Renting a house

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waterdog89

New member
I will be renting the upstairs part of a house this summer while taking courses in college. It is completly separate from the downstairs. The door just has a simple door knob lock and a chain latch. I was considering keeping my mossberg 500 with me, however the possibility of a break in while I am in class worried me. In contrast, I am worried about some thug thinking about taking advantage of some so called "helpless" college student.
 
I'm in the same boat you are in. Ideally get a gun safe, but if not keep trigger locks on everything while you're away and the keys on you. Keep a list of all your serials numbers just in case something does get taken.
 
A gun safe isn't really possible so I guess I'll use the trig. lock and keep it hidden. I will be living with two other friends of mine who are not anti-gun, but are more the "guns are scary" type (they have zero experience with any firearm) so a trig. lock might be useful there too.
 
Trigger lock is more for keeping it a paper weight if stolen than to friend-proof it, but if it serves a double purpose so be it.
 
i rent a room in a 3bedroom house. i introduced 1 of my roomies(the home owner), and even gave him his first gun.

i have several guns scattered thru the house, unless im going out of town, or one of my roomies is having a party.

a dead bolt is easy to install, and cheap. the LL will probaly let you install one.
 
a dead bolt is easy to install, and cheap. the LL will probaly let you install one.
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One of our new roomies left a window unlocked after he used it to move his stuff into our house. Our house was then thoroughly tossed by some local kids. Luckily no guns were present at the time, but all the locks in the world cant help you if your roomies dont help...
 
I would go for a wall mounted or other type secure system if you cannot put in a deadbolt lock. At most O would mount a wall system to the bedframe...
Brent
 
I would keep it. Just keep it safe and secured while you are away. When you're home, keep it accessible.
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Definatley keep it secure when you are not home. Don't need another stolen gun on the streets!

But if you feel you need it for HD, then by all means do it.
 
If I were you I would keep a trigger lock on it if a safe were not an option. Keep your piece somewhere hidden from others if your not home. Remember, locked doors only keep honest people out.
 
Gun Cabinet if no Safe Available

If you cannot afford a safe, check out this eBay store that has locking gun cabinets for reasonable prices: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Safe-Guy-Online

A trigger lock is easily defeated, and the gun is still portable with the lock installed so is easy to steal. Burglars know all the hiding places for guns and will look there and find your gun. These cabinets will slow them down but are not as good as a safe. Properly installed a locking gun cabinet cannot be easily removed so burglars will not be able to take your gun.

Just be forewarned that these cabinets can be defeated with pry bars in a couple of minutes, so install them where a burglar cannot get leverage to pry them open!
 
Cant you.....

Oh, probably not, was going to say, take it to school with you? JOKE, Kidding.... bad taste I know.... just an attempt at humour.... I know (failed)

On a serious note tho, I would be going for the gun cabinet idea. But, I wouldnt put my gun in it.... No, I would put a brick in it :confused:

Why, I hear you ask?
Well, I would put in a decent but fairly cheap gun cabinet (with brick) and hide my gun somewhere else. If BG breaks in, he wont go looking for your gun, he will think it is in the cabinet, and will either get put off coz its locked up (supposedly) and try to defeat your cabinet, or try to take the whole thing :D Meanwhile your gun is elsewhere. Does a mossburg 500 come apart easily? It is a shotgun, isnt it?Like, could you break it, keep the business end hidden in one place (with trigger lock) and the barrel section hidden elsewhere?

Here in Oz, as you know, we have really strich gun laws (especially for handguns) I have 17 handguns and 4 rifles/shotguns. I SIMPLY CAN NOT LET THEM GET STOLEN :eek: That would be worse than death.

So, how do I keep mine safe, I hear you ask? :confused:
Well, I have 7 safes, yup 7. 4 are bolted and welded on top of an ammo (8mm thick steel) box with concrete in the bottom. This unit (see pics) weighs 280kg (empty) I also have a rifle cabinet bolted alongside it and the whole unit weighs 350kg, and cant fit out the door of the closet it is locked in. On the shelf above, there is 2 other safes (all of theses safes are cheap, but quite strong) and would require some time to defeat (each) one bolted to the shelf and wall above (see pics) I have one more 5.5' ammo safe (6mm weighs 400kg) with another safe in this (to store my reloads in) out in my reloading shed.

