saw a glass door gun case at kmart yesterday

doesnt seem like the best way to keep my guns safe,,,fire,,,kids,,,burglary

what do you think?

and there wasn't a gun to be found anywhere for sale there either,,,

:cuss: :fire:

the world just isn't the same anymore,,,

Those are real throwbacks that were being phased out in the '80s. As awareness of burglaries increased, steel gun cabinets were coming into their own about then. You have to live in a very safe place to have a glass gun cabinet. Not that it can't be done. You have to have laminated, shatter resistent glass on your windows, good locks on your doors with anti-jam devices that resist prying. Intrusion alarms on all doors, windows and skylights supported by motion sensors once the walls, doors or windows are breached. Audible alarm system that is monitored by a company that will dispatch the police. BTW, you can also have cameras that are hooked up to a multi-plexer that can be fed into a website that you can monitor from work. Have a digital recorder that you can switch over to track and record the intruder. Helps to have a fenced in yard with a dog too for that outer perimeter security. Security is a layered thing and the more, the better. The thief has to penetrate all those layers before getting to your gun cabinet. Besides alert neighbors, a good responsive police/sheriff helps too.

I have an old antique glass front cabinet for long guns.



The Rib now uses it for Beanie Babies:D

I love those glass front cases. My only gripe about the Kmart/walmart variety is that they usually only hold 8 or 10 guns. That's hardly a goal worth striving for. If I were to build one to put on the market-it would hold a minimum of 20 long guns so that a man can tell his wife that he just bought another gun because there's still space in the cabinet. :D

Mine was built by my dad and holds 12 long guns, But I can stuff about 15 in it if I'm careful. My case full of old battle rifles and a display of bayonets with a couple of NRA stickers on the glass is good for giving some of my wife's antigun friends a stroke whemn they come over to visit.:evil:


doesnt seem like the best way to keep my guns safe,,,fire,,,kids,,,burglary

fire -insurance
kids -proper instruction and training, trigger locks don't hurt much either
burglary -if they want something bad enough they will steal it anyhow. I've heard of people having entire gunsafes removed from their homes. Insurance.

the world just isn't the same anymore,,,

Once upon a time, in a land known for its freedom(s), a majority of the gun-owning populace had such cabinets, proudly displaying their fine arms, yet keeping them as secure as they needed to be. These people were actually proud of their arms and weren't afraid to keep them all right out there in the Living Room, Family Room or Den so that all the world that entered their homes could oooh and aaaah at the collection they had acquired.

Kids knew not to mess with them for fear of getting their little butts whooped (and they would... and did) and very little damage was wrought on that society as a result of such displaying of arms.

Then... bad things happened. A black cloud fell over societal thinking. Leaders had been assassinated. Something had to be done.
Somehow, somewhere there was a shift in that societes thinking process whereby the owners of these displayed arms died off and the ownership of said rifles, etc became a "dirty little secret".

Some Kids, knowing better, but enjoying being bad, got ahold of one or two of them and did nefarious things which made the newspapers proud to print such stories. Local legislaters decided that new laws had to be passed mandating that all such arms be kept locked up. Kids continued to get "badder" and do "stupider" things. Burglaries, while not really on the uptake, became normal to read about in the news.

And it was decided by some, it was ALL THE GUN'S FAULT. So... owners of guns went to putting their collections into steel boxes with no windows, and stronger locks. People weren't quick to point out that they had a collection from their grandfathers and fathers passed down to them.

Some countries actually specified what types of boxes were OK and which weren't. They actually had their police forces enter your homes to inspect the manner in which these guns were stored.

So you see 280, its a sad story of the decline of proudly displayed arms in the homes of free people that caused the demise of such furniture in America today.

I remember when Sears, Monkey Wards and JC Penneys all had arms and arms holding furniture for sale in their catalogs... way back when. And people actually bought them and had them delivered by truck to their homes.

