In the film Couples Retreat, there’s a scene where Vince Vaughn gets out of bed to check about a prowler. His gun is locked up next to his bed, yet he gets it into his hand in a few seconds. He’s using a pistol safe similar to this one:

GunVault pistol safe

Several companies make these; some read your fingerprint, others let you type a combination of keys. But what they have in common is that they do two things:

• They keep your weapon away from children, guests, and casual burglars
• The let you access your weapon quickly

If you keep a weapon for home defense, then these are critical requirements. You can get similar protection for long guns too; here’s a nifty homebrew solution for a pump shotgun:

RFID shotgun lock

See the YouTube video for that one to learn more about it. And you don’t have to homebrew one; products like the ShotLock or Mossberg Loc-Box work too. (Though I don’t like the ones that use a key.)

But please, don’t leave your guns free for kids, guests, or burglars to just pick up. And if anyone in your home is depressed or disturbed, take extra precautions.