tinkerfive Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hey all Lately I've been working on setting up a gun vault. Till I come up with a better idea for mine, I plan to line the walls with gun cabinets. I've got 3 cabinets to start with. I got to wondering what you other guys have yours set up like. You don't need to give away any of your security secrets, I'd like to see how different people are storing / displaying their guns. Anyone want to post what the inside of their vault looks like? Tinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Tinker, not sure what part of the country you live but my first thought to gun storage is anti-theft. I keep most of mine in a vault. Over the years from a gun club and back in the days when gunshows were also a social event. I've heard allot of horror stories about collections being stolen. Vaults aren't perfect. When I worked for the Post Office, a co-worker a fleet mechanic had his Martini collection stolen. He lived outside the city limits in a semi-rural area, far enough from neighbors that nobody saw anything. The thieves went into his garage rolled his cutting torch inside the house, cut open the vault and helped themselves. They even went as far as using his bailing wire to choke and kill his dog. He welded a steel plate on his vault, moved it into his garage and now stores his cutting torch in it. Rather than replacing the large gun vault in his house he now uses small vaults. Making it allot more work if they want his entire collection opening every vault. He has some pretty clever OSHA approved no smoking and danger explosives decals on his vaults and has an empty wooden dynamite crate in between the vaults. People I knew through a gun collector's club had collections stashed all over there houses but thieves still found them all. Two people in particular, Colt and Luger collections, both worth six figures didn't have vaults. Both had rooms with their guns displayed on the walls. They both also had locked, heavy solid doors and window bars. Both rooms were broken into through the walls from an adjacent room. Thieves can also go through ceilings if they can get into the attic. Second thing that comes to mind is fire. A fire proof vault costs more but after going through two house fires I sleep allot better knowing I wont have to deal with burned or smoke damaged guns. My first fire, my collection was cherry picked by the gunshop that was contracted by the general contractor to clean the smoke damaged guns and store them until my house was repaired. Gunshop claimed he was burglarized and all I got out of it was a notice of him filing bankruptcy, he had no insurance. Cops were wise but a detective told me they couldn't gather enough evidence to prosecute. Before my divorce after the second fire I had a fire and theft resistant closet built. I kept my vault inside the closet. Thieves would have to go through a layer of 3/4 inch plywood under the 3/4 inch fire resistant drywall in the ceiling and interior walls. I had it framed with treated fire resistant redwood 2-bys spaced 12 inches apart. It was a nightmare getting it built right, "uhh I under bid it", "uhh nails are better than screws" "uhh hollow doors are fire resistant and hard to kick in" and memory lapses like forgetting insulation, floor molding, have the electrician drop romex in the frame or install a solid door. I had to file a complaint and the contractor wound up paying to have a circuit added, electricity in through the exterior wall and having an exterior metal door installed by a finish carpenter before he got completely paid. I declined a sprinkler system and the contractor claimed I turned down the door at the same time but I had the door in writing. Best advice build it yourself. Another thought is a false wall. A now deceased friend built one but it was such a perfect job he showed it off. There just wasn't any way anybody could see it unless they knew it was there. He was lucky, kid got sick, he left work early, when he arrived home with his kid he caught two burglars and held them at gun point until cops arrived. One of the thieves was related to his former brother-in-law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Hess Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Damn, Az, you've seen some tough times there. I learned a long time ago to keep the cutting torch end and the welding tips in the safe. The rest of the torch won't do much good without cutting end or tips. Also keep the powder in the safe too, near the edges whre someone might attack it. If they kill themselves, oh-well. I also think that most burglars in cases like this have some knowledge of the victim. Your example of the BiL link is about typical. Or friend of a friend, etc. Don't advertise, don't show. What they sell for gun safes should come with a magnetic can opener stuck on the side in case you forget your combination. 11ga steel. Junk. A fire ax and crow bar will go through that. Use 1/4". If one was to build a vault, you could do pretty well lining a closet with 1/4" plate and adding the door. You could make it bolt together from the inside for simplicity, or spot MIG it once in place. If it all was bolted and inside a closet, that would be plenty strong. You could add your doulbe sheetrock fire wall outside the steel even. Yeah, that would be a cool vault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1 Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 any thing you can build someone can break into...even bank vaults are rated by time...the time it takes for someone to break in..i used a 8ft.round steel tank 5/16" thick steel 8 ft high..took a sheet of ply wood and cut round shelfs for the rifles to set on..i had 26 guns stolen once had serial no. on all..found 1 in a pawnshop but owner said he just couldn"t remember who he bought it from.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 For theft you are better off hinding them then locking them up. Most theives only look it the usual places. It I had to do it again I would make the door to the whole room hidden behind a bookcase or something. Or you can always be like me and have them scattered throughout the house, chances of them all walking away are slim, seeing half the time I can't even find them when I'm looking. Maybe Rod will show us a pic of his. -Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkerfive Posted July 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Well having read AZ's post, I can understand why he is focused on the security aspects. OK, so as to ease your minds a bit ...... Mine is under a reinforced concrete slab, the walls are 10" concrete block, it is below grade so it is surrounded by dirt on 3 sides, the strong security door is hidden behind a ( nothing special here ) 'plane jane' door. I'm really more interested in how you have the guns displayed / stored with a lean toward display and away from bulk arsenal style storage. Thanks! Tinker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumbum Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 just mount them on the walls like I do in my range room. in the vault itself, where most of my guns are, I use sub-vaults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 plumbym..that just an't right ( I wanna go over your house and play. karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cold shot Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 hey plumbum, if, a bad dude (hopefully a gun nut) did get in there ,he'd still be there when the cops got there havin too much fun checkin out what ya got...Thanks for makin my eyes tear up in envy bud..I needed that. As for my guns they're in the hallway in 2 cabinets, We live in an apt, so a safe is outa the question, It would probly fall thru the floor from the weight of the one I want...Dave Oh yeah, we live upstair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Plumbum I keep my armor piercing anti-aircraft guns pointed at the interior vault. The furniture and the mortars on the floor are just to impress women!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cold shot Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 jeez guys, ya make me feel like the dull end of a bayo.I ain't got1/100th of the stuff you guys got, but then again I live in ca where if it ain't pc, it's agin the law. this is why when I retire in 6 years, I'm evictin myself from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlecanoe Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 What about that flame thrower on the wall! A man could rig a nice little "theft-deterrent-system" with that thing. WOW. Think 3 Stooges and the hand held torch. Someone has the BAR market cornered! Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzRednek Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 BSing aside, the pictures are from a hoax email claiming they belonged to Charlton Heston. Any one of those guns are likely worth much more than my entire collection. Sure would be nice to have all those toys. http://www.hoax-slayer.com/gun-collection.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumbum Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 can you imagine having all that stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlunity Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Seems that the fella who owned all that was a lawyer..that is one heck of a good reason to go to law school. karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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