using gun safes safely

Little-Known Tips To Help You Store Your Guns Safely And Securely

5 October 2015

Vilho Kotila

If you have recently purchased your first firearm, there are a few things you should know about the safe and secure storage of guns and ammunition in your home. It is especially important to secure the placement of your guns and ammo if you have children in your home. Children are, by very nature, extremely curious. An unsecure gun could pose a threat to their health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others. Fortunately, there are ways to keep your firearms safe.

Lock it Up and Lock it Down

The best way to keep your firearms and ammunition safe is to use a safe. Approximately 40% of U.S. homes with children in them also have a gun on the premises. If you have children, it is important to realize that a 3-year-old child has the strength to pull the trigger of a handgun. Storing your firearm in a safe and then placing that safe in a secure location can help reduce the threat of injury or even death.

In addition to putting your gun in a secure gun safe, it is highly recommended that you also look into a separate locking mechanism to place on the firearm. Trigger locks, or gun lockouts, can prevent a child from pulling the trigger on a firearm should they happen to locate your gun. By providing two different locking mechanisms – the safe and the trigger lock – you are increasing the safety of your home and family.

Hide Keys Separately

Never store the key to your safe and the key to the trigger lock in the same place. Hiding both keys in separate locations can further reduce the threat of injury or death. For example, you can hide your safe key in one of your socks in the sock drawer and your trigger lock key behind a painting in a separate room.

Of course, those are just example of how to hide both keys separately. Make sure you hide the keys in inconspicuous locations to prevent a child or burglar from finding them. Even if your child or an unwanted intruder happens to find one of the keys, their chances of finding the other key will be greatly reduced, therefore increasing the safety of your firearm.

Proper Ammo Storage

Ammo storage is yet another component of gun safety. While it may make sense to store your ammo in either the same gun safe as your firearm or even a separate safe, it would be a big mistake. Should a fire break out in your home, ammo stored in a metal box may explode if the conditions are right.

Instead, keep the ammo in the original packaging and store it safely under blankets or pillow in your closet on a hard to reach shelf. In the event of a fire, the casing around the ammo will burst, but the particles will not carry very far. In fact, the damage done to the ammo is nothing like the threat of exploding ammo. Therefore, it is better if you do not store your ammo in a metal box or safe.

If you would feel more comfortable keeping your ammo in a safe, make sure you invest in a fireproof safe. A fireproof safe can help protect your ammo from the threat of explosion, therefore saving your life, the lives of your family members, and the lives of firefighters who enter your home to fight the fire.

Given that you will have various safes and locks for your firearms and ammunition, you may want to keep the number of a local locksmith nearby. Should you happen to lose one of your keys, you can call a locksmith to assist you in gaining access to your firearm. Additionally, a locksmith from a company like Key One Inc can recommend various safes and locking mechanisms that best suit the type of firearm you own.

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