Displaying vs. Securing Firearms?

[HetchHetchy]

I have long wondered about displaying firearms to view and enjoy vs. securing them in a safe? I would really like to plaster the walls of my study with my guns -- much like others would do with paintings -- expensive or not and other objects d’art.

Many used to do just that. Almost every home had a gun case or rack somewhere in it -- usually a family room, study or den. Some had the gun cabinets right in the parlor. Some actually had gun rooms.

Have any of you ever had your guns on display in your house? It would be legal for me to do it and my study is quite secure so I might just do it. I think I would enjoy being able to easily view and touch them.

 

[JohnKSa]

It used to be common in this area to see pickup trucks with rifle racks in the rear window. The racks were sometimes populated.

I haven't seen a rifle rack visible in a car for many years. It's still legal but people don't do it because they'd rather not have their windows broken and their rifles taken.

I would think the same principle applies. When you display things, there's a chance that someone who sees them will think that they want them badly enough to try to take them. If you don't mind the risk then display away!

Of course, if you have small children or incompetent persons in your home, you would want to take precautions to avoid a potential catastrophe.

 

[HetchHetchy]

It used to be common in this area to see pickup trucks with rifle racks in the rear window. The racks were sometimes populated.

I haven't seen a rifle rack visible in a car for many years. It's still legal but people don't do it because they'd rather not have their windows broken and their rifles taken.

I would think the same principle applies. When you display things, there's a chance that someone who sees them will think that they want them badly enough to try to take them. If you don't mind the risk then display away!

Of course, if you have small children or incompetent persons in your home, you would want to take precautions to avoid a potential catastrophe.

One thing I would definately not do is show them to anyone other than my wife and possibly my brother. I would just like to be able to view them...

 

[RugerBob]

I miss having my nice cabinets with etched glass showing what I wanted. I feel they need to be secured in today's society.
I keep out home defense items only. I did pick up a few extra single shot 12ga shotguns though. Keep em in areas I may be in and have quick access. Garage/basement etc..

 

[vaupet]

Right now in the proces of building a mancave in my basement. Walls will be plasterd with guns. It will be build as a gun room, according to the legal obligations in our country, so there is my solution

 

[pharmer]

We are way past time for display. Folks come into the house all the time, 50% would freak out. I gave away several glass front cabinets 20 years ago. Joe

 

[Speedo66]

I would be concerned about a burglary. No need to make it a candy store for them by having everything on display. A locked room just means they have to try harder because there are probably objects of value inside.

If you are able to hide the door and the existence of the room through some creative carpentry, go for it. We've seen the video of the guy cracking into many safes with just a pry bar, so even a safe that's visible may not be enough.

 

[bannockburn]

I gave away my glass front gun cabinet years ago. When I was using it I only kept a single shot shotgun, an air rifle, and a muzzle loading rifle, along with a couple of the kid's air soft pistols in there. Everything else went into the safes. Nowadays I even have my safes concealed behind other cabinets and storage totes. Too many workers (cable/home security installer, building contractors, plumbers, etc.), to leave any firearms related items out on display.

 

[RX-79G]

The "right" way to do it would be a room that essentially functions as a gun safe - and is built that way to some extent.

I doubt gun burglary is really any higher today in many places than it was in the '70s - we are just much more aware of risk and downsides than we used to be.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I have three antique revolvers sitting on display in my living room. Are they secure? Only by the lock and deadbolt on my front and rear door.

If you want to display them to look at, it's just a risk you have to be willing to take. I don't own a safe yet though, so I figure I'm taking a big risk anyway.

 

[GBExpat]

I have never displayed any of my firearms, even in earlier, possibly-safer-to-do-so eras.

Prior to buying my first big gunsafe, all firearms lived in the back of various closets.

That said, I think that it would be nice to have at least one glass-front case that could hold a few of my favorites ... BUT ... I would/will not do that as I do not wish to tempt Fate.

I very rarely invite strangers into my house and could not care less whether or not they are afraid of firearms. I would be more concerned with them mentioning it to others, some of whom may develop bad intentions.

 

[Speedo66]

There are other issues besides just the loss of the firearm. If someone is injured by a firearm that was proven to have been stolen from your residence, the injured party's attorney may very possibly go after you for damages. Their contention will be that you did not properly safeguard the firearm, and thus their client's injuries were caused by your negligence. You can be sure they will not go after the actual criminal, much less likely to have any assets they can plunder.

I have seen a civil case where a police officer had a troubled nephew staying with him for a while. The nephew found his service pistol and shot someone with it. The police offer was sued, and luckily for him, his homeowners insurance picked up the tab, which was substantial. The insurance company did not wish to do so, they had to be brought into the suit involuntarily.

 

[bannockburn]

GBExpat

I very rarely invite strangers into my house and could not care less whether or not they are afraid of firearms. I would be more concerned with them mentioning it to others, some of whom may develop bad intentions.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[PowerG]

I have some displayed, I also have large Indian artifact and antique bottle collections displayed in the same room. We have a security system but live so far off the beaten track (and have such large dogs lol) that we don't get many visitors except for family.

 

[rugerman]

I have long wondered about displaying firearms to view and enjoy vs. securing them in a safe? I would really like to plaster the walls of my study with my guns -- much like others would do with paintings -- expensive or not and other objects d’art.

