Musings on Securing Firearms

[Onomea]

The thread on insuring firearms got me to reflecting again on why and how I secure my firearms.

By far my main concern about my firearms storage is preventing any possibility of access by guests, particularly children, in my home. Especially grandkids. (Got two little boys, so far. Kids are grown and gone — just the wife and me at home. Keep all the guns unloaded except my dual purpose EDC and nightstand gun.

Re theft, since my current meager accumulation has no particularly rare or valuable guns, my concern is with with smash and grab, in and out, hophead bad guys running around loose with my guns more than the monetary value of the guns. (My home coverage has a $1K deductible and guns are included.)

I think a professional burglar could likely open or carry off even a very good safe, given time, but I think a professional burglar is very unlikely to target my house. And the house has a monitored security system. And again, I don't worry about the monetary value.

Currently, when we travel, I stash my two rifles in the back of a closet, and I take my half dozen or so handguns (and a couple of Randall knives) and stash them in a safe deposit box at the bank. It's a mild pain in the neck to do this, but we travel rarely. Again, I do this safety deposit box storage because I don't want my guns in the hands of ne'er do wells.

For home storage, I'm thinking about buying a steel, wheeled lockbox with retractable handle. Would be easy, though, for smash and grabbers to make off with... Probably bust it open if repeatedly smashed on concrete. But, would be secure from curious guests of any age. I could keep doing the safe deposit box thing when traveling, or maybe just move the lockbox to a corner of the garage or stick it into the cardboard and paper recycling bin in the garage and throw some paper on top.

Or, maybe just put a small padlock on my range bag and secure the handguns in there and call it good.

Whatta you guys think?

 

[lihpster]

I think you'd just be making it easy for them to transport. Rather go with a Home Depot safe. At least it's an awkward item.

 

[bigwheelzip]

Inlaws had a monitored alarm system when they were burgled in FL. Perps were gone with most valuables in the seven minutes before response arrived.
I'd get a safe, if only for the grandkids safety.


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[Onomea]

I think you'd just be making it easy for them to transport. Rather go with a Home Depot safe. At least it's an awkward item.

While I do worry about it, is preventing arming a ne'er do well who breaks into my house and steals my locked up guns really something I should be ethically responsible for?

Inlaws had a monitored alarm system when they were burgled in FL. Perps were gone with most valuables in the seven minutes before response arrived.
I'd get a safe, if only for the grandkids safety.

BWZ, do you the think the grandkids would break into a lockbox? As kiddos , my bros and I found guns my father hid, but if he had locked them up, I don't think we'd have broken the locks to get at them. (Re property theft, I am comfortable with my insurance coverage.)

 

[lihpster]

Ethically responsible? No, not in my opinion. Nor do I think you should be legally responsible. But my response was just based on how easy it would be for the aformentioned "smash and grab" criminals to take. If they can wheel it easily to their van, it looks like a salesman's sample case. A Sentry safe, carried by hand, looks alot more suspicious. And if you add a little bit of lead in the bottom, alot more difficult.

 

[bigwheelzip]

BWZ, do you the think the grandkids would break into a lockbox?

Don't know what a lockbox is. Just saying I'd lock up those firearms "hidden" in the closet because my grands squirm into every nook and cranny.


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[Kevin J.]

A high quality professional Steel Case file cabinet would be better IMO. Equal quality lock and add a few gun rack holders makes a nice setup. I found mine at a used office furniture place years ago. Probably more available now with office closing do to remote work.

 

[Kevin J.]

Revolvers get top billing. Semi in the lower draw.

 

[Onomea]

There is much to be said for a true hidden compartment. Behind a fake breaker box or a built into the dead space of the bottom of a dresser.

Yes. When I bought a condo and remodeled it in 2016, the contractor/carpenter asked me if I wanted a hidden drawer under the new kitchen/bar counter.

I said sure, and it was pretty shallow but truly concealed. Did not tell anyone else until after I sold the place in 2020. I sent the new owners a snailmail note with the info. They were pleased.

BWZ, the rifles in an unlikely closet are with the idea that smash and grabbers might miss them. When I'm home they are usually on display, along with a rotating handgun or two. Ammo is stored separately.

I haven't worried too much about the rifles and the grands, currently 2 and 4, but maybe I should.

Like that filing cabinet, Kevin J.

 

[djohns6]

Put them in a box labelled " Christmas Decorations " . NOBODY will fool with that one .

 

[Onomea]

Put them in a box labelled " Christmas Decorations " . NOBODY will fool with that one .

Or "Tax Returns, 1995 - 2020."

 

[Golddollar]

Ethically responsible? No, not in my opinion. Nor do I think you should be legally responsible.

I agree, but there are certain elements who do want to make us responsible one way or another by saying "Every illegal gun started out as a legal gun."

Anything that keeps a sneak thief from reaching under a bed and pulling out an armload of guns is better than nothing. Before I got my good safes I used locking cabinets that I could afford at the time. And in the ultimate of reuse and recyling, I sold the locking cabinets to someone at a SASS match who put them in his trailer.

