Gun owners - would anyone be able to give me the pros and cons of a gun cabinet vs a gun lock? I'm trying to get a feel for what is more safe/reliable.
Obviously, there are pros and cons for both, so I just wanted to see who uses what and if using a cabinet or lock works for you and why. Thanks all.
Neither. I would get a gun safe. That's what we have for all our weapons (shotguns and rifles). A lot of gun cabinets are "pretty" w/ glass fronts and flimsy locks and not safe. Our gun safe (which we attached to our closet wall) weighs about 150 lbs and is made of steel with large deadbolts (top and bottom) that slide into place inside the safe w/ a special key. It's also fire proof so we keep our papers in there that aren't in a safe at the bank (kids birth cert., car titles, extra checkbooks, etc.) and ammo.
we are gun owners. i grew up in a house with guns. my parents did not have there guns locked. ours are in a gun cabinet not locked but my husband also has a gun safe. all guns and amo should be stored seperatly. we were taught gun safety. we were never allowed to point a gun at anyone EVER toy gun or our fingers maked to a gun. it ment big trouble if we ever did. if your kids are old enough i would teach them what to do when they come across a gun. if yours are safely keept or even if you get rid of them all...chances are kids will find them at a friends house. i would take the same approach as drugs that i would guns. teach them what to do. keep them safe and out of reach (perscriptions). not teaching them is the worst. you could ask friends if they have a gun...who knows when there parents would buy a gun and i bet they wouldnt think to call you up with the news. SAFETY is the key here. good luck. btw my brother bought a large gunsafe from academy and had to move a few times...that wasnt fun to move..fyi.
I don't know much about this subject, but safes are safe - if it stays closed and locked!
HOWEVER.... they are like a refrigerator. AIR-TIGHT. And some are large. Large enough for a child to play in if accidentally left open. If they shut themselves in it, they could suffocate.
That scares me more than the guns!!
We store our guns unloaded in a locked cabinet. Not a gun cabinet though. We have a pad lock on it, and it is covered with boxes.
I know nothing of gun locks, sorry!
We use a locked gun cabinet inside a locked closet. They only come out during hunting season. I'm concerned about a relative who is now expecting their first baby and have a very nice looking gun cabinet which he had made. I will have to suggest a lock on the cabinet.
These are really great replies, and as you can see, everyone advocates gun safety. THE source for gun safety is the NRA. www.nra.org
My husband has always just used a gun cabinet (it can be locked). He taught our children the correct use of firearms, they could handle them only with him, which took the allure of a forbidden object away. We have taught them that it is people who kill, not guns, and that they are responsible for their actions, whether it be with a firearm, a car, a motorcycle, whatever... Guns should be treated as dangerous objects when held in the hands of the uneducated so education is the first step - you can start as young as 5 years old.
We haven't purchased a handgun yet, but we know when we do we will also be buying a fingerprint safe. I don't know what type of firearm you have...I don't know if they make the fingerprint safe big enough for say a rifle...and then it would be big bucks. The one for a handgun and misc items runs around 3 to 4 hundred but well worth it to me. You don't have to fumble with a key in an emergency and it hold several sets of prints...