You Must Train With Your Firearm!

[SOW_0331]

@bzdog

While you may not trust the safe, no reason you can’t have the firearm securely concealed on your person, properly with round in chamber, while at home (or always, depending on CCW laws where you live).

I agree you should practice and train, and I feel you should also vet all your equipment including ammunition, mags, etc. In other words, don’t practice with one ammunition then switch to defense ammo you’ve never fired.

-john

I was giving a handgun class once, and one of the drills was to wait and identify the color of the flag I threw out, and draw from holster engage the corresponding targets with three rounds each (3 colors, 6 targets, two of each color at random interval and distance).

The guys got all excited and started tucking their shirts in. I said “nope, keep your clothing and gear exactly how you carry at home”. A few confused looks, and finally one guy says “at home I keep my guns locked upstairs in the safe”.

“Well go lock your weapon in your glovebox. When I toss the flag, I hope you can run fast”. A few of them finally understood what I was getting at. You really don’t need your weapon until you REALLY NEED your weapon, and in those situations you’re lucky to get two full seconds to prepare yourself. It might do you some good, like the poster I quoted said, to securely carry on your body. You’ll learn how you do and don’t like to carry, what clothes work with your equipment, and you won’t be caught without again. Also, as someone who learned a valuable lesson, I’m encouraging you to carry Condition 1. That will make sure you don’t short stroke your next load under stress, especially of you’re not extremely proficient with something you will bet your life on.

[Airhasz]

@12SERIES

Last night I was sitting with my boys in their bed room before they fell asleep. The wind blew a door closed that they left open and it sounded so much like someone entered the house that my Lab went barreling downstairs growling. I sprinted to my room and grabbed my M&p 9c from my bedroom safe and thought I correctly seated a mag loaded with hollow points. The mag did not seat correctly and I couldn’t chamber a round. It took about 5 minutes to understand that a full mag on a new gun needs to be fully seated using far more pressure than i did. Bottom line was my firearm was useless and had an intruder entered, I couldn’t defend my children.

I wad raised around firearms and have hunted for over 40 years. I’ve been stranded in the Alaska wilderness on multiple occasions, charged by grizzly bears, killed moose and caribou above the arctic circle on self guided hunts with my best friend. I’m no stranger to challenges.

But when it came to self defense at a time when seconds might have meant the difference for myself and my children, all of my life experience didn’t prepare me for that moment.

Bottom line is if you here reading and taking advantage of the wealth of information provided, make sure you get excellent training with the defensive firearms you purchase. All of your life experience my not serve you well. Drop me off in the wilderness and I’m at home. I felt sick last night with an inoperable weapon, not knowing what to do next. I’m sitting with my boys right now as they fall asleep. I won’t let this happen again.

Thanks to everyone here at M4 for all of the info you provide. I’m going to make sure that I am fully capable of protecting the most important part my life. My amazing sons.

Tap, rack , bang…practice it.

[Apricotshot]

@12SERIES

My oldest son has autism and as a mental exercise he is trying to crack the code to the safe. He has successfully solved pin codes, and other combinations through observation. And no matter how hard you try, life happens and he observes. So I do not leave a round in a chamber in any firearm in the house under any circumstance. He is 9 and this is all good fun for him. I’m not in bear country. I live in the country with a special needs child. I will rethink this to a point, but having an empty chamber is necessary at the moment. He might solve the code to the safe. But he doesn’t have the strength to operate the slide and chamber a round, should he find access to the firearm.

I fear my son with autism gaining access to a fully loaded firearm more than a home invasion at the moment. This is simply one of the challenges that comes with raising a child on the spectrum.

If he can decode keypads, he can rack a round in the chamber.

[12SERIES]

@Apricotshot

If he can decode keypads, he can rack a round in the chamber.

At this point he doesn’t have the strength. That will come in time but for now this works.

[Iraqgunz]

You might make that assumption, but I wouldn’t gamble on it. If you are unable to to secure the weapons with a combination safe to keep him away you need to be looking at other options.

I know nothing of autism, but am I to understand that you cannot create a combination of random numbers that he can’t crack? What kind of safe is this we are talking about?

Being a hunter has ZERO bearing on being able to defend against two-legged attackers. This past summer we had a woman here killed when her husband and an intruder engaged each other at the front of the house. They were both life long hunters and neither would take a home defense or other type of class. Unfortunately that thinking cost her, her life.

Maybe you need to consider a main safe and then something else like a lock box, etc… Had it been a real situation as you learned, you wouldn’t be telling this story.

@12SERIES

At this point he doesn’t have the strength. That will come in time but for now this works.

[12SERIES]

@Iraqgunz

You might make that assumption, but I wouldn’t gamble on it. If you are unable to to secure the weapons with a combination safe to keep him away you need to be looking at other options.

I know nothing of autism, but am I to understand that you cannot create a combination of random numbers that he can’t crack? What kind of safe is this we are talking about?

Being a hunter has ZERO bearing on being able to defend against two-legged attackers. This past summer we had a woman here killed when her husband and an intruder engaged each other at the front of the house. They were both life long hunters and neither would take a home defense or other type of class. Unfortunately that thinking cost her, her life.

Maybe you need to consider a main safe and then something else like a lock box, etc… Had it been a real situation as you learned, you wouldn’t be telling this story.

He can’t rack the slide and I can have confidence because he not close to accomplishing it and he didn’t double in size over night. Nothing is fool proof and the system is secure for the near future. It will be evaluated as needed.

[Iraqgunz]

Thanks for not addressing the rest of the post. Good luck with your situation.

[MSparks909]

My vote is for a biometric access safe. Your child might be somewhat of a savant with cracking codes, but he doesn’t have your fingerprints.

[Scrubber3]

@MSparks909

My vote is for a biometric access safe. Your child might be somewhat of a savant with cracking codes, but he doesn’t have your fingerprints.

I was wondering when a valid solution to securely storing a ready pistol would be reached. This with some practice on your weapon should prevent future issues.

[Outlander_Systems]

Don’t over think this stuff.

Safest place for a weapon is on you.