ultimate gun safe

[mirage]

At work the other day we got a call from an old timer with a "safe" he could not open. My associate and I drove out to the address to find a nice old brick house with a storefront added on to the front. He was running a great little gunshop that I had no idea even existed. Well he showed us down the stairs to a great old vault door. Guessing vintage of late 1800's, not sure of who built it.
A small hole and a quick scope to open.
When I pulled the door open all I could see is darkness.
The owner shuffled in the door and started flipping light switches.
The vault is 30x40 feet with guns covering the walls floor to ceiling.
This guy has been collecting since the forties. He had everything....
Matchlocks, flintlocks, wheellocks, purcusion guns, just about everything modern. I was floored. All the guns I have read about over the years were right in front of me.
I shot a few pictures, but he seemed nervous about me taking pictures of inside the vault.

Amazing day, hope he opens a museum someday.

 

[Kingofthehill]

I saw a very very similar vault door in Flagstaff, AZ when visiting. I don't remember exactly where it was but i did take pictures.. I'll try and find them when i get home. It was impressive!

Any pics of inside?

 

[wishin]

I saw a very very similar vault door in Flagstaff, AZ when visiting. I don't remember exactly where it was but i did take pictures.. I'll try and find them when i get home. It was impressive!

Any pics of inside?

The local bank?.........

 

[Kingofthehill]

no, I think it was a Restraunt that awas in a barn of sorts?... it was a cool place at a lake and it had a lot of history stuff that they kept locked up. Some guns too.

 

[ultradoc]

what a gold mine! lucky you. first thing I thought of was the NRA museum

 

[CoRoMo]

Does he know that you are posting these on the net? I certainly wouldn't want photos of the inside of my house posted on the internet for all to see. That aside, he's go a set up that most of us can only dream of.

 

[The Tennessean]

I shot a few pictures, but he seemed nervous about me taking pictures of inside the vault.

I certainly would have as well. I also wouldn't want my vault posted on the internet for all to see.

 

[BHP FAN]

There's no way to see where that vault door is,or even what state or city it's in.Could be on the moon.C'mon, guys...non issue.

 

[CoRoMo]

Nobody said that his information was accessible. I was just wondering if the owner knows that these photos are now on the internet.

 

[Dravur]

Hey!

what is a picture of my safe doing on the Internet???

Ok, I wish I had that safe...

 

[Vonderek]

There's no way to see where that vault door is,or even what state or city it's in.Could be on the moon.C'mon, guys...non issue.

OP is out of Twin Cities, MN. The old man is running a gun shop of sorts. Maybe he's listed in the phone book. Just gotta look in a 50 mile radius or so for gun shops in rural communities...old brick house with a storefront. If it's not listed just ask around, someone knows. I'll bet it's pretty easy to find. If I was the owner and knew the pics were online I would be extremely p***ed. Gotta use common sense and discretion when posting on the internet. It's not just nice-guy hobbyists reading these postings. I wouldn't have let the guy take pictures in the first place if I was the owner.

 

[mirage]

No worry's about finding this place, we work the five state area.
It wasn't easy for us to find with very specific directions.

I just like to know guys like this are still around.

 

[hso]

I hope the door is in a reinforced concrete wall instead of a wood frame wall you could cut through in a fraction of the time required to get the door open.

 

[rogerjames]

I hope the door is in a reinforced concrete wall instead of a wood frame wall you could cut through in a fraction of the time required to get the door open.

I'm hoping that based on the looks of that door, the rest of the room is heavy gauge steel and that wood/panelling is just for looks.

 

[joejoeshooter]

OP is out of Twin Cities, MN. The old man is running a gun shop of sorts. Maybe he's listed in the phone book. Just gotta look in a 50 mile radius or so for gun shops in rural communities...old brick house with a storefront. If it's not listed just ask around, someone knows. I'll bet it's pretty easy to find. If I was the owner and knew the pics were online I would be extremely p***ed. Gotta use common sense and discretion when posting on the internet. It's not just nice-guy hobbyists reading these postings. I wouldn't have let the guy take pictures in the first place if I was the owner.

Seriously??

 

[a1abdj]

It is not uncommon for me to take photos of safes and vault doors and post them on the internet. Most of the photos are taken with the express permission of the owner, and we make sure that the background of the photo or what we say about the photo will not lead back to the owner.

It's not that big of a deal. You don't sneak vault doors like that into basements unnoticed.

 

[tango2echo]

They tore an old bank down years ago in my home town. A friend of the family got the vault for free just to move it. (Think 12 axle crane and oversized flatbed truck) It's about 10X20ft and is now the "basement" of his house. They poured concrete around and over it and basically built the house on top of it. He rarely let's anyone outside his close circle of friends in there. I've been twice in twenty years.

 

[eagleno49]

OP is out of Twin Cities, MN. The old man is running a gun shop of sorts. Maybe he's listed in the phone book. Just gotta look in a 50 mile radius or so for gun shops in rural communities...old brick house with a storefront. If it's not listed just ask around, someone knows. I'll bet it's pretty easy to find. If I was the owner and knew the pics were online I would be extremely p***ed. Gotta use common sense and discretion when posting on the internet. It's not just nice-guy hobbyists reading these postings. I wouldn't have let the guy take pictures in the first place if I was the owner.

Yep, I'm already on my way.

 

[sig228]

If you took these photos while on the job and posted them on the net without the owner's permission, then you violated his trust.

You should be fired.

Period.

 

[mirage]

Chill out sig228, He knows the pic are up.
He is an awsome guy, gave us a in depth tour and was happy we were interested in his lifes collection. He is well known to those in town, and will give mini tours if in the mood.
Didn't expect everyone to get so excited.

 

[Doggy Daddy]

I like the little "No Smoking" sign on the door of the vault. I think if it was my vault, I'd also hang a "No Guns" sign on the door. Just for grins, ya know...

DD