But this is ancient history we're talking about. Musta been, what, 40 years ago? KMart is just a tad bit behind the times I reckon.

Adios

Out of sight...out of mind.

Even a basic safe out there will stop the average crook. There aren't too many sophisticated burglers out there that will stop at my meager dwelling. The risk just wouldn't be worth the loot they would get. :D A glass case just makes it too easy.

As for insurance...you make one or more big claims against it and you can bet your premiums will start to skyrocket.

I still remember my dad having one before gun safes were fashionable.

Good Shooting
Red

we used to hang ours on the gun racks my brother always seemed to bring home from wood shop,,,

then the wife and i had a good laugh thinking about the looks we'd generate with a glass giun cabinet with my bushy proudly displayed in it for all world to see

my guns do complain of feelings of isolation and loneliness, however

so i make a point of taking them all out to play as often as possible,,,

:D

Within a few years, I hope to follow the lead of several other writers and have an understudy, whom, for general cleaning, plus handling obnoxious fan mail (as opposed to the good kind) and spam, is taught the way to write sellable fiction and given room and board.

At such time, the Madhouse will be occupied 24/7 by armed adults, and a fine cherry or mahogany case will proudly display the antique bolt guns and shotguns, another in black will display the military style rifles (and perhaps a few real MILITARY rifles by then), and a smaller one above the mantel the pistols and revolvers.

Fine craftsmanship is made to be shared and admired.

Just a few years back my Dad had to find a furninture maker to get the 12 gun case he wanted made. The few that were available were extravagent and very expensive. Safes had already become the "in" thing but my Dad is a bit of a traditionallist.

Dispite the lack of security I'm very proud of my guns and I want them to be on display. I don't like the idea of them being stolen but right now they're just lying around the house and on gun racks hanging on the wall so most anything would be an improvement.

I just gave my father a nice old, all wood 16 gun, gun cabinet I loved that thing. But times being what they are and living in an Apt. the safe seemed more logical. He converted it into a trophy case for my brothers. It looks nice but kinda sad, like when you drive by the old field where you used to play as a kid and now it's a Wal-Mart parking lot.

The glass-fronted gun cases are for nicely displaying your guns inside your Burt-From-Tremors-style fortified basement vault. There are certain guns that should not be hung on pegboard, no matter what. :D

Kharn

Baba Louie summed it all up in his post.

Not only have we "hidden" our firearms, we have caused an "out of sight, out of mind" atmosphere with ourselves and our youth. No longer are kids (or adults) afforded the opportunity to visit a friend's home and stare in awe at the glass gun cabinet full of fine weapons that his friend's dad owns. Instead, he gets to uninspiringly look at a collection of knick knacks that his friend's mother is collecting in the very cabinet that was at one time used as a gun case. Sometimes I get a sinking feeling on my stomach that in a round about way, the antis are winning. And so it goes. :(

I just caught something. Why are you shopping at K-Mart those b@$^@&ds will never get a dollar from me.

My brother still keeps his rifles in a beautiful glass-doored case. His kids were all taught to never touch, and they never did. Good kids.

Interestingly, during the oral arguments before our state supreme court on concealed carry, the assistant attorney general said that if a safe or cabinet didn't have a glass window, then the guns could be considered to be "concealed." :rolleyes:

Baba Louie beat me to it, and did a much better job than I would have.

Whenever I think of gun display cases I think of my old Scout Master. He had a beautiful walnut case with hunting rifles, .22s and a couple of Mausers. Whenever any of us kids were over, he let us heft them, all the while lecturing us about gun safety. A great guy. Forty years sounds about right.

I miss the days when as a gun owner I could proudly display my firearm collection in its Glass fronted oak cabinet and from the comfort of my easy chair, survey the contents and plan the next addition. Of course, I lived in a small town where crime was low and burglaries rare. Having an LSP marked cruiser parked in the driveway didn't hurt.

