Gun owner in an apartment

B

BoringAccountant

New member
Hi,

I just bought my first handgun, a Springfield Armory XD 9mm subcompact. I bought it obviously for home protection and want it to be accessible if ever needed. My problem is that at an apartment complex, supers and maintenance men can come into the apartment during the day (not too frequent that we know of, but it does happen) and I want to make sure that they 1) dont find it and/or 2) dont steal it. Does anyone have any great places to store a handgun in an apartment? Basic layout of the apt is 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom off a hallway from the kitchen and living room. Not much seperates the front door and the bedroom, maybe 20-30 feet, so if (God forbid) anyone broke in, I want to have it as close to me as possible. Not to be too picky, but I would prefer not storing it in two seperate places, i.e. somewhere close at night and hide it during the day, one spot is preferable. Any help is much obliged.

Thanks,
 
I keep

a P95 in one night stand and a xd45 on the other night stand. All the others stay in a safe. I say nightstand, they shouldn't be snooping in your stuff. I would also demand prior notifacation to coming in my apartment, unless it was an emergency (fire, busted pipe, etc.).
 
I use a small lock box (like the kind to use for money at a sporting event) They are made of metal and they lock decently, and can be mounted using simple tools.
Other than obvious safes and such, sometimes hiding in plain sight works. I've hollowed out books and stored guns in there (before the kids were born) on the nightstand. Who pays attention to a book in a quick glance?
 
If you get burglarized, you get burglarized. Just find a decent hiding spot and perhaps a gun lock for when you are away. Make sure you have your serial number written down somewhere safe too, in case you need to report it stolen (and for renters insurance purposes)
 
"BoringAccountant: "...Springfield Armory XD 9mm subcompact...problem is that at an apartment complex...Does anyone have any great places to store a handgun in an apartment?
Click to expand...

1. I brought an XD9 home Monday, kick-a** little sub eh?

2. I use this model for my small hand-gun arsenal (I only keep 3-4 HG weapons on-premises at a given time)and other "obvious" items requiring reasonable fire/security protection. Are there 'better' options? Sure, but this more than adequate for my needs. For "just one SC9 and a small quantity of valuables" I would go with a drawer-safe.

Fire-Safe® Electronic Safe Model: DA3831 - http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/productDetail.aspx?s=231
 
Just because you live in a apartment doesn't mean they can come in anytime they want. Most states require a 24hr notice unless there is a emergency. As far as keeping the gun safe, there are many lock boxes that range from a simple combo type lock to ones that will read your finger prints. Only you can say how safe you feel. I myself prefer the gun to where I have ready access to it. Both my kids (13 & 15) know about firearms and respect them, so I don't have small children to worry about. When I leave they are hidden at different places in my house or in the safe where the primary aresenal lives.
Good Luck.
 
If I lived in an apartment I would get a fireproof lockbox/safe from Sam's Club that is designed for documents. I have a friend that uses one in his apartment, not bolted down, and it's heavy enough to keep all but the most determined burglar from taking what's inside, or taking the safe and removing the contents later.

He keeps his in his closet on the floor.

Biker
 
Another apartment guy here. I went to the surplus yard of a major defense contractor and bought used 2-drawer heavy steel filing cabinets. These have heavy steel panels that swing around the front so the drawers can be padlocked in the closed position. They look like heck but interior decoration is for "queer guys" according to the TV industry :D

Soon as I get home, I unlock one and bring out a loaded weapon and always leave it in the same place. The truck keys stay in the padlock and if I need to leave, I lock up the gun in the cabinet in the process of getting the keys, and getting out my carry-piece de jour.

You could add a steel padlock hasp to any steel file cabinet. Weight the drawers down with lots of guns, or unfired cartridges, and it is unlikely the thieves will be hauling away the cabinet.

Bart Noir
 
Problem is that most thieves know most of the places to look for concealed valuables, including firearms. If they know they have plenty of time (while you're at work) they can search pretty carefully and find anything you've hidden.

Not to say that your apartment maintenance people are such, but they have plenty of time to look around if they want. It's wise to keep cleaning kits, ammo, holsters, etc. out of sight whenever possible.

Talk to your apartment management if you think someone on their staff has entered your apartment without prior notice AND without leaving a note or card that says they were there. As NCHornet said, most states require them to give you notice of a regular or scheduled maintenance visit.

Bolting a lockbox inside a nightstand is one idea. Locking file cabinets are another idea. Neither will stop a determined thief, but they will show you that someone was there with enough time to pry it open.
 
I lock mine up in a gun safe hidden in the closet in my room bolted to the wall. AND I have a trigger lock on each one as well.
 
Any appropriate place for a firearm shouldn't be a place where maintenence people would be snooping around. A firearm should be secured in a secure location not accessible to unauthorized persons when you are not home. In other words your gun should be locked up very securely in a place where others shouldn't be able to find it let alone play around with it. Unfortunately I learned the consequences of not following this rule.

My wife and I don't have kids and we rarely have company. One day while I was at work my wife's sister came over and brought her 5 yr old son. The gun was under our bed in a standard gun case. My nephew was looking for our small dog under the bed and located the box and pulled out the revolver. He fired a shot into our closet and put the gun away. Luckily nobody was injured and I'm usually quite embarrased to talk about this. Nonetheless its important to not assume that accidents can and do happen. Ever since then I always make sure that only me or my wife have access to the weapon. The key word being access. If you're weapon is ever stolen report it to the land lord immediately as stealing a firearm is a pretty serious offense.
 