Ok, problem for BG... first he breaks into the house (deadlocks) or thru the tile roof. Then he has to find where the safe(s) are, if he has come to get guns. He has to break into the wardrobe (solid door, padlocked) see pics to see what he see's :D Problem, which safe has what in it?? (each safe has about 200gr of black powder in it) he cant lift it or move it and it wont fit out the door opening bolted together. He cant cut or drill for fear of explosion ....
Which safe does he want to open first? each would take a while to defeat, Cant use power tools because of warning sign "beware quantity of black powder in each safe"
My 4 most sought after guns (centerfires, useable by criminals) a Glock34, P22, 44-40 Vaquaro & .44 mag Vaquaro are in there somewhere (the others are all black powder or old SA's (unavailable ammo Styre)

Which safe is what in? or, which safes have the parts in to make up the guns? hehehehehe ie, The Glock is in 4 safes (barrel & spring in 1, slide in another, body is in another, and the mags... well, they arent in a safe, they are just hidden. All of the revolvers have the cylinders out... which safe?.... just hidden hehehehehehe <evil snicker> If I need my 2 Vaq's and rifle & shotgun for CAS, it takes me 10 minutes to have the guns all ready. If I shoot practical, I can have the Glock and P22 together in about 15 minutes... time consuming, yes, safe YES heheheheheeheh <evil snicker again> And some parts arent even in these safes, so if he could teleport the safes out of the house somehow, he still couldnt use any of the HG's :-)

This is why I say, buy a cabinet, put in a brick (hidden spot weld it shut) let him rough up the cabinet or try to steal it, while your gun is safe, trigger locked hidden elsewhere in 2 unrecogniseable/disguised parts. (My guns ALL have trigger locks BTW) Havent lost any yet :D
 

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wow that's elaborate...

Awesome job DingoBoy, but too rich for my blood.
I was in a similar position right after I got out of the service, I lived in a cramped studio (no roomies), in a bad neighborhood and was gone from my home much of the day at school and work. I had my Mossberg 500, couldn't afford a $70 locking gun cabinet and wasn't allowed to make any adjustments to my residence. I abhor gun locks, and I believe that an unloaded hard to access weapon is useless. I chose to modify the sleeper sofa I slept on to create a unique, invisible compartment which I could keep the gun in during the day while I was out, loaded in condition 3. Sure it's not foolproof... but with $180 textbooks in the equation it was all I could do, and I did feel a need to be armed where I was living.
Now that my collection has grown, I have a locking cabinet which is bolted to the floor of my closet... just don't tell the apartment manager.:cool:
 
Cable locks are cheap (our Sheriff's Department hands them out for free). Get 2 or 3, lock them through the open action to the bed frame or something.
 
Just a thought...

On principle, I don't believe in being unarmed; I'm presuming you are intent on having that shotgun with you at least at home.

Can you disassemble the thing (remove barrel, usually) and then lock part in one place and the barrel bicycle chained to the bed or something? I'm sure you can work out details for yourself, but would that possibly work for you?
 
"...will be renting the upstairs part of a house..." That'd be the same as renting any apartment. Talk to the landlord about having a deadbolt lock installed on the door. Not expensive or hard to do. $20 to $30 and a hand drill.
I wouldn't worry too much about second floor windows. Too much work for a criminal.
 
Spend whatever it takes to fix the door to be more secure. Either that or get a large dog with attitude. But whatever it takes, don't sit there unarmed and be a volunteer victim.
 
During the day a good cable lock through the action and locked to something solid. Home Depot sells several cables that I think will fit through your action.

Also get a friend to weld you a steel box the shotgun will fit in with a lock easy to build and could be bolted to something.
 
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