What is the best method?

I assume many will say, "don't keep them at home."

If so, this thread may not be for you.

For those that do store weapons of self defense, what is your best practice?

Safe? Dead-Bolt in chamber? Trigger lock?

Not worried about my children at home. I worry about my children at another home. 

If you are afraid of guns at other houses, your children need to be taught and understand that guns are not toys. As for my house, I have a large safe that holds the guns and other important documents. I have a solid core bedroom door that is reinforced making it nearly kick proof. It gives me time to get to the same level reinforced closet which hides my shotgun. 

I have a bedside safe that is screwed into my nightstand drawer. 

which hides my shotgun.

I a far away land, a long time ago, I was always jealous of the guy that got the Ithaca.

Thanks sleight - for those so inclined they should follow your professional lead. Have a safe room, with a phone, and if you want a gun, a shot gun. Have only one entrance, hopefully narrow, and have the bad guys have to go through a few rooms to get there. Train all in the house on what to do, and drill it once in a while. 

Luckily the builder of my house allowed for some structural modification to the door frames and they didn't charge me any extra since I provided the material. All of the bedroom doors are reinforced. 

We do not have small children in the home, our youngest granddaughters live out of town so we know when they will be here. That being said, since we moved into our new home (we left the gun safe with the old house we just sold) they are scattered about the house....shotgun in the master bedroom, handguns in various places throughout.

We will be purchasing a new safe, just haven't gotten around to it yet. 

Yeah, I would probably leave mine if we moved. It weighs a little over 2,000 lbs. 

Ditto Slight...it wasn't worth the hassle, ours was bolted to the floor and it was better just leaving it. The new owner is thrilled! 

We have a large safe that uses a pass code and fingerprint. I also have a smaller safe for emergencies that just uses a fingerprint to open, so in case you are in a panic, you don't have to remember a pass code. Then I also have a smaller gun safe bolted in my car for when I carry in the car with my child. My kid is young so if we ever have a gun out it's up on top of something they can't reach. When my child gets old enough I'm putting her in the kids classes from the NRA. They are wonderful classes that teach gun safety!! 

Small gun safe with key lock and finger print access and set high on the closet shelf, since the grand kids are in and out. 

I just keep mine into the credenza...


 

Individual lock for each gun and then in a gun safe that is locked.