Sorry I didnt know how to quote...

"Any appropriate place for a firearm shouldn't be a place where maintenence people would be snooping around. A firearm should be secured in a secure location not accessible to unauthorized persons when you are not home. In other words your gun should be locked up very securely in a place where others shouldn't be able to find it let alone play around with it. Unfortunately I learned the consequences of not following this rule." by cje1980.

I completely agree with you. I have 2 other "showstoppers", a 12 ga riot shotgun and an 870, that are very well hidden and are trigger locked. However, with the handgun, its my go-to in a time of crisis. I dont want to have it locked up where it could take me an extra minute to get to it, when I may not have that long. I definitely see the point of locking it up when I leave for the day, which I guess is what I will have to do from now on and then put it in the night stand next to the bed when I am home.

"Just because you live in a apartment doesn't mean they can come in anytime they want. Most states require a 24hr notice unless there is a emergency. " NCHornet

Well, I usually go home for lunch during the day, since I work real close to home, and on a couple occasions I have walked in to the apt to see the maintenance man working on something (i.e. changing ac filters, etc.) but I have never had any prior notice. Maybe I will ask them to give me notice before they come in, but like someone else said, if they came in without notice, they would have all day to search for anything they wanted.


"Problem is that most thieves know most of the places to look for concealed valuables, including firearms. If they know they have plenty of time (while you're at work) they can search pretty carefully and find anything you've hidden. " BillCA

Exactly, thats my problem. Everywhere I can think of, I know I would probably look if I was a bg. Anyone ever rig anything to the back of their headboard on the bed? I saw it once where the holster was screwed in and the gun was back there at night for easy access.
 
Glad this thread came up! I live with my SO in a 1 bedroom apartment where the owner IS the super. He comes and goes into everyone's apartments as he pleases. I have always had a .32 revolver (loaded) in the top drawer of the dresser in my bedroom. That is where it stays. With that said. I also have a 9mm Ruger P95DC loaded and RTF on the top of the bookcase in my bedroom. It is camoflaged with astononomy/camera clutter. I keep a loaded CZ .380 on top of the refrigerator (also hidden in cracker-potato chip bag clutter).
In my neighborhood, gunfire from across the lake is a common noise problem.

I do not see this as paranoia but rather as insurance. Drug use, random violence and home invasions are on the rise here in the DFW area. Folks are getting shot at Mc Donalds drive throughs...

Maybe it is time to re-think my strategy. :rolleyes:

LM...Ft. Worth, Tx.
25.7 years defending the Constitution...
U.S. Army (Ret.)
 
I have lived in an apartment for years and have never had a problem with hiding guns. The Supervisor or Maintenence folks can't just snoop. I wouldn't worry about that at all.
The problem I do have is that folks may be telling their best hiding places in their apartments...so, being just a bit paranoid...I am more afraid of some BG who decides to read these posts and discover the best places to look when he breaks into apartments to find guns. Just me.
 
Accountant:

With a 1 bedroom apartment, there just isn't anywhere that is secure enough (IMO) to hide a gun and 100% rely on it not being stolen. Maintenance guys, burglars, smash-n-grabbers... they will have enough time to take anything of value, especially guns, if they even have 10 minutes unfettered.

Keep at least SOMETHING offsite.

If you are broken into, you can retrieve that SOMETHING and have some degree of home security if you are a victim of theft.

Nothing says "rob me" louder to a thief/opportunist than knowing your guns are all stolen and you haven't got anything else to protect yourself with.

Even if it's a cheap russian milsurp rifle in the trunk of your car or your storage unit.

Back in my apartment living days, I kept my firearms in my closet, well obscured by my laundry hamper. No maintenance guy had any business in my closet, so no excuse to snoop behind my dirty laundry.
 
While I am home I have my XD 9 compact loaded and at my side while in the living room of my wife and my 1 bedroom apt, and my S&W 642 by the bedside. At night the XD9 is my bedside gun.

Whenever my wife and I are both out of the home they go in to the little sentry fire safe I have bolted to the floor in my closet. We don't have kids so having the gun(s) out when we're home is no big deal, and the wife knows how to shoot if she is home alone. When we have friends over with kids the guns go in the safe.

By all means invest a couple hundred bucks and get yourself a little safe. We also keep emergency cash, passports, records, etc. in there. To leave your guns accessable while you are out is irresponsible and inviting trouble. Having the safe to keep other valuables and papers in will also give you peace of mind. I got my safe at Staples for $160.
 
Boring Accountant,

One of the tricks is to disallow a thief the time he needs to do his business. In a 1 bedroom apartment you can add a screamer-alarm to the master bedroom door. It would be best to find one that will not reset for at least 5 minutes (to 10 minutes), is loud and requires a key or code to reset the alarm immediately.

Since maintenance entry w/out notice should be limited to areas outside the bedroom (plumbing, gas, appliances, etc.) there should be no need for them to trip the alarm.

You can also buy an inexpensive key-locked door knob set at HomeDepot and install this on your bedroom door. It won't stop someone from kicking the door in (probably hollow-core anyhow), but it will make noise. Maintenance folks will have to abort entry since they don't have a key and they'll have the management ask you to let them in.

If you can get someone to make you a label with a label maker (like a p-touch label maker) that says "Remember to check alarm" you can stick that just above your doorknob. That may give maintenance folks (and some BGs) pause before entering.

Securing the gun in some kind of metal locking container, like a GunVault, and then bolting that to a large piece of furniture means it will take time to get at it.
 
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