Unloaded, firing pin decocked and safety off. Except for one revolver fully loaded, safety off/on not an option.

firearms and living in the country.

here in the south central missouri country we may live a little different than you citified boys.

we use our firearms all day every day of the year.

we have them in our pickups usually loaded {chamber empty}. it takes on average 2 hours to 3 days to get a deputy sherrif out to answer a complaint. we have dogs dropped on our gravel roads to go wild. we get city transplants from other states who have no idea how to act around semicivilized hillbillys {we will shoot you}

as my wife said yesturday when i told her of this post she stated "like im going to let you push my fat ass out a window while you unluck the gunsafe find your gun bolt then get the ammo and load your gun while someone is breaking into MY HOUSE"

ive never had to shoot anyone yet but i have had to get my firearms on multiple occassions and almost shoot idiots who think they own MY LAND.

AS I STATED: a unloaded firearm is a CLUB.

i live 8 miles from town, i have no kids running oround the house, both my wife and myself know if we have to grab a gun it will function as a gun and not a club.

every year you hear of thousands of people getting killed with a unloaded gun well at my house there all loaded especially the empty ones.

my guns are mostly in the gunsafe clips full chambers empty ready to shoot in just a few seconds. the house guns are up out of reach of small kids but very handy if really needed. in the country that can be several times a week. there are alot easier ways to kill yourself than with a loaded put up gun.

possums and foxes in the chicken coup, wild dogs killing the pigs, skunks in the yard {rabies have been discovered less than 10 miles from me}, copperheads under the porch, the list goes on and on. we use firearms for what they are designed for and thats as a TOOL.

teach the poeple living in your house how to treat a firearm and accidents dont happen. the only safe gun is one in the hands of a trained user of that gun.

a trip to the woods hunting once or twice a year is not the same as using your firearm on a daily/weekly basis. living in the country is majorly different than living in the city. we dont have gangs running around causing du du they know we will shoot them, we dont have to lock our doors because crimminals know we will shoot them. i personally have had a gun since i was 5 years old and have hunted by moself since i was 9 and never shot myself or anyone else for that matter.

NO GUN IS SAFE AT ANY TIME. SOMEONE CAN ALWAYS TAKE IT FROM YOU AND BASH YOUR HEAD IN WITH IT.

do you lock your gunposer in the powder safe every night, do you put all poisons up behind locks, is your axe or maul locked up in a tool shed, are all your butcher knives in locked drawers, is the chainsaw stored empty of gas and the gas locked up.

lots of ways for people to get killed by the TOOLS they use. telling kids no and then enforcing that NO is the only way to keep kids from doing stupid things and guess what they will still do stupid things.

Spacedone: you covered it all. Guns are tools. Respect them for what they are and train your kids.

Be damned...Sounds like we are neighbors...

Spacedone, you nailed it buddy! I have a sign on my shop door that says "Buckshot travels at 1200Feet per second, Can you?"

sorry for my rant but it bothers me people have the attitude "OH ITS A GUN ITS DANGEROUS"

my little mostly blind jewish wife is a lot more dangerous than a gun.

most things in life are "DANGEROUS"

car, knives, baseball bats, armed robbers when your unarmed, polititions, numerous common poisons, wives, husbands of girlfriends.

last estimate i read was there are over 300,000,000 legal firearms in the united states. and probaly as many illegal ones so statistically my wife is more apt to kill me than all the accidental shootings in the US in a year {did i say how much i love her}

Spacedone,

Yes thouse are all dangrous but you want to "minimize the risk" not only proper gun safety is one of them, just like not speeding or street racing with cars, watching what your cutting with a knife, locking up posions if you have small kids etc

As for husbands of girlfriends or your own girlfriend/wife well just make sure you dont get caught

As for all the great safety tips mentioned so far I'm in total agreement with everyone

Dimitri

When I started this thread I simply wanted to know how others "stored" their guns. As you can see some store guns unloaded, some loaded. These are stored guns we are talking about, not those in the ready.

I may have mentioned once elsewhere why I moved to Arizona. I've lived in the west most of my life with the exception of my military years. I too feel a need not to become a victim, & in Arizona I won't be because of the CCW & open carry laws we have. I'm always armed. But I have guns that need to be stored.

Spacedone, do you really feel you need stored guns at the ready? Or do you have others available for defensive situations? My point is, I have enough guns that need to be stored & I find it convenient to store them in a way I can quickly go through them for cleaning & inspection, safely.
Keep it coming...

