• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Where do you keep your HD weapon?

H

highflyer09

.410
I recently purchased a 500 for HD and have read through many threads on here but one that I could not find was about storing your HD weapon. I did a quick search and didn't come up with anything.

With an understanding of the importance of gun safety I think where you store your guns is one of the most important steps. However HD weapons are different in the fact that you want them readily available and loaded, not locked in a typical gun safe but not so accessible that a thief, child, or other person in your home that it is easily found. Finding a spot in a home that meets those criteria seems to be quite a challenge for me.

A few details I'll share about my current situation. I rent my home at the moment (so built in secret compartments are not an option), I do not have children however we do have children in our home to visit on occasion, and we do not currently employ any type of service people that come into our home (cleaners, pool cleaners, etc.). I have read some home defense articles and scenarios and have decided to keep the shotgun loaded without a round in the chamber, one rack of the SG and I'm ready to go and in addition to that I have the sound of the racking as one more possible deterrent if I ever take a defensive position.

Here are my possible storage locations in our master bedroom:
Leaning up in the back corner of my closet (not my ideal location)
Under the bed
Under our dresser ( we have hard wood floors and roughly 8 inches of space between the floor and dresser. I was considering building some sort of cradle to hold it up against the bottom of the drawers and off the floor)
Behind our bed headboard (Our bed has a headboard which has about 3-4 inches of space between it and the wall. It stands about 5 feet tall. I was thinking about installing some sort of bracket to hold the SG on the back side of the headboard. There would be enough room to retrieve it and high enough off the floor out of small children's reach)

I would like to hear some of your storage locations for your HD weapons as well as any guidance or input on my ideas.

Thanks!
 
For me it's within reach at all times.

My weapon is either on my hip or within reach while eating dinner, watching TV, lounging etc. There are hooks/holsters that are secured by brackets that fit between a box spring and mattress that provide easy access to a handgun or long gun while sleeping. I use this option at night. Whether awake or asleep, my weapon is rarely more than a foot from my elbow at any given time while in my home...
 
highflyer09 said:
I recently purchased a 500 for HD and have read through many threads on here but one that I could not find was about storing your HD weapon. I did a quick search and didn't come up with anything.

With an understanding of the importance of gun safety I think where you store your guns is one of the most important steps. However HD weapons are different in the fact that you want them readily available and loaded, not locked in a typical gun safe but not so accessible that a thief, child, or other person in your home that it is easily found. Finding a spot in a home that meets those criteria seems to be quite a challenge for me.

A few details I'll share about my current situation. I rent my home at the moment (so built in secret compartments are not an option), I do not have children however we do have children in our home to visit on occasion, and we do not currently employ any type of service people that come into our home (cleaners, pool cleaners, etc.). I have read some home defense articles and scenarios and have decided to keep the shotgun loaded without a round in the chamber, one rack of the SG and I'm ready to go and in addition to that I have the sound of the racking as one more possible deterrent if I ever take a defensive position.

Here are my possible storage locations in our master bedroom:
Leaning up in the back corner of my closet (not my ideal location)
Under the bed
Under our dresser ( we have hard wood floors and roughly 8 inches of space between the floor and dresser. I was considering building some sort of cradle to hold it up against the bottom of the drawers and off the floor)
Behind our bed headboard (Our bed has a headboard which has about 3-4 inches of space between it and the wall. It stands about 5 feet tall. I was thinking about installing some sort of bracket to hold the SG on the back side of the headboard. There would be enough room to retrieve it and high enough off the floor out of small children's reach)

I would like to hear some of your storage locations for your HD weapons as well as any guidance or input on my ideas.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You're not looking at the big picture. Your gun is not your first line of defense, it's your last line of defense. Burn this into your brain: Defense in Depth.

Where you stash your gun depends on how much warning you have of an intrusion. Look at the totality of your home. Do you have alarms, barriers, etc. that will slow aggressive entry? Do you or your wife open the door to anybody that walks up and rings the bell? Are you sound sleepers? And so on. There's much more to personal security than just where you hide your gun.

If you have 20 sec of warning you can keep your gun locked in a safe and still retrieve it in plenty of time to put it to use. If you have 2 sec, you better have it strapped on and ready to rock.
 
