Firearm Storage Recomendations

[prepper7]

I received some of these Omega internal chamber locks for Christmas and they are quite nice. Though they won't prevent some lowlife from stealing one's gun, the thief (or one's five year old daughter) will be prevented from using it.

If one can still find them, the Gunbar / Guncable locks designed to be secured to surfaces might be a good choice if a safe isn't a possibility.

[FreuderLocks]

My metal gun cabinet is bolted to the floor and wall next to my bed. No im not single, yes my girlfriend rocks harder than diamonds. Because it is just a metal cabinet I tend to keep the house locked up fairly tightly. Generally speaking though, a lock with a key is a bad idea just because of the problem of keeping track of the keys (I wear mine around my neck at all times unless its in the lock itself at which point im standing right there.) Because of the fact that a lock works both ways IE you can lock both intruders and yourself our of your safe, I keep my PDW (personal defense weapon, a 9mm loaded with 3 frangibles and the rest HP NATO rounds) near me at all times as I dont have a concealed carry permit).

That being said, I would really like a safe with a digital lock or double mechanical combo lock. A safe is the best way to go but the best thing you can do for yourself is buy safety equipment that goes up to the limit of your budget, whats an $800 safe versus 12 $1,000 guns?
-FreuderLocks

[NVNATIVE]

I keep mine locked in my safe anchored to the wall and floor. Its also hidden inside a walk in closet that has a locked door on it. I plan on buying another one soon because Ive gone far beyond the means of what this one can hold. Don't make the mistake I did and buy one to small because guns multiply very quickly.

[rich1228]

I have more than 30 guns, rifles, shotguns etc that I keep locked in a safe I bought at Academy. Total cost less than $1000 dollard delivered. It holds all my guns and most of my ammo. I keep a Sig 220 loaded by my bed, with a Surefire night light. I believe that is enough.

[Abacus]

Hidden closet in the house behind a fake wall. The rifles are all standing on a .50cal box of ammo for each weapon.

Unfortunately my new Remington 700SPS just filled the last spot in the rack. So now it's time to get creative.

[SMoAF]

I don't have the room or the money for a giant gun vault, though I would like one and see the pros of having one. If I had my own vault and a robber decided he wanted what's in it I am sure they would just come back better prepared and crack it or burn it or just take it out. Remember if you can get it in then they can get it out.

I must disagree. I know a little bit about powertools, and a LOT about what is stored where in my safes. I'm not even remotely sure that, armed with that knowledge, I could safely gain access to the contents of my safes (without the combination of course) using any combination of powertools and creating as much noise/light/heat as I wanted. I know what a complete and utter bitch they were to get into the house when they were empty, and they weigh a hell of a lot more now. It took 3 big guys and specialized hydraulic safe-moving stuff to get them in as-is, along with a structural analysis to make sure they wouldn't break through the flooring when they were in place. Honestly, if we ever sell the place, we're leaving the safes where they are, and are just buying new.

The point of this is that your average robber, movies aside, aren't going to be able to "crack" a decent safe. Again, it's not the movies. They're most likely crackheads, not the people from "Mission: Impossible".

[mk_ultra]

Hidden closet in the house behind a fake wall. The rifles are all standing on a .50cal box of ammo for each weapon.

Unfortunately my new Remington 700SPS just filled the last spot in the rack. So now it's time to get creative.

I really dig this picture .

You have a very nice set up going there , I am a bit jealous .

[BunkerBuster]

"THE LAW"

Well folks, it is NOT that simple for politicians to tell us how to store our firearms anymore. A recent NY (Long Island) decision put a pistol permit back in the hands of a man who did not secure his pistol and his wife killed herself. The court, citing Heller stated that firearms laws may not restrict access of the owner to the firearm for defensive use.

Keep in mind this is a NEW YORK court deciding in favor of a gun owner. I just thought I'd give you this bit of info. The bottom line is that you may be prosecuted under your state law, but it's more likely that you will prevail if you challenge it.

Oh yeah, my firearms that I want to be handy are handy. The ones I want locked away would need a safe cracker to get inside to get em. More safety is better IMO, so long as you can challenge a threat in your home quick enough.

