Security Cabinets for Rentals

[zpelletier]

I’m trying to find a cost effective way to secure my firearms in the condo that I rent. I realize that an actual safe is the best solution, however that’s not really practical for me right now. Depending on the housing market and other factors I am hoping to buy a house within the next year or two, and at that time I will get a good safe. I only have 3 long guns and 3 pistols, so I don’t need anything that big. I mostly want to keep them away from my kids, and I live in Connecticut so they legally have to be locked up (which they are now, chamber locks inside various locking cases). LGS has a Hornady Compact Ready Vault for $329 which is about as much as I’d like to spend. I just didn’t know if it was worth it to go for that over something like a Stack On 8 gun cabinet. Or any other suggestions? I know snapsafe/zanotti modular safes are supposed to be good, that’s just more than I want to spend. Thank you!

[Lester Polfus]

If I were you, I'd just buy the stack on 8 gun cabinet. I've had one for 15 years or so, and it's been fine. I keep long guns in it, and keep handguns in multiple copies of this pistol safe.

I've come to realize I don't have to optimize everything with high speed, low drag equipment. When I worked the road, I saw exactly zero occasions where a firearm was stolen from a locked container inside a home. They were all taken from sock drawers, night stands etc. At this point, someone will inevitably chime in about their brother's, friend's cousin's boyfriend that had all his gun stolen from a safe by a professional crew, but that's an absolutely rare exception.

My long gun cabinet is bolted to the studs, more so it won't tip over in an earthquake than because I'm seriously worried about somebody making off with it. That may not be an option for you in your condo, but I wouldn't worry about it.

I'd be more worried about bolting a pistol safe to something, as it's not unreasonable to think somebody might make off with it to open later. When we lived in an apartment, I screwed mine to the closet shelf over the clothes rod. I figured if they wanted to ding my deposit, they could, but I never heard anything about it, probably because nobody got up on a ladder to see the four holes in the shelf.

[Up1911Fan]

I have a Hornady Rapid AR Gunlocker under my bed. Two of them would hold everything you want to hold. Once you buy a house and a real safe, one could be mounted in your vehicle if you wanted.

[Rick R]

I’m with Lester, in 30+ years I don’t believe I saw your basic home burglars even try to defeat a simple Stack On style cabinet. There may have been one instance where they stole the whole cabinet that wasn’t secured to anything.

I have two and they are both bolted to wall studs and floor.

[beenalongtime]

I am going to post a link to a thread I remember:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....ce-needed-ASAP

Let me see what else I can find, remember:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....curity-Cabinet

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....udget-Gun-Safe

Might be worth a read.

[camsdaddy]

I am very thankful for this timely thread. We are moving and I have been looking into storage options. I initially was going to buy a safe but the Stack on cabinets have caught my eye. I just want to be able to keep my kids and their friends from being able to easily access them.

I plan to anchor it to the studs and possibly the floor. I don't think this will prevent it from being stolen but it will keep it from tipping and keep someone from easily walking away with it.

A few years ago a friend of mine and his mother were murdered. The guys that did it killed them and then stole his large safe and then burned down the house. They used his truck to move the safe. They then parked the truck at a local park. When I heard he had been murdered I called a friend of mine who is a deputy and told them if they were looking for his truck where it was. This was able to help them with the time line as I had seen it on my way home from work and knew he didn't frequent parks. They wound up getting caught because someone saw them unloading a really nice safe in what I think was an abandoned home. That said the size of the safe had no bearing on theft it was more of putting your business on social media.

[Nephrology]

I’m trying to find a cost effective way to secure my firearms in the condo that I rent. I realize that an actual safe is the best solution, however that’s not really practical for me right now. Depending on the housing market and other factors I am hoping to buy a house within the next year or two, and at that time I will get a good safe. I only have 3 long guns and 3 pistols, so I don’t need anything that big. I mostly want to keep them away from my kids, and I live in Connecticut so they legally have to be locked up (which they are now, chamber locks inside various locking cases). LGS has a Hornady Compact Ready Vault for $329 which is about as much as I’d like to spend. I just didn’t know if it was worth it to go for that over something like a Stack On 8 gun cabinet. Or any other suggestions? I know snapsafe/zanotti modular safes are supposed to be good, that’s just more than I want to spend. Thank you!

Take a look at this review I did of the Agile 52 security cabinet made by SecureIt Tactical (in the quote below). I am very happy with mine.

Let me see what else I can find, remember:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....curity-Cabinet

[Malamute]

You can secure a gun cabinet to the studs without doing any real damage, and what small holes there are can be easily filled with spackling when you leave. It wouldnt keep me from securing one.

Ive used 3" gold torx or star drive screws with a smaller then a couple large fender washers shot into the studs, I drill the back of the cabinet to match stud location. Ive also screwed a sheet of 5/8" plywood (1/2" is probably adequate, and Id suggest getting real plywood, not OSB, which doesnt hold screws as well) the size of the cabinet to the wall then screwed the cabinet to the plywood with shorter fatter screws or short lag bolts. Home depot and others will cut plywood to whatever size you ask for. The plywood also helps space the cabinet out so the base trim doesnt cause problems.

Ive also used a piece of 1/8x1 inch angle metal, drilled for the stud location when the cabinet is in desired location, then drill back of cabinet to match and attach to the wall. It spreads the load out more across the cabinets back wall so it cant be easily pried from the wall.

Something else to keep in mind, if you have tools, best to keep them locked up and out of sight if possible, no sense making it easy for someone to remove your safe or cabinet.

[zpelletier]

Take a look at this review I did of the Agile 52 security cabinet made by SecureIt Tactical (in the quote below). I am very happy with mine.

I actually read through your thread before I posted this. While the Agile 52 does seem nice, it’s just more money than I want to spend and larger than I need (and it would be a tight squeeze). They have a smaller cabinet that looks nice, but it’s too small (of course). I think the Hornady Compact Vault is about the perfect size, but I don’t know if it’s worth the money.

[Stephanie B]

I'd be more worried about bolting a pistol safe to something, as it's not unreasonable to think somebody might make off with it to open later. When we lived in an apartment, I screwed mine to the closet shelf over the clothes rod. I figured if they wanted to ding my deposit, they could, but I never heard anything about it, probably because nobody got up on a ladder to see the four holes in the shelf.

I also got 75lbs of strip-lead from a plumbing-supply house and put that in the bottom of a pistol safe. If someone wanted to make off with it, they weree going to have to work at it.