[Terrey Thompson]

I just picked up a Sig Sauer M400 and my wife is freaking out about it. She wants us to have a safe place to store it, but we both kinda want it at arms length in case there's a break in or something. My buddy said to look into large gun safes, but im kinda new to this. I did a little poking around online and found this: https://gunnewsdaily.com/reviews/best-gun-safes/

What do you guys think? Do you have any experience with one of these? I'm thinking of going the digital route with one of those fingerprint reading ones, but I'm curious if people have trouble gaining access to them if it goes haywire or something. I know for sure I don't want the old fashioned kind cuz I've had trouble with those before when it came to a small handgun safe. Any info would be mucho appreciated. Thanks.

 

[BlueDragonLair]

Sorry, I'm sure more knowldgeable folks will be anwsering your question.

But, I'm a chair user and even before that I ain't never dressed til I have a weapon on me or now at the very least, under my chair cushion.
Long gun is great but having go unlock a safe or even go to another room? IMHO: And no disrespect meant to anyone but that's time wasted and you could lose sight of problem!
Agin, no disrespect meant but, if you don't carry I suggest getting whatever is needed for your area and get trained for handgun as well as any other adult in your home.

 

[howlnmad]

Why is your wife freaked out, are there young children in the house?
I prefer the corner of the room.

 

[crystalphoto]

Terrey, BDL is right, if someone has broken into your home, you will not have time to go unlock the safe and get, check and load the weapon. The safe is good to use for guns not in service. Many on site own AR's, and many of us own more than one, some several.
Some things to consider: State regulations on gun storage, whether or not children are in the house, training of you and family, believe it or not, another thing is soundness of sleep... If you leave a locked and loaded AR leaning against the wall by the bed, and are a sound sleeper, that could be disastrous should a robber enter your bedroom.
There are several ways to hide a long gun, hidden panels, false doors, etc. A handgun is a whole lot easier to conceal.
Another thing to consider: An AR round, be it 5.56, 223, 300 BO, what ever, will penetrate SEVERAL walls of drywall. Where is the wife hiding, and how far to the neighbors, and are you shooting in that direction.

Lordy this is getting winded... In short, an AR would not be my first choice in home defense, but every shooter should own at least one. Look into a handgun or shotgun. (These also penetrate lots of sheetrock, though not as much as an AR typically would.)

 

[nmckenzie]

Hi Terrey, welcome from Sitka, Alaska. An AR's standing in the rifle rack in our bedroom, though without a loaded magazine inserted it's about as dangerous as a dust mop. There is of course a loaded magazine inconspicuously tucked away within arm's reach should the need arise.

 

[gdmoody]

Do they make a long gun safe with the fingerprint thingie on it, I thought that was only used on very small handgun safes. As I sit her and look around the den, the only gun I can actually see is a .410 shotgun leaning against the molding around the back porch door. I have two AR's in my bedroom closet, two in the hall closet, and the other seven in the safe. The safe has one of the push button electronic locking device.

As already said, a gun in a safe is worthless. Right now if someone busted into my house, I would probably not even have time to grab that old shotgun leaning over there, much less open my safe to grab and load something - but the pistol on my side could very quickly be brought into action.

 

[jwdurf]

Welcome to TFF.

A safe keeps your guns safe, not you. Some of the smaller digital ones say they are designed for quick access to handguns, but IMO they are really designed to comply with laws that require you to lock up your firearms. Personally I don't trust batteries and keypads and scanners enough to trust my life to them.

Everything in life is a compromise. Are you more concerned about easy access if you need the gun, or keeping kids or others from getting at it the rest of the time? My step kids are teenagers and they are gun safe and know better, so I have no problem having a gun next to the bed. But it isn't strictly legal here in the land of the bleeding heart. I have a strict routine, when I get ready for bed I open the safe and get my Mossberg out. It spends the night leaning near my side of the bed. My EDC is on the nightstand. When I get up, the Mossberg goes back in the safe, the EDC stays with me.

You should use the weapon you want for self defense, but I'll echo the comments about over-penetration with any of the AR cartridges. Other than your stone fireplace there isn't anything in your house that those rounds won't go through and still have lethal velocity on the other side. They were designed to do just that.

 

[nmckenzie]

I'll echo the comments about over-penetration with any of the AR cartridges. Other than your stone fireplace there isn't anything in your house that those rounds won't go through and still have lethal velocity on the other side.

Agree regarding the cartridge. Our go-to guns are shotguns - her Model 500 and my 870.

 

[hunter29180]

you ask.. "What's the ideal place to hide my Ar-15 in the case of a home defense situation?"
Answer.. in your hands.. otherwise its as useful as the phone, used to call the police to protect you!

the only time it should be locked in a safe is when you are leaving the house.. even to mow the yard. other wise it should be within easy rich of either you or her.. at least till you buy and get proficient with a hand gun.. then it would be on or near you or her.

side note.. they make coffee tables that will store rifles ect..

 

[dbcooper]

look up Tactical Walls gun storage

 

[Skipper]

Hornady Wall Lock?

 

[One Shot]

Not sure if your AR would fit but I like the idea.

