But I used to live places that had a lot of visitors, and I do have a first-hand experience with a loaded gun disaster, at least something that happened where I was living….in 1994, after Bomb broke up, I was in a short-lived band called “Drive-By Crucifixion.” My guitar player came by one day for practice, he went into our downstairs practice room to set up. I was upstairs.

A buddy of mine and his girlfriend were sleeping in the practice space, buddy kept a loaded Glock by the mattress (I knew he owned a gun, but did not know he had kept it loaded and that it was in my home). Kept mag full, chamber empty. Glocks do NOT have a safety.

My guitar player picked up said Glock, thought it was a toy gun. (I don’t know how anyone could pick up a solid piece of heavy precision machinery like a Glock and mistake it for a toy, but this might be part of the problem of people NOT being familiar with guns). Guitar player cocked it and pulled the trigger before gun’s owner noticed (he was groggy, just waking up.) Guitar player fired it into the wall. Bullet ricocheted off the cement went through gun owner’s girlfriend’s ass and came out her leg.

I called 911, cops and ambulance came. Took girl to hospital, she had surgery, had a long recovery, many months. Guitar player was detained nine hours and questioned, released. Cops kept the gun. (A very expensive gun, which I don’t believe was registered.) No charges were pressed.

Could have been much worse, if the idiot guitar player had pointed it AT someone.

Guitar player was a sensible guy in most other respects, even tempered, very intelligent, black belt in karate. But like many people who have never been around a gun, treated it like a toy, with disastrous results.

The power of a ricochet bullet (or stray bullet) is the reason that cops do not fire warning shots.

MWD

I keep mine loaded, but WITHOUT a round in the chamber. It’s easy enough to rack the slide if / when need be.

Some people make a rack over the door on which the shotgun rests. Say, for instance, in a bedroom or other place (authorized) visitors don’t go. Keeps it well out of the way, hidden from folks who aren’t in the room, and easy enough to reach up and grab. Not a good solution, obviously, for people too short to easily reach the top of a doorway.

I can see the point of having it loaded at night, and may do that, but what’s the point of unloading it during the day? Or do you mean unloading it when you leave the house?

For what it’s worth, I work at home, don’t leave the house much, and am usually awake all night and asleep from dawn until early afternoon. How (and why) would I adjust the schedule for this?

I just am thinking, if it’s loaded when it’s asleep, why unload it when I’m awake and home? I have no children> do have cats, but cats could not perform the four actions needed to fire it when loaded (holding down release, pulling back to cock at the same time, taking off the saftey and pulling the trigger). Also, I put the cats out of my room and shut the door when I sleep, as they jump on my face a lot and wake me up.

MWD

He was pretty insane but it would be a huge mistake to not acknowledge his efforts to ensure that I received proper gun safety training and a healthy respect for firearms.

In my home state I think they still have a big shoot-out twice yearly where participants can shoot everything up to a mounted .50 caliber at old cars. I’d like to go and just video all of it.

Before you go to sleep at night, load up. Trying to fumble around when you’re suddenly awakened and groggy is bad ju-ju. Unload in the morning, slip on your pants (two shells in the pocket) and start your day.

You may also know that they make shot loads for pistols. These function better in revolvers than semi-autos and give many of the advantages of the shotgun, albeit nowhere near the fight-stopping capability—though I can’t imagine anyone taking a .44 Special shot load to the face, groin, or anywhere else, who’d still be interested in, or willing to, fight.

The sound of a shell being racked into a pump shotgun is almost guaranteed to cause the listener to shit himself, especially if he thinks he may soon be looking down the business end of the thing.

Hope you never have to use your weapon, bro.

And cats have a tough side. They seem soft, but that’s because they’re little. If my cats were three times the size, they’d take off my toes when they play fight bite with me when I’m trying to sleep.

MWD