It's within reach. i will not disclose more than that on a public forum. I do not have children so that is a non-issue for me.

I will say this with regard to worrying about a home invader snagging your HD weapon. If they can get that close to you without you knowing it, you are already way to far behind the curve irregardless of the gun.

My dogs are not as big as Oli's but there is no way someone can get in day or night without them alerting us.
 
Like MikeD no children in the house. Always something HD within reach. ;)

Also big on what Gunny said, barriers.
 
LAZY EYED SNIPER said:
Everyone take note of oli's "first line" photo.

His pup is chewing on what's left of the last guy that set foot on his property uninvited...
Click to expand...

I'd bet that Oli's dogs are properly trained. Properly trained dogs are a good partner. Emphasis on properly trained (which includes the owner). Unfortunately many people don't have the time or money to enroll themselves and their dog in a professional training regime. Just because they've taught fido to sit and roll over, doesn't mean he is a adequate guard dog. :)
 
mine aren't trained guard dogs either, savagely territorial is what they are
 
Thanks for all the replies.

GunnyGene said:
You're not looking at the big picture. Your gun is not your first line of defense, it's your last line of defense. Burn this into your brain: Defense in Depth.

Where you stash your gun depends on how much warning you have of an intrusion. Look at the totality of your home. Do you have alarms, barriers, etc. that will slow aggressive entry? Do you or your wife open the door to anybody that walks up and rings the bell? Are you sound sleepers? And so on. There's much more to personal security than just where you hide your gun.

If you have 20 sec of warning you can keep your gun locked in a safe and still retrieve it in plenty of time to put it to use. If you have 2 sec, you better have it strapped on and ready to rock.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with you that this should not be the first line of defense, guns are almost always a last line of defense. Our house has a security system installed and we do have a dog (rat terrier) who may not be aggressive but she has these radar ears bigger than her head and she can hear EVERYTHING. Our back door would probably be the most likely location of an attempted entry however our landlord has a pretty smart idea. We have glass windows on the upper half of the door, so he installed a deadbolt with a key on each side. When locked we keep the key out of reach on a table near by, that way even if they break the small window to reach inside they can't unlock the deadbolt and the key is out of reach. Our front door has a lockable "screen" door (not screen but a plexiglass window) that is locked all the time as well as the front door. Our house is fairly small as well and we have a clear line of sight of the front door from our bedroom door (30-35ft). So we do have some warning time, but not much.

While many of you mentioned that you always have a HD weapon within reach I assume (and saw via pics) you were talking about handguns. While I completely agree with you I currently don't have a handgun, yet, and plan on a CCP when I do get one. So for now I only have the shotgun.
 
Good to know you've done what you can re: DiD. Another question: Do you have experience with a shotty, other than hunting or sport? There's been several threads here on how to fight with a shotgun, which is an important difference from hunting, etc. There's a variety of opinions about it - lights, slings, stance, combat reloading, ammo, etc. , etc. If you haven't looked into some local training you might want to check around your area for instructors.
 
Now that I'm finally in a house I own (woot woot), I've been pondering my choices on how to layer my HD strategies. Already started with beefed up front door locks and dead bolts. I also have front and rear motion activated lights (although that doesn't really wake me at night). Oh and then there's the pups... who bark at everything, including me... and who are better than any home alarm system I could waste my money on. Just like @LAZY EYED SNIPER, I usually have a firearm within arms reach. That said, as the kids grow older, leaning the shotgun behind the couch and the 1911 on top of the fridge might not be my best choice anymore.

What I need to worry about more (than two legged threats) are the Black bears who have been hanging around... been out every night on my street and neighbors back yards since we've moved ino_O
 
GunnyGene said:
Good to know you've done what you can re: DiD. Another question: Do you have experience with a shotty, other than hunting or sport? There's been several threads here on how to fight with a shotgun, which is an important difference from hunting, etc. There's a variety of opinions about it - lights, slings, stance, combat reloading, ammo, etc. , etc. If you haven't looked into some local training you might want to check around your area for instructors.
Click to expand...

