Hiding guns around the house could be better than a safe in a lot of scenarios. Safes are not foolproof, and sometimes a safe can act as a beacon to valuable goods.
A big, heavy safe is expensive, and for someone who only owns a gun or two paying for a massive safe is not a winning endeavor. A safe also makes immediate access to a gun impossible, whereas, a hidden gun can be quick and easy to access. The better idea may be to outsmart the local thief and hide your weapon or weapons.
You can also combine using a safe to hold the majority of your weapons and hiding those you’ve selected for personal defense. You may also decide this guide also allows you to hide extra ammo around your house, in a discreet place in case a reload is necessary.
Before we go into how and where to hide your guns you should consider a few things. First off do you have kids? It is irresponsible to leave your guns hidden in a manner that would grant access to children, or other prohibited individuals. This may lead you to purchase small, individual weapon safes and hide them with your weapons. These small safes may not prevent theft if discovered but will keep the kids out. It also may be against the law in your state to have unsecured weapons in the same home as children.
Purchased Hiding Spots
If you don’t mind spending the money there are a variety of pre-built hiding spots one can purchase and enjoy. These are often the simplest measures to take, and also typically offer a locking mechanism for the user to secure their weapons.
The Gun Vault Speedvault is a simple locking safe that is designed to be screwed under a desk. In this position, it is invisible to anyone in front of the desk and easy to access by anyone behind the desk. The Gun Vault can hold a single full-sized handgun and presents it to the user handle first. The safe uses a four-digit key code and alternatively has a key backup.
There are also a wide variety of Gun safe Clocks made by a variety of different manufacturers. They come in both wall-hanging clocks, and clocks that are often set on end tables and mantles. Most are wood-based, and the best will be seamless as to where the clock opens and the gun is revealed. Most of these will allow you to conceal a full-sized handgun or AR magazine with relative ease.
You also have the option of a hidden electrical outlet safe. This requires you to cut into parts of your wall, and the safe itself is small. It can be used as a handgun or for stashing emergency ammo. It’s rather slow to get to, but it is probably one of the most hidden options out there. No one looks twice at a wall outlet.
What does kitchen table, mirrors, shelves, TV stands, and headboards all have in common? Well, plenty of things I’m sure, but in this context, they can all be used to hide weaponry. The market for concealing weapons in your home has exploded. Tactical walls make mirrors that slide and are large enough to conceal two long guns, several handguns, and magazines. There are shelves with false bottoms that open, and headboards that give you immediate access to your long gun when something goes bump in the night.
Improvising Hiding spots
If you are willing to do a little work, you can make and improvise several hiding spots throughout your home. You’ll need some basic tools and some rudimentary skill, but it is easy to do. These tactics involve mixing things you already have in your home, and a few things from the local home improvement store.
For example, purchase a bar magnet from Harbor Freight and take nearly any table in your home and you have an excellent area to stash your weapon. The table needs to have a solid lip that will keep the weapon hidden from view unless you look directly under the table. A good bar magnet can easily hold your average handgun. It’s best to coat the magnet with a layer of duct tape to prevent you from scratching your gun. The magnets are strong enough to keep the gun there indefinitely and easy to access.
You can also purchase a few curtain rod hooks, nice sturdy models, and install them on your closet wall. You should do this on the wall above the door. A thief may rummage through your closet, but I doubt they’d look up. You can conceal a rifle, shotgun, or multiple pistols in this manner.
You also have the classic hidden book tactic. Take a nice thick book, one that’s believable, and hollow it out. It’s also a good tactic to glue the pages together, if you don’t the pages will bend and the gun will most likely tumble out.
Ready to Go Hiding Spots
Your home probably has dozens of ready-to-go hiding spots. These spots vary from home to home, but I’ll try to keep this generalized to places that nearly all of us will have in our homes.
The closet is one of the best spots to hide a firearm, as long as it is a full closet. For example, a pair of boots are basically worthless to a crook, but the perfect size to stash a handgun.
Sticking to the closet motif you probably have plenty of jackets hanging up. A lot of plastic hangars have that small hook in the middle, that’s hidden when the shirt or jacket is buttoned up. You can hang a firearm from this hook, but it needs to have an empty chamber. Another option for small guns is in the pockets of heavy jackets. The best jackets are the relatively worthless ones. Anything too fashionable can be stolen with ease, so stick to raincoats and blazers.
Moving out of the closet and into the living room. A lot of couches have skeletal frames covered with a cloth on the bottom. This area is perfect to hide a firearm. I don’t know any thieves looking to steal a couch, or any that would look under a couch for valuables. A slight cut of this fabric and you can slide a variety of different long guns into the frame. Then simply staple it shut once more.
I personally keep a shotgun hidden behind a blackout curtain that hangs all the way to the floor. This curtain conceals the shotgun with ease, and on the other side, a set of blinds keeps anyone from seeing the weapon from the outside. A good heavy curtain can keep a home defense weapon hidden, but available for immediate access.
Let’s move to the bathroom. This is where we can be our most vulnerable, but we don’t have to be unprepared. Thieves do look in bathrooms, specifically for prescription meds. So you want your guns away from your meds and hidden in areas with little to no value to thieves. The best option is indistinguishable, boring bathroom boxes. This could include soap bar boxes, tampon boxes, and anything else boring and uninteresting to a thief placed well away from any prescription meds.
On the same hand, food boxes are another option. Cereal boxes can easily conceal handguns and even something like the folding Sub 2000. This gives you easy access, an easy-handling firearm that is well hidden and ready to give some Lucky Charms to any crooks dumb enough to kick your door down.
You have to place the weapons in a place that thieves or the government won’t search for. So stay away from laptop bags, and avoid hiding things near valuable objects like video games and TVs. Accessibility is another issue if you can’t access it when you need it is it worth anything?
Keep your powder dry, your weapons hidden and stay sharp.