Gun Storage, no room for safe

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BigBL87

BigBL87

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Curious if anyone else has run into the same issue and what they did. I mentioned this as a side question in a previous thread and didn't get much of a response.

I'll be buying a Mossberg 500 Field/Home Combo soon (18" home defense barrel and 28" field barrel) in the near future and need to figure out a way to safely store it. We don't have enough room in our bedroom for a gun safe unless we put one under the bed (I've found safes designed for under the bed but they cost $250+). I'd rather not spend as much on the storage as on the gun but if it comes down to it I suppose I will if I have to. I was considering getting one of the two gun hard travel cases and removing the foam padding as I've seen people say it will make the gun rust faster if it is in there for a long period of time, and locking it with a push-button style padlock for faster access. I could use a keyed lock and hide the key but the push button seemed like a better idea.

I'm trying to balance quick accessibility for a home defense situation and security/safety for when we have kids in the near future. Our house is an 80+ year old Craftsman style with original lath/plaster walls so installing some kind of wall safe isn't going to happen because A)It's hard to cut into those walls and maintain structural integrity and B)There's probably asbestos in there that we might disturb.
 
We have a member here (I forget who) and his brother came up with some basic but ingenious methods to hide guns. Things like a false stair in a stairway that quickly and easily opened. Maybe a false hidden panel in a wall would work for you? I read about your walls but look around. Get creative. Just remember any gun with a planned home defense use needs to be easily accessible. Fifty guns in a large safe secured are not quite readily accessible. The idea being work with what you have. Got closets? Build a false back to one. Anyway, looking at your post that is what I would be considering.

Ron
 
If you have a closet that's wide enough to hold your shotgun horizontally, you can use a trigger-guard lock screwed into a wall stud in combination with a ring, like so: http://franzeninternational.thomasn...-2/franzen-security-wall-mounted-trigger-lock . Instead of the ring, you can also use one of those vinyl-coated L-shaped hangers that screws into a stud for greater strength, that sticks down the muzzle far enough to stop someone from pulling the shotgun off the wall. Same basic idea as the Mossberg lock.
 
'Rust faster if stored in there for a long time." Not if you periodicity inspect and wipe down! Or put another way. Use common sense when storing a weapon.

Leave he foam were it is.............

Not all opinions you can take to the bank.............
 
So, I've been looking into gun safes/cabinets and I've found some that we could tuck into our bedroom closet that are about $100, but it seems like overkill for a single shotgun w/ an extra barrel to buy an 8 gun cabinet (the smallest I can find). I may buy a .22lr rifle in the future and maybe a handgun, but in all honesty that is probably the extent of what I will ever own if I had to guess. I don't hunt (and even if I do, deer can only be taken with shotguns, muzzle loaders, pistols, and bows in Illinois) and while I joke about the zombie apocalypse, I'm not building an arsenal for it ;).

Assuming I shoot it say once a month or so, could I get away with storing it in a hard case with the egg foam style padding (or with it removed if it will help prevent rust)? I'm not a big fan of the wall mounted racks personally.

http://www.ruralking.com/stack-on-8-gun-steel-security-cabinet-hunter-green-gcg-908.html

FWIW, this is the cabinet I'm considering getting. Maybe I could store my backup weapon (softball bat) in there with the gun to justify the capacity? :)
 
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I used a old school locker for years , it was 12 by 12 or so and had a shelf, it took little efort to convert into a gun locker . I picked it up off craigslist. I was looking for a small metel storage cabinet. Just put a hasp and pad lock on it.
We have long since out grown it ,as you will see. I dont remember how much I paid but it wasnt more than thirty bucks
 
Funny that you mention that, I had just started thinking about that as an option. The gun locker might actually fit better because it's only 10-11" deep but it is definitely overkill at the moment.
 
I also just discovered this:

http://www.planomolding.com/product.php?BCCID=118&PID=809

Any thoughts? Pretty much avoids any foam touching the metal parts of the gun. I could tuck it in the closet on the floor and I think the wife wouldn't be too torn up about the space it might take up. I'd prefer to have it on my side of the bed, but I'd also rather not have it rust/deteriorate due to storage.
 
The $100 Stackon safe would likely prove more useful than you think. Even if you don't ever get another gun you very likely have other valuables that bear locking up. I found my first safe useful for storing my laptop, camera, spare cash on hand and important documents. Truthfully my biggest regret was not getting a larger fire rated safe.

Regardless of how you do it, owning weapons imparts a moral responsibility to secure them. Do it somehow, you'll never regret it.
 
Ya, securing it is something I wanted to get figured out before I got it for sure. More concerned about keeping it from curious small folk than I am burglars although the second would be nice too. The issue I'm running into is that every safe I've looked at for the closet, one of the dimensions is just too big. The one I linked above the depth is perfect, but the width is too much now that I look at how our closet is laid out. If I could get a safe that was just 10" deep and about 12-14" wide, it'd be perfect for my needs.
 
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