Hiding a shotgun for home defense?

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shaggy430

shaggy430

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I just purchased a used 870 with an 18" barrel for home defense. I have a 1 year old and I am looking for a good way to keep him away from it but still keeping it readily accessible for HD in the bedroom. Does anyone have any ingenious ways of securely storing a shotgun?

I've been thinking about a large diameter PVC pipe with a screw on cap fastened underneath the bed. Does anyone have any ideas for improvements to this or any other ideas in general?
 
Lowe's has some orange oversized hooks in the "garage/storage" area the come with a Sheetrock anchor built right in.

They work great right inside a closet over the door. One on each side holds a rifle or shotgun out of sight and out of reach for the little ones. Of course at a certain age, you'll have to look into something more secure
 
I had a coated fork thingy laying around with a lag screw on one end. I screwed it into a stud behind the poop room in my master bath. That door rarely gets closed when in use which has reminded me of a funny story:

A buddy of mine was helping to lay hardwood floor in that bedroom and had to take a leak. After coming out of the bathroom, he commented on my bathroom "wall art". It is a thing of beauty.

I keep the action half open with a cable lock through it.
 
Always gonna be a trade-off between access for you when in need and security from rugrats. I'd go with some kind of locking rack.
 
Use a lockable, wall mounted unit and mount it in the closet. Examples are the Shotlock, or The Piece Keeper.
 
I keep one hanging over the door going out of the bed room, started that when my boys were small & it`s still there..............
 
Very high with no way to climb up works to about 5 YO. Then locked securely in cruiser ready with no way to run the bolt is the ONLY way. I also reccomend hidden from view along with high up. If you have valanced drapes you can use big hooks behind them .Like I say as they approach school age high up is NOT enough anymore and you are facing 10 years of locked up even with early training IMHO as the "friends" are the biggest threat!:(
 
One person posted on here a while back, they took one of the quick-access pistol safes and cut a hole in either side. It covered the trigger, controls, and ejection port, and prevented the action from moving (on a pump action). The barrel and stock were exposed.
 
Use the garage hooks over the closet door idea, but also include an eyebolt. Screw the eyebolt into the doorframe and run a cable clock through the ejection and loading port.

That's what I use.
 
Yea, I have some of those same thoughts myself. As a lifelong trapshooter/wingshooter, the shotgun is my ultimate go-to gun.
As the father of three boys, I'm telling you ......you gotta lock 'em up. There is nothing more curious or ingenious than a young kid, and nothing more interesting to a boy than a firearm. It's like a moth to a flame.
 
See post #10.

The one key lock with no cable strung through the action is so much faster to deploy it isn't even close.

If you need a shotgun for HD, you likely will not have time to unthread a cable lock strung through it.

rc
 
AmSec makes a digital dial combo that gives you very quick access that fits under the bed. Cost about $500. Designed for one or two long arms. StackOn has a similar thing but sits upright for one long arm. Also seen something that wraps round the action and firmly locks it up and can mount to the wall.
 
If you got a closet, you can mount a hanger inside it above the door, its easily acceptable, above your kids head outa reach, and you probably ain't gonna find it unless you know what your looking for
 
When they are young, take them out and blast a watermelon close enough that they get some on them and stress that's what it can do to anyone. Then all I ever used was a trigger lock and a stern warning what would happen if anyone ever moved a gun, and I had ways of knowing. But, I don't believe a swat on the butt is child abuse, and they knew I meant it. Never had a single issue. Modern parenting may have all kinds of benefits, but turning out better kids sure doesn't seem to be one of them.
 
Virginian,
I did the same thing with my boys. It is a sobering reminder what can happen. I still keep all my guns locked in a gun cabinet or safe. You see it isn't necessarily my own boys that I worry about. They have been taught to respect all guns, and leave them alone. They have friends over quite often...who knows what they might do.
 
Odds

Chances you need the shotgun for HD slim.

Chances that your kids will find the shotgun etc much better than you need it for HD.

Lock it up properly and dont skimp or think about kick access etc. A curious child is very creative. Could my bro and I get to stuff on the top shelves you bet he was 2 and iwas 5yo. My 2yo bro could get to anything. Never underestimate the ability of child to find something and defeat any countermeasures. You dont need any tragedies and the odds of your kids or the neighbors kids being victims of your shotgun are signifcantly higher than you needing the shotgun for HD.
 
This thread may have me rethinking the shotgun as my primary weapon for home defense. I've got a Glock 19 and a Colt Commander. I may just buy a quick access safe for one of those.

When I was growing up, we had a loaded SxS in my parent's room behind their door. I never messed with it. We also kept a .308 by the back door in case we saw coyotes in the pasture or a deer during deer season. (We lived on a farm and our closest neighbor was about a mile away.)
 
Im not a parent yet, but cant you just teach your kids about guns so that accidents dont happen?
 
Im not a parent yet, but cant you just teach your kids about guns so that accidents dont happen?
Click to expand...
No. Absolutely not sufficient. Under no circumstances is that acceptable as a countermeasure to tragedy. I cannot stress this enough. Assuming that the kids are going to leave it alone because you told them to is just plain stupid and negligent.

Were you a kid?
 
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