Quote:
Originally Posted by winds-of-change
Exactly this. It only takes a couple seconds and a quick child for an accident to happen. I have a 6 year old granddaughter that I have taught gun safety to. She knows to not touch a gun she finds, she knows to tell an adult if she comes across an unattended gun. When I show her my guns I stress how I check it's empty and I tell her she needs to check if it's empty (she's not always strong enough but I help her check it while it's in her possession). She knows to never point a gun at anyone.
But.............I still keep them locked up if they are not on me. I would never take any chance at all with her life. Not even a 1:1,000,00 chance.
You know that saying, "Better safe than sorry"? Yeah......that.
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You took the words right out of my mouth Winds.
To the OP. My step-daughter is now 15, and very active in the shooting sports. Part of the reason why is that she was raised not to be afraid of guns, and was raised in a house which has 2 standing rules regarding firearms safety.
Rule 1. Treat EVERY gun as if it were loaded. Even if you just cleared the weapon, treat it as you would a loaded gun. One "Oh Sh!T" erases 1,000 "At a boys".
Rule 2. If the weapon is not on you, and under your control, secure it so that others will not be able to misuse it. No excuses, no exceptions.
My mother and father were taught these rules, in adition to the standard 10 used by the NRA, they were passed on to me, and I have passed them on to my wife and her daughter. While she was growing up, I kept my firearms unloaded, locked up in the gunsafe which is bolted to the wall and the floor. If I am not carrying or in a situation where I can control my gun, it is locked up. Get a good safe and keep your guns in it when you are not using them. The safe recomende by WOC would be a good choice for nighttime storage, and easy acces to it if it is needed. When your son is old enough, teach him proper safety. However, don't get lax about gun safety at that point because your son knows safe handling skills. A hard lesson was given to a classmates parents during my senior year of HS. Five days before Christmas, he was accidentally shot by one of our classmates who was not raised around guns, and therefore did not know how to clear and handle the pistol he found in a dresser drawer. We buried Frank on Christmas Eve, and Scott has to live with what happened for the rest of his life. Form safe habits now, and your son will learn them by example, it worked with my step-daughter. Still, I don't chance it when it comes to her friends. Just ain't worth the risk.
In the vehicle, carry on your self, or have a safe installed in your truck for when you are not at a place where you can carry. When you get in, put your 1911 in the armrest. When you get out , carry it on you, or put it into the lockbox, depending on your situation at the time. It is comforting to know that you care enough for your son to ask for help when it comes to his safety. Best of luck, and I hope this helps.
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