GadgetFreek

Looking for some ideas for personal defense pistol storage in the house.

I have always been of the mindset that a pistol/shotgun/personal defense weapon does me no good if I have to go out to the garage to get it out of the gun safe My wife has always been opposed.

We have 3 small children (6 boy, 4 boy, 2 girl) and her fear has always been that the kids will get into them. My 2 boys have been exposed to the dangers and safety measures to take when around firearms. And understand - as much as a 6 year old and 4 year old can.

Out of the blue this weekend my wife said she had been thinking that it made more sense to have a gun in the house just in case. She also wants to learn to shoot. We live on 10 acres in a very rural area with very few neighbors within a 5 mile radius. I have been traveling some for work and it would make her feel more comfortable.

Looking for a small case/vault that I can have bedside and preferrably not have to fumble with a key or combo. Biometric would be great depending on cost. Needs to hold one pistol/clips for sure but 2 pistol storage would be great.

Any input or experience from others is appreciated.

tkob1060

have you thought about a shotgun instead? Far easier to hit someone with if it comes down to that and also the sound of a pump shotgun being racked is a clear statement to an intruder that you do indeed have a gun, verse saying I have a gun and hoping they believe you, if they have one also(it is TX after all lol) they might be willing to test whether you do, or whether you will use it. Bad guy has handgun you have shotgun, he runs thru wall to get the hell out of there haha. A 20 guage pump would be perfect IMO, you could lock the ammo up or trigger lock and gun out of reach of the little ones.

interesting little read here
http://www.internetarmory.com/shotgun_defense.htm

GadgetFreek

I have a Rem 870 Express Home Defense model, but my wife likes the idea of a shotgun less than the idea of a pistol.

Gotta go with what she is comfortable with. Plus I want it bedside for easy access in a pinch. To me a little black box is less conspicuous to a kid than a shotgun on a shelf or under the bed. Not a big fan of trigger locks under stressful situations.

jasonclarkusaf

I have a small safe that is bolted to the back of my nightstand. It is easily operated with one hand, and can be opened in a matter of seconds.

http://www.buyasafe.com/Gun_Safes_p/gv1000dlx.htm

I got it at a local gun store for about $120. I would suggest looking into something similar

bcperry2000

I'd go with a small pistol since you have kids. Kind of hard to keep a shotgun around that is accessible and secure.

Can I make another suggestion? Get a Taurus Judge. Best of both worlds. You can load it up with .410 shells or 45 colt. Plus the operation is very basic....point and pull the trigger. I've found with my wife that she doesn't want to deal with racking slides, dealing with magazines, checking safeties.

PigsEye

I've suggested the Judge before, I've read a couple of articles that have caused me to change my mind.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot41.htm

bcperry2000

thanks for that link. very informative but no surprise regarding .410 birdshot. i still think alternating .410 buckshot shells and 45lc would make for a pretty good self-defense gun.

i've never heard of a minimum of 12" penetration to be considered a self-defense round.

yetibear

You could start here. They have a good selection, so you will have some idea what is available. Midway's prices aren't the lowest, but they are realistic, as you are shopping around you will at least know the general price range things should be in. Most of the first page, of that link, are large residential safes, the smaller handgun lock boxes start about 3/4 the way down page one, so don't give up when the page opens an a bunch of $2000, 7' tall, ton and a half safes, just scroll down.

midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?&tabId=15&categoryId=8427&cate goryString=10615***&

I can't offer any personal advice, I don't have any of the little vaults. I live alone, so I don't worry about kids in the house, if it's not locked up in the safe, it's just laying around where ever I last put it down.

Ivanko

I have a 2.5 inch Judge, and have shot all types of 410 through it. I have never had all three pellets of buckshot "stack" on each other like that. The barrel is rifled, so they spread well.

I guess you need to ask yourself if you want an intruder to leave, stop them, or you want to kill them to decide the best choice for you.

MOWrangler

I've been looking at a Winchester e-vault at Basspro for the same reasons. I haven't bought one yet, but they range from $100 to $180.