Times and location changed and my attitude towards security for my firearms was reflected in the Steel gun safe hidden in the bedroom replacing the glass fronted case which now houses my wife's collectables.

What a shame.

Anybody remember when Dept stores used to have Mausers and such displayed on the floor in whiskey barrels

My best friend has a case like that for his rifles and shotgun . However, he padlocks a cable through the triggers of all the guns and also usually removes critical pieces (the bolt, for example) from the guns and stores them elsewhere. It can be done, if you are careful. My $2*10^-2...

The glass case was standard where I grew up....

And IMO, it's the only time a trigger lock is appropriate.

Most of them had the steel cable, which IIRC was generally bolted into the studs of the wall behind the case.


Baba Louie really hit the nail on the head, and the only thing I can add is that to some degree, living our stealth existences, we have become complicit in the loss of "public normality" of firearms.

Gun owners are literally closeted. Well, the guns are, anyway.

i needed targets, i was in a hurry,,,

they only had the orange ones as it was...:cuss:

i may have to follow your example...

and our first .22 was bought by catalog from a little company called

"sears and roebuck" and the rifle was stamped as such,,,

:D

Anybody remember when Dept stores used to have Mausers and such displayed on the floor in whiskey barrels

One local dealer still displays them like that at gunshows, the "Barrel 'o Mausers"
I have an Uncle who has a nice collectioni of antique Winchester lever actions he keeps in two twelve gun glass front cases. If they were mine they'd be in a fireproof safe.

I have two 5 gun cabinets made by my father and one day will have his 16 gun cabinet, and hopefully a house big enough to put it in. One of mine holds 5 M44's, the other is stuffed with 7 Stevens 311 SXS's. The safe is full of the important peices, lever actions, some of my nicer C&R peices. Most of my stuff is leaning against the wall in a walk in closet. Anyone who makes it into the house, past the dogs, and past either myself or the wife most of the time is going to have a hayday. But they have to get to them first.

Taking another step back in history, those 18th century armoires you buy in the antique stores and fill up with your dresses and shoes used to be filled with...guns, axes, powder, bullet molds, maybe even a spare saddle.

Interestingly, during the oral arguments before our state supreme court on concealed carry, the assistant attorney general said that if a safe or cabinet didn't have a glass window, then the guns could be considered to be "concealed."

Unless you plan to carry said cabinet down the street, I'm not sure what his point is. Or are they trying to claim they are "concealed" within your own home? To that end, shouldn't they be displayed inside the front window?

My grandfather died in July and my father gave me his glass fronted display case. I put it in my bedroom. I used to keep the 870 and M1 Carbine under the bed. They look a lot better behind that glass sitting in that wood cabinet. If a theif comes a knocking, they were going to find them anyway. I added my K-31 and my M44 to the case because they didn't have gun cases of their own for the more secure location the rest of the guns are in. I like that glass case. My 870P might reside in that cabinet for many years to come.

I keep the cheeper guns in big heavy cabinet that has locking doors and polameir plastic and not glass...also have a plastic covered chain that acnchors them to that like 500 pounds of wood. It also helps having a really big dog that sleeps under the front deck too...They also shot people that get cought in folks houses here too.

I remember the 3 or 4 gun horizontal racks, even before the glass-front cabinets.

so you're old too?

:)

remember the old westerns where the sherriff would go to the gun case that went the length of the wall?

how many of us would love to get into one of THOSE cases for a day or two??
:D

Well said Baba Louie. It's interesting how the antiquated glass gun cabinet has come to symbolize sad changes in our society.

I think if you have a "safe room" of some kind a glass gun cabinet would be practical.

Well.......back in my day......

My dad had a built in gun cabinet with two glass doors that locked. All the long guns were in there. The key was in the drawer underneath it. Everybody new where it was from an early age. The only pistol (.22) was kept in my dad's bedroom. Everybody new where it was too.

