[RIGHT IN SEATTLE]

[Brad’s Gramma]

History of Free Republic

[Armedanddangerous]

Get a handgun with a magazine safety if you have kids in the house and no safe of any sort.

These include the Smith and Wesson autos, like the 4506 in 45 caliber, or the 6906 in 9MM or their variants.

You can also opt for a Browning High Power or one of the clone variants in 9mm or 40 caliber. It has a mag safety also.

This means you can take the magazine out of the gun, even if it has a round in the chamber, and it won't fire.

If you go for a shotgun, get the 870, it's the best of the bunch, and easy to learn the manual of arms for it.

[dasher]

Hi Jim,

First off you said you had kids, to me this rules out a shotgun unless you have some way of securing it that you can get access to in less than 10 seconds. I'm yet to see a device like this on the market. Quick access to an already loaded firearm is a must for security purposes.

My suggestion is a .357 revolver with a 3" to 4" barrel tucked into a quick access push button safe along with a good bright flashlight. Now you have a secure gun that's ready to go when you need it. You can use a variety of .357 and .38 special loads in it for practice or defense. If you feel you must go with an automatic pistol, stick with a mid to full sized gun in 9mm, .40, 357 Sig or .45 ACP from a company like Sig, Glock, HK, Beretta or CZ. If you can find a gun store that has a range and rents guns, try before you buy.

No matter what you end up with, get training, learn the laws in your state and visit the range at least once a month to keep your shooting skills from heading south.