Asking yourself if you need hidden gun storage in 2023? Well, you don’t want to show off your guns, do you? You do want all your weapons to be secured and wait for their hour to be helpful. To be able to use them once the need comes, keep your ammo and guns safe in some piece of furniture, a DIY safe, or a cabinet shelf. In our article, you will find information about the best solutions to keep your precious gun safe.
In this article, you will learn how to hide your firearms by arranging reliable hidden gun storage. And while the reasons for hiding guns differ from person to person -whether it is ensuring safety for the kids, or hiding guns fortified from burglars, or even from federal officers — knowing how to hide firearms in plain sight is crucial for every firearm owner.
Having guns at your disposal concealed all over the place without anyone knowing it may be of great advantage, especially in terms of survival.
Read our article to find out the most effective ways to make hidden gun storage for your home or an emergency shelter.
- But before we start, make sure to check out our 2020’s Preppers Checklist. This is the ultimate 78 item emergency list any prepper should have a copy of!
Introducing Hidden Gun Storage
Almost 50% of all Americans own guns. The reasons for gun-owning vary. Some like hunting, some want to feel safe, some are just plain collectors, some people own guns for sports or professional duty. Whatever the reasons are, one thing is for sure – gun-owning is a tradition deeply rooted in American history.
But that does not mean that you can have your guns just lying around your house. According to US laws, one must ensure the safe storage of their firearms. Firearms must be unloaded, separated from the ammo, and stored in a locked location. And mostly, people abide by the law.
But some prefer going even further than that and choose to arrange themselves hidden gun storage. The reasons for that are also different. But most often, safety is the main one. People like to stay safe and keep that feeling as much as possible. So is it any wonder if someone wants to have instant access to their guns, loaded and ready for action? And, of course, the best way is to make your gun storage secretly hidden from uninvited “guests” who may come and ruin the party.
Some choose to get a built-in gun safe and hide it somewhere in a wardrobe or a wall. Some might consider buying a gun cabinet hiding guns behind kitchenware and such. Some would choose to have their guns hidden in other safe spots like coffee tables with secret compartments, a wall clock, a coat rack, or even a fake air-vent. The options are almost limitless.
Below are the most popular and effective waves of how to make hidden gun storage to feel safe and be prepared come what may.
DIY Hidden Gun Storage Solutions
You know what they say if you want to do it right, then do it yourself. Fair enough, if you ask us. We thought you might be a good starting point to begin our hidden gun storage guide with do-it-yourself solutions. In most cases, these solutions will help you save some money and will only require a certain amount of craftsmanship and a bit of imagination.
Secret Compartment Dresser
We’ll start with the idea of a secret compartment dresser for your private arsenal. It’s just like you may have seen in countless action movies. Your guns are concealed in a secret compartment inside a regular dresser. Check out the video below on how to design and build one of those.
A Firearm-Storage Coat Rack
A coat rack is one of the most popular gun-concealing solutions gun owners choose when it comes to do-it-yourself options. Such a coat rack is fairly easy to build, and it blends perfectly with your home interiors while concealing a deadly weapon inside.
Hidden Gun Apparel
If you’re into the idea of carrying a gun with you at all times, hidden gun apparel is definitely something you should consider getting. This type of tactical wear is a perfect way to carry your gun with you while staying unsuspected. It is also much more comfortable than carrying your gun in a holster.
Of course, this is not a fully DIY option since concealed gun apparels are tactical gear you can buy online, for instance, like these Tactical Battle Pants. But with enough tailor skills or with a reliable tailor next door, you can definitely get concealed gun apparel of your own.
Check this video out to see how comfortable such tactical pants are:
The Floating Shelf
The floating shelf is another DIY solution for gun concealment furniture. Building such a shelf will not require some extra-ordinary woodworking skills. So if you know the way with basic home tools, we recommend considering this gun concealment furniture piece. Just imagine this hidden compartment hanging in your living room, providing you quick access to your gun. And should anything threaten you or your family, you will be able to get your gun ready at a moment s notice.
Hidden Gun Furniture
When you think of a gun concealment option, what comes to your mind first? Let us take a guess. Probably, you’re thinking about a gun safe. Surely, regular hidden gun safes are what many people choose as home hidden gun storage options. But truth be told, gun safes may be more of a problem.
Using a gun safe as a storage space for firearms is a traditional way of hiding guns. Gun safes are solid and hard to break. Children can’t open them, and you are always sure that your guns are one hundred percent unreachable to them. But what if a burglar breaks in? Do you think they would miss your safe? They will most likely spot it, try to force open it, or take it with them if it’s not too heavy. Good thing if your safe is anchored to the floor or large enough. But they will surely know that you keep something valuable in your safe. Maybe even guns. And you don’t want intruders to take possession of your weapon, right?