For around the house at night I keep a Glock 22 in a holster thats riveted to the bed frame between the bed and night stand with an empty chamber and full magazine of federal Hydroshocks. Over the bed room door is a Remington 12 gauge double barrel loaded with #4 Buckshot 3" shells.

I thought for sure Shootist would have some contribution in this thread
Keep it coming...

Stored firearms are in the safe(s) muzzle down, bolts closed with springs at rest. Hold down the trigger on closing a bolt and the firing pin spring will go to its fired/relaxed position. Muzzle down prevents insects from getting into the barrel and prevents any excess oil from draining down into the action area/trigger. Semi-autos same except I'll dry fire them for storage to relax the spring. Stored are unloaded and ammo is on the shelf for ready issue! I made a rack for pistols/revolvers that have brass rods slightly smaller than bore diameter that go into the barrels, makes for a very neat/efficient use of the space in the safe, they are also angled enough to prevent any excess oil from running into the actions.

Ready for use firearms are just that, ready for use. Youngest child (only) is 27 and has his own house, no grandchildren yet but will provide for their safety upon their arrival.

No firearm is safe unless all Safety Rules are followed and ALWAYS REMEMBER Unloaded Firearms Injure & Kill more people than those that ARE loaded!!!

as i said all my guns are loaded especially the empty ones.

i have guns in the gunsafe that have only been unloaded once a year or so for the last 40 years.

a gun without bullets IS a CLUB.

it doesnt hurt them to stay loaded and if i never ever need to defend myself with one it will have been worth it to. if i really need to use one to defend myself or home then it will have been priceless.

ots like the movie alien vs predator.

the star asks the girl why she needs a gun. the girl states the same reason she has a rubber.

its alot safer to have one and not need it than it is to need it and not have it available.

the truth is I HAVE grabbbed a gun from my gunsafe on multiple times and NEEDED to use. for killing possums and dogs and snakes and even to stick in a idiots face and tell him to get off my property.

Spacedone, no one here is going to condemn you for keeping loaded guns around for protection. This was just a question about storing guns. In many cases, even an unloaded gun, the safety can't be engaged unless cocked, i.e., bolt actions. I'm sure if you had a gun with one in the chamber, you'd have it on saftey, right?

You're trying to defend your position on personal safety and that's not what I wanted to know. I too keep loaded weapons around in the ready, i.e. a KEL TECH P3AT 380 auto double action only, no safety. It's my concealed carry pistol.

Many in this forum may not be admitting everything and I'm not asking them to, big brother is listening & I'm sure this forum is one that is at their forefront. I'm sure they value our opinions and they should. We are the reason why this country will never ever be occupied by our enimies.

Now, get off the soap opera & tell us about how you "store" your guns

Keep it coming...

By the way, mine all have either trigger locks or cable locks as well and no loaded guns, that's the law.

WOW...hasn't this thread stirred a hornet's nest.

OK, all my firearms are stored in their respective gun cabinet (I have more than one).

With bolt guns the bolts are removed and stored in a locked container in another locked safe. No bolts fitted, no need to worry about safety on or off. My lever gun is stored action closed to take the tension off the hammer spring. My O/U 12g shotgun is stored with barrels removed, cock released and barrel lock released...safety off. Both barrels and the buttstock are placed into separate, very pretty, classy looking gucci velvet bags for storage. The whole shebang is then locked into a carry box locked inside the gun cabinet. Have a couple of gun locks, but rarely use them.

When I had pistols they were stored in a separate safe. Revolvers no safety issues, semi-auto (Ruger Mk1 .22) stored with bolt fitted safety off...magazines stored elsewhere. TC Contender stored closed, action fired and safety off. Had a MTM Caseguard Pocket pouch (18 rounds) filled with a mixture of .357 Magnum 125gn HP and 158gn SP stored in the pistol safe as well. Not real sure why I had them there now....couldn't use them. All disposed off now so no longer an issue.

All ammo, with the exception of the .357 Mag above, is stored in another locked safe along with all powders and primers.

In the field, when I am not actually hunting....hunting finished for the day, sitting around the camp fire, eating etc, all firearms are stored in their respective gun bag with bolts closed, uncocked and safety off, empty (no ammo in mag).

Safety is paramount at all times. Even the keys for my gun cabinets are locked inside a keysafe and the key for that is locked away.

Every gun regardless is treated as if it is loaded. My father was shot with an "unloaded" .22 rifle when he was a young fella. He was very lucky to survive it.

Cheers, Vince