I have lots of experience with shotguns. I grew up shooting them with my dad and I'm also active duty military and have lots of experience with the Mossberg pistol grips (which is why I wanted one, I'm familiar with them). I've also shot the Sig .40 (was a daily carry for a bit), the M-16, .50 machine gun (that was fun), and many other small arms over the years. I've read lots of the threads here which have all been super helpful. Info here has helped sway my ammo choice as well as accessory choice (I'll stay pretty minimalist). I'll still end up doing another gun safety class with my wife as well as brush up on some of my handling, reloading, and shooting skills. If you have any specific threads in mind please share them!

aksavanaman said:
Now that I'm finally in a house I own (woot woot), I've been pondering my choices on how to layer my HD strategies. Already started with beefed up front door locks and dead bolts. I also have front and rear motion activated lights (although that doesn't really wake me at night). Oh and then there's the pups... who bark at everything, including me... and who are better than any home alarm system I could waste my money on. Just like @LAZY EYED SNIPER, I usually have a firearm within arms reach. That said, as the kids grow older, leaning the shotgun behind the couch and the 1911 on top of the fridge might not be my best choice anymore.

What I need to worry about more (than two legged threats) are the Black bears who have been hanging around... been out every night on my street and neighbors back yards since we've moved ino_O
Click to expand...

Congrats on the house man! I can't wait till I have my own to do just what you are. Not being able to make permanent changes to the house is part of my dilemma. Glad I don't have to worry about any bears down here in FL but Lord knows I will if I ever end up in Alaska or PacNW!
 
highflyer09 said:
I have lots of experience with shotguns. I grew up shooting them with my dad and I'm also active duty military and have lots of experience with the Mossberg pistol grips (which is why I wanted one, I'm familiar with them). I've also shot the Sig .40 (was a daily carry for a bit), the M-16, .50 machine gun (that was fun), and many other small arms over the years. I've read lots of the threads here which have all been super helpful. Info here has helped sway my ammo choice as well as accessory choice (I'll stay pretty minimalist). I'll still end up doing another gun safety class with my wife as well as brush up on some of my handling, reloading, and shooting skills. If you have any specific threads in mind please share them!
Click to expand...

Easiest if you just seach the forum for "shotgun fighting". There's also some decent youtube videos out there, and a fairly popular site called "the box 'o truth: http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm , which covers a lot of territory for firearms generally, including some basics for fighting with a shotgun.
 
If defensive shotgun interests you:

http://store.magpul.com/product/DYN005/177

Otherwise, I don't disclose where I keep my gun(s).

Don't have a security system, don't have a dog. I have other means of early warning. That's all I have to say about that.
 
Yep. Crocodiles and Alligators.

And Lions, and Tigers and Bears Oh my.

Truth be told, there are a lot of things you can do to make yourself less of a target. That's the trick is to make your neighbors more of a target (sorry, but reality is that a thief is like water. They usually take the path of least resistance.)

In all fairness, one can make a lot of simple circuits to grab attention if you wanted.

Just off the top of my head, one idea is those motion sensor lights can be much more than a light.

You can splice a wire into the wires that normally go to the light sockets, you can very easily run the wiring behind underpinning or vinyl siding (hidden) to your bedroom or wherever you wish and wire it to a single pole light switch (in case you don't want it going off) and then to a small 110v lamp and buzzer to get your attention. That "security system" is a lot less expensive and probably just as good as most entry level things.

Or instead of running the wires to an unknown light for you, you could possibly run the wire(s) to a metallic object like a window frame or doorknob or something and effectively energize it only when the nearby motion sensor is on.

Not saying that my house is like that.

But also not saying it isn't either.

There are a lot of things you can come up with.

Another really good deterrent is strategically placing plywood with a bunch of nails inside at every access point too. Because we all can't be home every second of our lives either. The reason for putting the theft deterrents inside is so no one gets hurt by accident. And good luck for a thief who broke into someones house and got injured in the process trying to bring civil charges against a homeowner in my town. Jurors would not stand for that.

If a thief or someone wanted in any of our homes, they could one way or another. But don't make it easy for them.

Besides, everyone in my town already knows you don't want to mess with the crazy old indian at the end of the street. He ain't right anyway.

Be creative.

Just stop short of and refrain from explosives :) That would be for a different topic altogether.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top