Summertime Safety

Summertime; Kids are Out of School and Families are On the Go!

We are smack dab in the middle of the summer.  It’s time for vacations, kids are home from school, backyard parties and visiting family and friends.  Have you made the necessary arrangements for the safe storage of your firearms with the kids around or when you’re traveling?  Having a firearm for personal protection means a balance between secure storage options that still leave the firearm accessible to you if needed.

In Your Home

Summertime usually means more activity in the home.  Whether its kids home all day while you’re away at work or having family and friends over for pool parties and other summer activities, you’ll need a way to make sure that all unauthorized persons do not have access to your firearms.  If you normally stage your firearms in different places around your home, look at the small safes available.  There are safes designed to be placed temporarily or even mounted as a more permanent solution.  Some are small enough to fit in drawers.  Safes such as the MicroVault Safe may be a solution that works in your home.   If you’re concerned about having to remember a combination, they are available in both digital and biometric.  With the biometric version, you can program multiple fingerprints so that any authorized adult can open the safe, while keeping your firearm secured from children. 

Burglaries tend to be on the rise during the summer months as well.  So considering safe storage solutions as part of your mindset and emergency plan is smart in order to keep your firearms out of the hands of thieves, not just the kids.   While no storage solution can guarantee your firearm won’t be stolen, the use of a small safe can make them more difficult to steal.

On The Go

Vacations, beach trips and trips to the pool are all part of the summer plan.  But what do you do with your firearm if you can’t carry it with you in some of these places?  You’ll still want to have it close by but again, secured.  The NanoVault is an option for safe storage of your firearm inside a vehicle.  I have been using this “car safe” for almost ten years.  The vault slides under your front seat and is secured to your vehicle with a cable lock that secures around the seat frame.  The cable is long enough to be able to put the safe in your lap while you discreetly transfer the handgun, lock the safe and slide it under your seat. 

Another option for “on the go” firearm security is the SafeGo.  This little beauty can hold either your firearm OR your wallet, cell phone and jewelry.  You don’t want to dump your firearm into it along with everything else because stuff has a way of getting caught up in the trigger guard with potentially disastrous results.  Made from an impact resistant plastic, you can secure the SafeGo to most anything to keep your firearm and other valuables safe on the go.  Check it out even if you don’t intend to use it for your handgun.  Bonus – it comes in multiple colors. 

Food for Thought

As firearms owners and concealed handgun carriers, we are aware that we are responsible for those handguns.  Every action we take with them whether actually using them in self-defense or having them at the ready is on us.  Taking precautions to keep your handgun secured and safe on the go are a must.  This not only keeps them safe from children, family or friends, but also out of the hands of criminals. 

In addition to securing firearms to keep them from children, teach your children what to do if they should happen to find a handgun.  You may keep your firearms safe and secure from your kids, but what happens if they’re at a friend’s house and finds one.  Children need to know the steps to take in the situation.  Many local ranges have summer youth camps coming up that talks about this subject.  Also, the National Rifle Association has a program called Eddie Eagle which focuses on firearm safety for children.

Make sure your summer plans are fun and SAFE!  Secure that firearm on the go!

Tracy Hughes is a firearms instructor, competitive shooter, facilitator for A Girl and A Gun Women’s Shooting League and the owner of Brilliant Backstraps.