Do I have to have a gun safe?

[SparrowHanger]

I was told by the owner of a shooting range that I msut have a gun safe for my Rmeington 870 in my home. I told him I keep a trigger lock on it. The only other firearm in the house, except for an antique percussion rifle that cannot be fired, is a single barrel shotgun.

Everyone residing in the house is over 21 years of age.

I think he is flat wrong about having to have a gun safe. Am I missing something?

[repubconserv]

no. It is not required that you have a safe.

Should you? yes.

[jben]

no. It is not required that you have a safe.

Should you? yes.

^^^What he said.

[aippi]

And I be he just happend to know where you could buy one from him or some other member there. Sad when someone working in the industry does not even know the gun laws of the state he is in.

[Javi]

I can't afford $600-$3000 safes so I don't have one. When I have my own home I'd love to have one.

[SparrowHanger]

Thanks. I just read the penal code sections on this and I clearly am not required to have a safe if I have a "locking device", and then only if the gun is kept loaded (it is) and I have reason to know that a child (a person under 18) is likely to gain access to it. It is highly unlikely that anyone under 18 would gain access to it, but even then it has an approved trigger lock.

Even though it is not required, why is a safe a good idea? While it makes it less likely that anyone would steal the gun while I am out of the house, doesn't a safe make it difficult to access the weapon for purposes of home defense?

[CSACANNONEER]

There is no legal requirement to store firearms in a safe. There is no legal requirement to store firearms with any kind of lock on them or in any kind of a locked box. It's perfectly legal to store your loaded 870 in the middle of your kitchen table if you want to. Now, it is a good idea to own a safe and store most of your firearms in it but, it is not required at all.

I can't afford $600-$3000 safes so I don't have one. When I have my own home I'd love to have one.

So buy a cheaper one.

[inbox485]

I was told by the owner of a shooting range that I msut have a gun safe for my Rmeington 870 in my home. I told him I keep a trigger lock on it. The only other firearm in the house, except for an antique percussion rifle that cannot be fired, is a single barrel shotgun.

Everyone residing in the house is over 21 years of age.

I think he is flat wrong about having to have a gun safe. Am I missing something?

IMO keeping your gun in a bolted down safe (even if it is a cheap gun cabinet) is just good practice to keep stolen guns off the street. I also favor safes over trigger locks for defensive access if that is a concern.

No it isn't a legal requirement.

The shop owner was probably confused by the safe storage laws that apply criminal liability if a minor is permitted to be in your house and gets one of your guns and commits a crime with it.

[BayAreaShooter]

Thanks. I just read the penal code sections on this and I clearly am not required to have a safe if I have a "locking device", and then only if the gun is kept loaded (it is) and I have reason to know that a child (a person under 18) is likely to gain access to it. It is highly unlikely that anyone under 18 would gain access to it, but even then it has an approved trigger lock.

Even though it is not required, why is a safe a good idea? While it makes it less likely that anyone would steal the gun while I am out of the house, doesn't a safe make it difficult to access the weapon for purposes of home defense?

Yes it would make it much harder to access a firearm if needed if it was in a locked safe. I think it would be foolish to keep all your guns in a locked safe at all times, but thats just my opinion. With that said a safe is a great idea. First off when you are not home it adds a layer of protection to your guns that you cannot provide if you are not around. I would highly recommend a fire proof safe as well. Once you start to accumulate a "few" guns you will not want them all laying around in individual cases. A safe is a great thing to have. If all you have is a Remington 870 and you do not plan on buying anymore guns I would say you do not need a safe. Lets be honest though who just buys one gun and says thats enough.

[SparrowHanger]

Regardless of the fact that he flat had the law wrong, the guy also said regardless of the law, I should keep it unlocked and loaded for HD, but unless I live in a tough neighborhood the need will never arise. If it does, I will only need to fire once and the BG will take off.

That is all well and good, but I don't want my family suffering the consequences if we are the 1 in a million and it the BG is too drugged out to have the sense to git. I also explained why risk of a problem is much greater in my situation.

[nola_jack]

If you are able to cut out some sheetrock in your closet, wall safes are good, here is a regular gun safe/cabinet that you can permanently attach to the floor, shipped for 135.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=402868&aID=510L1&source=linkconn&lct=s&cID=GSHOP

If they still have coupons for gander mountain on slick guns, you can probably get an even better deal.

[BayAreaShooter]

Regardless of the fact that he flat had the law wrong, the guy also said regardless of the law, I should keep it unlocked and loaded for HD, but unless I live in a tough neighborhood the need will never arise. If it does, I will only need to fire once and the BG will take off.

That is all well and good, but I don't want my family suffering the consequences if we are the 1 in a million and it the BG is too drugged out to have the sense to git. I also explained why risk of a problem is much greater in my situation.

The guy your referring to sounds like a complete idiot and I would not listen to a word he says. Seriously. Disregard anything he said.

[SparrowHanger]

Yes it would make it much harder to access a firearm if needed if it was in a locked safe. I think it would be foolish to keep all your guns in a locked safe at all times, but thats just my opinion. With that said a safe is a great idea. First off when you are not home it adds a layer of protection to your guns that you cannot provide if you are not around. I would highly recommend a fire proof safe as well. Once you start to accumulate a "few" guns you will not want them all laying around in individual cases. A safe is a great thing to have. If all you have is a Remington 870 and you do not plan on buying anymore guns I would say you do not need a safe. Lets be honest though who just buys one gun and says thats enough.

I started looking a bit more seriously for a second shooting gun this morning, some older Brownings and, a couple of Stoegers, and a Mossberg Silver Reserve; none of which I am interested in for various reasons. I might see my way clear to a good not too old Remington 1100. As is, I have to admit to owning a couple of non shooting family hand me downs, of which one is pre-Civil War.

[TurboChrisB]

About 15 years ago...I had a gun "cabinet"...worked great till someone broke in my house and stole about 10 guns. It was devestating....I actually stopped collecting guns till I found Cal Guns about a year and a half ago....it renewed my interest and now that I've rebuilt my collection a safe became mandatory. I bought a great safe for less than the price of a quality gun. I wouldn't buy a safe if I only had one or two guns. But if you "have something to lose" you should protect it.

[MongooseV8]

I bought one of those Stack-On cabinets from Walmart for less than $100 shipped to my door. Its nice to be able to lock up my guns for when Im not home. I keep my 1911 loaded and handy for any unwanted visitors.

Plus its nice to have my rifles always safe from harm just from laying around the house. I put off buying one for many years and Im super glad I got one, even if its cheap.