Viability of Storing Guns In a Storage Unit

[4506517]

I find myself in an unfortunate position where I may have to move in a short amount of time. My arrangements may prohibit me from moving my rather large gun safe with me. I am considering putting it in a climate controlled storage unit. I understand it isn't ideal, but my living arrangements now are unbearable. I believe I can have the safe anchored to the concrete floor. What suggestions do you all have that could help me maximize my security? I really have no other choice at this time.

 

[arjay]

Make sure they are insured in that location.

 

[cowart]

If you mean a commercial storage facility, I wonder if they would allow you to drill holes in the floor for anchoring the safe.

If you do store the guns somewhere, I would recommend removing the bolts, cylinders, slides, etc. and keep those parts with you, to make the main group less valuable to a potential thief.

 

[rburg]

I have a friend who can now laugh about it. He's called it his garage sale, except the garage was a storage unit in Salt Lake. The crooks broke in and took their good old time sorting his stuff. All his guns, they stole. Same for his tools and other stuff. Its a terrible idea, but at the time he had little other choice. Oh, I see you're in the same position. The poster above mentioned insurance. Get some good photos to help with the upcoming insurance claim.

 

[deadin]

Last time I had to long term store my gun safe I used a Public Storage facility that was a monitored, climate controlled with inside access by elevator.
I was storing a lot of household goods (3 bedroom house) so I put the safe in the back and piled all sorts of other stuff in front . Everything was in silicone treated gun socks. It was in storage for 2 years and I had no problems at all.

I should mention that I was paying around $150 a month for the unit..........

 

[LVSteve]

I would be astonished if a storage facility let you drill holes in their floor.

 

[old bear]

No ideas about storage. But I hope everything works out for you, Hang in there.

 

[hittman77]

Best of luck with your unexpected move. Sorry to hear about that.

On the storage unit matter ..... think I'd,

1. see if my insurance will cover them there
2. or see if you can get insurance to cover them there
3. make sure having guns there doesn't violate their policies (ya never know!)
4. don't tell anybody locally where you've stashed them!

 

[Nightowl]

I once stored several handguns in a bank box. I didn't have as many then, and had a large box. I had enough room to store several in their original boxes. You might have to get more than one, but it would be worth the peace of mind to me.

Might have to just put selected collectables there, if you have a whole lot.

 

[Onomea]

I stored a gun collection in a climate controlled storage facility for a number of years. The guns were in a locked sheet-metal cabinet. I had some other household goods in there. I did not tell the facility I was storing guns, and did not make a scene moving a heavy safe in.

I had no problems.

I have always seen the main issue with gun storage as one of safety and preservation rather than theft prevention. As noted above, you can buy insurance against theft. I also think storing guns in storage facilities is common. E.g., for military personnel and others who are given overseas assignments.

The storage facility I used had a coded keypad for entry into the building, and part of the entry the process was identifying which storage unit was to be accessed. Leaving, the process was reversed, so that a record remained of who accessed which units when.

I was paying $160 a month.

 

[Beemerguy53]

During one of the many arguments that preceded my actually moving out of the house, my soon-to-be-ex threatened to call the Sheriff's Department and claim that I had guns and had threatened her. (I had never threatened her.)

I immediately emptied my safe, packed everything up for storage, and rented a storage unit with secure access, indoor storage, and an elevator.
The guns had been wiped down, and were all in sleeves or cases, and they laid on the floor of that storage unit for a number of months. I never had any trouble. I also never told anybody they were there.

 

[italiansport]

Well:
I hope no one on this forum becomes a starring candidate for an episode of Storage Wars!!
Jim

 

[hoc9sw]

I have some storage items. A couple of years back someone with a valid gate code decided to "shop" all of the units in several of the buildings late at night.

I didn't have anything really worth stealing, so the owner just replaced the door. Others, well, not so lucky. Yes, they had cameras, but the van was stolen, code was for someone who was really out of town (probably picked up by some household worker or kid who wanted cash). Nothing recovered, no one charged, insurance weaseled out...

 

[kwselke]

Here's a picture I took last July in the parking area of a storage facility about a half mile from my home. It was outside the security gate, but not a great confidence builder for the security at that facility.

 

[deadin]

Well, if you are being run out of your house, you can't very well carry your collection around with you. What other options are available? No matter what you do, if they are out of your direct control, they are at risk. (Sometimes even when in your control....)

 

[birdshooter]

I moved earlier this year and had to rent a much smaller place for a period of time. We had a storage unit for most of our stuff but I stored my guns at a trusted friend's home. I felt much better about that than keeping them in a storage unit. You should also look into a stand alone insurance policy. I use Eastern Insurance and they have a blanket policy for up to $35,000 in coverage for I believe $135 or so per year. This covers all collectibles and related items. Not just guns. Ammo, reloading equipment etc. Worth a call. Best wishes to you during this challenging time.

 

[J. Galt]

Camouflage instead of a safe

I kept some in an inside storage unit for years. I slathered them with grease (stocks off) put them in socks and then into cardboard boxes. There were a bunch of other boxes with my junk in them in front of the gun boxes. Never had a problem.

 

[Rule3]

There are INSIDE storage units and outside ones. The drive in ones with garage doors and one padlock, well no way.

My Daughter had to store her worldly possessions in a inside place.

Heck the place was more secure than my house! Locks, one entrance. cameras you name it.
I would not hesitate to store guns in there (if they let you) I wouldn't even ask.

 

[kenv1950]

Don't know if all banks let you do it ,but a friend of mine gave me a key to his bank safe deposit box just before he died and said when I'm gone clean it out. ( 4 nice S&W revolvers)
all in socks. Might not work for long guns but very secure for collectable hand guns.

 

[BigBoy99]

I also never told anybody they were there.

That is the best idea. If the bad guys don't know there are guns in the unit, they are not going to waste time breaking into every unit and searching the items store there. They'll target the place where they know they will be rewarded.

That is exactly what I did when I moved. I told no one and the guns were the very first things to go into the storage unit. When I was done, the unit was full of boxes of clothing and furniture and to get at the guns they would have to unpack the entire unit!

Also get a good lock. There was a breaking at the facility I was using. The thieves got into a few units by cutting the locks on the doors but these locks were the cheap Chinese ones and they were snapped in a second. You can see where they tried to cut the shackle of the lock I was using but they couldn't cut it. I made it too hard for them to get in.