That’s when a regular furniture piece comes into play. Do you think coffee tables, bookshelves, benches, or picture frames would get an intruder interested? Unlikely. That is why home furniture units and other home decor pieces are perfect hidden gun compartments.
In this section, we will give you some most popular ideas for gun storage furniture.
A Gun Cabinet
A good example of such concealment furniture is this high-quality cabinet by American Furniture Classics. This classically designed cabinet has a secret gun compartment behind the curio display, making for a first-class gun cabinet. This gun storage furniture piece will fit just fine with almost any American home interior. And this is what a good home firearms storage furniture must be like – fully functional and looking just like regular furniture. This high-quality sliding curio cabinet with a secret compartment satisfies both requirements.
Most gun cabinets come with magnetic lock mechanisms for more safety and convenience.
A Bench With a Secret Gun Compartment
Just like with a gun cabinet we mentioned earlier, a bedroom bench with a hidden compartment is not only one of the best-hidden gun furniture solutions but also a high-quality furniture unit. At a glance, it looks nothing like a gun safe. It is a sold, beautifully crafted bench that will cause no suspicion. This stylish gun concealment furniture piece will let you take an intruder by surprise, should anyone decide to break into your house.
A Mirror Gun Compartment
Another gun furniture option is a full-length mirror with a gun safe behind it. This is also a perfect pick for your bedroom. This mirror gun safe will let you keep your entire firearm storage in one place if you want to. Pistols, shotguns, rifles, you name it. A full-length mirror looks natural in every bedroom and makes for a great hidden gun safe compartment. Behind that mirror, you can also store some ammunition for your private arsenal.
To wrap up this part of our guide, here’s an example of a more elaborate (and a more costly) firearm storage furniture item:
Such an impressive gun concealment furniture solution is not something too many people could afford. But we are bringing this up to show how far a customer can get when choosing an option for private firearms storage. After all, it all depends on your imagination, the amount of free space in your house, and the size of your wallet.
- Before we proceed with the best-hidden gun solutions for your home safety, make sure you follow the link to the ultimate Preppers List of 2020. This is by far the most detailed emergency checklist guide that will walk you through 78 survival items that would help you stay alive after the world as we know it is gone.
How to Hide Your Firearms in Plain Sight
Gun safes and firearm concealment furniture items are great. But there is another option of hiding your guns to make use of the most unexpected things you have around your house. Hiding guns in plain sight is something every gun owner should at least consider choosing since you never know when and where exactly you would need to have quick access to a firearm to protect yourself and your family.
You may not always be near a gun concealment furniture unit such as a gun cabinet or a bedroom mirror we mentioned above. Or you might not have enough time to get to the hidden gun safe and open it. During an emergency, staying safe and alive is pretty much always a question of time. So when choosing a place for gun concealment around your house, we recommend keeping in mind that at all times, you should be able to get your weapon at a moment s notice.
Your best bet is to choose several places to store your firearms. Apart from the aforementioned gun safes and gun concealment furniture options, we recommend hiding your firearms in plain sight using such everyday things as the kitchen or office appliances, picture frames, a coffee table, a clock, an end table, etc.
In this part of our article, we will show you the most popular solutions on how to hide a gun in plain sight so that no one would notice it.
Under Desk Gun Holder
With this pistol holder, your firearm will be available at all times, and you will be able to draw it as fast as you need to.
But be careful: keeping a gun underneath a table in a house with small children is extremely dangerous. Since children ofter hide and play under furniture, there is no guarantee a child will not draw a hidden gun out of an under desk holder. This may result in a tragedy. Remember, when you are concealing firearms around your house, you are doing it to make sure you and your family stay safe and not putting them at risk instead.
- Have you checked out our ultimate 2020’s Preppers List yet? Do it right now to find out about the survivalist gear you might need tomorrow.
Concealment Coffee Table
Speaking of coffee tables. You don’t necessarily need to attach a gun holder underneath a table if the table itself is a perfect gun compartment. There is a great variety of concealment coffee tables out there, and they are extremely popular not only with firearm owners. Each customer has their own vision of using a concealment coffee table – keeping books, for instance. But since we are looking for a perfect gun safe solutions, we will say that a coffee table with a hidden compartment in it is just great for stashing a handgun or two.
RFID Lock Nightstands
A stylish bedside nightstand with a high-end RFID locking mechanism? Sounds great! No wonder these are so popular. An RFID lock will grant you the easiest and fastest access to your weapon. Just touch the RFID lock with a card-key, and you are ready to defend yourself and your family.
