Quote from TechnoTherapist on 11/02/09 at 21:01:19:

 
S#*t Cy,  we are looking at moving to HV.  Let me know where you are so we keep well away from that neighborhood
 
Seperate issue, anyone got a good idea for storing a shotty close to hand but secure.  I have 3 young boys and although hooked under the bed would be a favorite place, it (under the bed) is also a 3 and 4 year olds favorite hiding place.

Quote from nbh40 on 11/03/09 at 07:35:34:

 
My aforementioned quick-access wall-safe, sold under the name Phoenix RifleLocker...
 

Click image to enlarge
 
Click image to enlarge

 
(Old pics, but you get the idea...)
 
It isn't cheap, but it's worth every penny IMHO.
 
On sale (just a little mark-down) right now here: http://www.gunlocker.com/SafeSite_content.html
 
 
If budget is an overriding issue, someone (Homak???) makes one very similar but only key-openened, no combo pad.  A key wouldn't be my first choice, but that one is a fraction of the cost of mine.
 
 

Quote from CJP32 on 11/03/09 at 09:35:15:

 
The battery on the RifleLocker is a large rechargeable, similar to the ones on my kids' ride-on toys.  I only have to charge it twice a year, and it starts beeping at me several days before it depletes -- in 6+ years, never an issue.
 
But, that said, I certainly understand that concern (and, admittedly, shared it until my experience with mine  ).
 
The one you posted looks like a good unit, too -- does it just mount onto the wall, or into the wall, secured sideways into the studs from within (like mine), if you know?
 
 

Quote from CJP32 on 11/03/09 at 12:39:07:

 
Punch in the code (which you choose/set) and turn the knob -- very quick entry.  (The pad even glows slightly at night, but after a few months with it you can access it eyes-closed.)
 
If the thing ever did die/malf, there is a barrel-keyed back-up (which I keep in one of the bigger safes, and another copy off-site just in case), but I've never needed it.
 
 

Quote from nbh40 on 11/03/09 at 07:35:34:

Neighborhood I'm in now is actually pretty decent, I've just grown used to carrying multiple knives over the years, then a flashlight was added (we're talking, pre-teen years), then later, adding the NAA mini, then a 9mm, keeping the .22mag as a BUG.  When I started carrying the 1911 in the winter, it just felt weird not having the 9mm and the .22mag in my front pockets, like I do all summer, so I just started keeping it there year around.  Just used to having them there, I guess.  If I carried the .45 year round, I probably wouldn't bother with the PF9 (the latest incarnation of a small 9mm that I carry).  Probably overkill, but my pockets just feel empty without them.
 
Quote from dwc1973 on 11/03/09 at 07:52:43:

 
This is exactly what I've done for the shotty's.  One over the closet door, on the inside of the closet, in each of the two bedrooms, the same in the entry coat closet, bathroom closet, laundry 'closet', and the pantry.  Any kids who come over who are old enough to drag up a chair and reach high enough to take them down, already know how to shoot them, load/unload them, and know that if they're touched, they have to be cleaned (best deterrent for my nephew, he wouldn't touch them because he hated to clean them).  This setup wasn't planned... just happened this way over the years.  Hopefully none of them will ever be needed, but... well... /shrug you never know.
 
Cy

Quote from rcmodel on 11/03/09 at 16:27:13:

 
Nah... more often than not, I work 12-16 hour days.  Come home and ditch the shoulder holster into the night stand, but don't empty my pockets of the other items as I'm showering and hitting the sack soon.  Shoulder holster is only on me if I'm actively leaving the house with a coat/jacket on.  I don't wear shorts, ever, so even on off days I'm knocking around the house in jeans and a button up or polo tucked in, so again, I don't bother emptying my pockets... and I actually carry 5 knives, lol... if you count the utili-key, gerber "clutch" mini multi tool, and gerber box cutter that I keep in my wallet. lol  Each knife has a purpose and a function, same holster holds the NAA mini and the flashlight... don't really carry everything for protection or self defense... just mostly... because it's all accumulated in my pockets over the years, on an as needed basis, and I feel naked without them.
 
It never fails, that every time I ditch the flashlight, some of the knives/multi tools/swisstech screwdrivers (also in my wallet), etc... sometime that day I WILL need them for something, and I have to go borrow something from someone else.  To me, it really just sounds like a lot more 'stuff' than it really is.
 
And yeah... during the day, I spend 9hrs in a cube farm, then 3-7hrs working my personal business repairing computers.  As I'm the cheapest game around on prices, more often than not, I find myself in the worse parts of town, sometimes well into 10-11pm.  I used to carry the firearms 'sparingly'... only when I KNEW I would be in the 'seedy' parts of town, but in July of '06 I was mugged and stabbed twice, by two 16yr olds, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, less than 50 feet from a major road, leaving an apartment in a 'nicer' complex and walking to my car.  I've carried daily since then.
 
Cy
 
P.S.
 
While I'm on the subject, I'm going to post a forum on my new company logo(s) for assistance on picking one.

 While running around today I stopped by a local gunshop and asked about this -
 
http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson/upload/images/firearms/108303_larg e.jpg
 
  $900.00 before tax. Not bad at all. Also asked about this -
 
http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson/upload/images/firearms/108293_larg e.jpg
 
   Not in stock and couldn't source at the time. That's what I'll be looking for in the near future. Sweet.