If you’ve seen that old Thomas Jane Punisher movie, you may remember the scene.
“Frank Castle” places hidden weapons all around his flophouse room, because he’s worried about the enemies he may face.
When a huge assassin shows up to take him out, they practically destroy the joint, but not before Frank goes to his various hidden weapons spots (like a gun in a spring-out drawer).
And that scene got me to thinking about some DUMB attitudes I’ve seen online over the years…
Dumb Reasons To “Stage” Your Guns (And One Better Way To Do It)
There’s a ton of great information on the Internet, but there’s also a ton of “fantasy preppers” and self-appointed “experts” on weapons.
And a few of them… well, their attitudes aren’t reality, but fantasy.
While the risk of a home invasion is real, these guys think they’re under imminent lethal threat every second of every minute.
So they approach their lives like they think they’re living in an action movie, right alongside The Punisher.
This causes them to do dumb things when it comes to “staging” guns for home and personal protection.
(Staging means setting up weapons around your home like Thomas Jane did in his flophouse.)
And the “top 3” I’ve seen are these:
1. Stuffed In The Couch Cushions
Obviously, staging guns or other weapons is not something you should be doing if you have small children at home.
But even if you don’t have kids in the house, just shoving guns in your couch or chair cushions is DUMB.
(Yet a surprising number of people do it!)
The gun tends to get shifted around when you sit on the furniture, and the more it does, the more “buried” it is.
You could dig around in there for a week and come up with handful of change, a Lego, and an old gum wrapper before you ever find your gun.
You wouldn’t want to try THAT in a home invasion.
2. Lying Around Everywhere (The “Bachelor Life”)
One of my employees had a friend who was a “confirmed bachelor.”
He said that not only did this guy decorate his living room like it was his garage, but he had guns literally lying around everywhere.
They were lying on the table, on the floor under old newspapers, and generally just scattered around the house.
This almost guarantees that when you really need a gun, you’re going to scramble to find it.
That’s not to mention that just leaving guns lying around everywhere is begging for an accident, even if you just trip over one.
3. Gimmicky Rigs That Won’t Work Under Stress
To avoid that “bachelor life” effect, some gun owners will rig up elaborate home-brew holsters, like bolting them under tables and attaching them to cupboards, that sort of thing.
Some of these work, especially if you test them.
But others will FAIL under the adrenal stress of a real home invasion.
If you’re struggling with a Nylon holster screwed to the underside of a coffee table while your hands won’t work because you’ve lost your fine motor control…
…I’m sorry, Amigo, but you’re just setting yourself up to fail.
But there is a better way to stage guns if you can do it safely.
That’s a dedicated gun magnet:
To stage your gun for a home invasion, your best bet is to pick the hiding spot FIRST, then install the magnet to hold the weapon.
Not only are gun magnets very affordable, but under stress, they’re VERY easy to use (and they’re available from lots of online sellers).
The gun is safely hidden, securely attached to the magnet, but if you can touch it, you can access it easily.
These magnets even work for knives (here’s one that one of my employees keeps under his kitchen table):
Just think through your hiding spot, and how access to it, before you get started.
If you ever do need it in a home invasion, you’ll be glad you did.
But please, don’t just go shoving your gun in the couch or leave it lying around the place.
Most of us aren’t The Punisher… and where protecting our families is concerned, we need to make careful, realistic choices to keep them safe.