By the way, RFID locks are quite often installed into concealment furniture units these days. For instance, Tactical Walls mirror gun storages may come with RFID locks and other modern-day features like LED lights for an extra payment.
Gun Concealment Clock
Another way to hide firearms in plain sight is by hiding them inside clocks. And there are two main options for that:
- Freestanding concealment clock
- Wall concealment clock
1) You can hide a gun inside a freestanding clock. You may have this clock set on your bedside table just close enough to reach it and grab a pistol. And like we said before, a good gun compartment item should not only be functional; it also has to fit the surroundings. This gun concealing gun concealment clock will fit perfectly with most classic home interiors thanks to its mahogany-stain body design.
2) A wall clock is yet another convenient gun compartment. You can have your gun hidden just behind the upper part of the clock, and no one around will have a clue. Take a look at this wall concealment clock by Tactical Walls.
Small Hidden Gun Shelf
A Fake Air-Vent Firearm Compartment
In these air-vents, you can hide your firearm and some spare ammo to go with it, just in case. This type of hidden gun safe is one of our favorites among the hidden-type gun safes no intruder will ever notice.
- Besides, we would like to say that most of the plain sight solutions are also DIY-options.
Liberty Home Concealment Picture Frame
Picture frames are no strangers to secret gun concealment. Having a handgun behind a painting or a photo is a good way of stashing a lethal weapon for self-defense. Liberty Home Concealment is one of the leading enterprises in the business. So we recommend visiting the company’s website for more information on concealment picture frames.
Conclusion
Feeling inspired yet? If not, check out the video below. Tactical Wall specialists will show you how broad the possibilities for firearm concealment are. We hope that in addition to the information above, the tips from one of the United States’ top hidden storage manufacturers at Tactical Walls will help you to get inspired and find your own way with hiding guns.
Concealing your firearms in hidden storage is becoming easier as more people choose this way of stashing firearms, making the market respond with more elaborate and effective options. In this article, you have seen the most popular ones, but we assure you there is a lot more information online. So feel free to check it out.
We also encourage you to visit the websites of top hidden storage manufacturers and gun safe distributors like the aforementioned Tactical Walls, Liberty Home Concealment, and Etsy. Whether you are interested in getting a gun safe or a concealment furniture unit, you will find everything you’re looking for.
And finally, make sure to read our guide to the top ten best gun safes.
FAQs
Why You Might Want a Hidden Gun Storage
When it comes to handgun storage, most firearm owners would think of a regular gun safe. And while this is a good choice, there are reasons why you might second guess it. For instance, if you want your gun storage to look nothing like a regular safe, that would attract a burglar. Another reason is you wanting quicker access to your weapon. A safe may be too far away, so you would not have enough time to reach it and open it. Basically, these are two main reasons why firearm owners choose hidden gun storage.
How to Choose a Secret Gun Concealment?
Your choice will depend on several factors, such as:
- The size and caliber of your weapon;
- The type of concealment (a built-in compartment, gun furniture, a shelf, a pistol holder);
- The number of secret storages you want to have in your house.
If you choose a gun safe, whether built-in or not, you might want to decide if you want it to be fireproof or anchored. Many gun enthusiasts choose to store their firearms in anchored safes. Such safes are almost impossible to move. However, the key feature of hidden gun storage is that it should be impossible to spot.
Where to Place a Gun Safe?
Hopefully, you will never need to use a gun for your protection. But anyway, you want to make sure that you can access your gun as soon as possible. So one of the best places to put your gun safe is your bedroom. The second best place is your living room. But remember that these are the same places intruders go first. That is why our recommendation is to make hide the safe or choose one of the alternative gun concealment options above. We would also recommend making sure your safe is put in place with enough light so you could operate the lock and see inside the safe. If you consider anchoring the safe, choose a spot with strong flooring. If you want to have a gun safe in your office, the best way to hide it is by attaching it to the bottom of the desk. This gives easy access to the firearm, and the safe stays unnoticed at all times.
Are Fireproof & Waterproof Safes Enough For Protection?
Fireproof or waterproof safes are not necessarily effective against a forced entry. They are only designed to be smoke-, fire-, or water-resistant. If you choose a gun safe that would be hard to impossible to penetrate, look at the thicker and heavier models with advanced RFID or magnetic lock mechanisms.
Is it Necessary to Anchor a Gun Safe?
Our answer is yes. Especially if your gun safe is not concealed and not too heavy. Anchoring a safe is what any specialist would advise. It is most likely that intruders will not have enough time to open your safe. And if they want to move it, they will fail and will have to retreat before the police come. So anchoring the safe is necessary.
