In home carry or staging firearms?

[9ballbilly]

I'm back and forth on this issue myself so I thought I'd ask what others think.

Do you prefer to carry while inside your home or stage weapons in convenient locations?

Feel free to share the reasoning for your choice.

[TailGator]

Assuming you yourself are competent in handling firearms, your firearms are never in a safer place than when they are under your direct control. If you stage firearms around the house, there is at least some possibility of their being misused by visitors or intruders. It may be small, and you may reduce it even further by your means of storing them, but it is seldom as small as having it on your person.

Mine is therefore on me most of the time I am awake. The only other place it might be is in the drawer of the bedside table when I am in the bedroom or on the counter of the adjacent bathroom. I have a quick-access box that fits in the same drawer for use when we have house guests.

[g.willikers]

People have been shot with their own hidden guns, as when coming home and surprising a burglar who has found it.
When I'm at home, if a gun is out, it's close by.
When leaving, it's locked up out of sight, unless it goes with me.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I find it little trouble to have a small pocket gun on me. Traversing even minimal house distances might be a problem if it is a rapid and fast moving critical incident. Yep, one can go for the atomic cannon but remember the Tueller drill - folks can be right at you while you are futzing with the gun container.

[kraigwy]

My guns are stashed in a gun safe. Not sure I like the idea about them being scattered about the house where grandkids, or their friends can find them. Or in case of an intruder, I want to be the only one who has access to the safe.

Its not practicable to expect quick access if a firearm is needed for what ever reason.

So I just carry my 642 in my pocket where I have access 24/7, but no one else does.

It would take me a couple minutes to open the safe and obtain a firearm.

It just takes a pair of seconds for someone to kick in the front door while you're setting in your comfortable chair.

It takes me 1/2 second to draw and fire from my pocket.

I practice all the time with my pocket revolver. I shoot a lot so I spend a great deal of time getting guns out of the safe. Still a gun in the safe is much slower then a gun in the pocket.

[RBid]

I carry all day, every day. My other firearms are locked up. By having my carry weapon (Glock 19 Gen 4) on me all day, I ensure that I am always armed, and that my firearms are inaccessible to anyone else. There is no concern about anything being found, forgotten, picked up while my head is turned, etc. 100% of my firearms are secure, 100% of the time.

I have added a hidden safe in my vehicle, so that I can secure a firearm if necessary while out of the home. I rarely have to use it (we can carry pretty much everywhere in OR), but I am committed to 100%, not 99%. It's on me or locked up, period.

[Tactical Jackalope]

Huge proponent of "in home carry". However, I just call it carrying 24/7. It's only off my person but in reach when I'm asleep (most times) or in the bathroom/shower.

[kimbershot]

i live in a gated retirement community. geezers to pooped to be of much concern. easy to chase them down while they use their walkers. where do you all live?

[Glockstar .40]

Unless i'm sleeping or in the shower then my firearm is on me. Even then its not far. As others have stated it doesnt take long for a door to get kicked in.

[RBid]

Originally Posted by kimbershot

i live in a gated retirement community. geezers to pooped to be of much concern. easy to chase them down while they use their walkers. where do you all live?

I live in a quiet suburb, with an extremely low crime index, where "things like that don't happen here". So far this year, 3 people who it wasn't going to happen to have been murdered here.

[Dwight55]

I had to answer "most of the time" as sometimes one way, . . . sometimes the other.

I finally said staged, because I spend a lot of time studying, computing, or working in the front of my house, . . . with a perfect full view of the door to which kickers would come.

I'll see them before they even get close.

OTOH, . . . if I'm out and about on the acres, . . . my lil ol .45 goes with me just like a faithful puppy.

May God bless,
Dwight

[wpsdlrg]

Carry for me. No particular reason, other than continuity. When I come home, I simply leave my EDC in it's holster (on my hip), until I settle down for the night....or until I shower, of course. Then, it goes on the night table beside my bed.

[JohnKSa]

An incomplete list of problems with staging weapons:
1. On occasion, you will have to unstage them.
2. Regardless of where you stage them, you will not always be within reach of a firearm.
3. The closer you want to be to a firearm, on average, the more firearms you will have to stage (and unstage).
4. Any staged firearm is a weapon that could potentially be used against you if an intruder discovers it. Some criminals intentionally enter a house unarmed and then arm themselves opportunistically. One serial killer's MO was to go to the kitchen and find a knife. I suspect if he had found a gun instead he would have been just as happy to use it instead of a knife.

[Nick_C_S]

I have a granddaughter/toddler running about.

I won't be stashing any guns around the house. They're all locked up.

[pax]

When I'm dressed, I'm completely dressed.

One of many reasons to prefer on body carry: http://www.corneredcat.com/home-invasion/

And another:
http://www.corneredcat.com/home-invasion-2/

pax

[giaquir]

I carry at home, as well as have firearms "staged".

[manta49]

In the safe, if I was in a war zone I would keep it with me.

[Skadoosh]

I have a very inquisitive 4 year old running around. All my guns are locked up.

[pax]

I know a guy who only puts his seatbelt on when he's on an out-of-town car trip.

But I don't know anyone who cancels their car insurance every time they pass through a 25 mph zone.

pax

[kutz]

No kids @ home = carry & stage.

[RBid]

Originally Posted by manta49

In the safe, if I was in a war zone I would keep it with me.

Right. Violence only happens in war zones.

This reminds me of a terrible misunderstanding between a friend of mine and another man, which went horribly sideways because Craig had a firearm. I'll share the basics here, so people will realize the Dirty Harry bit is foolish.

Somebody broke into Craig's house, and Craig told the invader that it would be in his best interest to leave. He hoped the fact that he was holding a .357 revolver would convince the man, but the invader surprised Craig by producing a knife and stepping forward.

Here's where things get stupid. Craig put 3 rounds in the man's chest. The man promptly found a comfy place on the floor, and died by the time responders arrived.

When I heard about this, I was SHOCKED. We live in a quiet suburb, where bad things don't happen. This town is not a war zone.

CLEARLY, the man was trying to sneak in to surprise strangers by making them sandwiches, and mistakenly brought a pokey knife instead of the other one. Woops! Honest mistake! Obvious, right? Well, Craig, being the paranoid Rambo type, didn't consider that possibility.

If he hadn't had that gun, he would have had the chance to experience a delicious surprise sandwich.

The moral of this story:
Don't let firearms and bloodlust ruin random acts of kindness.

[pax]

RBid,

Thanks for the laugh. I am glad your friend is okay.

pax

[BigD_in_FL]

You omitted the "neither" and "both" choices. I vote neither

[David White]

I have no children just two small dogs and the wife.
I am armed twenty four seven.
My guns are either physically in my possession or under my pillow while I sleep.

[Onward Allusion]

I have something on me all the time. In the office, a tiny NAA Mini 22LR. Out & about or at home, 99% of the time my P-32. The exception being when I am asleep or in the shower and even then. When I'm asleep, my nightstand gun is not far away. When in the shower, my P-32 is in the room with me.