The Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show, and storing firearms safely

The Mat-Su Outdoorsmen’s Show begins on Friday, March 24th and runs through Sunday, March 26th with times from 10 AM to 5 PM daily. I’m looking forward to attending this year’s show since I’ve missed it the last couple of years because of my inability to walk very far.

I haven’t seen a list of seminars being offered yet, but I’ve heard about a couple of possibilities and I’m hoping to attend them if they occur. I’m also looking forward to just browsing the aisles looking at new outdoor gadgets and talking with old friends. It’s also a good time to pick up the new fishing regulations for this coming season at the Fish and Game booth.

There will be firearms for sale, and with the recent Biden administration’s gun control executive order announcements, I expect sales could be above normal. Some of those folks might be first time and/or inexperienced gun owners. Many have no clear idea about how to safely store their firearms.

Let me suggest some ways you can store your firearms and ammunition safely.

At various times over the years, I have kept my guns in a closet corner, displayed on gun racks on the wall and in an open and unlocked cabinet. During most of that time, I was single with no one else in the home. After I got married, my wife was already well versed in safe gun handling from her father – I saw no need to change my gun storage habits. We were living in remote locations, so a burglary or theft was virtually nonexistent. I kept my ammunition neatly organized but near the guns and it wasn’t locked up either.

I did keep a couple of the guns loaded and placed where I could quickly and easily retrieve them if the need arose. Where I was living at the time, the need for a firearm was to chase off a bear, protect the hatchery fish from a predator or for protecting myself or my wife in the very unlikely event a “visitor” to our remote location decided he didn’t like Fish and Game while drinking aboard his boat. That last situation never arose but the first two “excuses” happened more than once.

After we moved back onto the road system, I became more conscious of two things which could rob me of my firearms – burglary and fire. With those thoughts in mind, I purchased a safe specifically designed for storing firearms.

There are several types of safes on the market, ranging from a lockable metal cabinet to a thousand-pound, steel-walled miniature bank vault. I bought a safe similar to the latter.

The price was a little staggering until I realized that trying to replace just two of my rifles with scopes, scope mounts and accessories would cost more than the safe did. I further realized that in dealing with my concerns about the security of my guns, I had also dealt with half of the safety concerns about having firearms stored in the house.

The other half of those safety concerns was the ammo storage situation. For that, I purchased one of the locking metal cabinets with interior shelving. Now I can keep my ammunition organized and securely locked up.

Okay, what about the need to keep a loaded firearm for personal protection in your home? How can you keep a gun unloaded and locked in a safe, the ammo locked up someplace else in the house and still have rapid access to a firearm for protection? You can’t!

However, you can buy a small, lockable metal handgun “safe.” You can mount this metal “box” on the nightstand next to your bed, for instance, and have quick access to a loaded handgun. Several of these safes operate electronically and can be programmed to open when a combination code is entered on a touchpad designed to work by feel, even in the dark. This approach provides quick access while maintaining secure storage.

In this litigious society, in order to protect yourself from others, you must be responsible in storing your personal firearms. If someone is hurt or killed with a firearm in your home, even if they were present without your consent, they or their family will find a lawyer and file a suit against you. This legal problem would occur in addition to your struggles with the emotions of the tragedy.

Be safe and smart. Look into buying a gun safe for your home. You’ll be happier in the long run!