Essential Safety Precautions for Your Gun Safe
Whether you own a small firearm as a way to protect yourself or a rifle for hunting, you need to make sure you keep it safe. Keeping your guns in a gun safe is one of the best options since it can be locked up and hidden away, keeping them from children or people who you wouldn't trust to have your gun. Here are some safety precautions to keep in mind when you are using a gun safe for storage.
Be Careful With the Combination
While many people use a gun safe that uses a key, this can be risky because someone may find your key or use a locksmith's methods to get the safe open. A safer option is to get a gun safe that asks for a combination. That way, only people who have access to the combination will be able to open the gun safe. In many cases, it is a long and complicated number that you need to write down in the beginning until you can memorize it.
If you write it down, be very careful where you keep it. Avoid keeping the combination in your wallet or in a file on your computer. People, kids especially, are smart and can find hidden files. A better option is to choose a safe place in your home that nobody would think to look, such as in one of the air conditioning vents. The safest option is to memorize it so that you don't need to write it down anywhere.
Keep the Gun Unloaded When You Store It
A common mistake people make is to keep their gun loaded when they put it into the safe. This is tempting because it takes less time to grab it and use it if needed. However, you are risking someone else getting injured if they grab it from the safe.
While you are doing everything you can to keep children from going into the safe, if they somehow manage to get it open, you want an added precaution. A kid that is playing with a loaded gun might not realize it is loaded and accidentally harm themselves or others. The best thing to do is keep it unloaded.
Find a Secret Hiding Place
When you are storing the gun safe, think about a place in your home that others won't easily find, including an intruder. If you want to store it in your bedroom, avoid putting it in your nightstand drawer, as this is one of the first places someone is going to look. It is better to store the safe in the back of your closet where hanging clothes are covering it, or in a floor board that nobody knows is loose.