My Grandad had a vertical rack over his woodbox that had all his guns in it, and; :what: it had no doors at all:eek: and no locks...no trigger locks, no cable locks....they were just sitting there where anyone could get ahold of them.

And you know what? Nobody was ever hurt with them. Nobody ever took one and killed anyone with them. He raised 3 kids and had 13 grandkids and not a one of us has ever had the urge to kill somebody. Odd thing is; we all know how to act around guns. Go figger.

Good old memories... my old, glass door gun cabinet for all to see... and everything else you guys have brought up is right on cue.

Speaking of K-Mart... I also remember my first few firearms, a couple of which I still have:

From Sears: (late 1960's)
- Ted Williams 12-Ga shotgun (Win 1200)
- Model 54 30-30 Carbine (Win 94)

From K-Mart: (late 1960's and early 70's)
- FN49 30-06 (around $70 and it was like new - still is!)
- Hawes Western Marshall .44 Magnum
- Mauser HSc .380

Oh yes....

not to go off on a total tangent but my freinds have a wood furniture store and one of the manufactures they buy from has a coffee table you lif the top up (its hinged) and its a gun storage underneath. very stealth

Here's my take on it. When i was a kid, all the guns were kept in said glass front case. My father told me never to touch them without his permission, but if I wanted to shoot one he would take me to the range whenever I wanted. Seeing a rack of guns in the house sort of blended into the background, ther was no mystery, they were guns and I knew what guns did. Never had the urge to play with them, they were just there as if it were another piece of furniture in the house.

Now lock these implements away where the kids cannot see them, they become a mystery, something that needs to be explored. Dad leaves the safe unlocked once and what are the kids going to do? Dive right in with both hands if he is not home.

Man this brings back some happy memories. I have bought guns at Pennys, Sears and many other stores that no longer carry guns. I still have a glass front gun case. Sadly all the guns are locked in a 900 pound safe now. I grew up around guns and so did my children. I was taught at an early age how to use a gun and I still have the first gun my Dad bought me. Hi-Standard .22 Double-Nine. I guess I will go and let some light in that safe and admire my Double-Nine.

Now lock these implements away where the kids cannot see them, they become a mystery, something that needs to be explored. Dad leaves the safe unlocked once and what are the kids going to do? Dive right in with both hands if he is not home.

That's exactly the problem, you can educate your own kids but can't always educate someone elses. If they would teach gun safety in schools as readily as sex education there would'nt be as much of a problem with kids getting into troublwe with guns.

Back on track about glass fronted cabinets, when I was looking at buying my safe I saw an ad for a display safe with beautiful cherry wood trim over steel and laminated glass doors 1" thick. It was a five foot wide safe that weighed in about 1100 pounds. The cost was about $7000, this was several years back and I can't remember who made it but it was a beauty.:cool:

It's a display case, you can loop a cable lock thru the breeches go with trigger locks or remove vital parts from the guns on display.

its the mystery that intrigues them (kids)

my dad never actually took us shooting, maybe once or twice, but he did have a .22 (the sears one) and a 20 ga singleshot that i still have.

he kept them way back in the closet, mom "didn't like guns"

so i can only recall ever live shooting the .22 once and only a couple of rounds at that, never shot the 20 ga when i was a kid

but i did manage to get some training from the boy scouts one summer and after that i used to sneak into the closet, get the .22 out and dry fire it when they went out

rest assured that my two boys have been taken shooting by their dad to the point where they say, "shooting,,,nah,,," :(

my 12 yo daughter has no interest,,, yet ;)

i just handed over the 870 youth express to mr 20 yo,,,i gave it to him for xmas when he was 12 i think

you shoulda heard grandma, (my mom) "A SHOTGUN FOR CHRISTMAS!!??"

we couldn't even get TOY guns for xmas,,,VERBOTEN

i just grinned :D

he's finding he may have outgrown the little 870, much to his dismay

and whatever you do, don't tell mom about me and the .22 !!

:what: :rolleyes: :p