[Hoot Harrington]

I dont know about those fire safes that is listed as option 2, I remember breaking into at 10 years old. Also they say specifically do not store weapons in them. Over all I liked this post though.

[NRAJOE]

I have all my firearms locked in my walkin closet in my den.

All of them stored in "Silcone Sackups"...in humid Ohio in the summer never any rust problems.

[AmirMortal]

I just got a Stack On steel gun cabinet, and although it's basically a sturdy locker, I have to say that I am relieved to not be just propping long guns in the closets, and handguns in a drawer anymore. Peace of mind for $80, I feel much better. One day I'll be able to afford the "real" safes, but this'll do for now. Going to lag it into the studs.

FAKE EDIT: The only down side is that it's already almost full...

[FordGuy2001]

I just got a Stack On steel gun cabinet, and although it's basically a sturdy locker, I have to say that I am relieved to not be just propping long guns in the closets, and handguns in a drawer anymore. Peace of mind for $80, I feel much better. One day I'll be able to afford the "real" safes, but this'll do for now. Going to lag it into the studs.

FAKE EDIT: The only down side is that it's already almost full...

Thats the system I have and it works pretty well for what it is. I replaced the plastic shelf with a wooden one cause all my mags made it sag down a bit. I finally got the upper half after about a year. 8 long guns below and pistols and mags in the upper part.

[k2enemy84]

One thing that needs top be recognized with large safes is besides the high cost, They're typically VERY expensive to have installed. I bought a $1k 48 cab and the people around here wanted $560 to install it....umm..no

Also, a great way to store ammo is to put it in a non-working refrigerator. This is especially imporant for accuracy shooters who need thier ammo stored for consistency. Also, it'd be easy run a chain around it.

[EricinVirginia]

Hidden closet in the house behind a fake wall. The rifles are all standing on a .50cal box of ammo for each weapon.

Unfortunately my new Remington 700SPS just filled the last spot in the rack. So now it's time to get creative.

You've got all that ceiling space... nice setup. On another thread, someone posted about having a gun safe with a stripped gun in it and then hiding the actual guns. I like that idea.

We have 2 kids and they've become familiar with the guns as we go to/from the range, with cleaning, and as we do it we talk with them about it. All of our guns are out of the children's way, but as they get older, we've thought about it and at some point soon, we just need to bite the bullet and buy a safe. We won't be in Maryland forever, but being Maryland right now, we're more of a mind to note defenses and have non-gun weapons for HD in addition to the firearms. The firearms really are a mix of hobby and SHTF prep.

Both kids are fascinated by the guns and know where they are. Both kids know that if they ever even try to get the guns they're in big trouble. I've talked to the 7 and 4 year old and have tested both with an AK that I removed the internals from. Both did very well. Same with our handgun. It's still a bit vague for the 4 year old, but even with massive temptation, they did not touch either of the guns and called for me. I was proud of them. It's probably time to increase the temptation and test them again. The tempation in this case is our dog's love of laser dots and we have Crimson Trace grips on the pistol.
- Explain and diffuse the mystery.
- Tempt and test.
- Reward or punish.

[Asolfr]

If you have a fence get some "Beware of Dog" signs and hang them up. Get a dog. I prefer the big black kind. -FB

Whatever you do , NO "beware of dog" signs, "no trespassing" is best

there was a situation a few years back where a intruder was attacked by the family dog - in their house, after he broke the sliding door. the judge ruled the family responsable for his injuries because they "knew they had a dangerous dog" and had pre-meditated the attack because they had put "beware of dog" signs up- hence knowing she was a danger.

they were liable for damages/dr bills, and the daog was put to sleep.

just because of the wording on the sign.

so remember "no traspassing" - you dont want to warn them your dog will tear their arm off

[ZeroAlphaActual]

Years ago I worked at a start-up gun store. The owner didn't have enough money for a safe, and the local crackheads would attempt to break in about every month... they would succeed about once every three months. The best tool we had for safeguarding our inventory was an old coke machine in the corner. Everybody thougt it was broken, but it was our gun safe. A coke machine is a b!t@h to break into; nobody suspected that it held valuables. We normally set out some cheap or broken long guns out as the sacrificial lambs...we cabled them together to make the bad guys waste time and feel a sense of urgency to take them and get out of the store. If we had more long weapons than we could fit into the coke machine, we stuffed them under the couch cushions and would stack junk on top of the couch. I also broke weapons down into components and boxed them... criminals were never interested in cardboard boxes full of gun stocks or barrels for some reason. The end result is, we never lost any of our good firearms.

