Guns in apt with a roomate?

[zahc]

I live in a two bedroom apartment with a roomate. I knew the roomate before he was my roomate and he's known my best friends since childhood. Aside from a tendency to watch pro 'wrestling' and a reluctance to do the dishes, he's a pretty good roomate and has never failed to lock the doors or left the stove on, or stolen anything at all (besides milk).

I own guns but they are all in the safe at my parents' house. I can't CCW because I am only 20 and don't live in a free state anyway. I've been thinking of buying an EBR, but what's the point if I'm not even going to keep it at my place?

Has anyone else ever dealt with the situation of owning guns and sharing living space?

 

[Ben97XJ]

Most of the time my roommates either have their own guns or like to go shooting with me. Ask him if he wants to go to the range to shoot a few rounds. Most people will at least go once. I have had some neighbors come over once and see me cleaning my pistol and kinda freak but they eventually asked me about it and started up a good conversation. If you are worried about someone touching it when your gone buy a small safe. Nothing fancy just good enough to keep Honest people out.

 

[zahc]

Yeah I guess you pretty much just have to keep it in a safe. I'm mostly worried about my roomate having acess to it while I'm not there.

 

[Mr. Loud Guns]

Not to be nieve or anything but if it was me I would keep the guns there if your roommate approved and just don't keep ammo lying around. Buy it on the way to the range. That is what my parents did for me until I was older. Now I have 22's between my couch cushions (I'm a slob)

 

[logical]

Trigger locks are about $3.

 

[misANTHrope]

I have a roommate, a good friend of mine. I also keep my guns (x4) in the apartment. Granted, he owns far more than I do, though he doesn't keep 'em all here... I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with mixing guns and roommates- I just think it's something you have to decide based on your knowledge of your roomie. If you've known him for a while, then you should be able to make a judgement call on whether he's trustworthy enough to mix with your firearms.

As for my roomie and I, we know where we each keep our "ready" guns in case we're closer to the wrong room when the SHTF!

 

[Cyanide_357]

So... Ohio isn't a free state? or are you attending college out of state?

Cyanide

 

[chris in va]

Sorry man, but I don't trust ANYONE with my guns if I'm not around. I don't care HOW long I've known them. Too many things can happen when you're not there, and not just to you.

Get a good safe, keep them there.

 

[zahc]

I consider OH's CCW to be practically worthless. Also under-21 people aren't allowed to posess handguns in OH.

 

[scottgun]

When I lived in a house with roommates, I installed a new locking door knob on my bedroom. One with a real lock, not the bathroom locks you could pick with a paper clip. I would also keep other items in there that I wouldn't want to get lost, stolen or broken. Then make it a point to close and lock your door if you are out. Its not an issue of trust or anything, it's keeping your stuff safe. Keep the original door knob for when you move out and the landlord won't even know.

 

[TarpleyG]

My last roommate was a cop and a very good friend so I didn't really worry about it. I think you are worrying too much frankly. Just buy the gun if you want it and use a cable lock to lock the bolt carrier open if you have concerns.

Greg

 

[MechAg94]

I think it is only a problem if you roommate is not a gun guy.

My cousin has a Glock 17. He told me it went off one time when a friend of his came over and was "playing" with it. My cousin had to go run an errand or something and his friend found it. It was essentially the usual idotic mistake of pulling out the mag and assuming it was unloaded. Apparently, he had racked the slide before he pulled the mag. Before it went off into the floor, he had been running around acting like fool and pointing it at people. My cousin was very releived that no one got hurt. I am not sure what he does with now.

 

[spacemanspiff]

my roommate (hereafter referred to as 'Retardo') hates guns. so what did i do? i bought more guns. and leave them out for him to see. at one time he was curious, but retardo has since sunk back into the role of an anti. he tells the people he works with about them, he lies about what i have or what i do with them (before i had an AR he told the landlord i was answering the door with an 'assault rifle').

the upside is that retardo has no friends, and the only visitors to our apartment are my friends. who usually bring over their guns to clean (retardo also hates the smell of any gun cleaner) or just fondle.

the one thing you should have (and i will be getting one soon) is a safe. not because you don't trust your roommate but because breakins do happen, and i would hate to come home and find all my guns stolen.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

They're guns, zahc. It's up to you, not anyone else, to make sure they're secured.

Remember, it's not just your buddy: It's him, anyone he drags home, the landlord, the electrician, or some crackhead who breaks in.

There are many choices for boxes that lock. Find one that works for your apartment and budget, and then use it.

 

[veloce851]

I've had several roomates in the past 5 years.
I look at it this way.. if you question whether you can trust them alone with your guns. Then you need to find a new roomate.
I never kept my guns in a safe (I can't afford one)
And not one even seemed curious about looking at them.
Sometimes they would ask questions. But most just kept to themselves.

And if anything did happen when I was gone.. or if I came home and found one missing. Well then they knew they would be facing me.

Since most were younger, I made it a point to know their parents and where their parents lived.

Maybe I'm just too trusting.
But I never had a problem.

 

[ny32182]

My roommate has four guns of his own and I trust him completely, so its never been an issue for us.

In the event I didn't like my roommate... I don't know what I would do.

