• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

Firearms in the Home - MA storage laws

MaxReaver

MaxReaver

Joined
Jul 2, 2015
Messages
179
Likes
72
Feedback: 23 / 0 / 0
Having difficulty coming to a conclusion on this one...

We all know that MA firearms laws require firearms in your home to be locked up unless they are under your immediate control.

Some people like the idea of having a firearm somewhere unlocked but well hidden for quick access in case some loser decides to come busting in home invasion style. The whole point of the exercise is QUICK access - something not afforded by lock and key.

Is one of those handgun storage safes the best option? I have heard they are not a good choice as fine motor skills diminish under stressful situations making opening in a timely manner potentially challenging. I know that if you mess up entering the combo on some of them there is a few second delay before you can try again - precious seconds at that!

What say you?
 
Last edited:
Consider one that uses the 5 buttom Simplex lock - mechanical, reliable, no lockout period, and you can program it to open with as little as a single button press.
 
images

Ft. Knox Pistol Box
 
OP, don't be getting any ideas, either. One of these is also likely NOT MA legal:
http://www.safety-cover-store.com/proddetail.php?prod=STI6700

Chapter 140

"Section 131L. (a) It shall be unlawful to store or keep any firearm, rifle or shotgun including, but not limited to, large capacity weapons, or machine gun in any place unless such weapon is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such weapon inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. For purposes of this section, such weapon shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user."
 
I agree with the don't overthink it consensus.

When I lived in CT and was childless, I pretty much carried inside the home. The only time I wasn't carrying was when I was in bed or the bathroom. I had a hidden compartment in my built into my master bathroom vanity by the cabinetmaker when he built it. In the bedroom I put in a false air register next to my bed. Both contained a Glock and a flashlight.

That practice changed before I moved to MA. Once the kids reached a point where they could move under their own power, I got rid of them.

I could have simply stored them with an empty chamber with 100% safety, but my wife insisted.

The reality is that a well hidden gun is much much safer against theft than a gun stored in an unhidden mediocre quality gun safe.

Also remember that a thief has 3-10 minutes to find your hidden gun. A child has YEARS. So no hidden guns until all the children in the home are responsible enough. Of course that doesn't fly in MA, so that's a decision that any gun owning parent will have to make eventually.
 
Last edited:
Rob Boudrie said:
Consider one that uses the 5 buttom Simplex lock - mechanical, reliable, no lockout period, and you can program it to open with as little as a single button press.
Click to expand...

This.. and practice...

practice in the dark, practice with your non-dominant hand... till it becomes second nature.
 
Keep it on your hip and you always have it close by.
My carry gun is on me unless I am in the shower or in bed sleeping. In the shower it is on the vanity, sleeping 2 feet from my head. If I ever need it I don't want to struggle with a safe or a drawer. In a high pressure situation either can become a huge obsticle.
 
I raised my children with discipline. Much like my father who raised 7 children without so much as a gunlock in the house. We'd never dare let alone contemplate touching my father's collection. It wasn't till I moved out to the massastan I had to worry about storage.
 
If your children frequently run around your house with steak or butchers knives you suck as a parent and should lock up your guns.

If not, just teach your kids about guns EXACTLY like you did knives and carry on with life not terrified of every moment of your existence as a human being.

Seriously, guns are not different than teaching your kids about not drinking Draino, running with scissors or sticking their hands in a blender.
 
xtry51 said:
If your children frequently run around your house with steak or butchers knives you suck as a parent and should lock up your guns.

If not, just teach your kids about guns EXACTLY like you did knives and carry on with life not terrified of every moment of your existence as a human being.

Seriously, guns are not different than teaching your kids about not drinking Draino, running with scissors or sticking their hands in a blender.
Click to expand...

Yup, for many if us that don't have to comply with MA law (or other states with similar laws), it's just that simple.

I grew up in a gun shop, guns were all over the house. I was shooting long before 10. My 4 year old grand daughter? She shoots 22 LR, 222 Rem and 40 S&W. First 2 rifles, the third, handgun. Yeah, she needs a little help with the handgun, and the rifles are bagged, but she does it.

She's over frequently, no problems, we don't lock stuff up, she doesn't fool with it. There's no mystery to it, so why not.

But then, like others here, I live in a free state, we can do that. legally.
 
xtry51 said:
If your children frequently run around your house with steak or butchers knives you suck as a parent and should lock up your guns.

If not, just teach your kids about guns EXACTLY like you did knives and carry on with life not terrified of every moment of your existence as a human being.

Seriously, guns are not different than teaching your kids about not drinking Draino, running with scissors or sticking their hands in a blender.
Click to expand...

Do you have kids? Between the ages of roughly 2 and 4, kids are strong enough to pull the trigger but too young to understand respect , risk, awareness.

Now that my kids are 6 and 7, I do not worry one bit about them and firearms. They can go to the range and shoot with me whenever they want. There is no mystery, there is no allure.

We regularly drill on the Eddie the eagle rules when I intentionally leave a solid plastic dummy gun around the house. ( a/k/a "blue gun"). If they find it and immediately run to me and tell me about it, they get rewarded. Stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult.

Another thing is that while I don't worry about my kids, I do worry about other kids who regularly come into my house. Some days, spur of the moment we will have a half dozen little girls all over the house. I wouldn't have time to lock things up.

So all firearms are either in a safe or on my person.

Don

p.s. Provide them with ample opportunity to use them in a safe way, and the desire to sneak anything goes away.

Daughter



Wife

 
Last edited:
Got three. 8, 10 and 16. Started shooting at 2.

I wasn't saying don't be reasonable. Just merely pointing out that you shouldn't treat guns like some mystical voodoo, because doing so make kids want to touch them more, not less.

Not saying you do Don, was throwing it out there in general.
 

Similar threads

SD shooting in Chicopee, MA
Replies
1
Views
208
VTski4x4
VTski4x4
MA compliant uppers - in Mil or shipped to MA
2
Replies
30
Views
860
Lxpony
Lxpony
Interesting Article on the "Notching" of Firearms to Keep Track of "Kills"
Replies
8
Views
358
clampett
clampett
Turkey Hunting in MA
Replies
29
Views
567
HorizontalHunter
HorizontalHunter
Are lower 80% prohibited in MA...yet?
2
Replies
34
Views
1K
EJFudd
EJFudd
Back
Top Bottom