Hidey Holes for guns

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My laser printer has 2 drawers for paper. I am going to dedicate one for my Sig. Outta sight, outta mind, easily accessible. That's the room I'm going to if there is a home invasion too, as it's all windows. I'm getting out of the darn house not staying locked inside. ;)

It won't stop a real thief as they are probably taking the printer anyways, but ya never know. That SOB is heavy for the $20 they are going to get for it.
 
Until you have a safe: Go to Lowe's. Buy a steel plate with a ring or eyelet on it. Secured said ring/plate with 2-4 *long* wood screws to a wall stud fairly close to the floor. Run thick-ish bicycle style lock through ring and then through all trigger guards of all guns. Instant "safe". Will slow down a determined thief, and deter a non-determined thief. Will keep most kids out. Preferably do this in a closet or other out of the way area.
 
Until you have a safe: Go to Lowe's. Buy a steel plate with a ring or eyelet on it. Secured said ring/plate with 2-4 *long* wood screws to a wall stud fairly close to the floor. Run thick-ish bicycle style lock through ring and then through all trigger guards of all guns. Instant "safe". Will slow down a determined thief, and deter a non-determined thief. Will keep most kids out. Preferably do this in a closet or other out of the way area.
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This sounds like a really good low cost or temporary solution. Really good meaning about 10x better than doing nothing.

Only thing I would add, is, I would consider deliberately stripping out the screw heads, or using screws with security bit heads on them. At our house, there's always a ready to use screw gun sitting around on a shelf nearby, and I'd feel real dumb if someone used my own screwgun to run those screws out of the wall in 30 seconds flat.
 
Closet under the basement stairs. 2 dead bolt locks, top and bottom, and a keyed entry lockset. Set into a laminated plywood/steel door. 3" hinge screws (real screws not sheetrock screws) with welded hinge pins. All the molding is screwed into the framing and the white oak door framing. Not quite as good as a $2k safe but it will definiatly slow them down. There is no striker plate as such, I used 1/4" HRS relieved into the striker side of the frame and just drilled holes for the dead bolts and latch pin it that. Oh yeah, it has it's own intrusion detection system hooked up to all the outside lights, to make them flash, and the central alarm system. I have a set of keys as does the wife. There is no other set.
 
If you're feeling a little adventurous here's a site that can provide some inspiration:

http://www.hiddenpassageway.com

It's a bit bandwidth intensive from all the photos, but they have some cool ideas. I've been thinking about building a "safe room" in my new house. A room hidden by a secret door with a safe in it for weapons and valuables. I've also considered installing plate steel around the inside of it to protect against a hostile home invasion (sheet rock is not exactly bulletproof) and covering that with carpet to dampen the sound.

Of course I'd have a small safe out in the open with a few non-sentimental and replaceable weapons in the event of a break in. Kind of like keeping $20 in your wallet to make a mugger happy enough to not check in your shoes.

Hmm... I think I sound a bit paranoid... :uhoh:

-MW
 
If you want to bullet proof the room. Use ceramic floor tile backed by say 12 guage steel then covered with plywood. My 30-06 will shoot through a 7/16 steel plate (mild steel). I had a few old tiles and I put one in front. It stopped the '06. I tried it with a piece of 12 guage that an '06 would zip through. With a tile in front-- stopped it. Poor mans composite armor? I found out what some of the armor inside a modern M1 tank is. Correct me if I'm wrong. Some of it is quartz stone embedded in high density polyethylene. If you look closely when you shoot a 223 or '06 at steel, it looks like molten metal has rebounded from the impact. Hard steel plate thick enough to stop a bullet from high powered rifle, would cost a fortune if you armored. Sandwich some cheap floor tile, maybe fill the space between two sheets of plywood with small river rock, and you've got something bullet proof.
 
i walked by a guy servicing a coke machine today and thought that it would make a fine gun safe and would be incognito also. i see dead machines sitting around the distributorships frequently.
 
Many full-size ATX PC cases have locking sides and eyelets for attaching a security cable. Depending on how crowded the inside of your PC is you could hide a pistol or two in there fairly securely.

PCs are so cheap these days that a massive old-ish looking one wouldn't be worth stealing for many thieves.
 
There is a book you might look for published back in the 70s titled "Everybody's got something to hide" that was written by a guy in New York City (sorry, I cannot remember his name) who started a business for wealthy clients where he would come to their residence and custom build hidey holes for any purpose. He would only ask what the dimensions were for whatever they wanted to hide. He gave illustrations of some very clever ideas. He could create hidden cavities in furniture, walls, doorframes etc. He said his greatest challenge was an elderly gent who wanted a secret room built that he could roll his wheelchair into and disappear for several days if necessary. He built it. As said before use your imagination. I have built hidey holes in many houses I have owned that would be very difficult to find. A good place is the short wall above the sliding door on the inside of a bedroom closet. Most thieves will look in the closet behind the clothes and on the shelves but not up and back at the upper inside wall. Covering the space with just a piece of white cardboard will conceal it from most people.
 
