Guns in a bank safety deposit box

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Sentryau2

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Ok so I will be leaving in a few months and not coming back for several years. Taking my firearms with me is a no no and not something I'd want to do anyway. Here is another issue, I don't trust my friends to hold onto my deadly weapons, being in college/living with room mates it just would not be any safer to let them hold onto the guns for me. They cannot stay at my home because a few of my less than stellar relatives will be moving in to take care of things while I'm gone. (not the kind of guys youd want having access to your own weapons) They cannot be left with my grandparents because they are letting a "prohibited person" stay in their home. I don't really feel comfortable leaving them in a storage unit even in a safe because storage units are easily broken into.
All my other relatives I havent been in contact with for years.

Is it even legal to store guns in a safety deposit box? Is there a better alternative?
 
Sure, why wouldn't it be legal?

If it was just a couple of months you could leave them with a gunsmith to be "cleaned" That even works out-of-state.
 
The long recent NFA delays leave a lot of time for gunsmithing. I have been in the habit of rotating parts (barrels, receivers, stock mounting hardware) in and out of my safe deposit box while waiting for stamps to avoid even the appearance of constructive possession.

So yes, a Bank safe deposit box is a very viable option.

Mike
 
Read your safety deposit box agreement. It will most likely be in there. My bank asks that you not store weapons in your box.


WB
 
I kept my pistols in a safe deposit box for years, but I experienced two significant problems:

1. The restrictive hours of the bank when it came to accessing the box;
2. The economics; that is, my safe paid for itself in just a few years compared to the cost of a safe deposit box.

These issues are not applicable to your situation, but I figure I'd put them on the table as well.
 
Might be viable if you only have a few or mostly handguns. If you have a lot of rifles it will get pricey quick. I don't think there would be anything illegal about it, but many banks have no gun policies that you may have to break at your own risk (consequences of breaking vary by locale).

I know you don't trust your relatives, but why not a big locked safe bolted to the floor that only you have a key to? Are they really so awful that they would go through the trouble of breaking into it? It would probably cost less than several years of rent for a box large enough to store all your guns (again depends on how many and how big they are). At the end you would still have a very nice safe to keep those guns in whereas you would have nothing to show for the money spent on a safety deposit box.
 
BSA1 said:
How does a bank know what is being stored in the safety deposit box?

I would coat them in RIG grease and a anti-corrosion bag and keep the payments on the box current.
Click to expand...


Typically they wouldn't know as long as it's never seen going in and out of the box.

However, if your box got drilled for nonpayment. They most likely will just turn it over to the police.
 
The expense of a safe deposit box big enough to hold multiple handguns would really add up after a few years. It would be a lot less expensive to just sell the guns and buy new ones later.
 
BSA1 said:
How does a bank know what is being stored in the safety deposit box?
Click to expand...
How do you get the gun inside the bank and stay within the law, if you don't declare it? Most states prohibit concealed carry within a bank, some prohibit open carry, and some prohibit both. Wouldn't matter that you carry it in unloaded in the eyes of the law.

I looked at several sites about safe deposit boxes, it appears that some banks will allow guns to be stored in a safe deposit box and some will not. When you take out the lease on the box, it will state what items are not allowed.

One article did say that anyone who stored a gun in a safe deposit box would be a basically honest person, a dishonest one wouldn't bother. I found that an interesting concept.
 
I am with MAC on that one. You sound young and are you sure you will be back in a few years? Is this a military deployment or other (personal or job reason). A few years can easily turn into many more.
 
I have 5 gun safes and a safety deposit box at my bank. The safety deposit box is the largest they have and stores both haves of an AR-15, 7 P-mags (loaded), a Beretta 92fs, 3 mags, two boxes of 9mm ammo, and a nylon gym bag to carry them all. I also keep originals of my military records and awards along with $1,000 in cash and silver.

You never know when you will need to bug out or just to have a back up in case of fire, flood, tornado, ect..., and it only costs me $75 a year.
 
Put them well greased in a bank that allows it and pay ahead and have an automatic payment system. Give authority to someone local you super duper absolutely (!?) trust to have access, if you can.
 
How do you get the gun inside the bank and stay within the law, if you don't declare it? Most states prohibit concealed carry within a bank, some prohibit open carry, and some prohibit both. Wouldn't matter that you carry it in unloaded in the eyes of the law.
Click to expand...

If it's not loaded, you're not carrying. Pack it in a plastic bag, well oiled, with dessicants. Bring it in a briefcase. Put in box. Box goes back in vault.
 
bangswitch said:
Most states prohibit concealed carry within a bank, some prohibit open carry, and some prohibit both.
Click to expand...

Bologna.

But, to be fair...can you list which states prohibit what? Maybe with a link/citation to the relevant statute(s)?
 
They have since gone out of business but we had a store in northern NJ that had a walk-in bank type vault on the premises. People paid (I don't know how much) to store very valuable guns there. Maybe there's a gun store or gun club in your area that offers, or would consider offering, a similar service.
 
Read your safety deposit box agreement. It will most likely be in there. My bank asks that you not store weapons in your box.
Click to expand...

Many also say do not store money, gold or other valuables.......

How do you get the gun inside the bank and stay within the law, if you don't declare it? Most states prohibit concealed carry within a bank, some prohibit open carry, and some prohibit both. Wouldn't matter that you carry it in unloaded in the eyes of the law
Click to expand...

Most states do NOT prohibit carrying.

Besides, the guns going in the box won't be on your person - bring them in a briefcase or duffel bag, go into the private area and place in the bank. Boxes are cheap; one for several guns will be less than $100 per year
 
I suppose in states like New Jersey you would be breaking STATE law by transporting your firearm(s) to a location and activity not allowed by law (i.e. firing range for target practice or shooting match). However in the other free states that would not be the case. And that has nothing to do with bankpolicy.

As far as carrying firearms in a bank I think it would be tough case to prove someone was breaking the law (if one exists) by carrying them unloaded in a sealed bag in a locked briefcase. About the only risk I can think of would be a fire with the sprinkler system activated and that would damage and rust to the contents from water / steam.

As commented on banks may also warn against storing cash, valuable jewelry etc. which makes the whole reason for storing them at a bank pointless.
 
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Sentryau2 said:
They cannot stay at my home because a few of my less than stellar relatives will be moving in to take care of things while I'm gone. (not the kind of guys youd want having access to your own weapons) They cannot be left with my grandparents because they are letting a "prohibited person" stay in their home.
Click to expand...

Regarding those two...

If you buy a safe, and bolt it down, and lock it, and don't share the combo/key, then legally either of those is an acceptable option. Technically you could put a lock on a closet in your, or your grandparent's, home and store weapons in that closet so long as you are the only person with the key, but no sense in tempting fate. A bolted down safe is not quite the same temptation as a pressboard closet door.

Are your family members/grandparents houseguests/etc. the sorts of people who would break into a safe or would they leave it alone? Would they let you take over a closet or a corner of their garage?

I had a safe bolted in my parents home for years. I wasn't afraid of them stealing anything from me but they didn't have the combo. That way they were not in possession of whatever was in the safe, avoiding any need to legally transfer it to them or move it out of state.
 
I'd be all for using a Safety Deposit Box for temporary storage if I were crossing the border to a prohibitive state or country and was coming back the same way but for long term I'd go the route of a safe bolted to the floor in a closet at some stable family members home or one of the higher security indoor storage companies that have better security.
 
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