How do you secure your home-defense shotgun?

[blackscot]

I know some people who leave guns basically lying all over the place. Most though keep their sport guns in a safe or otherwise secured (at least with trigger locks, etc.). Potentially tragic situations need to be prevented, especially if young children are in the home. Likewise, any intruder needs to be thwarted from turning a gun against its owner. Said owner, however, also needs to have immediate access to any weapons kept for defense.

For handguns, I've always had a couple of pistol vaults, which I think are a great invention. A rapid-touch lock provides nearly instant access to those knowing the combination, but otherwise the unit is sturdy enough to take more than a few minutes with some heavy tools to get inside of.

I have been less certain how to deal with my home-defense shotgun. Currently it stands in a discreet back corner of the bedroom next to the best defensive position in the room, away from the door and behind the tall, heavy oak footboard of the bed. The 12-gage pump-action Remington 870 is kept in "cruiser ready" condition, with 6 rounds of buckshot in the extended mag tube, and hammer down on an empty chamber. There are no kids -- just me and the wife -- but anyone entering the room can access the gun. I therefore keep a heavy trigger lock installed at all times. Its key is on a large keyring alongside a revolver and Surefire flashlight, kept in a pistol vault at the same spot. In the event of an intrusion, the strategy is to access the revolver and Surefie first and, if the threat is not wholly immediate (i.e. coming through the door), unlock the shotgun and position defensively.

Anyway, that's the plan as-is. I'm open to any suggested improvements. How are others handling these matters?

[hazmat25]

squad ready leaning up in the closet with no lock and when i leave for work it goes in the gun safe.

[WS6]

At night it sleeps nearby, and during the day it returns to the gun-cave.

[KS Trekker]

Most criminals know to look behind doors, under beds, and in closets for shotguns and rifles. I read a post where the shotgun was hanging by the sling on a hook in the master bedroom. Then the owner hid the shotgun by putting a bathrobe on the hook. Seemed like a great way to hide a shotgun in plain sight. I was also thinking about hanging a shotgun above the closet door. Most criminals think 2-D and never look up.

[WS6]

Most criminals know to look behind doors, under beds, and in closets for shotguns and rifles. I read a post where the shotgun was hanging by the sling on a hook in the master bedroom. Then the owner hid the shotgun by putting a bathrobe on the hook. Seemed like a great way to hide a shotgun in plain sight. I was also thinking about hanging a shotgun above the closet door. Most criminals think 2-D and never look up.

This is why I carry $10K insurance on my appartment. It covers theft.

I have family that lived in south texas near mexico. EVERYTHING got stolen. My grandpa had a friend who was a gun collector and he would hide his stuff EVERYWHERE. He even hit his stash in the oven one time. They still found it. Moral of the story: Safe, insured, or taken with you.

[KS Trekker]

This is why I carry $10K insurance on my appartment. It covers theft.

I have family that lived in south texas near mexico. EVERYTHING got stolen. My grandpa had a friend who was a gun collector and he would hide his stuff EVERYWHERE. He even hit his stash in the oven one time. They still found it. Moral of the story: Safe, insured, or taken with you.

Very good point. But even if my insurance will cover the loss of a firearm, I don't want to come home to a face full of 00-buck when I catch a burglar in the act.

[WS6]

Very good point. But even if my insurance will cover the loss of a firearm, I don't want to come home to a face full of 00-buck when I catch a burglar in the act.

I fully agree with you, which is why I tend to leave the shotgun unloaded and the ammo VERY well hidden. I mean, there comes a point where you can only do so much, and as a college student, I cannot afford a safe worth a damn. Obviously my situation is financially limited and not optimal, but you really can only do so much.

I do know that I had to take a moment when figuring the M4S90 out when I first handled one. I am pretty gun-savvy and it took me a second to figure out how it was loaded. How to get the bolt foreward, etc. If someone is gun-savvy enoug to whip it into action upon first laying hands on it, then they probably brought their own anyways.

[MisterWilson]

+1 to insuring your guns. It makes for better coverage than a safe in my opinion. Take 30 minutes to sit with your agent and be sure that everything is covered to a degree that you're satisfied with. Also, even if you have a problem with them, the NRA offers a decent gun insurance with just membership, and they've literally been giving memberships away for free lately.

But to answer the original question, I have two large pegs nailed into studs above the entrance to the closet. I picked them up on clearance at a local gun store and they work beautifully. I figure that there's a 50/50 chance of someone finding it who doesn't belong, but beats leaving it in the corner or in the safe by a long shot.

[blackscot]

Thanks for the replies.

.....I read a post where the shotgun was hanging by the sling on a hook in the master bedroom. Then the owner hid the shotgun by putting a bathrobe on the hook. Seemed like a great way to hide a shotgun in plain sight.

Unless it makes clunking noises when the door is moved.

.....I was also thinking about hanging a shotgun above the closet door. Most criminals think 2-D and never look up.

......I have two large pegs nailed into studs above the entrance to the closet......

I've considered something like this too, but with my room's layout, it would force me to come out into the open and abandon my covered position behind the bed.

[rob_s]

My house was broken into. The only thing of value they took was the 870 that wasn't in the safe. Had I come home while they were in the act I would have potentially armed my killer. It was a rude awakening for me.

I will not leave unsecured guns outside the safe. When I am home, the boy is often home and he and his friends are a concern. When I am not home I run the risk of potentially arming my killer. No matter how sneaky you think you are with your hiding place, they have seen it before and they will (at best) take your shit.