Mayor Al

I know I saw a thread here discussing the pros and cons of have display cabinets or racks visible in your home vs the " Lock'em up in a safe" or other storage system. But I can't find it anywhere on the forums now.

I have acquired an expanded inventory of arms in the past year. I really enjoy having them around and spend a lot of time catching up the cleaning and routine maintanance that they didn't get in their previous life.

My question(s) are... I currently use a 6-long-gun Oak Cabinet (glass-door) for the "Top-6" of my favorite long guns. (out of a total of a bit over a dozen.) The rest of the group are in cases in a closest, with the lowest couple sitting out under a bed on carpet. The hand guns are treated a bit differently right now, with a slight change coming. Currently I am using three shelves in my "library" (an empty bedroom with about 9 five shelf bookshelves loaded with a lifelong library) to layout about two dozen handguns of various types. Part of them (6) are new-still in the factory boxes, the rest are visible, but no-one other than a family visitor or close friend ever enters that room, and then only by my invitation.

I have ordered a couple of the "lazy-susan type of pistol racks to better care for the non-boxed handguns. Each rack holds Nine guns, so I should have room to spare from the shelf-space I am using now.

I do not have a Gun Safe, and have no plans to buy one in the near future. My inventory has reached it's peak, and may change in the future, but not grow much larger.

So, Knowing there are strong opinions on both sides of the security vs display issue, I would like to hear from you guys as to what sort of compromises can I make to improve security, but still have access to my guns???

Thanks in advance for your input...We may not agree but i respect all varied opinions on this issue.

atsig20221022

I am as well torn with this issue. I like having out on display but i dont want them stolen either. U just have to make the decision for urself whether or not u are comfortable with the fact that if u have them out for display that there is a HUGE risk incurred that they could be stolen if ur home were ever broken into.

NCLEO89

This is, like most everything else, a decision only you can make. That said, here's my 2 cents: In 23 years [and counting] of full time LE, I can say that I've seen many residential break-ins in my time. From that, I can say that gun cabinets are great for keeping small children away from firearms. However, they absolutely stink when it comes to theft prevention! Next, under-the-bed is the oldest hiding place in the world. There are, of course, no guarantees, but there's much to be said for a fully-fenced yard, a huge, ugly dog within same, an alarm system, and a quality gun safe. Good luck.

Amishman44

Out of sight and locked up! I don't want a home invasion to result in the theft of my guns being sold illegally on the street and/or used to kill someone during the commitment of a crime...especially a child! Only a few select individuals know what I have and where they are located!

shootist

Lock them up in a good gun safe, it's real cool to have them displayed so you can see them but not worth having them out where they can be stolen should some criminal desides to break in the first time your not at home.

scooter89

I had a my home broken into in feb. of 11 and that was the worst feeling in the world. I was in my basement shower, i heard the door upstairs open and shut and just assumed it was my girlfriend. When i came upstair wrapped in my towel, i heard stomps, then i heard a door slam at the front of my house. I ran to my bedroom, grabbed my SR9 and a pair of boxers. when i racked my slide, i heard the door slam again, meaning there were two people or the first one came back. When i started looking around, my remington 1100 was out of its case and my marlin 30-30 was out of its case and completely across my bedroom from the closet i kept it in. I had to dang near max out a credit card, but i bought a liberty firesafe and one of the handgun safes with the 4 finger combination from gander mountain for the night stand. I almost lost two guns with more sentimental value than physical value, not taking that chance twice.

Nick0410

Not worth the risk. Cabinet is only good for keeping friends and family out.

DQL5150

I lock 'em up in a gun safe except for the easily accessible and well concealed handguns in 5 different locations throughout my house. But that's just me.

polaris754

Hey outa sight outa there hands werks fer me , had a few ripped off , never again, plan on being there this time to show them the business end.

MILLERTIME

Why not have the best pf both worlds and security proof the room. It sounds like its your man cave, just turn it into the ultimate man cave. The couple thousand dollars needed for a top of the line fire safe that would house all your guns would go a long way to keep anyone out of that room altogether . Just a thought....I wish I was in your shoes andhad more than the 8 guns I have now. Brian

Lee D

both...the ones i want handy hang on a rack, the rest get locked up

Lead Slanger

I lock them babies up.

30cal

lock em up. its the law here in CT

had3nuf

I have been around guns for some 45 yrs. aquired quite a vast collection from a colt frontier scout to class III's. in that time I have sold 1 and had 1 stolen. as hard as most people work to get what they like, breaking into a house doesn't take a lot of work. mine are always in the safe with the exception of the one thats on duty at the time. but if I'm home alone and go to take a shower that one goes in the safe until I get out, because the last thing I want is for a bullet that I paid for to take my breath away.

jaxrider14

I keep everything out of sight, locked in a safe. And I don't have NRA stickers or other gun related items on my pickup out in the driveway. Same goes for Harley stickers. Best to not advertise your interests because a thief driving by will know what he can get by breaking into your home.
My home defense handgun is loaded and out when I'm home, but locked in the safe when I leave.