I currently have 7 handguns but don't have a safe. I live in an apartment with no children. Any ideas for storing/ securing handguns.
I currently just use gun rugs and the top shelf of a closet, but my neighbors apartment was broken into recently and I'm looking for a poor mans solution to better secure/hide them.
Good Lord man! Do you know the Terminix man comes once a month to your apartment? Or whomever they have contracted for exterminators. Truth be known, three or four people have a key to your apartment. Truthfully, I don't know what to tell you other than finding a place-maybe immediate family that has a house to keep your pistols secure. For sure-my primary carry would be with me all of the time. Apartment maintenance would surely change the air filters once in a while also and if you stashed things next to the water heater, there would be someone who looks there also. Your vehicle is not a good place either, but it would be even more secure than your apartment. As previously suggested, I would get some kind of safe, even a sheet metal, lockable safe that will at least deter the lazy.
For the price of one of those guns (sold), you can acquire a used safe suitable for a half-dozen handguns. Several months ago, I passed on a reasonably stout, "baby" AMSEC safe. It was $150. A number of these come 'round every so often (on craigslist and the like) for $350 or less. Something like this can be bolted to the floor/wall and provide a deterrent by buying time while the inbound cavalry is responding to your alarm. Though, without an alarm, nothing's going to stop a determined person.
Here's one on Craigslist, an AMSEC DXE-1818. This is a stout TL-15 model, with 1/2" plate (I think). Of course, it's got to be drilled open and is in Florida. $free to a good home.
A lot of times, banks or retail stores going out of business have suitable safes they will give away or cheap that they used in the managers office too.
There's a reason for that $50 tag. I have gotten those open in LESS than 10 seconds. That's with a paperclip and Swiss Army Knife. Pickset is just as fast, if not faster. Those fire safes with the cheapie tubular locks aren't much of a deterrent.
You'd almost be better off with a standard Red tool box with one of those round, bolt-cutter proof padlocks on the front and chained to the undercarriage of your box-spring.
If you're dead-set on them go a bit more $ up around the $90-100+ range and get the ones with the dual locking (combo and key).
If you feel the need to secure something...do it right. Don't half-donkey it because there's always going to be someone that can pop those things in 15 seconds or less with little to no effort.
My current alarm system consists of a $20 bill I leave in plain sight on my coffee table, when i come home and open my door if i don't see it, I know I've either been robbed or it's in progress and i wont walk in blind.
maybe run a cable through all of them and a wall stud, and use a padlock for maybe $30? But for not too much more you could get a cheap stackon. Just make sure you bolt it to the wall.
Well, without a safe about the best you can hope for is to prevent casual theft.
One thing you can do is knock a hole in the wall between the studs inside a closet and above the closet inside door frame.
That is a place where people RARELY LOOK even if snooping or robbing a house or apartment.
You can Zip Lock Bag 6 of your handguns and put them in there.
You can leave out one revolver and padlock it through the trigger guard and behind the trigger and put the 2 end links of a short length of heavy chain on the padlock and that way you can chain it and lock it around a heavy radiator.
That at least will prevent its casual theft.
The stackon safe runs about 80 dollars. I picked up one and it has worked out well. It came with the hardware to mount it to the wall. It is large enough for 7 hand guns. If you mount it in the closet chances are if you put spackle over the holes that will be enough to cover up that you had a safe and will not require paint to cover. so no loss in security deposit.
I would also record all serial number and take photos and put them in a different place along with renters insurance or a policy to cover your property loss in the event of theft.
I used to handcuff my duty weapon (through the trigger guard) to the closet rod, and conceal it under a coat on a hanger.
With a little ingenuity and just a couple of bucks worth of materials, I'd imagine you could construct a gadget that would conceal multiple handguns in that same way.
I also lock handguns in a footlocker when we're leaving town. Long guns go in between the mattress and the box spring.
I'm starting to get nervous, though, and have been looking for a decent deal on a safe.
Actually after i was robbed of an AR15 and A 1911 45,by somebody I knew but he left about 10,000 dollars worth of guns I guess he didn't wanta totally wipe me out,anyhow next day I had a gun safe installed and bolted to walls and floo,had I bought it in the first place the 1500.00 in guns and accessories would not be in the hands of drug dealers today
After watching those cable shows where ex-thieves break into your home, I would not be too smug about hide-aways for your firearms. I have two fire proof sentry safe's but they are not equipped to be bolted to anything (probably because you'd lose the fire-proofing). They are small enough to be carried out and worked on at a more convenient time. So, no help there.
To me guns in a safe are about as use full as Rosy O'donnell on a date with a straight man. A safe in my home is about as useful. My place is isolated enough that robbers could bring moving trucks and take everything without anyone ever hearing or seeing them. Hell they could burn the place to the ground and no one would know until I got home. So, my home is my safe. I have done all I can to make it and my property as secure as possible. My wife did draw the line at bullet proof roll shutters. If someone were to make it through my security into the house and past he dogs I'd pretty much be screwed and will have to live with the consequences. My only consolation would be that I'd have pics of who broke in and their license plate. Most of my guns are out of sight but easily accessible, so I have no illusions about someone being able to find them if they got in. Obviously I seriously doubt that will happen. It's been a long time since I have lived in an apartment but check your PM's for something I did back when I did. The only other suggestion I have is to set up some nanny cams to upload pics of anyone in your home when you are gone. You can use anything from high end spy cams to simple web cams on motion sensors.
really cheap: pickup some free gun locks at the local police station, and use them to chain your guns to a bolt/beam/pipe or whatever. But there are lots of reasonably priced safes as others pointed out... just think about it: how will it feel if your gun gets stolen and used to kill someone? Probably worthwhile to trade a gun for a safe.
Make sure any air conditioner mounted in a window is secured shut with a peice of wood btween the remaining window and top casement. Also make sure that the a/c thru the sleeve thru the wall is bolted to the sleeve. BG push the A/C out of the way and into the apt or home.
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