Optimizing gun safe space

They probably work, but I don't think they are necessary. I removed most of the "gun racks" inside my safe other than a divider down the middle. I can put about twice as many guns in there as it was designed for by doing so. I alternate guns from one side to another and leave the bolt open on bolt action rifles. Some people will alternate muzzle up and muzzle down to squeeze in even more. The only downside is that everything has to come out to get to one in the back of the safe.

Probably a hundred ways to optimize space, comes down to personal needs and what's in your inventory. Doors seem to be the most under utilized, made some brackets to hang items from and used fabric covered magnets for extra barrels. Fabricated some under shelf storage and covered with fabric for ammo and smaller items.

At some point you fill it up, purchase another safe, and repeat the process.

One idea I've been kicking around is to install the center section of a tool box (2 or 3 drawers), complete with ball bearing slides for handguns.

Have you tried the "trick" of alternating one muzzle up, next one muzzle down, etc.?

Seems most capacities are rated for lever actions, but this trick generally lets me get about the advertized capacity with ARs, AKs etc. I had enough "head room to add a shelf for my SBRs and suppressors.

I use similar rods. They are very useful for guns I don’t shoot much at the back of the safe.

I did the rod thing in my old safe. didn't work as well as I wanted it to. so far the best method I've found is rifle socks, so you can stand them up muzzle up or muzzle down, and they can lay against each other without causing damage.

I also tried the handgun hanger idea as well. problem was they block anything behind them. I wound up using pistol racks instead, which allows me to move a block of hand guns easily to get to stuff behind them.

cfullgraf said:

Yep, mine are similar or the same as those. The rods are coated with a rubber like compound and will not damage the bore with a bit of care when installing or removing the hand gun.

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The rubber on my pistol rods wore through exposing the metal so I took 1/4 " plastic water tubing that you use on your refrigerator and cut to correct length and slit lengthwise with a razor knife and they will slide right on providing a better protection surface than the rubber , also when you buy rifle rods buy the thicker ones their firmer...

GBExpat said:

The three primary things that I do to optimize my gunsafe space:

1 - store boltgun bolts on the door
2 - create my own dividers (plywood + holesaw)
3 - ARs are stored in 2 pieces on upper shelves
--- Uppers: Right2Left
--- Lowers: Front2Back
(if my gunsafe were deeper, I would also store the Uppers Front2Back)

Here is a pic of my north gunsafe that I took last year:

View attachment 838138

Those rods are nice (if a bit pricey, IMO) and I am sure that they would do a good job.

I have done something sorta like that for a long time. Short rifles (like AKs) that do not reach the divider have an "extender" dowel rod inserted in their muzzles.

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I like the peg board on the door.....mine has the pistol pouches......but I did install some nice pegboard on the back wall of the upper half of my safe to utilize that unused space to hang my large revolvers ....it's really cool when you open the door and see some bad a$$ revolvers on display....also I placed rubber vacuum tubing over the hooks to protect the guns ...I cut them off a touch longer than the hooks to prevent scratches on my guns. .......it sure made a lot more room ............anyways good luck my friend......California Expat....

jmr40 said:

They probably work, but I don't think they are necessary. I removed most of the "gun racks" inside my safe other than a divider down the middle. I can put about twice as many guns in there as it was designed for by doing so. I alternate guns from one side to another and leave the bolt open on bolt action rifles. Some people will alternate muzzle up and muzzle down to squeeze in even more. The only downside is that everything has to come out to get to one in the back of the safe.
View attachment 838468

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My friend you need some rifle rods...........By the way nice rifle's

Dang, why did it never occure to me to take the bolt out of a bolt action.
Especially the oversize bolt handles that never play well with the other guns.
Thanks

Sliding shelves and hanging rods.... nuff said.

Should be flagged for pornography

Also it makes a case for exterior vs. Interior hinges on the door.

I have several magnets I've stuck on the inside metal door for holding some pistols. That freed up a little shelf space. But everything is pretty cramped inside.

There's still over 99 slots left ... hurry (see post #3) ...

My little shack has what used to be a furnace/AC room in the center of the building. I'm thinking that it may become my milsurp armory - after a bit of hardening and the addition of a reinforced door.

jmr40 said:

They probably work, but I don't think they are necessary. I removed most of the "gun racks" inside my safe other than a divider down the middle. I can put about twice as many guns in there as it was designed for by doing so. I alternate guns from one side to another and leave the bolt open on bolt action rifles. Some people will alternate muzzle up and muzzle down to squeeze in even more. The only downside is that everything has to come out to get to one in the back of the safe.
View attachment 838468

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Your's is kind of what I had to do... I ripped out the entire interior (it was a 50/50 setup) and just put a divider in the middle to get all the rifles in, then made a second shelf on top of the top shelf for pistols. One thing I see in your setup is that bottom cubby on the right... that's a good idea!

bassjam said:

Interesting, I've never heard of those. Is this basically what you've got?

https://www.amazon.com/Safety-Solut...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3YSZW2YPH0SC3BCGB3NT
.

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I've used those, but there is another version that puts one gun above the shelf as well. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/GunClub-Easy-Under-Handgun-Hanger-2/dp/B00D61H6E8

armedwalleye said:

I've used those, but there is another version that puts one gun above the shelf as well. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/GunClub-Easy-Under-Handgun-Hanger-2/dp/B00D61H6E8

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Thanks, but I'm actually trying to get my handguns off the top of the shelf to make room for things like documents.

I don't care how you rearrange it, you will ultimately need a second safe. Buy at least one size bigger than you think you need. Maybe two.

The rule is always go bigger than you think you're going to need.

deadin said:

Sliding shelves and hanging rods.... nuff said.

View attachment 839134
View attachment 839135

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Get rid of all the non-essentials and you would have a few more places for pull out handgun storage. I would love to spend an afternoon trying out some of your hardware.

jmorris said:

I do use dish strainers to hold pistols vertical though.

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I also have the dish strainer/pot lid holders for my handguns. I also have the rods in both of my safes. It is better than the interiors they give you, pull those out. The rods work pretty well and help keep things from banging into each other a bit. I have to build up a raised shelf on the bottom to get some of the shorter rifles a little higher.

For pullout shelves for rifles, look at a Reed Custom.

GBExpat said:

The three primary things that I do to optimize my gunsafe space:

1 - store boltgun bolts on the door
2 - create my own dividers (plywood + holesaw)
3 - ARs are stored in 2 pieces on upper shelves
--- Uppers: Right2Left
--- Lowers: Front2Back
(if my gunsafe were deeper, I would also store the Uppers Front2Back)

Here is a pic of my north gunsafe that I took last year:

View attachment 838138

Those rods are nice (if a bit pricey, IMO) and I am sure that they would do a good job.

I have done something sorta like that for a long time. Short rifles (like AKs) that do not reach the divider have an "extender" dowel rod inserted in their muzzles.

Click to expand...

That looks like a well organized layout. I like the idea of staying the bolts separately.

I've also put a piece of peg board on the inside of my door. I use 1/4" pegs and put a piece of rubber vacuum line on the steel pegs. I also bought a small cheap lock box that sits on my top shelf. This is used for papers. Titles, deeds, wills, bank stuff, ect. Its more for organization than security.

I also strongly suggest anyone buying a safe to look hard at the 72" tall models. That extra 12" on top is very useful.

I built the interior for my first safe. It ended up using the storage space more efficiently than the factory interior. I stood a line of rifles up against a wall in the house and measured them. I used 3/4" plywood, a 2-1/2" hole saw and some automotive seat covering material. It looked and worked very well. You can often get remnants of this material pretty cheap, especially if you are a little flexible on the color.