 

[Beemerguy53]

While I do worry about it, is preventing arming a ne'er do well who breaks into my house and steals my locked up guns really something I should be ethically responsible for?

Well...while YMMV, if I failed to secure my firearms, and somebody stole them and committed a crime with them, I would definitely think of myself as ethically responsible.

On the other hand, if I've done a reasonable job of securing them (in a safe that's bolted to the floor, for instance) then I would be able to say I'd done all I could.

Of course, nothing will stop somebody who is determined to get your guns, and who has the time and tools to defeat a safe or security system. But I think I have an obligation to make it as difficult as possible for them...

 

[pharmer]

Way back (he's been dead almost 15 years) my friend had a half dozen hunting guns in a "Stack-on" metal "security cabinet" but he lost the key. It was in a corner and bolted to studs on side and back. It took me a good hour with heavy tools to bust it off and then pry the door to get in. A "snatch and grab" doper ain't taking the time. Better than a closet. Joe

 

[Bald1]

Why not buy an actual gun safe and bolt it to floor?

 

[Onomea]

Why not buy an actual gun safe and bolt it to floor?

Yeah. I hear ya. I don't like the way they look. Don't like the idea of a heavy immovable large object in my living area. I am esthetically opposed.

Don't like the idea of trucking out to the garage every time I want to pull a gun out, either. I like hanging out with my guns.

And I also sorta balk at the price of a safe, tho I could afford one if I decided it is a good idea.

Only reason I would buy one is as Beemerguy puts it above: Do everything reasonably possible to prevent smash 'n grabbers from taking 'em out on the streets and causing havoc. I don't worry about the value, per above.

But, it does bug me that I would need to place and bolt down a large and expensive, unattractive (to me) object in an inconvenient place (because I don't want one in the midst of my living area).

 

[bigwheelzip]

Don't like the idea of trucking out to the garage every time I want to pull a gun out, either.

Neither would I. That's when I found that hubby had just enough clothes in the closet, that he could bring to Goodwill, which would clear up room for my safe.


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[two-bit cowboy]

You've posed a terrific question.

You've considered access, security, safety (guests, esp. grandkidos), vandalism -- including your ethical role, and esthetics.

You've gotten some viable alternatives to answer the question.

I can't offer any new ideas to the mix; a safe is always my first answer. Although some are mighty handsome, they're not really meant to be easily accessible, aesthetically pleasing, living room furniture. With time you'll grow accustomed to the trip to the basement (or garage), but more importantly you'll get a sense of safety and security you don't currently know.

After all, isn't that unsafe, insecurity that drove your question?

It seems you're seeking peace of mind. That sort of calm comes with a price tag. Pay the price, both in dollars and in convenience. You'll quickly forget the money spent, you'll get used the perceived inconvenience, if you allow yourself to do so, and you'll wonder why you waited.

One old guy's thoughts.

ps: afterthought -- You have a garage? Oh, you poor, spoiled baby.

 

[Inusuit]

Just a thought on secret compartments. LE friend assisted a widow with LE husband's firearms. Some known to exist could not be located. A metal detector was used in the search for suspected compartments including possible burial areas in the yards. No joy. The house eventually sold, firearms never found.

Takeaway, make some provision for informing family if you go that route.

 

[Beemerguy53]

...I can't offer any new ideas to the mix; a safe is always my first answer. Although some are mighty handsome, they're not really meant to be easily accessible, aesthetically pleasing, living room furniture. With time you'll grow accustomed to the trip to the basement (or garage), but more importantly you'll get a sense of safety and security you don't currently know...

It seems you're seeking peace of mind. That sort of calm comes with a price tag. Pay the price, both in dollars and in convenience. You'll quickly forget the money spent, you'll get used the perceived inconvenience, if you allow yourself to do so, and you'll wonder why you waited.

In addition to securing firearms, a safe offers other benefits as well.

My safe is fire-lined, and I store my passport and other important personal documents there. Anything too valuable to leave accessible to a thief (my Omega Speedmaster, for example) goes into the safe when I travel. The Goldenrod dehumidifier in my safe helps protect my firearms from rust and corrosion. And, as two-bit cowboy noted, a safe conveys peace of mind.

Depending upon how big a safe you need, there is almost certainly some place in your home where you can install one discreetly. And if that just isn't possible, if the only place you can put a safe in your home is in an open, visible place, most safes are available these days in some truly aesthetic colors, with options that will fit into almost any decor.

Peace of mind aside, the economics of firearms ownership make it almost foolhardy not to have one. My homeowner's insurance covers only $1000 worth of firearms against theft; the rider to insure all of my guns would cost several times the price of a good safe, and I would have to pay that every year. On the other hand, you can buy a good, quality safe, and have it delivered, for about the cost of a couple of 3" pre-lock K-Frames.

Here's a pretty good pro-and-con column on the subject...

Reasons Why You Must Own A Gun Safe 18 Reasons Why “YES” and 6 Reasons Why “NO” - American Rebel