Many used to do just that. Almost every home had a gun case or rack somewhere in it -- usually a family room, study or den. Some had the gun cabinets right in the parlor. Some actually had gun rooms.

Have any of you ever had your guns on display in your house? It would be legal for me to do it and my study is quite secure so I might just do it. I think I would enjoy being able to easily view and touch them.

I never had a display type gun case (kept them hidden in closets, drawers, etc.) a Dr. friend of mine had a huge gun collection that a kept in a gun room/study, the rifles and shotguns were in racks all around the walls, the handguns in drawers under the gun racks. Once when he was going on a extended vacation he moved the whole collection to a local bank, he got a bunch of wooden boxes that had rope handles (some kind of military surplus stuff) we layered a wool blanket, several guns, repeat. Then we screwed the lids down. Took about 4 hours to box and move them all.

 

[On An Island]

I grew up in a hunting-farming family. Rifles and shotguns were kept in bedrooms behind doors, on display above the fireplace and were generally another piece of daily life similar to the telephone. My parents later kept a collection in glass-front cabinets which allowed people to admire, discuss and sometimes if appropriate, to handle them. I would love to continue that tradition, but in today's politically charged climate (even living in an open- and concealed-carry state) I choose a large, well-built & anchored safe and discreetly hidden locations for my home and personal security weapons.

 

[SwaneeSR]

Seems like a bad idea to display or even be "known" by the locals as a gun collector.

No sense putting a bullseye on your address.

When I was growing up we had a break in. We didn't have a gun safe. All the guns were stored up above the drywall ceiling with access from the utility room. All guns were safe except for my Browning A5 that was under my bed. I had just cleaned it between duck hunting trips. Years later turned out the break in was done my neighbor kids at the end of our dirt road. Jerks.

 

[entropy]

There are three parts that precede a crime: opportunity, desire,and ability. Provide the first and the other two may rear their ugly head. Many crimes are committed by people who see a valuable object in plain view, the desire arises, and if they believe they can do it without penalty, they do. If a criminal has the last two, he will find the first. Do not give him the opportunity, and he will seek an easier target.

My Dad kept his prized Win. 94 Take-down in .32 WIn. on the fireplace and an old SxS 12 ga. on the wall in the basement. He was a cop, I never figured out why he broke the rules he taught me.If you see my guns in my house, it's either by invitation, or you are trespassing, and you'll only see one of them, briefly.

 

[sorebutton]

I have 4 C&R rifles on a rack in my bedroom. Not visible to guests, but I like to look at em occasionally. They all either have the firing pin or part of the bolt removed, so they won't work without some major effort. Everything else is in the safe. I hope to fairly soon build a false wall in the basement for hidden storage, just in case something survives the next boating trip.

 

[Sav .250]

The way things are in todays world ............you must be kidding.

 

[buck460XVR]

Went I went to High School 45 years ago, Gun Cabinets and Gun Racks were the number one project in Wood Shop. Everyone I knew had either a glass front gun cabinet or several gun racks on the wall, plainly in view in their home. As a kid, you knew to keep your hands of the guns in your house till you were of age and you knew not to touch guns in other folk's homes unless they handed it to you. Many of those folks had very few material things of value besides their firearms. Nowadays folks have several computers, big screen T.V.s, art, stamp and coin collections, and small portable household appliances that have as much if not more value than their guns. All of these are on display, yet no one is concerned about them being stolen. I see no reason one cannot display their firearms and still have them secured, or insured against theft.

 

[GBExpat]

... They all either have the firing pin or part of the bolt removed, so they won't work without some major effort. ...

<nodding> I, too, have a number of longguns that reside outside of my gunsafes (the gunsafes are full) so I have removed the bolts and stored them in the gunsafes.

I figure that any of these longguns could potentially be used by an intruder to bludgeon me but not to shoot me.

 

[HetchHetchy]

The way things are in todays world ............you must be kidding.

No I'm not. Imagine owning a fine painting and keeping it locked up due to safety concerns.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I love it when people talk about how they would never do something because of the world we live in today.
Crime has been steadily dropping for the last 30+ years, not increasing.
Now I am not saying that displaying your firearms in the open is a wise thing to do, but the reasoning should not be because of the times we live in because the times we live in are safer than they have been in my lifetime.

Sorry to go off on that. Here is a door you could use if possible. It would help, but of course would signal to everyone that something valuable was behind it.
Of course if the walls weren't re-inforced it wouldn't be difficult to just knock through the sheetrock.

http://www.gunsafes.com/store/p/644...Xq_rR_eguVeQLge_VWYyJMLMNgVG2GkkKuxoC08fw_wcB

 

[GBExpat]

... I see no reason one cannot display their firearms and still have them secured, or insured against theft.

I can see one beyond the standard Crackhead Steals Your Gun & Kills Innocent Person thing ... if the firearms in question are not readily replaceable, the insurance money be only a tiny step in the direction of actually replacing them.

That said, if what you have on display is easily replaceable (like nothing-special commercial Remchesterbys) all that really remains as an argument Against is the Crackhead thing (and maybe a few others that I haven't mentioned).

I have quite a few different flavors of firearms that I would probably enjoy having in a glass front periodically, but I would not because I would be hard-pressed to replace them if they were stolen.