 

[DirtyBrad]

I'll get on my soapbox a bit on this one.

If we can be super anal (correctly) about finger-off-trigger, point in a safe direction, they're always loaded, etc, why can't we be the same about safe storage?

Just because "Won't someone think of the children?!" is the battle-cry of the anti-gunners doesn't mean that someone getting to your guns isn't one of the worst things that can happen.

I think that you should absolutely not trust your roommate, no matter who he is. Here's why. I have some dumbass friends. And so does your roommate. You don't know them and you don't know when they might be over. You don't know the handyman they might have at your apartment. He might be the kind of scuzzy guy who likes to snoop a bit.

It's real easy to say things like you shouldn't be friends or room with someone, "they know they'll have to deal with me", etc, but give me a break. This is the real world. Sometimes we have to live with people we don't really want to.

It's so, so easy to lock your stuff up. You can't afford a safe? What the hell is that? Be an adult. If you're strapped for cash, save up, ask for one for a holiday or birthday gift, check out eBay, etc, etc. Don't make excuses because something's a bit of a drag. That's like me saying I carry concealed but can't really afford to go to the range to practice.

Here's my setup. I have a shotgun and a pistol. My pistol lives in a $50 ADG safe which is one-way-bolted to my metal bedframe. I currently don't have a long gun safe, but I'm saving for one. Dick's is selling a Stack-On ten-gun safe for $80. I couldn't afford that the last paycheck, but I'll be getting it this one. Right now the shotgun is under the bed, unloaded, with the cable lock my pistol came with through the action.

Once I get the Stack-On, that'll get bolted to the closet wall/floor and the shotgun will go in there loaded and ready to go. When I come home, the pistol safe gets opened (five number combination) and when I get up in the morning, it gets shut. Within easy reach at night, locked up during the day in a very easy, very non-intrusive routine.

I'm not saying I've never left guns where I shouldn't have. And I know, I know, a determined thief can still get to them. But the average thief can't, and the average person can't and I know I won't ever have one of my own pointed at me when I come home early one day.

A lot of people say that it's not your fault if someone steals your gun and uses it. Maybe that's true. But I know how I'd feel if it happened, or if there was an accident. Never mind the law, it would kill me. I don't know how I'd get over that.

Enough preaching, I guess.

I'm just saying, let's be responsible and secure our weapons the same way we're responsible about handling them. It costs very little to take reasonable precautions. My setup allows for easy access and plenty of storage and costs (will cost) $130.

 

[Tokugawa]

VELOCE 851-- It's the cost of those desmo valve adjustments thats keeping you from affording a safe! (just joking, I couldn't resist!)

 

[Aguila Blanca]

I agree with Chris in VA. YOU are responsible for your guns. I don't care how good a friend your room mate is, if he gets tanked when you're not around and he has access to your guns, you have no control over what happens.

If you must keep A gun in the apartment, keep A gun in thw apartment, and have a small safe or something that you can lock it up in when you aren't at home.

 

[torpid]

It's been said before here, but good buddies can have idiot friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

I had a very responsible and trustworthy friend of over 20 yrs as a great roomate. He had long-term stayover visitors that unknown to him at the time were not so great.

Uncomfortable things eventually occured, and he and I were both sad to see him move out because of them, but I was relieved that the visitors that would be in our home from now on were trusted by me.

My guns were in 2 safes, and that was one less thing to worry about during the drama. Safes are cheap deterrents to casual snoopers- why not take advantage of them?

.

 

[Konall]

cheap gun cabinet.

I had several roommates while I was in college.
A cheap metal gun cabinet like this bolted to the wall studs inside my closet worked fine for years. I had several things stolen by scumbags (never the roommate, always their friends of course ) but all of the guns survived.

I kept the key with me or in my truck all the time, never stashed anywhere in my room.

Worked for me, YMMV.

 

[mcooper]

Spend $80, get a 8 rifle metal safe at walmart...if you can't attach it to the wall, the you can just slide it from under your bed.
Though the only special thing you may need to do if you can't attach the safe to the wall is a few blocks of styrofoam to make sure scopes don't bang against the rear wall of the safe.

Also, unless your roommate has alot of Common sense, and is very gun knoledgeable, if the gun isn't under your control, lock it up.

As to ammunition...I just store mine in ammo cans

 

[Mad Hatter]

Another vote for the locking gun cabinet

But if that's not practical (Space, Holes in the wall, or whatever) Get a pistol safe with a steel cable on it and PERMANENTELY cable it to a water pipe, a bedframe or whatever you have that can't be removed from the apartmant easily. Store the bolt or another easy to remove, hard to replace important part in it.

Unless someone brings bolt cutters, That box isn't going anywhere fast. You might still get the rifle stolen, but it won't be easily useable and I would hope your roommate won't try stealing a gun he knows won't work.

 

[veloce851]

It's the cost of those desmo valve adjustments thats keeping you from affording a safe! (just joking, I couldn't resist!)

Since I adjust my own valves (I won't let anyone touch my ride) then I suppose the time I spend on them could be spent working a job and making money to buy the safe

 

[dasmi]

Even something like this will secure your handgun while not at home.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3266150