 

[Firpo]

You've already been given all the sound advice you need so I'll just let you know what I do. My girls were raised to respect and enjoy guns. Now in their 20's they both still call me to go to the range which I thoroughly enjoy. Must have done something right. When my second wife's daughter along with her kids moved in the guns got locked up except at night when my Ruger 9mm was placed on my night stand (they have now moved out). Today when I'm home that same pistol comes out and rests atop my Browning 40 gun safe and follows me to the bedroom when is time to turn in. At that point I take out my wife's Rock Island M206 38 Special which rests on her night stand. When we leave for work the guns go back in the safe. I also have a Winchester 1897 12 gauge Riot Gun loaded and hung just inside the top of the wall in a two door closet where no one can see it. The 9mm is there to buy me time to get the shotgun. When the grand babies come over everything gets put in the safe.

 

[gvw3]

Terrey, BDL is right, if someone has broken into your home, you will not have time to go unlock the safe and get, check and load the weapon. The safe is good to use for guns not in service. Many on site own AR's, and many of us own more than one, some several.
Some things to consider: State regulations on gun storage, whether or not children are in the house, training of you and family, believe it or not, another thing is soundness of sleep... If you leave a locked and loaded AR leaning against the wall by the bed, and are a sound sleeper, that could be disastrous should a robber enter your bedroom.
There are several ways to hide a long gun, hidden panels, false doors, etc. A handgun is a whole lot easier to conceal.
Another thing to consider: An AR round, be it 5.56, 223, 300 BO, what ever, will penetrate SEVERAL walls of drywall. Where is the wife hiding, and how far to the neighbors, and are you shooting in that direction.

Lordy this is getting winded... In short, an AR would not be my first choice in home defense, but every shooter should own at least one. Look into a handgun or shotgun. (These also penetrate lots of sheetrock, though not as much as an AR typically would.)

Very well said.

 

[zkovach]

Hornady Wall Lock?

Just watched the video on this and man is that slick!!

 

[rglbegl]

Hornady Wall Lock?

I came in here to mention this.
There are a few different ones around. I prefer the mechanical 4 button system.

I have kids in the house, so if it is not locked up it is on my hip. This is the fastest lock system I have found.

 

[76Highboy]

How we manage our firearms is at night the tactical 12 gauge is about two feet from me. Leaning in the corner and easy reach. Semi-auto pistol set next to that. Extra mag... I am fully loaded. In the morning when I get dressed the semi-auto goes on me and the 12 gauge gets locked in the safe. Once home from work the 12 gauge comes back out and stays in the corner as long as my wife and I are at home. My pistol stays on me.

For me personally, the question is not necessarily where should you keep it. Instead the question might be, how can you regulate the control of the AR-15 so your wife and you have the control and so it is in the ready. We just had a home where the front door was kicked in and it turned out to be pretty brutal for the homeowner. Turns out their guns were in the safe. This is the same story for all the home invasions in the past 10 years in our area and so far it seems all the guns were locked up. The only guns that weren't locked up were the ones in the hands of the intruders.

Good luck!!!

Highboy

 

[carver]

I just picked up a Sig Sauer M400 and my wife is freaking out about it. She wants us to have a safe place to store it, but we both kinda want it at arms length in case there's a break in or something. My buddy said to look into large gun safes, but im kinda new to this. I did a little poking around online and found this: https://gunnewsdaily.com/reviews/best-gun-safes/

What do you guys think? Do you have any experience with one of these? I'm thinking of going the digital route with one of those fingerprint reading ones, but I'm curious if people have trouble gaining access to them if it goes haywire or something. I know for sure I don't want the old fashioned kind cuz I've had trouble with those before when it came to a small handgun safe. Any info would be mucho appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome to the Forum! You have received some good information so far, so I won't bother you with more of the same. You didn't tell us if there were children in your home, or not. And that does make a difference. I have no children in my home, unless the grand kids come to visit. There is a gun in every room of my house, and when the grand kids come over I don't gather them up, and lock them up. I just tell the kids that if I catch them putting a hand on one of my guns, without my permission, I'll break their arm! As I sit here this morning it's just me, and the dog. Right next to me is a pistol, and spare ammo. A gun in the home is worthless, and reckless, with out the proper training, and availability. I hope you get it all sorted out. I would suggest that you take some home defense courses. You will get hands on experience, and training, as well as a feel for what you need in your home.

 

[zant]

Children or not???If no children,what's the problem?My Sig556 is right beside bed-no children-nearest neighbor is 1 m away.Overpenetrate-yes if you have FMJ-no if you have a good soft/polymer tip load.Do you have a high performance flashlight??Just as important as a reliable weapon.

 

[Homer Carter]

I just picked up a Sig Sauer M400 and my wife is freaking out about it. She wants us to have a safe place to store it, but we both kinda want it at arms length in case there's a break in or something. My buddy said to look into large gun safes, but im kinda new to this. I did a little poking around online and found this: https://gunnewsdaily.com/reviews/best-gun-safes/

What do you guys think? Do you have any experience with one of these? I'm thinking of going the digital route with one of those fingerprint reading ones, but I'm curious if people have trouble gaining access to them if it goes haywire or something. I know for sure I don't want the old fashioned kind cuz I've had trouble with those before when it came to a small handgun safe. Any info would be mucho appreciated. Thanks.

This is a good question that I've been grappling with regarding my home defense location. I too have a AR-15, Tatical Shotgun which I am having a difficult time trying to find the right place in our home to properly stage them. I keep my primary handgun in my gun safe stage in our master bedroom, so the question remains, where to stage the two long guns besides in a floor safe?