What are your general rules of guns in the household with children?

[madmo44mag]

Many years ago I had a girlfriend whose 5 year old son found his uncles 357 and shot himself in the chest with it. I lived trough that and never want to go through that again.

As of a few days ago I have one of my daughters and her 6 year old and 5 month old boys living with me.

All my guns are secured except my CCW and it is under my control.

The other night the 5 yr old and I went out and started learning the basics of safe gun handling and gun safety in general.

What got to me was when I would pulled a gun out of the safe he would say “cool, they have that gun in game such and such”

I had a game plan in mind for teaching him gun safety but now I am rethinking that plan.
He’s a smart kid and his dad is a Marine so he has had some exposure to real guns but limited.

My main concern is impressing on him that video games are not real and the guns he encounters outside of the video world are real and deadly.

[sirgilligan]

Showed my children the firearms when they were young and told them never to touch them. Then when they were older I took them shooting and told them to never touch them unless I was there. Now some of them are adults they have their own.

I keep them locked in a safe unless in use. If there is some news in the neighborhood that causes me to get out a pistol I get the Browning Hi Power out. No round chambered. There isn't a child alive that can rack the slide on that baby. Sometimes I even cock the hammer before racking the slide.

I do not get out any revolver if there is some reason, always the BHP or maybe the CZ85B. Even though the double action trigger is firm on the revolvers, a toddler could still pull one off.

I do that because I realize I can be distracted or have a lapse in judgement, I am not perfect.

If I was extremely concerned about safety, I would load up everyone and head out while the getting was good.

When I conceal carry I carry a semi-auto in the same condition described above. My wife carries a revolver. When it is not in its holster it goes to the safe.

[sawdustdad]

When my kids were young, all guns were kept locked in the safe. When they were old enough, they learned gun safety and went to the range with me. The schools here (rural VA) actually taught gun safety in grade school. I'm pretty sure it was the NRA's program. But that was 20 years ago...

[Shadi Khalil]

Everything is locked up when not in me. I keep a biometric safe on the night stand for my HD gun but really miss when I could just leave it out.

[hartcreek]

Madmo

Get your grandson shooting anyhow. The first time you shoot a one gallon jug of tomato juice should make a lasting impression.

[SaxonPig]

Guns and kids don't mix. That's why I don't have any kids.

[cpgor]

The Guns are always locked up, but I told the kids that they can ask me whenever they want to see them and I would show them. I took them shooting after explaining the safety rules and showing them how the guns function. They are all grown up now and each has a favorite.

[Mosin-Marauder]

I keep mine in my room, I only have one padlock and that's on my Savage. Need to get some more. I don't own a safe but if I did they would be there. I keep all my firearms open and clear though. Ammunition is kept downstairs away from any firearms.

Obviously I don't have any children.

[Shadi Khalil]

My wife comes from a long line of hunters so the home she grew up in had quite a few guns in it. As opposed to my suburban suburbs of D.C. upbringing where the only real gun you ever saw was on a TV screen. When I first visited her home she was showing me around her fathers office / man cave area where he kept all his deer mounts and hunting gear. The first thing I noticed was a large, glass door cabinet with various long guns inside. The cabinet was not locked and never had been.

Because firearms were so common place in her upbringing, she and her brother never had any interest in the guns. In fact, they each had shotguns of their own and their dad would almost drag them out to shoot with him every so often; making shooting and guns more of a chore then anything remotely mystifying.

I have a two year old daughter and ever since she has had the ability to hold things I've sat her in my lap and let her familiarize herself with various unloaded, saftely pointed firearms while I held them. It got to the point where she would wake up in the morning and say "daddy I want to open guns!" (translate to mean, lets open the safe and take out the guns!) Now I don't think for a second that this will have any bearing on her being safe or responsible enough to be around guns when she is say, 5 but the seed has been planted.

She already has a collection of her own (10/22, 22/45 and youth 410) so when the time comes, she can dive right in. I would love for my passion and understanding for firearms to be transferred on to her but I would prefer her to have no type of interest like her mother than any sort of reckless fascination. That of course depends on myself and her mother.

[jimbob86]

My old, antigun instinct is to lock it up, hide it from them and not let them know it's there, so I don't have to deal with the questions. The new and improved me knows that's not the right approach. Any advice is welcome....

