Hidey Guns Around The House

[Bob K]

I was always told by copper friends that home invaders would lock you in a closet or the john. Guess where they're stashed.

[Evyl Robot]

"Hidey guns" creep me out. One of the reasons that I've put so much energy into teaching my kid gun safety is to safe guard him against this irresponsible handling when I'm not there to protect him.

My house-guest while looking for the wine opener just found the XD 9mm I keep in the kitchen...

Good thing it wasn't a home invader looking for a weapon in the kitchen. I've heard plenty of stories of homeowners being murdered with their own kitchen knives. When I was a college knife salesman, I heard some very intimate accounts in fact. How convenient for the BG to find a genuine, loaded gun when all he was after was a chef knife!

Yeah, but they caught this guy completely unawares.

At the risk of sounding completely callous, that was his mistake. I'm sorry, but nobody is going to catch me 'completely unawares' in my own home. Too many people have a really bad habit of not being observant. There are some really easy ways to assure that you won't have unknown, uninvited company. My heart goes out to the relatives, and the situation is nothing short of tragic. But, there are better ways of being prepared to defend than expecting to make a comeback after the bad guys have started to win. The solution is not to pepper unsecured, loaded guns all over the home, it is to be aware. Do what you have to do to stay aware.

For the sake of the scenario, you've been jumped from behind, tied up, beaten, and confined to the basement or some other secure area of your house.

See above. Not. Gonna. Happen. Don't be so unprepared that getting jumped from behind is even possible in your own home. If you are the king of your castle, you can make it loud for unwanted guests to come in (glass shattering, wood splitting, four-legged alarm system, electric security system, etc.). If you willingly have people in the house who you don't know very well or at all, don't turn your back, so to speak. You don't have to be absolutely paranoid to be just untrusting enough to properly guard yourself. Keep your doors and windows locked when you aren't using them. Be observant and just pay attention to what's going on around you. Otherwise, you are opening the door to a hostile take-over. After that point, arming yourself is far less likely to be successful anyway, as you likely lack the mental awareness to effectively use the armament to your advantage, and it has become a talisman.

Hence, the original idea of hiding various firearms all around the house.

Which is illogical and irresponsible, IMHO. I don't exactly carry my 12-gauge and my AR around the house with me. I keep a .45 or a .357 on my hip that will get me back to my long guns if I need them. That's the extent of the firearms that I've got hidden around the home. I'm currently wearing my .45 and two extra mags. If that doesn't get me back to my shotgun, I've already lost anyway. No amount of Saturday Night Specials stashed here or there is going to change that. Lord willing, I'll never have to use any of them against 2-legged varmints.

Regardless, guns are not the first weapon that you use to defend yourself anyway. The first weapons are your senses and your brain. If you can be observant enough to head off the attack before it happens, you likely (and fortunately) will never have to use the gun. You won't be beaten and bound, and your wife and children won't get raped in such a scenario. Now, I understand that there may be outside circumstances in which there truly is nothing to be done and you and/or your loved ones may be hurt and/or murdered. At that point, you're basically screwed anyway, so your original point is moot.

[randy]

I guess I'm in the middle here. I have multiple lock boxes and gun lockers scattered around the house. Partially since my first locker filled up, and partially since I'm too lazy to go down into the basement every time I need to gear up or secure my CCW pieces

[Aglifter]

So... How observant can you be while in a shower? (Admittedly, I have a bit of a phobia about them - cousin made me watch Psycho as a young child) - but I can't hear much in a shower.

[Durham68]

So... How observant can you be while in a shower? (Admittedly, I have a bit of a phobia about them - cousin made me watch Psycho as a young child) - but I can't hear much in a shower.

+1. I don't think it's realistic to assume that you cannot be caught off-guard/unawares in your own home. You can certainly reduce the possiblity to a minimum, but never to nil.

[George guy]

I've read some compelling arguments for why your arsenal of hidey-weapons should include some of the hand-to-hand type--big knife, short sword, or a similar sized clubbing implement. Firstly, there are likely to be areas of the house where there are too many walls and corners to keep your distance, and in those circumstances there are distinct advantages to having something you can swing over a gun. Secondly there is less to worry about in terms of overpenetration.

On the other hand, those parts of your house are going to tend to be upstairs or in the basement, and engaging them there means not only that you failed to stop them from entering the house, but that you failed to stop them from getting up/down the stairs as well, and probably missed at least one opportunity in between. In other words this is pretty far up the preparedness curve.

[Aaron]

I keep the door closed while showering and can hear it opening. The wifey always calls out first.

I also keep my carry XD on my folded shirt partially hidden by socks and underwear right where I can grab it in a hurry.

[blackeagle603]

Due to weather/locale I spend 60% of the year in teeshirt and gymshorts or swimsuit around home. Makes for necessarily more reliance on hidey guns.

[Evyl Robot]

So... How observant can you be while in a shower? (Admittedly, I have a bit of a phobia about them - cousin made me watch Psycho as a young child) - but I can't hear much in a shower.

+1. I don't think it's realistic to assume that you cannot be caught off-guard/unawares in your own home. You can certainly reduce the possiblity to a minimum, but never to nil.

I lock the bathroom door (which admittedly won't stop anybody, but will make a loud noise), and my regular carry pistol is within arms-reach.

Due to weather/locale I spend 60% of the year in teeshirt and gymshorts or swimsuit around home. Makes for necessarily more reliance on hidey guns.

You can wear a shoulder rig around the house wearing anything else, or nothing at all!

[Aglifter]

This is going to make me sound like an ass - but what type of lock? If its a typical "push-button" type, those are, intentionally, very easy to pop open w.o. making much noise.

Now, the obvious solution is to find a means of showering w. a gun...