Too often, the dos and don’ts of gun safety while in readiness are hardly taught, as firearm training is chiefly centered on drawing a gun, marksmanship & trigger handling. These are surely relevant aspects of gun ownership & usage, but there’s more to the latter.
Lessons have to include using your guns for defense. Considerations, such as “the best method to store your survival gun, such that it is easily handy when necessary” and “how do you keep your survival firearm ready without subjecting your family’s safety to any risk” are all important to take on and discuss.
6 Dos And Don’ts of Gun Safety While In Readiness
When the brown stuff hits the whirling fan, it’s sure to splash dirt in every direction. One of these splashes is the looter who will come knocking and won’t wait patiently for you to get to your gun safe and get it ready. Sure, using your gun against a human target is the last thing we all want to do, but you have no choice when your life or that of a family is on the line.
You could think that it is okay to just hide your survival gun beneath the huge painting in the living room (or anywhere it can be easily accessed) so it can easily be reached when danger swings by. But when you consider that an average of 138 children dies yearly due to curiosity on their part or carelessness on anyone else’s part, you don’t want to keep your survival gun anywhere nearby.
So, you are in a conundrum: readiness over safety OR safety over readiness? Keep reading this guide to find the solutions to your situation.
Settle Only for a High-standard Safe
Although this is important whether you have kids or not, it is much more important when you do. But your concerns about a gun accessible to all should not be limited to your curious kids. They should include housekeepers, guests, visiting relatives & nosy neighbors who may want to experiment with a firearm, given that it is staring them right in the face. When this happens, it is most likely an accident about to happen, like a threadbare BOV tire waiting to burst while you’re driving.
Thankfully, these days, there are very quality safes that are not necessarily time-consuming to unlock. With safes using biometric and iris scanners to ensure optimum security and easy access, the relevance of the traditional lock-and-key safes has been overridden. Should these be too expensive to afford, there are other versions that require a pin on its keypad to access. They will fulfill the same purpose as all other safes that you know.
Don’t Just Hide Your Firearm & Expect That It Can’t Be Found
You can do this, but only if you use a safe that requires biometric or iris verification to open. However, most of us can’t afford such safes, so you must constantly be aware that someone may happen upon your gun. Also, never tell anyone your safe codes except they are trusted and have the ability to shoot.
The essence here is that you don’t wrongly believe that a gun stowed on the china cabinet has been totally out of reach. The same applies to a rifle stuffed in your closet or shoved underneath your mattress. Yes, these are handy locations, but they are not safe. Not at all.
Consider Storing Firearms Separately from Ammunition
This recommendation is especially relevant if you decide against a gun safe. Think about it. Q box of ammo right beside an unloaded gun in the hands of an untrained 6-year-old or even an 18-year-old. It’s just accidents and damage. We know that.
However, sticking to this does not mean that you keep your firearm on the roof of the top floor & ammunition inside the cartons in your basement. The thing is just to have them separated enough to avoid incitement.
Note that when SHTF, you want to have both items together or even unlocked, loaded & ready to be fired.
Your Gun Should Not Be Loaded Inside The House
While this may understandably appear to be the only way to be a step ahead of potential looters, unwanted invaders, or hostiles, keeping a gun ready to be fired will end up being a liability rather than an asset. Except you’re sure of your safety. The best thing, however, is always to keep the ammo and gun locked up separately.
If you have to keep your firearm loaded, I suggest that it is at least locked up when not ready to be used.
Don’t Let Your Gun Spend Aeons Without Any Action
Of course, you may never have a reason to use your gun in some locales. Undoubtedly, this is what we all want, but this does not mean that you neglect your gun and keep the hard guy locked up for eternity. The least you could do is hit the range once in a while to rub off the rustiness. There’s also the option of seasonal hunting.
The failure to use your gun for years will be at your disadvantage whenever you eventually have to. The last thing anyone wants to experience is having a jam or misfire in the face of harm. While gunpowder these days does not corrode the insides of your firearms, thereby allowing you to limit their maintenance, they still have to be taken care of.
Keep Your Gun In Strategic, Easy-to-access Locations
While we have emphasized the reason not to have your gun in the obvious spots in the house, we can’t take out the importance of having them in places you can easily get them when it matters. Before selecting a spot for your gun, it is wise to consider any home deterrent system that you have in place. Put your gun in a spot where you can get it within 1–3 minutes. I don’t suppose that you’ll be making a dash for your gun when your looter is already in your living room, which is why you need to take safety measures that will notify you of danger before it is imminent.
If you have up to 2 guns, I suggest that they are kept separately, perhaps one in the corridor and the other in your room. This will ensure that you aren’t cut off from your weapon at any time.
Concluding The Dos And Don’ts of Gun Safety While In Readiness
It is pertinent to keep to the dos and don’ts of gun safety while in readiness mentioned above if you want to keep family safe, yet be a step or two before the potential hostile. However, while keeping to these suggestions, first consult with your state laws to ensure that you don’t flout any regulation with your actions. In a typical state, though, I believe everything discussed above is permitted.