Mass Gun Storage

[giggitygiggity]

Hi, I am interested in hearing how those of you with a massive amount of firearms, ammo, and other gun-related gear store and secure your belongings. I have 30+ guns and not enough room in my safe for all the guns plus optics, etc. Does anyone have a bunker, secured gun room, or have another means to store and secure your guns besides buying multiple safes? Pictures are welcomed and encouraged. Thanks.

 

[Skylerbone]

All firearms excepting those on your person or kept ready for SD/HD need a safe for storage. Primers and powder I keep in plastic ammo cans, finished rounds in metal surplus ammo cans. Sometimes you need a bigger safe, sometimes you need home remodeling but only you can determine which suits your needs and budget.

 

[bannockburn]

Guns in safes, ammo in ammo cans, accessories in plastic totes.

 

[hso]

I don't think anyone is going to show you anything more than a factory picture of a safe and I don't think it wise for anyone to post a picture of their vault.

You can increase the capacity of a safe by alternating barrel up/down with long guns.

You can convert a climate controlled closet to more secure storage by installing a security door in the closet. I don't know of anyone who actually has a "spare" closet to do this with, but you may have a dead end hallway that you could turn into such a closet. Be sure to reinforce the walls with plywood before putting your sheetrock over it. Also improve the fire rating by adding a layer of high fire rated wall board to the ceiling and the walls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1mnnPYkLeU

You can use the space in your interior walls.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc4FgVGWyvU

If you have a finished basement you can also convert the shortest wall into secure storage in a similar way. Just be sure to focus on camouflage as well as secure storage. People who don't suspect and can't readily see that you have something being protected have a lot harder time finding you treasures than if you have a big vault door looking impressive in the finished basement.

Of course you go take the hide in plane sight approach - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pYqquG27pg

 

[JSH1]

A relative of mine had a 20 x 10 foot room put in when he built his house. One of the 20 foot walls has a built in gun rack with shelving below for ammo. He has a gunsmithing x reloading bench at the end of the room opposite the door with a large window for natural light. The 20 foot wall opposite the run rack had pegs to hold bows. This was his set-up for years to hold his own firearms and inventory for his FFL. He let the FFL go decades ago and now uses the room only for his personal collection. Security? For decades he didn't have any besides a regular interior door on the room. He has recently added a large gun safe to hold his handguns and heirloom long guns.

 

[kitsapshooter]

Rifle rods will double your space in the safe

 

[up 2 snuff]

What is a rifle rod?

 

[berettaprofessor]

Buy another safe.

I should have built a safe room when I built my current house but, if I had, I'm sure I could outgrow it too.

 

[hso]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rX6jIutRA-I

 

[theshephard]

I think most of us mean "a lockable cabinet"

In other words, a lockable Stack-On steel security cabinet is just fine to store your overflow (10/22s, Remington 870, etc), IMHO.

• They're cheap, so you can buy a lot
• They're low profile, so you can stash them in many places throughout your home
• They're stackable, so you can leverage full ceiling height

Then reserve your 'safe' or what's more likely just a heavier-duty, more fire-resistant residential security container, for your most valuable pieces.

Take the advice of some others above and maybe make one of these cabinets very conspicuous so it distracts from a more thorough search.

The basement comes with some warnings. I think it's tempting to build a vault room there because you can find a corner with two existing cement walls already in place, but whether using a room or RSCs down there, give thought to your flood risk, whether from your local water table or a burst pipe. If you're storing valuable guns in a container in the basement, maybe think about raising it on a platform for some extra protection against flooding, but still make sure you're securing the container to the structure.

 

[up 2 snuff]

Thanks hso for the rifle rod vid!

 

[Scooter22]

The Stack On cabinets are nice if you live in a neighborhood where the typical burglary is a grab and run with little time to try and defeat locks. I use multiples of the 8 gun model bolted back to back and side by side as needed. Theres no way you can move them plus multiple doors to try and get open. Plus the layout of the 8 gun allows almost double if you put the front row muzzle down. You can also put them any where due to size plus there not heavy.

 

[slumlord44]

A lot of people knock the Stack On style cabinets. I am convinced that they will stop or at the least seriously slow down the average home burglar. They are affordable and a lot of people can't afford enough safe's to house a large collection. Most burglars are in and out in a short period of time a the cabinets are enough to stop them. Nothing will stop the pro.

 

[WestKentucky]

A friend at college did the hidden in plain sight thing (pot, not guns...he's serving time now) by putting a stack on cheapo safe inside of a sofa toprotect his stash. I only saw the insides once, but he lugged that sofa up stairs to the 3rd floor, got the room organized and then brought in a few 50lb tubes of sand to make it harder to steal the whole thing. He had a speaker magnet with a length of rope in his closet to use as a handle, and the only key to the safe was hidden somewhere in his room. I ended up doing something similar with a Homak safe for a while built into a coffee table. I used ammo to add weight around a few guns.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

I really like the idea of the dedicated gun room with strong walls and a security door. It would have to hold guns, ammo, and all other gear.