handgun display at home

T

track

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I want to display some of my handguns in my home office. Any ideas on shelving or table tops? Anyone have any pics? thanks
 
Respectfully, I think it is a bad idea.

First, if you have windows that would allow someone standing outside to see that you have guns, you should not display them. And, even if they are situated so that no one can see them from outside, you may from time to time have people come over to the house for whatever reason, and they will be able to see that you have firearms. That could include the bug man, the meter-reader, the plumber, the electrician, the guy doing a house appraisal for your mortgage refinance, etc. My security rule is no visible guns, anywhere in the house. People like gardeners, landscapers, tree cutters, roofers, house painters, etc all will be able to see into your windows and see what you've got. and, all of those trades employ ex-cons who may be looking for their next job, or may talk about "that customer over on Rose avenue with the tan-colored house; he's got a whole nice display of guns in one room on the southwest side of the house..." I have a neighbor who had some roofing work done and 3 months later they had a daytime break in and the thieves went straight to the closet in the bedroom where the jewelry was stored. Turns out, it was a roofing company worker, ex-con, who used his work time to study the house layout, the grounds, the comings and goings of the homeowners, etc. Displaying firearms in a house is bad news waiting to happen. I have all of my video DVD's turned around backwards in the bookcases so that no one can see the titles. I don't need the painter or the carpenter seeing the DVD from Viking Tactical or the Michael Bane DVD's. No visible displays of firearms stuff in my home.
 
I once knew a man who took a slightly different approach. He had a sunken coffee table lined with blue velvet on which he had laid out a nice collection of handguns - all bumper shop chrome plated junk that could not be fired. He figured that an intruder would go for the shine and not even look for his hidden vault, where he had several Thompson SMG's, a batch of other FA weapons, a bunch of Lugers, etc.. etc. AFAIK, he was never robbed so his theory was never tested one way or another.

As far as folks who see the guns spreading rumors, it does not have to be a stranger or a workman - it can by a friend or a relative. One loose word in the wrong place can spell trouble. Also, best to be subtle about it, but never let workmen run around in the house unaccompanied. There is no reason for a roofer or a landscaper to even be inside the house, let alone wander around at will.

Jim
 
If it's an office area, shelving or hanging them in a fixture would look nice. I work with a fellow who has a couple of old (and non-functioning) break action revolvers that hang on the wall of his office and that looks nice. As long as you have blinds/curtains and you arent completely abnoxious with displaying them I think you will be ok.
 
I have a variation of the sunken coffee table with glass top. I cut a piece of black Formica to exactly fit over the glass. When in place it looks like a coffee table. Removed, it's a showcase.
 
I used to work at a composition company in Baltimore where the owner was a collector of very valuable antique firearms and he had them in his posh office at the work place in a huge glass display case.

And it was NO secret.

I always thought that was not the wisest thing to do.

The place was not Fort Knox by any stretch of the imagination.

Rmocarsky
 
Just curious then.....

Does no one in this thread have a good old fashioned glass-front gun case like I do? My guns are my central theme in my "man room" I love having them on display. Heck, back in the day most people I knew (small town) kept their 2-3 guns on a bare rack hanging on the wall.

J
 
I like displaying some of them, too. But, it's a whole different world out there than when I was younger and every other home had a gun rack or case in the living room or the den.
 
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...back in the day most people I knew (small town) kept their 2-3 guns on a bare rack hanging on the wall.
Click to expand...

I remember those days... but they are long gone now(!) Some people (family and friends) know I have them, but I don't have any guns on display in my home.
 
They released a study from Oxford a few years ago that basically said that most crimes (there are exceptions) are no more prevalent now than 100 years ago. What's changed is how much reporting is done on crime.
The information age has allowed us to hear about ever robbery/shooting/abduction that happens in the world as apposed to 100 years ago when we'd just hear about what went on in our own town. "News" is big business, and people only watch when something bad is being reported.

That being said, I'd make a display. Is there a chance you might be robbed? Sure, but that's what insurance and security systems are for. No sense owning a bunch of stuff you can't enjoy just because there's a tiny chance someone might take it.

To answer the actual question, what I wound up doing in my home office (before it turned into a nursery) was drill angles holes into the paneling and insert dowels at appropriate places for each gun. same idea as peg board, but without all the extra holes. Depending on what your walls are made of it can work quite well. The key is to figure out exactly where you want everything for aesthetics before you start drilling holes.
I've also seen people make individual lined boxes for each gun and attach them to the wall. It's all just a matter of what "look" you're going for.
 
A couple of displays. One uses an inexpensive football display case. These are available at craft stores like Michaels. You simply afix a magazine to the bottom and set your pistol on the magazine. It as a mirror on the back side.

The other is for multiple handguns and is simply a nice board with a section of quarter round with dowels or even chopsticks set at an angle to place your barrel on.
 

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Browning offers a glass gun safe, also check out Cox Custom Cases.....he can build you anything desire.

browning.jpg


http://www.coxcustomcases.com/displaycases.htm
 
I used to work at a composition company in Baltimore where the owner was a collector of very valuable antique firearms and he had them in his posh office at the work place in a huge glass display case.

And it was NO secret.

I always thought that was not the wisest thing to do.

The place was not Fort Knox by any stretch of the imagination.
Click to expand...

To your knowledge were they ever stolen?

I keep my first handgun in a shadow box along with some arrowheads I founds as a kid. I honestly worry more about the big screen TV in the living room catching someone's eye than my guns
 
jaughtman said:
Does no one in this thread have a good old fashioned glass-front gun case like I do?
Click to expand...
Not on a bet.

100 years ago, you could do that in this town.

75 years ago you could leave your front door unlocked at night in this town.

50 years ago you could leave your car unlocked in the driveway overnight in this town.

25 years ago not every house in town had a monitored alarm system.

Today? Starting about 15 years ago we've had armed home invasions, cars being stolen out of closed and locked garages, "hot" burglaries, repeated "probing" telephone calls, and one character whose modus operandi was to approach houses from the rear, through woods, picking up a LARGE rock on his way -- which he used to throw through a patio door. Alarms are basically useless -- average police response time is 10 to 15 minutes, and a professional burglar is in and out in 5.

No -- no glass-fronted gun cases here.
 
Simple for me. The upstairs is a totally benign facade which is commercial in nature and a set stage for anyone who could possible come and be offended by anything they see, which they wont. My living room is basically a waiting room. My family room is downstairs where its cool and no one gets down there unless they are very very close friends. No workman! I am a plumber, heat tech, air conditioning tech, and mechanically inclined so I fix it all.

I always wanted to make a rifle display case from wood & glass with a full length access in front, locked under glass to keep the dust off. A red hammer on a chain and a sign In Case of Emergency Break Glass and keep it ready to go. :D
 
I agree, bad idea. The less conspicuous you are about your gun collection the less trouble you will have done the road. Especially in today's times. Just my opinion.
 
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