Not such an Idiot!

It is very difficult to kill someone with a Gun. Cartridges make it much easier.

Hey, that Milspec weighs about three pounds... chuck that thing hard enough, and it'll do some damage! hahaha!

FYI - I have one of those (Biovault) and it was a good option for me with a young son and half-clueless housekeeper roaming around here. It is well made and opens reliably; however, be advised that it does not open as quickly or quietly as I'd like to see. When my son gets a bit older and up to speed on the 'equipment' I will probably switch to a different option that is more accessible in a hurry. (Like a nightstand drawer, LOL).

U Boyz are still crackin me up
 

Yep I got to admit I own a SIG....but not one of those rinky-dink Sauer models...If your thinkin SIG why dontcha just buy the "Best Pistol in the World" a P-210. www.cybershooters.org/dgca/sig_p210.htm

tabs, are you mourning the fact that Sig has discontinued the p210? A lot of boys on the Sigforum board are...

Why I got one..bought it back in the early 1980's....

Glad to hear they work Chris. How quickly do they open? In the worst case of a home invasion, I figure I should have a decent amount of time. With deadbolts on both doors to our townhome really the only option is to break a window, and our bedrooms are upstairs, giving me time to open a box, at least I hope.

that vault is a great idea. i dont have kiddies but if i did, i would go that route. i remember finding my dads pistol when i was young. my bro and i knew the dangers so we just looked at it and put it back. amazing how kids can find anything.

vash is right... kids find EVERYTHING. They will get into ANYTHING... A good locking case that is only accessible by you is the best bet. I haven't looked into it, but a small lockbox that uses biometrics (fingerprints) would be great. I'd eventually like to get a whole upright safe that is fingerprint accessible, also.

What do you guys do that you need to keep a loaded firearm on the nite table while you sleep? Don't get me wrong, I'm not being anti-gun here. But maybe consider getting some dogs as well to give you more warning. A squad of ninjas might get by my four cattledogs without me having plenty of notice, but I'm not cool enough to have ninjas coming after me so I'm comfortable having the guns put up where my little kids (2, 4 and 6) won't get them.

Winterfarm,

Would you keep a discharged fire extinguisher in your kitchen?

Then why would I keep and unloaded gun in my nightstand? Would I only put my seatbelt on when I actually expect to be in a collision?

It's just being at the best level of preparedness, that's all. Sometimes under stress, fumbling with loading a weapon can slow down your overall reaction time. Having it loaded means it's ready to go right when you grab it.

I don't really think that is an appropriate analogy. You can't accidently shoot a family member with a fire extinguisher. Your son can't find a fire extinguisher and accidently kill a neighbor. A burgular can't break into your house when you're not around and steal your fire extinguisher, then use it in other crimes.

Well, maybe if somebody is really good with a fire extinguisher...

I think a gun is in a world of its own when considering use and storage strategies. Thinking of it as "just another tool" is dangerious imho.

In my risk/benefit analysis, there is NO WAY I would have a chambered round in a pistol in my house anywhere other than in a locked safe. I think the odds of home invasion are extrememly small. I think that in most cases where deadly force might be required I would have enough warning to unlock the safe and get the weapon.

But your situation may be different, and you need to do your own risk/benefit thinking.

Do you guys really live in that bad of a neighborhood? Do you have to be packing to feel safe? I've never felt the need to do that in LA...and I agree that a dog is probably a better deterrent. Even against ninjas...

Maybe so. But on the other hand, in so many ways a firearm really isn't the same as a fire extinguisher. For starters, it's more easily loaded and can cause more serious injuries. And having it ready to go right when anybody grabs it is not something I want, I just don't feel the need to be on such hair trigger alert all the time. It might be different if I lived on the West Bank of Israel or some such place, but this is America, Land of the Free, and if you're always on such high alert then I'd venture you're not really enjoying the fruits of that dearly bought freedom.

I've never had an intruder break into the house. We had two intruders in the yard in the middle of the night last year. I let the big dog out and he cornered em, until I called him off. He'll belly bite a bull and hang on its ear til he turns it, so he'll slow down most prowlers enough to let me load a weapon if I want. These two intruders turned out to be cops who were looking for a prowler and it's probably best I didn't come out there with a gun drawn after all. They were close to shooting my dog as it was. (The prowler was probably just a racoon that my neighbor heard banging the garbage can.) They started to lecture me about how I shouldn't set my dog on the police. I asked em why they opened the gate in my six-foot fence and came into my yard without knocking on my door and letting me know, and they explained they didn't want to wake me up. Didn't you hear the dogs going freakin nuts inside???? You didn't think that would wake me??? I had so much warning I could have loaded 50 guns with all the time I had.

I keep a handfull of mispec on my night stand with a wrist rocket...

Yeah but a gun won't eat it's own poop the want to lick your face!

that's why I have cats. and guns. in a safe.

hmm...i'm not sure why I put the cats in the safe.

Nostatic, don't your lady friends wonder about single men with cats?

I am a walking dichotomy. Or maybe trichotomy.

Chicks dig sensitive guys. So far they seem to like going to the range too. And riding on the bike. And in the 911. And other stuff. I don't know...seems to be working so far. The only complication is if they are allergic...

Yeah, I've never taken a girl to the range who did not totally love it. My dad gave me two .22 revolvers this past weekend to sell for him and I think my gf will want one of them.

That's really about 1/2 of the reason I want a gun, just for the hell of it. I've always loved to shoot, seems like it would be a good hobby. That said, even in the relatively small Wichita metro area there are several home invasions a week, and if that ever happens to be me I want to be ready. Can you imagine the regret if it happened to you, and you never purchased that gun you considered, or had it stored somewhere inaccesible? Plus my wife and son are allergic to dogs in close quarters, and we only have a 1200 sq ft townhome.