About gun safes and cabinets....

[Plinker 1]

Years ago I remember my uncle and friends having really nice wood and glass gun cabinets. Lockable of course. Now it seems like everyone is into these huge safes. Is this because of concern about someone breaking into something like a wooden gun cabinet, or concern about fire and keeping ammo from exploding or??? I'm asking because I amd going to need something soon. Wife and I found a gun cabinet (wood and glass, locks) at a local flea market for $20. Picked it up - needs a bit of TLC but it's pretty nice. Still, I keep thinking something may not be 'up to code' with using just a gun cabinet instead of a gun safe.

[lunker 274]

It boils down to what you are comfortable with. Do you have kids? Do you live in a good area? I would love to have a case to show off my nicer guns, but my wife insisted that guns be in a safe. It wasn't unreasonable, and they are now somewhere that is fairly fireproof and will stop anyone but a dedicated person who is not in a hurry.

[DevsAdvocate 112]

Gun cabinets like the one you discussed are nice if you have some high-end firearms to display, like some nice O/Us or war relics. It's cool if you don't have kids and you keep the ammo locked up.

 

I got the same because... well, it's more secure.

[specopsscout 26]

My Brother In Law lived in Bordentown City about ten years ago. It was a low crime area, and he had a very nice gun display case, with large glass doors to show off his hunting guns. One day while the family was out, some of his teenage daughter's "friends" broke into the house, broke open the case and stole his collection of rifles, shotguns and a few handguns. The only saving grace was the thieves were fairly stupid and left finger prints all over everything. It didn't take long for the Police to get a confession, and be lead out into the woods where the thieves stashed the gym bag full of now rusting guns. Apparantly they had been admiring his collection through the glass doors the last time they were at the house. When they stopped over to see his daughter, and no one answered the door, they just decided to take that opportunity to climb in through an unlocked window and steal the guns...

[AnthonyG 36]

My uncle has some nice gun cabinets, but he lives in the mountains, hunts often ,has no kids in the house and had a gun ready and loaded in almost every room in the house. So showing off your guns is more of a matter of do you have the right living situation and atmosphere. I would say that in some area's such as my town locking things up have become more of a practice because break ins are more common, crime is up. I also have kids in my house almost every weekend I do not want to take the chance of someone taking my guns and or a child opening a cabinet and shooting themselves.

[Plinker 1]

Ok, so it seems there isn't some law that requires a safe. I wouldn't mind having one of them but they are a bit pricey...though to protect your guns it's worth it. Of course the thought of moving one of them makes my back hurt, lol. And if you are getting one, you need to get one that looks impressive.

 

I was thinking of modifying the wood case to provide a bit more security...perhaps something like a bicycle chain lock thru all of the trigger guards or some sort of captive device to hold the guns in place. Of course, being made of wood it could be chipped and busted apart...

 

I don't plan on having it in view of the general public...it will be downstairs in my shop. I was thinking of putting a mirror type tinting on the back of the glass so you couldn't really see in. We don't plan on showing off the guns except to perhaps a few close friends.

 

Kids are grown up. Oldest is 28, married, has a house. Youngest is 24 and lives in an apartment with her boy friend. Oldest daugheter is 26 and joined the Army. Leaves on Nov. 1st for basic. So just have to worry about the cats getting into everything...

 

Heck, maybe just fix it up and re-sell it for a profit....

[rifleman 90]

Fix it up with an alarm and keep it out of sight. Make a big, strong locking bar.

[NicePants 58]

My Brother In Law lived in Bordentown City about ten years ago. It was a low crime area, and he had a very nice gun display case, with large glass doors to show off his hunting guns. One day while the family was out, some of his teenage daughter's "friends" broke into the house, broke open the case and stole his collection of rifles, shotguns and a few handguns. The only saving grace was the thieves were fairly stupid and left finger prints all over everything. It didn't take long for the Police to get a confession, and be lead out into the woods where the thieves stashed the gym bag full of now rusting guns. Apparantly they had been admiring his collection through the glass doors the last time they were at the house. When they stopped over to see his daughter, and no one answered the door, they just decided to take that opportunity to climb in through an unlocked window and steal the guns...

 

Oh god, just reading that story made me rage with the fury of a thousand suns. If I had a case like that and someone did that, holy crap they'd probably have to keep me from strangling them all and putting them in the same hole they put my stuff in.

[joecs1 11]

If you must use a case like that, have a alarm guy, alarm it with a magnet and glass-break sensor! most home alarms can have 2 partitions, one for perimeter and motion sensors, and a second partition for something like this, a safe. the safe can be armed 24/7 and needs a different code then the 1st partion! That is how my house is set up! Kids dont know the code for the safes nor the combos.

[Maksim 1,504]

If you must use a case like that, have a alarm guy, alarm it with a magnet and glass-break sensor! most home alarms can have 2 partitions, one for perimeter and motion sensors, and a second partition for something like this, a safe. the safe can be armed 24/7 and needs a different code then the 1st partion! That is how my house is set up! Kids dont know the code for the safes nor the combos.

