabin of any sort, but the firearms at my house are under lock and key, and I would do the same in a cabin. But as Snyper aptly pointed out, they had the time to find and/or break into a box or whatever. If I understood the news reports correctly, one of them repeatedly picked the lock of a tool chest to use a contractor's tools for their escape. Maybe he picked a lock. Or maybe they used brute force. Or maybe the firearm wasn't stored securely. We just don't know.

The shotgun that was recovered from the guy who was killed by Border Patrol agents was said to be an heirloom shotgun. I feel bad for the owner and I hope he gets it back in decent condition.
 
The shotgun that was recovered from the guy who was killed by Border Patrol agents was said to be an heirloom shotgun. I feel bad for the owner and I hope he gets it back in decent condition.
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Even more history in that gun now
 
The odds of a criminal inmate escapee to break into your cabin are extremely remote. Anything inside could aid his escape.

Food, a motorcycle with keys, maps, flashlights, a boat, fishing gear, etc. All things that could be stolen and used nefariously to help a convict or would be criminal mind.

Sure, a gun should be locked up... but what about the steak knives or forestry axe? Gonna lock up the bow and arrows too? Lock up the matchbooks, in case an arsonist breaks in and wants to set something on fire with your *gasp* unsecured matches.

We, as a nation, have gone overboard in our gun paranoia.

This mentality will surely lead to more tightening gun control, requiring all guns disassembled under lock and key at different locations! Good grief.
 
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This has zero to do with gun paranoia. A secluded cabin is a nice theft target. Got a bud that had to put up surveillance because the druggies were driving down his country side road to their cabin and eventually started robbing the place.
 
I keep guns at my cabin I have to have guns available for guests to use as we have bear, cougar, wolf and bobcats. Right now we have a black bear that was orphaned last month walking around trying to make a living.

I keep them locked up but my guests have a key. I keep four firearms at the cabin that most anyone should be able to use.....a H&R revolver in .32 H&R, a Mossberg 500 in 12 gage, a Mosin Nagant M44 and a .22 pump that I picked up for $20.
 
Everybody has to use their own judgement for their particular case, but spekaing very generally, cabins are easy targets, and very common targets for braking and entering because they are usually secluded, out of sight, and have very little regular traffic. How do you secure a building in the woods at the end of a lane off a dirt road that people drive on once once a day? Locking doors and windows on a building that someone has all the time in the workd to get into, without being interrupted is not much of a deterrent.

After several break ins, my brother ended up putting a small padlock on an easy to remove hasp on the door of his to keep honest people honest, but that could easily be broken into without breaking windows or using a crowbar to destroy the door.

Another friend has one right on the "main" road that is paved, but sees maybe a half dozen cars a day go by. His is heavily reenforced, bars on the tiny (too small for most humans) windows, and steel door frame. He also has a small solar panel for on/off and motion activated lighting, and he put some motion activated game cameras with internet IP that notifies his phone in real time. he also put up video surveilence signs. He was getting hit a couple times a year, but hasn't been hit in over a year now. He still won't put anything of value in there.
 
This has zero to do with gun paranoia. A secluded cabin is a nice theft target.
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Best not to have a cabin then, huh?

It wasn't exactly a secluded cabin, LOL. There were several neighbor residences very close by and it was located just off the hard top which is the major roadway through the area.
 
cabin stuff

I absolutely would not leave any firearms in an unoccupied cabin. That's my personal preference.

As regards responsibility of leaving firearms in a cabin this flows to the same responsibility as leaving liquor in a cabin or kerosene or an ATV, etc.

Unfortunately we live in a most litigious country where illegal acts are rarely the responsibility of the perpetrator.
 
If you leave a building unattended for any length of time, it will be entered and searched by someone. Kids, the homeless, druggies, vandals, someone.

Being unattended and having signs of not being inhabited to a large degree is what piques the curiosity of other humans who should know better - but decide to do it anyway. And its been that way from day one.

Owners assuming that their property will be respected and no one will enter into it are eventually disabused of the notion. Children are actually the worst at it - they have yet to mature and their risk assessment doesn't work well. Being largely amoral and requiring adult supervision means if you let them free range, they will eventually go too far. Single moms are definitely handicapped in that regard. Adult male supervision may have a price, but correctly exercised the child will grow up to be a functioning member of society.

Leave your cabin locked up, make it from stone, add steel bars, whatever. It's gonna be broken into - sometime - same as a car or truck, even when parked right outside.

If that sounds reasonable, then expect that to be the "reasonable man" interpretation used in court. If that sounds unreasonable - ok. But I recognize that most who consider it unreasonable also lock things up and keep guns out of sight, too. So the concept is still acknowledged.

Humans trespass and enter buildings unless you have a live person there to stop it. Otherwise, plan on it getting broken into, and please don't be surprised when it happens. It will.
 
How Many?

How many of you folks complaining about leaving a firearm in a hunting camp cabin also leave a firearm in your car unattended?
 
I used to be on a deer lease in south Texas. Typically, those of us on the lease would move travel trailers on the lease before the start of bow season. Property owner warned us against leaving valuables in our trailers and to leave the trailers un-locked, If you locked one up, illegals moving thru the area would tear it up getting into it. If you left it un-locked with food & water left sitting out, the food & water would disappear, but nothing else would be bothered. It was the price paid to have your stuff not tore up while away.
 
The cabin was someone's private property and likely locked to bar intrusion. Why does anyone need to "justify" why they have a firearm in their own cabin?
 
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