Kevin Rohrer
Member
Mine is over the doorway, as I use my fireplace and don't want the stock to dry-out.
Gun over the fireplace... history?
- Thread starter WestKentucky
- Start date
- Status
.38 Special
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 7,371
There is no appreciable temperature difference between my mantle and the rest of the room. That has been my experience with a half-dozen or so houses over the past few decades, anyway. My flintlock has graced all of them and shows no effects from it.
Beyond that, I agree with Armored farmer that the fireplace was (and still is, for some of us) the center of home life and so was (is?) a reasonable place to store a defensive weapon.
Beyond that, I agree with Armored farmer that the fireplace was (and still is, for some of us) the center of home life and so was (is?) a reasonable place to store a defensive weapon.
Last edited:
.38 Special
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 7,371
Steel Horse Rider
Member
I have built several homes with fireplaces and would not ever put a firearm that I wanted to shoot over it. Maybe a wall hanger for decoration but not a functioning black powder loaded rifle.
.38 Special
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 7,371
Speedo66
Member
In a modern home with the occasional appliance repairman, heating or A/C guy, etc., as nice as it might look I wouldn't hang a gun visible to anyone. Might entice someone or their friends back for an unauthorized visit.
Armored farmer
Member
In my home , nearly all my guns are secured in a safe, including my priceless family heirloom bp guns.
If a goblin breaks in and steals my (unloaded) circa 1983 Hawken kit gun, its probably worth $100. He's not getting my other guns unless he brought a track hoe.
If a goblin breaks in and steals my (unloaded) circa 1983 Hawken kit gun, its probably worth $100. He's not getting my other guns unless he brought a track hoe.
bannockburn
Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 26,308
Armored farmer
I most heartily concur with Corpral_Agarn!!!
I most heartily concur with Corpral_Agarn!!!
tipoc
Member
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2006
- Messages
- 3,563
Photo from page one of this discussion.
This is a nice wall display above and around a fireplace. The old snow shoes, the candles in the fireplace, the lantern in front of it and the decor are all comfortable. The BP rifle with the strap hanging down in front of the fireplace. Armored farmer noted that he changed the original pic to this one because the wanted to replace a bulb in the ceiling fan. The other pics of modern fireplaces show electric lights, painted walls comfortable chairs, etc. I'd sit in any of them and read a book or watch the Super Bowl. We might get some beers from the fridge and snacks we could order some pizza and have a nice time.
But...
"Why is it that guns are commonly stored over the fireplace? Was it to keep them away from the kids? I would imagine warm dry air would help keep the powder dry as well, but in the historic old world it seems much more reasonable that a need might arise and the gun would be more accessible near the door of the cabin. Predators after the livestock, Indian attack, target of opportunity comes strolling by and looks tasty... So is the gun over the fireplace a historically correct thing or is it a Hollywood thing?"
This is a question from the op seems to be not so much about now but about the frontier. It's a custom today to have an heirloom rifle over the fireplace. It's a part of the decor and display.
Have any of us been to a home where a person had their ARs in 300 Blackout and .223 above the fireplace? Or the Model 70 in .270 Win with the Leopold scope hanging there next to the Benelli shotgun, next to the Ranch Rifle and the Marlin with the laminated stock in 45-70. Not so much I don't think not above a regularly working fireplace that's needed to keep the place warm or to cook supper in.
In frontier homes folks cooked in their hearths which were larger. No ceiling fans, unless there was a hole in the roof. There may have been iron frying pans above the fireplace and copper pots but not so common to find a working rifle there.
I gotta add this...I don't suppose it was that common in the in teh houses of the working people from the 1600's to the 20th century for working rifles to be placed above hearths where folks cooked, used fires for warmth, etc. It was more common I know for a fact to see it in the homes of the well to do and the wealthy.
This is a nice wall display above and around a fireplace. The old snow shoes, the candles in the fireplace, the lantern in front of it and the decor are all comfortable. The BP rifle with the strap hanging down in front of the fireplace. Armored farmer noted that he changed the original pic to this one because the wanted to replace a bulb in the ceiling fan. The other pics of modern fireplaces show electric lights, painted walls comfortable chairs, etc. I'd sit in any of them and read a book or watch the Super Bowl. We might get some beers from the fridge and snacks we could order some pizza and have a nice time.
But...
"Why is it that guns are commonly stored over the fireplace? Was it to keep them away from the kids? I would imagine warm dry air would help keep the powder dry as well, but in the historic old world it seems much more reasonable that a need might arise and the gun would be more accessible near the door of the cabin. Predators after the livestock, Indian attack, target of opportunity comes strolling by and looks tasty... So is the gun over the fireplace a historically correct thing or is it a Hollywood thing?"
This is a question from the op seems to be not so much about now but about the frontier. It's a custom today to have an heirloom rifle over the fireplace. It's a part of the decor and display.
Have any of us been to a home where a person had their ARs in 300 Blackout and .223 above the fireplace? Or the Model 70 in .270 Win with the Leopold scope hanging there next to the Benelli shotgun, next to the Ranch Rifle and the Marlin with the laminated stock in 45-70. Not so much I don't think not above a regularly working fireplace that's needed to keep the place warm or to cook supper in.
In frontier homes folks cooked in their hearths which were larger. No ceiling fans, unless there was a hole in the roof. There may have been iron frying pans above the fireplace and copper pots but not so common to find a working rifle there.
I gotta add this...I don't suppose it was that common in the in teh houses of the working people from the 1600's to the 20th century for working rifles to be placed above hearths where folks cooked, used fires for warmth, etc. It was more common I know for a fact to see it in the homes of the well to do and the wealthy.
Last edited:
theotherwaldo
Member
Y'all are referring to the 1800s.
I'm referring to the late 1600s to the mid 1700s, when my Dad's family trickled into the Appalachians.
Worlds of difference.
I'm referring to the late 1600s to the mid 1700s, when my Dad's family trickled into the Appalachians.
Worlds of difference.
Steel Horse Rider
Member
38 Special asked why? Because there is an awful lot of heat radiating above a fireplace,even a gas log fireplace. It can easily hit 200-300 degrees and that may not be enough to set off black powder but it is far more than is necessary to reduce the moisture content to below 10% and induce a lot of cracking in the off season.
That's a way to get around having your gun locked up. It's a fire alarm, not a gun.I thought it was a fire alarm. If the fireplace flared up, the gun would get hot and fire from the heat and wake everybody up!!
.38 Special
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2006
- Messages
- 7,371
That has not been my experience. In fact, it seems to me that if the mantle reached 300 degrees the paint would be bubbling and peeling and the decorations would be bursting into flames. Again, I cannot tell any temperature difference at the mantle compared with the rest of the room, and again, my flintlock has lived on various mantles for decades with no negative effects that I can see.
- Status