My dad and home protection...

A shotgun is always a good idea, but not a dbl. barrel like the VP suggests.... Does he lack motor skills or is that just part of your argument? A bedside gun is a good idea, but it should be secured in some way. A handgun safe, biometric type comes to mind. Any kids in the home, grandkids, nephews, etc.? It's always a mix of having the gun there when you need it but not having it there for anyone else to pick up, either friend or foe. There are literally tons of articles addressing this. The outdoor channel has a program called "Best Defense" which details different scenarios of personal protection, and home invasion is always one of the main subjects. If there is any doubt that safety and availability are going to be an issue then it needs to be fully explored before any decision is made. It's a balance that has to be kept.

 

I don't like the idea of a gun in the night stand drawer, too easy to grab it when you are only half awake. Yea speed is good, but I rather be fully awake. I keep mine in a biometric safe that is next to my dresser just three feet from the bed. I had to get out of bed and make the effort to open the safe. It stores about 30 prints so I have both thumbs and both index fingers coded many ways and it has never failed to open when I want it to. It is bolted to an 8 foot 2x4 that runs behind the dresser so it would be very hard (not impossible) for someone to just carry the safe away. I figure where I live I will never need it, but nice to have it there. Time would never be so critical that I would not have time to get it as I have a good alarm system and two large dogs as the first two lines of defense. BTW the gun is a Glock G22 .40 cal with 15 rounds loaded.

 

My wife and i are the only ones in our house, no kids or grandkids. We do not secure our firearms, we have a couple loaded and stashed in various places.

I would rather have an semi-auto kept separate from the loaded mag., or a revolver kept separate from a speedloader available then any gun with a trigger lock or padlock installed.

A biometric safe is a viable option, but not something you need to unlock with a key or try to key in or dial in combo. to.

And, my last 2 cents; if I had only one HD gun available it would be a 12 ga. pump shotgun w/ a short barrel!!

Decided to add this, with edit:

In today's environment it is also much easier to find the shotgun you prefer and accumulate the ammo you want for HD and any other use you may have in mind for a 12 ga.

 

That's the best advice anyone could give. It's along the lines of "prepare for the worst and hope for the best" The chances of a home invasion are slim, but so is winning the lottery....and that happens every day.

 

Have him look at the vertical ones which hold the gun standing up / draw position...maybe called "speed vaults" They have those with the biometric lock as well....and they can be mounted to a wall or even the bed frame or a piece of furniture...cost maybe the same as the others. Where about in Illinois does he live? I used to live near the WI / IL border...right between Chicago and Milwaukee

 

I keep my gun unsecured in a holster on the dresser . I make sure to secure it if anyone is visiting and might get near it . I also caution everyone I know that if they ever find my gun, to treat it as if it is loaded " because it will be ".
I used to keep it under my bed and in all those years, it never attacked me (LOL ).

If Vice-President Biden's wife ever followed his advice to fire a couple of shots from her double-barrel to scare away anyone lurking outside, she'd scare away her Secret Service detail .
She'd be breaking the law, could injure or kill an innocent person ( what goes up must come down ) , would end up with an empty gun and might fail to scare off the intruder ; Can you imagine the late Christopher Dorner running in terror of Mrs. Biden ? Some intruders might assume they were being shot at and fire back, too .

Here's a real life example of the Biden plan in action :
Years ago, a Maryland man heard noises, got up, fired his shotgun out the window blindly and killed his newspaper boy . The boy, incidentally had helped Senator Joe Tydings in his anti-gun efforts . The media made a gun banning martyr out of the boy .

Biden is a B.S. artist with a long record . I'm sure his wife doesn't keep a shotgun at hand with all those Secret Service guys ----with UZIs !


Joe Biden Says Get A Shotgun, Women Try Out His Advice ( see link ) :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A0IVSGctQIg

 

Biometric safe.

 

What's funny is after the warning shots you have to reload lol

 

You probably won't believe this, but when I was growing up, Naperville was all farmland....in the 60's
My uncle had an 80 acre farm there.

 

I know. I was up there on business about ten years ago and I couldn't believe it. I shot my first gun there, on his farm.

 

When you get that sudden splash of adrenalin slamming through your bloodstream fine motor skills decrease rapidly, and they may be gone for up to 5 minutes. A key lock is not the way to go unless he plans on taking off the lock when he goes to bed. Neither is a combination lock.

There are many ways to do this, but I usually suggest something that will have you moving toward concealment or cover to get at the gun. A simple holster attached to the bed slats will get you out of sight while reducing the chance of one of those bump in the night shootings of a family member. By the time you hit the floor, you should be awake enough for proper target ID.

 

When i was young my old man always kept his 357 mag in the holster in his night stand right next to him fully loaded. The only problem with that was he took meds to sleep and if it was loud enough to get him awake he was pretty much drunk for a good 10 minutes before he could be useful. So he got me a shotgun when I was 15 I was a light sleeper and I would wake up if someone went to the bathroom but we use to run drills in the house for break in's.

But I like the idea of the safes you just touch the finger pad and they pop open but I still prefer to have the gun out in arms reach just in case something happens. Same way when I go camping my shotgun just has to be racked the safety popped and I'm ready for action.

 

Whether your dad chooses a shotgun or a handgun for HD it makes sense to have it close by the bed since that is where most people feel the most vunerable. When you are awake, you always have the option to carry. When I am awake at home I always pocket carry a .380.

I also don't like the idea of leaving guns laying around even though that's what my dad did and we never had a problem. Today, there are lots of good storage options available that provide quick access, especially for handguns that weren't around back then. Heck, we didn't have bicycle helmets or air bags either!

I like the simplicity, durabilty, and proven reliability of the mechanical push-button locks. Most people refer to them as a Simplex lock, which is really a model made by Kaba. Designed to be opened by feel only and is as fast as anything with just a little practice.

Do your research carefully when it comes to biometric scanners. Seems like a lot of people have issues with them. I like the latest, greatest electronics and technology like most people, I'm just not sold yet on their reliabilty and seems like there are too many variables that could effect its operation. So, I'm not comfortable using it on something my life might depend on.

 

So.....why does he want a gun?