If you own firearms you know how important it is to keep them stored in a safe and secure location. You may be wondering where you should put a gun safe and how best to disguise it so unscrupulous characters or curious children cannot gain access. Hiding a gun safe in the right location can mean the difference between life and death.
Where and how you disguise your gun safe is a very personal decision that can depend upon certain factors such as:
- The size of the safe and the layout of your home
- Who lives in or visits the home
- How you use your firearms
- If you live in a high-risk area for theft
To learn more about where to hide a gun safe and how to keep it hidden continue reading for helpful information and ideas.
Why You’re Hiding A Gun Safe Can Affect Where It’s Hidden
If you are trying to choose the best location to hide your gun safe you need to begin by asking yourself some questions because the answers may affect where you decide to hide your vault of valuables.
- How large is the gun safe?
- Are there children in the home?
- Do you live in an area that is prone to break-ins and theft?
- Do you have a lot of people coming in and out of your home?
- Will you be storing other valuable or important items in the safe?
- Do you access or use your firearms frequently or are just they being stored?
Once you have answered these questions finding the right location to hide your gun safe will be much easier.
The most common areas for people to store or hide a gun safe are:
- Basement
- Bedroom
- Closet
- Garage
- Kitchen
- Livingroom
What may work well in one person’s home may not be the best for your specific situation but the following section will give you some good starting points and ideas for making your safe look like it’s not there.
You can find Quality Gun Safes Here on Amazon or check out my other favorite places like Brownells or OpticsPlanet for good deals on gun safes.
Tips For Hiding A Gun Safe In Plain View
There is no telling where a thief will look if they break into your home however, generally seasoned criminals will begin by checking the living room and master bedroom for a gun safe or other valuables.
Hide a gun safe in plain sight by building the safe into walls or corners in the house or hollowing out an old appliance like a fridge or freezer to keep the safe in. Covering the safe with art or decorations that matches the rest of the room is another way to hide the safe in plain sight.
If they are unsuccessful they may move on to the office and then the garage. Since you never know what a person will do, especially when they have bad intentions, it is best to try one of the following tips for concealing a gun safe below.
Keep It On Ice
For those who have no other option than to store their large gun safe in the garage, it is highly recommended that it be built into a wall, mounted to the concrete floor, or have some sort of disguise to make it blend in with everyday objects.
One such object that is highly popular is an old refrigerator or freezer unit that has been hollowed out to fit a gun safe.
It is a convincing decoy because so many people keep an extra refrigerator or freezer in their garage that many thieves will walk right by it. This can also work if you opt to store your gun safe in the basement.
Here’s a video showing a fridge that was converted into a gun cabinet. This same idea can be used to put a safe in the fridge as well.
Build In Or Around To Blend Naturally With Surroundings
There are other ways to disguise a large gun safe such as building a cabinet or some other piece of furniture around it. Create a cabinet that displays stored items when opened, but can be opened further to reveal a gun safe.
The best option if feasible is to build the safe into the wall or floor depending on how large it is. If you are an avid hunter or gun collector this option may not work the best for you because you likely have a large collection.
Many people who own firearms are now creating what is referred to as a tactical wall or tactical furniture where firearms can be concealed when necessary and easily accessed in a time of urgent need. If you choose to keep a gun safe in your office, you can disguise it to look like a bookshelf.
Going Up Or Going Down?
Since space can be a difficult commodity to come by in a home people are getting creative by hiding their gun safes in a secret compartment under a set of stairs.
Hidden doors or sliding drawers can be installed to conceal your firearms or any other valuable and important items.
Keep It With Your Junk
Let’s face it, the majority of us (whether we want to admit it or not) all have a room or space in our homes that tend to collect random junk such as seasonal decorations, memorabilia, etc.
So why not use some of that junk that you don’t know what to do with or rarely use to camouflage your gun safe? Just be sure that you don’t block access to the safe if you need to get into it quickly.
Take A Second Look In The Mirror
Some people are creating gun-safe decoys by using mirrors to cover a safe that has been put into the wall.
There are even gun safes that have a mirror on the front and can open up to reveal the safe and its contents. Most thieves who are in a hurry won’t think to check behind the mirror or a large painting for that matter.
It’s Not A Monster Under The Bed, It’s A Gun Safe
If you opt to store your safe in the bedroom you might consider using an under-the-bed sliding safe that can be mounted and blended in to look like you have a set of drawers for storing sheets or clothing.
Keep It Dry And Away From Fire Danger
Whether you are protecting your home from robbers or hunting on the back forty it is important that you store your firearms in a location that is dry and free of humidity and other moisture such as a flooding basement.
If you know that there are areas of your home that tend to stay moist or flood it is best to keep your gun safe away or at the very least use a dehumidifier to prevent damage to your safe and its contents.
Fortunately, most gun safes are fireproof but it is still a good idea to keep the safe away from any immediate fire sources such as a stove or fireplace.
You can find Quality Gun Safes Here on Amazon or check out my other favorite places like Brownells or OpticsPlanet for good deals on gun safes.
Think Like A Criminal To Hide Gun Safe Successfully
No gun safe is totally impenetrable, with enough time and the right tools anyone can get one open. Preventing people from knowing that you have firearms in your home is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones.
The less people know about your firearms the safer you will be and the more prepared you can be if there is a dangerous event.