How to keep handgun close by at night?

[RIF]

I took my son shooting almost every day and I kept him involved with the cleaning, take down, safety checks, etc. and he never developed the infatuation that some kids get for guns.  If he wants to go shooting then I take him shooting.  I was raised with the idea that guns were something taboo, and mom made dad keep all the guns hid.  I was not a bad kid, but I knew and had shot every one of dads guns when he was away, and one time I shot a hole in the livingroom floor.  I think he took me shooting two or three times as a kid.  My advice is keep guns safe, but do not treat them any different from any other tool that can potentially kill someone if used improperly. 

What you can do if you have a night stand is take the top drawer out and make a little platform out of masonite between it and the lower drawer.  Don't tell your child about this spot. 

[SHOOTALL]

they find things like that and don't say anything until the most enbarrasing time  .

[ironglow]

I took my son shooting almost every day and I kept him involved with the cleaning, take down, safety checks, etc. and he never developed the infatuation that some kids get for guns.  If he wants to go shooting then I take him shooting.  I was raised with the idea that guns were something taboo, and mom made dad keep all the guns hid.  I was not a bad kid, but I knew and had shot every one of dads guns when he was away, and one time I shot a hole in the livingroom floor.  I think he took me shooting two or three times as a kid.  My advice is keep guns safe, but do not treat them any different from any other tool that can potentially kill someone if used improperly. 

What you can do if you have a night stand is take the top drawer out and make a little platform out of masonite between it and the lower drawer.  Don't tell your child about this spot.

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  Right on RIF;
  Don't treat guns as if they are the plague,AIDS, rabies ..... but rather train a youngster with all saftry precautions..just as you would with a table saw, router or wood chipper.
   Table saws, routers and wood chippers don't kill people.  Unsafe use of, or intentional miosuse use of them hurts people... same goes for guns.

[Spirithawk]

I agree with Graybeard. Quickest way to get a kid to do something is to tell them not to but if you teach them right you'd be amazed how well it takes. My kids learned early the destructive force of a bullet. They knew perfectly well the deer I brought home were killed by bullets and once dead didn't come back to life. I took them out and let them watch me shoot. Showed then first hand what bullets could do. Taught them gun safety.  I took the curiosity facter away! Hide a gun and I garauntee kids will find it. Tell them not to touch without teaching them why and they will touch every time! My guns were always out, always loaded and I raised three kids who never touched without asking.

[Brett]

Gun proof the kid don't try to child proof the gun. If they are taught from day one about gun safety and allowed to satisfy their curiosity about them by handling an unloaded gun and being taught NEVER EVER touch it until it is handed to them then the child is gun proofed so no matter where they run into one they know what to do.

Great advise.  This is  the way I did it.

[Curtis]

Gun proof the kid don't try to child proof the gun. If they are taught from day one about gun safety and allowed to satisfy their curiosity about them by handling an unloaded gun and being taught NEVER EVER touch it until it is handed to them then the child is gun proofed so no matter where they run into one they know what to do.

Great advise.  This is  the way I did it.

The great thing about gunproofing the kid is that it is portable.  The training goes wherever they go and covers many circumstances.  Part of my kid's training was making them aware that being in proximity with someone handleing a firearm who lacks proper training can get you killed.  I was confident that they would not linger in an unsafe location.
 
Curtis
 
Curtis