 

 

great idea.

[Plinker 1]

That is an excellent idea! Now, if we ever get power back I can start cleaning it up....

[checko 180]

That is an excellent idea! Now, if we ever get power back I can start cleaning it up....

 

You're still out if power?? Ugh that sucks

[Plinker 1]

You're still out if power?? Ugh that sucks

 

Yep. JCP&L ... Or I should say First Energy .. at their finest. I know they have a huge job ahead of them....but peope on either end of our road have power.

[Darkmagik 2]

If your that paranoid of people braking into the case change the hinges to thick hardened steel and have them covered. Then change the glass out of fiberglass that to some degree is impact resistant so they will spend more time opening up the case. Just a thought to throw out there.

[djg0770 481]

Yep. JCP&L ... Or I should say First Energy .. at their finest. I know they have a huge job ahead of them....but peope on either end of our road have power.

 

Yes, Energy is first, people are last...

[Sixtytwo327 14]

I have a cheap Stack-On security cabinet. Also live in an apartment, so a real safe is not an option. I'd love to have cabinets if I didn't live in an urban area, but since that's not the reality, I keep mine out-of-sight and away from the little ones.

[bry@n 195]

I personally would never put my firearms on display for everyone to see. It seems like inviting trouble i.e. the bordentown story.

 

I was was in a house with a trick room, kinda behind a book shelf. The guy said he was gonna make it like a gun room that the kids didn't know about and people in general wouldn't know about. Was a cool idea and big enough to be a bedroom.

[HKHockey 5]

Yeah, a relative of mine has the same setup as bry@n. A bookshelf with a weighted lock attached to the door. Small bedroom size with bed, computer, gun safes. Was pretty BA.

[71ragtopgoat 23]

Here is a cool safe I've been looking over

http://www.snapsafe.com/

[hd2000fxdl 422]

I personally would never put my firearms on display for everyone to see. It seems like inviting trouble i.e. the bordentown story.

 

I was was in a house with a trick room, kinda behind a book shelf. The guy said he was gonna make it like a gun room that the kids didn't know about and people in general wouldn't know about. Was a cool idea and big enough to be a bedroom.

 

I want one of them rooms when I build my homes in AZ and FL when I retire in another 5 or so years,

 

Oh, and you say you wouldn't want one of the display cabinets because your too used to the PR of NJ, you get out to areas like the the house out in Scottsdale and you wouldn't feel uncomfortable leaving loaded guns hanging on the wall for display. I even have friends in Montana that their gun cabinet is the rack in the back window of their pick-um-truck.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Here is a cool safe I've been looking over

http://www.snapsafe.com/

 

I think those snapsafes are grat for people in appartments or someone who maybe picking up and moving often. Or an additional safe in a hard to get to location in the house. Other than that for the price I would rather go with a normal solid safe.

[bry@n 195]

Harry,

 

 

 

It has nothing to do with NJ. I grew up in the PJ's. The people you need to watch is sometimes the ones closest to you. My opinion will never change and I would never leave a loaded gun for somebody to get tp it and use on me.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

It has nothing to do with NJ. I grew up in the PJ's. The people you need to watch is sometimes the ones closest to you. My opinion will never change and I would never leave a loaded gun for somebody to get tp it and use on me.

 

 

Bryan, Understandable and very reasonable

[Plinker 1]

Good information folks. I did think about changing out the glass but what I might do is put sheet metal behind it. It has a nice deer engraving on the front and really don't want to loose that. The hinges onthe other hand...screws right out in the open for the dismantling....definately from a different time....and something I will have to change.

 

#%^#%^^!!! First Energy STILL hasn't fixed the power!

[Maggiesmith564 0]

wow that's really nice cabinet

[Sixtytwo327 14]

Here is a cool safe I've been looking over

http://www.snapsafe.com/

 

I was looking at these, for said apartment.

 

http://www.zanottiarmor.com/safes.htm

 

If my collection keeps growing (ok WHEN) I'll be picking one up.

[Plinker 1]

I've seen a couple different safes in similar smaller configurations in the +/- $400 range. All seem pretty nice. I'm curious about the electronic locks though. What happens if the battery should fail on it? How do you open the safe then?

[71ragtopgoat 23]

If the battery fails you replace it. They are accessible from outside the safe. I'm more concerned with the electronics failing. I prefer the old dial type lock.

[Cemeterys Gun Blob 165]

I have a cheap Stack-On security cabinet. Also live in an apartment, so a real safe is not an option. I'd love to have cabinets if I didn't live in an urban area, but since that's not the reality, I keep mine out-of-sight and away from the little ones.

 

Same here, same circumstance.

 

Was able to scoot the cabinet up the stairs and into my place without neighbors being nosey about a crew trying to lug a clunky safe into the building.

[lunker 274]

I was looking at these, for said apartment.

 

http://www.zanottiarmor.com/safes.htm

 

If my collection keeps growing (ok WHEN) I'll be picking one up.

 

How is the pricing. It's not on the website (that I could find anyway). That's usually a bad sign.