The days of heavy and expensive gun safes being the only option for homeowners to store their guns is long past. Today, there are many innovative options that can work with the space you have available.
by Brad Fenson
[Editor’s Note: Last month’s article on building your own custom gun and ammo rack was a big hit with our readers. Understanding that not everyone has the space or the inclination to make copious amounts of sawdust, we wanted to give you some handy alternatives to the DIY route.]
A Remington 700 pump-action .270 was the first rifle I ever purchased, and I often took it out to handle and admire. The firearm was associated with fun, adventure, hunting, and shooting, and it took working a part-time job to afford it. My firearms collection has grown significantly over the years, and each piece holds certain value and memories. For years, my shotguns, rifles, muzzleloaders, and handguns have been locked away to ensure they were safely and properly stored. It meant I rarely got to admire each piece, and some got lost in the mix without much recognition.
Responsible firearm ownership includes safe storage. Securely storing firearms when not in use is necessary to protect your investment and to ensure your cherished arms don’t fall into the wrong hands. Some jurisdictions have storage laws, whereas others are voluntary.
Organizations like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), National Rifle Association, and International Hunter Education Association promote safe and responsible firearm handling and storage. NSSF set the first week of June every year to remind gun owners to evaluate their firearm storage practices.
The need to safely secure firearms protects the owner, the public, and the investment to acquire them. For most firearm owners, secure storage conjures images of large gun safes fortified to a wall and entered with a tumbler lock or biometric control; however, other options exist to meet the safe and secure requirements and still have easy access to all your favorite pieces to admire.
Build It
Having a secure room or specialized gun locker is becoming more popular. Police, military, retailers, and firearm collectors have secured rooms to store hundreds or even thousands of firearms. Can the average firearm owner have a dedicated space to use and show off a small and meaningful collection?
A friend of mine owns many guns, and when he showed me a fortified room he built for firearm storage, it set my mind in motion. Cinder blocks were used for an internal frame, and the room was finished inside and out like any other room in the house. It was special, looked outstanding, and offered environmental controls to manage steel and premium wood components.
Any room in your house can be converted to a firearms-owner cave. It can be any size, and fortification can be completed in many ways. A row of cinder blocks adds strength but reinforcing the walls and ceiling of the safe area with materials such as plywood, wire mesh, concrete board, or even steel will provide the structural integrity required. Impact-resistant windows and steel bars are required on any windows.
A basement room in our home offered three concrete outside walls, and it took little carpentry to secure the remaining wall and ceiling. The biggest question of the project was how to store or display the firearms and secure the entry door.
SnapSafe Vault Door
A visit to the Hornady booth at the SHOT Show introduced me to SnapSafe, and the Vault Door stood out as the missing link to securing my firearm room in the best way possible. The door and frame are constructed of a thick 12-gauge steel. Nine one-inch live locking bolts deadbolt the door into the frame. A SecuRam digital lock with key backup is standard and easy to program. The system is well thought out and even comes with the tools necessary for installation.
Two hunting buddies helped install the door, which took under 30 minutes. The door is heavy, weighing 350 pounds, but manageable with a few people. It was easy to level and lag-bolt into place. The unit fits a standard 36-inch door opening, and the door is 81 inches tall, with an inside clearance width of 31.4 inches and an outside width of 36.8 inches. It is designed for a 38×82-inch rough opening. We needed to use a reciprocating saw to widen the opening on the existing door frame by one inch.
The door can be ordered to open inward or outward and has an access handle inside to open the room as required. Being able to lock yourself in the room allows it to be used as a safe room in case of an emergency or as a panic room; however, you can exit without restriction any time.
I finished the wall around the Vault Door with barn board and hung a springbok European mount to give it the finishing touch. Only special friends can see inside. The finished doorway has inspired several fellow gun enthusiasts to do the same.
SecureIt Tactical
Different gun displays were researched, and some do-it-yourself projects were close to what I wanted but didn’t have the appeal to display in a safe and meaningful way. The SecureIt Tactical website inspired a new line of thinking with free advice, design, and planning to complete the task. SecureIt gun wall panels offer a modular design and components to fasten and display firearms. Kits have already been developed for easy installation. By sending an email with questions from the gun wall link, the company helped design and blueprint a custom wall to fit my room.
A concept drawing was created by SecureIt engineers, and a list of components with order numbers was supplied. A few emails were sent back and forth until the ultimate display wall was planned.
The package was delivered to my door in under a week, and hunting buddies were back to help with the installation. It took a morning to get everything unpacked and fastened to the wall. The project unfolded before our eyes, and the end product was better than we had imagined.
Gun Panels
The gun panels would allow anyone to turn a room, closet, or wall into a secure and interchangeable system. Stock bases and cradles with snap grips were set up to hold a variety of long guns. There are special snap grips for .50 caliber and shotgun barrels. Horizontal display mounts were chosen for shotguns, and pistol display mounts for handguns. Storage bins were added to hold everything from extra choke tubes to manuals.
Police departments, evidence rooms, and gun enthusiasts have been using the systems for decades, and the customized and modular system offers flexibility to grow or change as required. It is a true modular and adaptive system with interchangeable components with other SecureIt products.
Agile
The Agile modular gun safes offer secure storage anywhere. There are several different sizes, and they are designed for moving around. The modular safes are easy to put together and stack flat, ship easily, and are inexpensive compared to large firewall safes. The design and weight save on freight — no lift gate is required. The various models are all made to ship with major companies and couriers.
The Agile safes are made of cold-rolled carbon steel, offering more strength as they are formed and keeping a higher tensile strength. They have a light-up keypad and thumbprint access. The Agile safes can be bolted to a wall, trailer, or anything secure.
I have owned a Model 52 Pro for several years and take it to hunting camp to secure all firearms when we are not around. It has also been used in my decoy trailer on extended waterfowl adventures. The Agile line is a nice addition to a firearm room, allowing you to take safe and secure storage with you when required.
Fast Box
Fast Box is another piece of the safe storage puzzle when traveling. There are different models and sizes to store firearms in your vehicle or beside and under a bed. In November, biometric locks will be added to this line, allowing quick access when needed. Hidden drawers and horizontal or vertical cabinets use the same components as the other SecureIt products.
Answer Full-Size Safe
The Answer line of safes is a great consideration if you can’t build a separate room. The units weigh hundreds of pounds less than traditional safes and can be moved or expanded as required. The full-size, move-anywhere gun safes provide great options for your home or business.
Environmental Controls
Finally, SnapSafe offers an awesome line of accessories to manage and control a gun safe or room. Canister or rechargeable dehumidifiers, hygrometer, LED lights, hangers, cables, shelves, magnetic hooks, and mounts can be used to customize the room and ensure steel and wood are managed with temperature and humidity.