When hiding pistols during trips away from the house, think of places that criminals would not go. I recommend putting them in the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper, or under the plastic bin liner of your trash can. While in basic training and OTS, I put contraband (pogey bait and such) in a bag within my dirty clothes bag and nobody ever caught on. A buddy of mine used to hide money from his wife by taping it to the lid of the toilet tank. A quick and dirty hiding place for a rifle can be as simple as behind the washer or fridge for a short time. Get creative.

[GuNs|iNgEr]

If you have a fence get some "Beware of Dog" signs and hang them up. Get a dog. I prefer the big black kind. -FB

Whatever you do , NO "beware of dog" signs, "no trespassing" is best

there was a situation a few years back where a intruder was attacked by the family dog - in their house, after he broke the sliding door. the judge ruled the family responsable for his injuries because they "knew they had a dangerous dog" and had pre-meditated the attack because they had put "beware of dog" signs up- hence knowing she was a danger.

they were liable for damages/dr bills, and the daog was put to sleep.

just because of the wording on the sign.

so remember "no traspassing" - you dont want to warn them your dog will tear their arm off

In my city it is an ordinance to put up a beware sign if you have a dog, dangerous or not. Seems dumb to me, but such is life.

[Snapcat]

Years ago I worked at a start-up gun store. The owner didn't have enough money for a safe, and the local crackheads would attempt to break in about every month... they would succeed about once every three months. The best tool we had for safeguarding our inventory was an old coke machine in the corner. Everybody thougt it was broken, but it was our gun safe. A coke machine is a b!t@h to break into; nobody suspected that it held valuables. We normally set out some cheap or broken long guns out as the sacrificial lambs...we cabled them together to make the bad guys waste time and feel a sense of urgency to take them and get out of the store. If we had more long weapons than we could fit into the coke machine, we stuffed them under the couch cushions and would stack junk on top of the couch. I also broke weapons down into components and boxed them... criminals were never interested in cardboard boxes full of gun stocks or barrels for some reason. The end result is, we never lost any of our good firearms.

When hiding pistols during trips away from the house, think of places that criminals would not go. I recommend putting them in the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper, or under the plastic bin liner of your trash can. While in basic training and OTS, I put contraband (pogey bait and such) in a bag within my dirty clothes bag and nobody ever caught on. A buddy of mine used to hide money from his wife by taping it to the lid of the toilet tank. A quick and dirty hiding place for a rifle can be as simple as behind the washer or fridge for a short time. Get creative.

So, I have this night stand that's like an end table for a living room, it looks exactly the same on all 4 sides except there is a drawer on what is suppose to be the front. I just turn the table around so the drawer is facing the wall and put my "valuables" in it, knife, flashlight, handgun when its out of the safe.

It just looks like an end table with no drawers, the way it's positioned in the corner of the room with the bed very close it would have to be lifted straight up and rotated to pull the drawer out all the the way or even to see the drawer, it's a solid peice of furniture and very heavy to lift. I can open the drawer about 6 inces from where I am on the bed it's enough to reach in and pull out what I need.

[Cap'n Rae]

So what do you think is the best way to "store" an HD gun so that it can be easily and quickly accessed? I want to have my shotty (Mossberg 500 Persuader) ready to go at night. Loaded but 0 in the chamber? Unloaded?

Mind you, I have two very curious kids (5ya & 2ya). During the day it will be trigger locked, in a locked case, on the top shelf of a closet. At night, though, I want it to be available and ready to use if, heaven forbid, need be.

[Snapcat]

So what do you think is the best way to "store" an HD gun so that it can be easily and quickly accessed? I want to have my shotty (Mossberg 500 Persuader) ready to go at night. Loaded but 0 in the chamber? Unloaded?

