Who displays their guns in their home?

To each their own. I personally see nothing wrong with it. I have C&R military bolt rifles hanging on my wall (HIGH!).

I used to be paranoid about thieves. I've been in law enforcement for years now and I've come to realize that 95% of burglaries happen by someone who knows you, and 75% or more happen to drug dealers or other criminals and someone is looking for their stash. So if you have a family member that is known for nefarious activities, or if you operate a criminal organization, you might be in trouble. Otherwise, go with it.

Be smart about it though. Record your serial numbers (as you should with all guns anyway), hide the display guns if any stranger has to do service work in your house, and keep only good people as friends and company. In addition, I would think about removing the firing pin or another critical part to ensure that display only guns can't be fired readily. If you are a victim of burglary, at least there's a layer of safety that may prevent the gun from harming someone else. Most gang-bangers aren't going to know how to replace the firing pin in a Henry Big Boy, nor would they likely function check it (or know how).
 
When I was a kid, in the '60s, we had a pegboard in our dining room with a rotating display of six or eight handguns. The pinfire revolver with integral knife under the barrel is the one I remember most.
We also had a gun rack in the hall.
The front of the house was lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed anyone to see the display.
Maybe I'd do that if I lived in a remote area, but today, I think a walk-in gun vault would be about the only place I'd display functional firearms.
 
USAF Museum uses fakes....

The aircraft are real, the rifles and pistols are not.

In their diorama displays if you looked real close you could tell the guns were replica airsoft, and not the real McCoy.

Great museum, free of charge. If you are ever in Dayton OH, don't miss the National museum of the Air Force.
 
There's a 1903 Springfield rifle hanging in a display case on a wall of the museum (I forget the relevancy of it in terms of historical import) that I always thought was "real".

Ricklin's advice is good. I attend the museum every year in the summer with a favorite uncle, a tail-gunner in a B-17 bomber in WWII, who spent several months in a German POW camp recovering from injuries sustained while parachuting from his plane after it was downed from flak.
 
Given that a man has any capability for carpentry, what would the feasibility of making a gun cabinet with inch thick or greater ballistic plastic for display windows housed in steel with wood overlays be?

I like to build furniture as much as I like to work on my guns and have often thought about using thick plexiglass or the like for a homebuilt display case.

If possible and kept affordable, who would go back to displaying their collection?

Mike in STL
 
I've never displayed my firearms collection.

It's just not PC in this day & age. Not that PC has anything to do with me not doing it.

For me, it's just plain ole common sense. You don't display anything of value that you plan to keep.
 
Over my fireplace is a Henry, 1873 SRC and Colt Lightning all other firearms are in safes or otherwise secured. I also have a very good security alarm, me with a loaded Sig P225 and an elaborate security system. Also learned not to use a hammer with system on as the glass break monitors dont like it.
 
A genuine Henry? Where do you live? :p

Seriously, I used to display some of my old Winchester lever guns, but got a safe about 20 years ago after we moved to the 'burbs.
 
The only people who would enter my house that are strangers, are repairmen, plumbers and electricians. They would have no need to walk pass my man cave and I always lock its door when strangers are here.
Click to expand...

There's an advantage to living in the sticks where you grew up 60+ years ago. My heat pump repairman graduated high school with my son-in-law, my electricial, plumber and carpenter have been motorcycle riding buddies for decades and I can't think of any stranger that has been in my house for years. Our doors are normally unlocked except when we remember to lock them at night. Nothing as large as a blade of grass has been taken from my property in the 17 years I have lived here.
 
The only display gun I have up on the wall is an old Richardson double barrel shotgun with exposed hammers. I mounted it on a backdrop of old barnwood. It's a really neat looking piece.
 
Not me! I don't even show them or discuss in detail except with certain family and close friends if they have an interest in the subject.
 
In concept it's really fun and I see nothing wrong with a rifle on the mantle or wall.

In practice it gets you labelled as a certain type of weirdo too often by close-minded or misinformed people, and invites trouble from casual observers.

