Loaded and at the ready in your home?

N

NightSleeper

New member
This has probably been asked before, but I'll ask again, cause I'm curious. Do you keep a gun loaded and at the ready at all times in your home? Or do you buy into that old brain-dead philosophy of keeping them unloaded and locked up because "safety" comes first?

I keep a loaded pistol with one in the chamber in both my gun safes for a quick grab scenerio. I personally think it would be unsafe not to do so.

What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone actually follow that old (and questionable) advice on leaving your unloaded gun in one room and ammo in another?

I've actually heard stories of people who keep them locked up in gun safes (which I do) but unloaded because it's "safer". I just don't buy into that. A loaded and ready to go gun locked securely in a gun safe is a threat to no one except a criminal who has stupidly choosen my home to break into.

What do you think?
 
There actually have been lots of posts along these lines.

Personally, I keep a .45acp (recently my FNP-45) loaded, chambered, decocked and sitting on the bedroom desk top or side table. Spare mags too - all loaded with silvertip JHPs. The only time my HD defense pistol is locked up is when I am not at home, otherwise, it is out and handy.
 
I keep it handy but not 1 in chamber. now if u r at my door and are a complete stranger / someone I did NOT call to come. then 1 will go into the chamber at this point.
 
When I get home, I replace the sandbags at the door, and make sure the belt fed is charged in the entry way strong point. I then make sure each of the 27 loaded guns I have in various strong points are loaded and ready, including my toilet tank pistol and my Glock on a rope.. I then take off my carry pistol, my quad mag pouch, my BUG, my secondary BUG and my body armour, and get into my Hello Kitty jammies which are Kevlar reinforced. I duct tape my seecamp to the back of my neck in case SWMBO gets frisky, put my carry gun back on with the quad mag pouch, do a quick inspection of the tinfoil lining in the house, then enter the strong room where SWMBO and I relax and watch TV (with the sound off so we can here intruders)

WildwhatawonderfullifeAlaska ™
 
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When I get home, I replace the sandbags at the door, and make sure the belt fed is charged in the entry way strong point. I then make sure each of the 27 loaded guns I have in various strong points are loaded and ready, including my toilet tank pistol and my Glock on a rope.. I then take off my carry pistol, my quad mag pouch, my BUG, my secondary BUG and my body armour, and get into my Hello Kitty jammies which are Kevlar reinforced. I duct tape my seecamp to the back of my neck in case SWMBO gets frisky, put my carry gun back on with the quad mag pouch, do a quick inspection of the tinfoil lining in the house, then enter the strong room where SWMBNO and I relax and watch TV (with the sound off so we can here intruders)

WildwhatawonderfullifeAlaska ™
Click to expand...

So your house is an 'unarmed victim zone'? :-)
 
Depends... doesn't IT?

I guess it all depends on who you are talking about. Meaning, where they are in life. I mean, I'm single, no kids. I have all mine loaded and ready to go. All mags and guns are loaded. No sense in a self defense situation to search for a loaded gun - especially if the ammo is seperated in another room.

If you have kids and depending on your home surroundings, if you have a safe - it may be a different story. Not everyone has the money for a walk in safe in their bedroom. I'm sure most are in their garage or basement - just because the weight of the darn things.

I just see no use for an empty magazine or unloaded gun. I guess I have a military mindset - locked and loaded - ready to go!

Do what makes you comfortable and safe for you and your particular situation. If you have kids, make sure they can't get to them. Heck, we were all kids - remember getting into your dad's playboys no matter where he hid them :)

Kids are smart - a lot smarter than we were. Technology has given them the edge. So, look at your situation and what's comfortable for you and your family.
 
I have a quick-access safe in my closet that houses atleast 1 gun at all times. My carry guns are kept in there, along with a few spare mags/loaders when they are not on me. Chambers are usually empty until I strap it on.
 
where i live we have had a heck of alot home invasions lately,mostly at apt complexes,needless to say i dont answer the door anymore without at least my .380 most of the time .40. way to many crackpots out here today posing as your local phone guy etc. i am also amazed at how many ederly people who have been ransacked the last few yrs.what made me finally go concealed was we had an ederly couple killed also their 62 yr old daughter who lived next door over roughly $160.00, done buy 3 guys belonging to the aryan brotherhood when the arrests were made along with 2 dumbass teenage chicks,all are in prison. this is basically in a rural area about 1 mile from where i live., this crap all being fueled by crack and meth. so yes i keep my stuff cocked and locked thank you very much!
 
I've read that Elmer Keith kept every gun in his safe loaded. On purpose.

His philosophy was that a gun better darn well be treated as loaded no matter what, so it just makes more sense to keep it loaded. Makes the owner diligent about who has access to a loaded gun, and makes the person who has access diligent about being safe at all times.

All my handguns in my safe are loaded, too, after reading that... except the cap and ball revolver. Safe is locked unless I deliberately want into it for some reason or other.

One handgun is either on my hip or the desk/coffee table next to me when at home or out and about.
 
When I am home alone, my carry gun (Beretta 9000s) goes on the bedside table next to the Surefire and the keys to the gun cabinet in the closet (2 steps from the bed) where the 12-gauge and the other guns are stored unloaded (but with plenty of loaded mags handy).

When my daughter sleeps over (joint custody) the carry gun goes into the locked cabinet (loaded) and the Surefire and keys stay on the bedside table.
 
quote:Or do you buy into that old brain-dead philosophy of keeping them unloaded.

If someone had kids running around, and they chose to keep their guns that way, I wouldn't call it a brain dead whatever you said.
 
#18IndyColts -- Well said. And I should have said in my first post that no, my wife and I have no children. Obviously children in the home change the situation. However, as I said in my original post, I keep my guns, loaded or otherwise, locked in the safe at all times.
 
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