Alternative to a gun safe?

I’ve always been intrigued by the “hide in plain sight” safes, like refrigerators, pop machines, old school lockers and such. Not much in the way of fire protection, but tons of stealth.

I like my Hornady under bed safe. It has biometric lock, but only holds a few guns.

armedwalleye said:

I’ve always been intrigued by the “hide in plain sight” safes, like refrigerators, pop machines, old school lockers and such. Not much in the way of fire protection, but tons of stealth.

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Yep I have long told people who live in an apartment or such and don't have a safe to do this. One Son in Law, went to their new place, leaning on the wall in the bedroom is his shotgun. I told him put it anywhere else since that is the first place some smash N grab type is going to look. He had a hand gun also so we went around the small place a little and found some easy spots to put them when they went to work. Someone who breaks in crudely is normally looking to grab anything they can carry off fast.

WestKentucky said:

I have a cannon safe. I also have a goldenrod that bakes out humidity.

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I’m similar, with zero signs of humidity buildup.

I keep an AR in a central closet downstairs. The rest of the guns are upstairs locked up.
We use a product called 'Damprid' that collects water in a container. Our coats no longer have the musty smell, and no rust on the rifle. I'm not sure what it is....but it works.

I keep some pretty nice guns in a closet for a while before I got a second safe. I left a light on to control humidity. I had a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels. I played with light bulbs of different wattage ratings until I found one that kept the humidity where I wanted it.

ColtPythonElite said:

I keep some pretty nice guns in a closet for a while before I got a second safe. I left a light on to control humidity. I had a hygrometer to monitor humidity levels. I played with light bulbs of different wattage ratings until I found one that kept the humidity where I wanted it.

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If you had a bulb hot enough for the humidity in Illinois you could see your bones in your shadow.

I went with the Secure-It storage system. It maybe a little more expensive but it comes with nice racks to secure the firearms and to be honest you can get a lot of stuff in there using the available racks and bins. What I really like though is that they are light weight and easy to move if needed you can also get more than one unit and bolt them together or better yet spread them around the house. If they are going to cut them open they have to cut into each one which takes time.

Don't forget that one of the things a good safe protects against is extended periods of high temperature that might be encountered in a fire. Thats what the drywall is for. Choose the hazard that bothers you more. Personally, especially since I don't have a problem with rust in either of my two safes, I'd rather risk that than a total loss if I had a fire.

Believe it or not,,,
I've seen several instances where an old refrigerator was used as a safe.

Most of the time it was just a hasp and padlock,,,
But Once I saw a re-bar "belt" made to secure it.

Seems like with a bit of desiccant,,,
It should work just fine.

Aarond

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Refrigerator--or a freezer--is something of a good choice. Does not scream "guns here!" for one. Relatively well insulated (if not terribly fire-resistant). But also not that uncommon to be seen with padlocks and hasps (if only to keep your BiL out of your beer).

Mind, I know a person who uses an old 60 gallon water heater to store some items (which is more about domestic tranquility with the SO than security).

If I didn't have a proper safe and was looking for an inexpensive way to secure them I'd buy some coated steel cable like this and run it through all of the trigger guards. Then I'd anchor something solid to a wall to lock it. Perhaps a support post in the home.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Brinks-1-4-in-x-6-ft-Loop-Cable-175-06001/204789298

aarondhgraham said:

Believe it or not,,,
I've seen several instances where an old refrigerator was used as a safe.

Most of the time it was just a hasp and padlock,,,
But Once I saw a re-bar "belt" made to secure it.

Seems like with a bit of desiccant,,,
It should work just fine.

Aarond

.

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If it works, you could always plug it in and set it for the highest setting; that should cut out any moisture

Walkalong said:

We rarely see it that low. I keep my guns oiled/wiped down with RIG, with desiccant in the safe like @mcb. It's easy to "recharge" it occasionally.

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I don't think the humidity has ever been that low in Florida (it was in NV); here we'd be happy with just a 17% chance of rain.......

I've NEVER read or heard of this problem before now. Having a safe, in the garage, and living in a "high humidity" area, I use a goldenrod. No problems with rust in over 20 years.

bihj said:

I've NEVER read or heard of this problem before now. Having a safe, in the garage, and living in a "high humidity" area, I use a goldenrod. No problems with rust in over 20 years.

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Because you are doing what they recommend. So you have no problems. "Stories" like the one about how gun safes out gas and ruin guns come from two sources. People who buy a safe, throw the instructions in the trash without reading them, long time later they "discover" rust on their guns. So since it can not possibly be their fault for throwing out the instructions unread, they of course tell everyone the "safe did it". The other source is people who "hear this" then repeat it because it sounds good.

A buddy of mine worked at an old business that had a lot of out dated electrical machines with large electrical circuit boxes they were changing out, that measured 4'x5'x20" deep he gave me one. They are lockable thick steel boxes that after sealing up the wiring holes made perfect gun cabinets, I just put in a wood rack with carpet stapled to them to hold the rifles. Works great!

I don't have enough safe for my collection. I was looking at a safe door that looks like a regular door. That way my basement room can be a safe. I live in the country. Again with neighbors close by and other security features, this would work well enough for things that don't have safe space. Of course the safe would be in this room too.

dh1633pm said:

I don't have enough safe for my collection. I was looking at a safe door that looks like a regular door. That way my basement room can be a safe. I live in the country. Again with neighbors close by and other security features, this would work well enough for things that don't have safe space. Of course the safe would be in this room too.

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While certainly not cheap I see ads for places that make just that. Door that is a safe door made to by put on a room you design. A lower price alternative is of course just a good metal door with a metal frame and nice locks. Would discourage most of the smash in and grab dopers looking for a quick grab and go.
I often joke that if I ever win the lotto I would have to do something like this. Have a "walk in safe"

A basement room isn’t too hard to secure. With a nice door it would give some good security. I was also looking at a small fireproof safe to mount behind the basement fridge. Just figured if the door looked like a normal door it would attract less attention for the casual lookers. Until at least they touched it.

Alex Clayton said:

While certainly not cheap I see ads for places that make just that. Door that is a safe door made to by put on a room you design. A lower price alternative is of course just a good metal door with a metal frame and nice locks. Would discourage most of the smash in and grab dopers looking for a quick grab and go.
I often joke that if I ever win the lotto I would have to do something like this. Have a "walk in safe"

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Browning offers that; if the frame isn't secured or reinforced, it won't matter.

George P is right, you must have a secure and reinforced frame no matter what type of door you use. If I were to build new construction or rehab a gun room in an existing structure, I would look at sandwiching chicken wire into the walls too. A good vault door does no good if the door frame is weak or a person can easily get through the wall.

A helpful hint that is related. Most residential locks sets have very short wood screws for the dead bolt plate. Always replace those short screws with ones long enough to go into the frame fairly deep to help prevent kick ins.

One of the nicest secure gun rooms I've seen was in a basement. The "Safe Door" was hidden behind a piece of paneling.
The paneling had very small hinges and you opened the section to get to the secure door.
The basement was also partitioned off with a office/saferoom at the end of a long very narrow hallway.