And then too, I have a small display of antique items in a cabinet. It's a PITA to keep clean, even in the cabinet. Dust always gets in.
 
There is one fun thing about not having your collection on display. You find some treasures buried deep in back of your safe that you forgot about. :)
 
You can record the serial numbers etc. etc. till the cows come home but if your stuff is stolen, you'll never see it again. Everyone that comes into your home sees what you have, and talks about it...no tellin who picks up the information. And even an innocent conversation about your beautiful display, gets spread around and sooner or later some dirtbag druggie on probation from 2-3 other busts gets the info, and that's that.

Our cabin in NC was hit six months ago, and they took everything of any value. The low life that did it, used my grandmother's quilts to bundle up most of it, and dragged it down the mountain...used my wife's pottery for target practice with my grand-daughter's .22, and my Ithaca 12 ga. They left their dope cooking paraphanalia in our empty hot tub...you get the picture.

We had good insurance and got 60% of the value (as the insurance company saw it), and the rest was an out of pocket loss. The local druggies that did it were out of jail in a week, (detectives said they probably got the bail money from the procedes of our cabin) and they got stung for possession of stolen goods...that's it. We pass them on the way to our place each time we go down. The cops said that a good alarm is nice, but they'll trigger it enough to test the response time, figure when you are gone and do the place in an hour. There's no stopping them in reality, short of a Fort Knox installation, next to a police station.

If you treasure your service, and the dues you paid for going when the country called, keep your momentos safe for family and VERY close friends only. On the wall, they'll get the druggies 20 cents on the dollar when they fence them off. I'm bitter, yep, but that's the way it is...the preceding is in no way a slap at the good police down there, but the drug culture has taken over many areas and we all pay the price. Rod
 
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As was (carefully) demonstrated several years ago with one of the moderators, it's not that hard to use various internet tools to walk your screen name / handle back to your physical address.

So no, I'm not leaving any guns out, loaded or otherwise.
 
How times have changed.

When I was in high school in the early 60s in the mountains, many of us boys took a woodworking class while the girls took classes in cooking or sewing. The teacher in the woodworking class chose what we made as we learned woodworking. Everyone was required to make the same thing. One of our projects was to make a gun rack that held 2 guns. Everyone in the class was happy to make one because most of us had a 22 rifle or to display along with our father's shotgun. It was a safer place than the corner of the room or closet where it would otherwise be "stored". We didn't worry about anyone stealing or bothering the guns because we all knew the "rules" and the consequences if they were disobeyed.
 
Concern about displaying guns because they are expensive is not the problem. We display expensive TVs and audio systems as well as other things all the time. Get replacement value insurance so if stolen you get what it costs to replace it. I have a considerable investment in just ham radio equipment in my man cave. Also have 4 computers, two iPads and expensive audiophile equipment. My wife has 45 years of jewelry worth more than my car. My concern is not the monetary loss of the few guns on display. I have full replacement insurance on my home's possessions and losing any of the stuff is not going to destroy my life. I do not worry about theft but take precautions anyway.

The real problem is not letting guns fall into criminal hands. Most gun owners have no, or inadequate, gun safes. The criminals come for the flat screen TV and jewelry (even if not on display, almost everyone has jewelry) and leave with the guns as a bonus even if they do not know you have a gun. As I stated before, most homes around here have guns as well as jewelry and other items of value in them so your guns are still at risk even if unseen.

Most times burglars come for jewelry, as guns can be bought in a private sale since no proof of identity or anything else is required. When I lived in Texas guys had guns in gun racks in the back of pickup trucks parked in public places. Many had guns on display in their homes. It is pretty much the same here but I guess if you live in certain States it is not PC to display guns but here people want to see your guns and they show you theirs. I guess it depends where you live and the gun culture there. My point is that some say you do not show valuable things but we all do that all over our homes with the things that we watch and use everyday. Protecting guns from criminal hands should be the main concern.
 
At one time I displayed a few of them. Wouldn't even think of it in todays world. Too many legal issues if someones plays with them. Too many opportunities for theft.
 
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