News containing accidental shootings involving children still shocks us. Some gun owners tend to misperceive a child’s ability to follow gun safety rules and make sound judgments when it comes to gun use.
These days, where a simple “do not touch” rule may not work, gun owners need to couple teaching children about gun safety with proper gun storage. Keeping a dangerous weapon in a compliant safeis imperative for every gun owner.
Teach Children About Gun Safety
A home safety consultant recently stresses the importance of training,”It is crucial to start teaching children about gun safety as soon as they show awareness and interest in this object. You may begin by orienting them that guns are not toys or any ordinary item.
Buying a locked container for their toy guns (including water guns) and teaching them not to leave them lying around will also help demonstrate proper handling of firearms.
You can also start teaching your child what to do when they come across a gun – to stop, go away, and immediately tell an adult.”
1. Choose a storage system based on your family’s needs.
Choosing the most appropriate storage system would depend mainly on your individual and family needs. These include:
- Your living situation (e.g., living in an apartment versus a spacious place)
- Type of gun you own (e.g., pistol versus rifle)
- Lifestyle (e.g., the firearm used for safety and protection versus guns for collection purposes),
When planning a purchase, it is essential to ask yourself the following questions:
- Is child safety a concern?
- Am I concerned about my firearm’s wear or physical damage?
- Am I worried about unauthorised use and theft?
- How much am I willing to invest?
2. Consider the features of various gun safety storage options available.
Below are commonly available storage options, their features, and pros and cons:
Gun Safes
Gun safes are the most secure storage option for firearms. These are capable of protecting the gun from unauthorised access, fire or water damage, and theft. A wide variety of options are available depending on factors such as fire rating, steel thickness, safe size, number of shelves and racks, and the types of lock.
Some offer critical, digital, and a combination of lock options. Safes also come in varied sizes and capacity ranges; from small safes for pistols to bigger safes with 16-rifle capacity.
Gun Cases
Gun cases are another standard storage option that offers accessibility and safe transport of firearms. Cases come in two forms: hard and soft. Hard cases have a rigid external shell, while soft cases are made of durable fabrics such as nylon.
Using these may be enough to keep your guns from little prying eyes. However, while good for storage and transport, these can be easily cut by tools or carried elsewhere.
Security Cases
Security cases offer the portability of hand-carry cases (which make this storage option optimal for travel and transport purposes) and the physical protection and anti-theft properties of locking gun cabinets.
Because they are just like briefcases, they are ideal to be stored in car trunks and closet walls, making it easier to be hidden from children, while ensuring easy access when needed. But just like gun cases, they can be carried elsewhere easily.
Locking Steel Gun Cabinets
If you need more storage capacity, you may opt for these types over security cases. Gun cabinets are much more lightweight than safes due to the absence of fire-resistant insulation. This makes them optimal for apartment dwellers and can be kept on the second floors of homes, unlike safes, which tend to be heavier and larger.
Take-away
Looking for the appropriate gun storage option requires planning, which would largely depend on your needs, living conditions, and budget. But getting one, no matter the kind, is essential for the same ultimate reason why you own a firearm in the first place – for your and your family’s safety.
For high-quality gun storage options, contact Safes Australia! We have a wide variety of gun safes that are compliant with government standards.