The "new and improved" you is correct!

"Ignorance is not cured by more of same."

Your guns should be locked up, but your kids should be taught firearms safety, ethics, and proficiency and for the same reason that you teach them to swim: deep water is out there, and ignorance in the subject can get them killed. Telling them to stay out of the water might work..... or it might not.

Guns are out there. They will, sooner or later, come across them, maybe even need to use one (let's hope not- but hope is not a good Plan A) ...... recognizing unsafe behavior by others, and what to do in that case is very important ...... at the very least, they should know The Four Rules:

1. Always treat all guns as if they are loaded.
2. Never allow the muzzle to point at anything we don't want holes in .
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Know your target, and waht is beyond it.

Always/Never, Keep and Know. Simple.

I also like "The Golden Rule of Tool Use" (see my sig-line), and the "If it's not YOURS, DON'T FOOL WITH IT!" rule.

The Golden Rule of Tool Use really needs to be completed by ...." until you find someone to show you how."

..... and the property rights rule should end with "..... and if your REALLY must, get permission."..... but the short versions will keep 'em out of almost every concievable trouble, if strictly followed .....

[vito]

My kids are all grown and have kids of their own. When my kids were young I insisted on giving each of them some basic safety and familiarity instruction, despite my wife's anti-gun bias (which she still has, even after 48 years married to me). Every one of my kids went to the range to learn basic handgun proficiency, but unfortunately none of them continued a relationship with firearms as they became adults. Even one who is in law enforcement, and was a beat cop for several years, is not into guns and only has his service weapon, which he keeps locked and unloaded at home. I have hoped to at least teach my grandkids about firearm safety, but so far I have not been successful in getting the parents' approval even for this. I fear that some of my children are so emotionally anti-gun that they cannot even deal with the reality of their children's unpreparedness and thus vulnerability to a gun accident. So my advice to you with young children is to do more than what I did, and make the sight and presence of firearms just part of normal living, subject of course to the basic rules of gun safety at all times. Despite my 24 years of military service, my Life membership in the NRA, and my safe and responsible handling of firearms my entire life my children have become semi-clones of their mother when it comes to attitude toward guns.

[Emerson Biggies]

Teach your children well.
Keep a lock on the mechanism to prevent loading.
Keep your gun clean. (the kid may put it in his mouth.)

[bbqbob51]

With or without children, if not on my person, they are locked in a quick access gun safe.

[gbclarkson]

Every gun is locked up except for the "night stand" gun which is on the top closet shelf. I recently attempted to introduce my 7 year old to firearms safety by showing him a rifle round and explaining how it works. Before I could finish, he took it out of my hand and dropped it to watch it explode. He's not ready yet.

[Kimio]

For me, all firearms and ammo is locked up at all times in separate safes. If I am not present and it is not on my person.

Teach kids while they're young, and if they want to look at the guns, they must ask me or my wife (whenever/if ever I find one that is I. Agreement with me on the topic of firearms) and one of us will let them check it out, after we go through all the checks for safety.

When they are handling a firearm, we are to be present at all times.

And most importantly, drill over and over and over again the rules of firearms safety into their heads until they can recite it in their sleep.

I truly believe the best way to protect a child is to expose them to the firearms in question, let them get their curiosity out of their system so that it just becomes another thing that's in the house.

Mystique and intrigue is what drives young kids, if they can't have it, they'll only want it more.

[FAS1]

Every gun is locked up except for the "night stand" gun which is on the top closet shelf. I recently attempted to introduce my 7 year old to firearms safety by showing him a rifle round and explaining how it works. Before I could finish, he took it out of my hand and dropped it to watch it explode. He's not ready yet.

For those that think placing your gun on a high shelf or similar is adequate to keep your kids from gaining access. I was a climbing fool by age 3. Kids are curious by nature and I am reminded all the time by my 2 year old granddaughter that kids will explore anywhere to see what's there. She's already able to climb on chairs and not afraid to stand on them. When people say a 2 year old doesn't have the strength to pull a DAO trigger, I will strongly disagree with that as well. She's plenty strong and coordinated enough already.

4-year-old-Ore-boy-shoots-finger-off