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One thing I have learned over the years is if you can think of hiding it there, someone can think of finding it there eventually.
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Unless you are psychic or have a lot of time on your hands which you won't due to an alarm you will not find my hidey holes.
 
An old side-by-side refrigerator can be stripped down and fairly incognito. Its especially effective if its one of the old fashion ones with a built in lock.

Most kitchen and bathroom cabinets have a false bottom that can be removed and provide some space as well.
 
Large safe(s) bolted to the floor of attic with small (smaller than safe) access hole, alarm,etc. Also small security cabinet bolted lightly to floor filled with metal rods, scrap, metal, etc. in main living space. Known as sacrifical element.:D good for the hit and run as alarm sounds.:evil:

Picture a shelf on wall up high with three burial urns and pictures of three old people above. In each urn a pistol in a ziploc with wood ashes covering it. :D
 
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For a handgun an old fast food bag would work. Might not look the best in the world to have a semi trashy place but what thief is going to go through the trash.

Books that have cut out sections.

Bookcases with hidden spaces behind books.

False bottoms on furniture like your favorite recliner or office chair.

Laundry hamper disquised.

Basically anything that a thief would not look for in a home. They wouldn't look through your old fast food trash, sit down and read a book, or go through your dirty clothes.
 
The cheap safes bolted to the wall studs seam to work well for a lot of folks. Not being coy at all, it's just that you don't necessarily need to be thinking of dropping 2 grand on a safe right away. A cheap safe is better than none at all.
 
I've got an aquantaince who is an LEO here in the city and has done some time in Narcotics...he knows all the places where people hide stuff and lots of people are totally non-plused when he goes right to the place and there is the stash. "What, you cops know that we hide stuff behind furnace grates? In toilet tanks? In the bases of lamps? Behind light switches? How'd you figure that out?" He heard that every day. He also knows that there were times that he may not have found the stash because somebody really gave it thought and...contrary to what one sees on TV, there are not dogs available all the time every time.

If you are going to hid a something someplace that people will not find it (most of the time), you need to hide it in a place that is not actually a place...all the things noted above are places in this context.

I have no need to hide anything since the boat sank :rolleyes:
 
woodsoup said:
Closet under the basement stairs. 2 dead bolt locks, top and bottom, and a keyed entry lockset. Set into a laminated plywood/steel door. 3" hinge screws (real screws not sheetrock screws) with welded hinge pins. All the molding is screwed into the framing and the white oak door framing. Not quite as good as a $2k safe but it will definiatly slow them down. There is no striker plate as such, I used 1/4" HRS relieved into the striker side of the frame and just drilled holes for the dead bolts and latch pin it that. Oh yeah, it has it's own intrusion detection system hooked up to all the outside lights, to make them flash, and the central alarm system. I have a set of keys as does the wife. There is no other set.
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Not to take the wind out of your sails, but unless you used high security cylinders on those deadbolts and knobs, I could be in your room in 30 seconds. Bumping locks is not a difficult skill to acquire, and now that there are bozos selling bump key sets on the internet for $20, it's something to take into consideration.

Repeat it with me: Schlage Primus. Or Medeco. I just can't afford medeco. But I can the Primus. That's what are on my exterior doors, as well as the door into my office.
 
I don't have any suggestions for the OPs situation that haven't already been mentioned.

I do have a good one for deep cover: 1/4" sheetrock. Cut a hole in a sheetrock wall between the joists large enough for whatever you want to hide (an AK in condition zero comes to mind). Remove the sheetrock to mid-joist on each side. Screw some firing strip to the existing sheetrock at the top and bottom of the opening on the inside to support the new 1/4" material. Cut a piece of 1/4" sheetrock to fit the opening. Prep for storage and stash your whatever-it-is in the opening. Lay your piece of 1/4" sheetrock flat on the floor and put several slices through the paper layer on each side to weaken it. Be sure none or your cuts are directly opposite each other. Use shims to space the 1/4" sheetrock flush with the existing wall and screw it in. Tape, mud, and sand like any other joint. After paint it will be completely invisible. As long as you know where your new "weak spot" in the wall is you can easily smash your fist through and grab whatever you stashed in a hurry. You can do this in any room but I suggest the one(s) you think you might be herded into in a home invasion. If you're extra paranoid about discovery stash a weapon in a wall that has lots of plumbing in it to throw off metal detectors.
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I've had that same idea for years, but you've got it planned better and explained in good detail! I'd put the pistol(s)/ammo in a ziploc bag though.
 
I just have a hole cut into the mantel with a hidden door to cover it. you know, one of those seamless type doors. since I spend most of the time in the living room (which obviously has the fireplace in it) it seemed like a good idea to have a gun there. I have another which rests on my bedside table at night. The rest of the day it is kept in a safe.
 
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