Mind you, I have two very curious kids (5ya & 2ya). During the day it will be trigger locked, in a locked case, on the top shelf of a closet. At night, though, I want it to be available and ready to use if, heaven forbid, need be.

So, I had this idea of mounting a holster on the side frame of my bed, so at night I could get the HD gun from the secure storage and just plop it in the bed holster. With rounds in the magazine, but none in the chamber and with the saftey on I think it would be secure enough (I don't have kids yet). However, adding a holster cover with a snap or velcro would secure it a little more and allow for a sound cue to wake up if someone was to try to get it out of the holster or maybe attach some bells. If it's attached high enough on the side of the frame the blankets would even conceal it. Just an idea I was mulling over.

[Pondo_Sinatra]

So what do you think is the best way to "store" an HD gun so that it can be easily and quickly accessed? I want to have my shotty (Mossberg 500 Persuader) ready to go at night. Loaded but 0 in the chamber? Unloaded?

Mind you, I have two very curious kids (5ya & 2ya). During the day it will be trigger locked, in a locked case, on the top shelf of a closet. At night, though, I want it to be available and ready to use if, heaven forbid, need be.

So, I had this idea of mounting a holster on the side frame of my bed, so at night I could get the HD gun from the secure storage and just plop it in the bed holster. With rounds in the magazine, but none in the chamber and with the saftey on I think it would be secure enough (I don't have kids yet). However, adding a holster cover with a snap or velcro would secure it a little more and allow for a sound cue to wake up if someone was to try to get it out of the holster or maybe attach some bells. If it's attached high enough on the side of the frame the blankets would even conceal it. Just an idea I was mulling over.

Something like this? http://ultimatebedholster.com/pictures.php
I don't know anything about this company, it's just the first linked page that came up when I Googled "bed holster".

And I think if I had kids, I'd probably keep the shotgun next to the bed at night with an empty chamber. I think.

[painiac]

So what do you think is the best way to "store" an HD gun so that it can be easily and quickly accessed? I want to have my shotty (Mossberg 500 Persuader) ready to go at night. Loaded but 0 in the chamber? Unloaded?

My preferred method is to keep my mossberg "cruiser ready": full magazine, safety off, with hammer down on an empty chamber (before loading the magazine, cock it, double-check that your chamber is empty, and then pull the trigger to drop the hammer so that the slide lock will be automatically disengaged. Then load the magazine). This allows you to grab the gun and rack a round into the chamber with no levers or buttons to fiddle with, and you're ready to rock and roll. (Or is that rack and roll?)

[Snapcat]

So what do you think is the best way to "store" an HD gun so that it can be easily and quickly accessed? I want to have my shotty (Mossberg 500 Persuader) ready to go at night. Loaded but 0 in the chamber? Unloaded?

Mind you, I have two very curious kids (5ya & 2ya). During the day it will be trigger locked, in a locked case, on the top shelf of a closet. At night, though, I want it to be available and ready to use if, heaven forbid, need be.

So, I had this idea of mounting a holster on the side frame of my bed, so at night I could get the HD gun from the secure storage and just plop it in the bed holster. With rounds in the magazine, but none in the chamber and with the saftey on I think it would be secure enough (I don't have kids yet). However, adding a holster cover with a snap or velcro would secure it a little more and allow for a sound cue to wake up if someone was to try to get it out of the holster or maybe attach some bells. If it's attached high enough on the side of the frame the blankets would even conceal it. Just an idea I was mulling over.

Something like this? http://ultimatebedholster.com/pictures.php
I don't know anything about this company, it's just the first linked page that came up when I Googled "bed holster".

And I think if I had kids, I'd probably keep the shotgun next to the bed at night with an empty chamber. I think.

Yep, that's what I was thinking of nice find.

[TippeeToes]

My two cents. I keep everything locked up in a safe, save one. My home defense gun is in a hideaway clock. I have two small children so I waited until naptime to install the clock. They have no idea it is anything but, as well it is in an area away from chairs or other items that may be used to gain a height advantage. I have also begun to teach the simplest of all safety rules, "Don't touch, get Mom or Dad."