I recently purchased a "small" gun safe...on that can fit in a closet and holds 10 long guns with one shelf.  Got a steal of a deal from Wal-Mart for $250 on a Sentry safe.

Anyway, a friend of mine related a story that happened to his father 2 years ago...that is, some thugs broke into their house one day.  When they came home, all of the rifles had been taken out from under the bed and neatly lined up on top of the bed.  Some rifles were VERY expensive ones.  However, none were stolen.  The cops said that burglars typically only steal handguns because they are easy to conceal, easier to carry more, can be used by the perp, and can be sold quickly for good money.  Rifles are rarely stolen because of their size, resaleability, etc.

SO, I have *a number* of pistols that will not all fit on just one or two shelves of this small safe.  You think I should just shelf this safe out and use it to store pistols?  What about putting my rifles in a locking display case with a cable wire around it?

I am not going to buy another safe any time soon, so what are your suggestions?

i would suggest digging a 15x15 room under your basement, bricking it up with interlocking cynderblocks, and lining the walls with plate steel and sheets of lead.

Can the shelf accomodate a pistol rack?  That'd let you fit the most units into a small space if there's enough height available to place them muzzle-up.

Quoted: Can the shelf accomodate a pistol rack?  That'd let you fit the most units into a small space if there's enough height available to place them muzzle-up.

Now that's a great line-of-thought.  However, I don't think there'd be enough space due to the number vs. size of the safe (it's the smaller closet-sized Sentry safe...not very wide).  But, I hadn't thought about storing them "muzzle up."

Hmmmmm, while I don't prefer to store them this way (I prefer to have them wrapped in a rag/cloth/rug/etc.), it may be a VERY good idea for space accomodations.

That's why I love this site...always good suggestions.

For what it's worth, the rack I use is 18" wide and has slots for 8 pistols.  I picked it up at one of the Houston shows from a nice lady back in the area where the safe vendors set up.  She (or someone) makes them at home from oak in various finishes, and it went a long way toward getting my safe organized.

Powergen - could you post a picture of the rack (empty), thinking with a picture I could make my own rack.

Tailgate - Be sure to get something to dry out the air in the safe.  I use silica gel packs but there are some other products out there.  
www.dehumidify.com/ProdDisc.html

I have a Sentry safe similar to yours. Since the long guns are arrange in a U-shape I am going to put hooks on the door. I am going to take the inner door panel off and attach some hooks so I can hang the handguns by their trigger guards.

Quoted: Powergen - could you post a picture of the rack (empty), thinking with a picture I could make my own rack.

Try this website:

www.gunstands.com/

Ft. Sandflats shows their pistol/rifle stands at most of the local shows around Dallas.  Nice no-frills things to hold your guns.  They will also make racks to your dimensions if you call them.  Good small town Texas service.

Have you thought about making your own stand?  Take a piece of 1x12, drill holes in it and put 2-3" wooden dowels of the appropriate diameters where you want them.  Then just slide the handguns muzzle down over the dowels.  If it's for inside the safe it doesn't need to be pretty.  And wood dowels won't hurt the bores.

I have a 8 gun rifle safe in my closet that I store my pistols in .I keep all my pistol in there boxes or in cheap kmart carry case and just stack them up.it looks like you could put about 30 pistol in it this way .

Quoted: Powergen - could you post a picture of the rack (empty), thinking with a picture I could make my own rack. Tailgate - Be sure to get something to dry out the air in the safe.  I use silica gel packs but there are some other products out there.   www.dehumidify.com/ProdDisc.html

I don't have a digital camera yet, but hope to get one before too long.  I'll be happy to take pics of it when I get the means, and I'll email them if unable to figure out online posting.

It looks a lot like the one pictured 2/3 down the page (on the left) at http://www.oregontrailsafeco.com/options.html, and another similar one at http://www.pellasecurity.com/options.html.

Boxes, such as the old cardboard S&W boxes, work pretty well for storage since they can be stacked to the top of your safe.   Take out the insert and you can probably get two handguns in one box.  Just use some sort of divider to keep the guns from touching each other.

You can also put handguns in cheap Bore Stores fabric rugs (sold by Brownells) and simply pile them on top of each other, though they can slip around a bit.

Burglars might prefer handguns to long guns, but they will definitely take long guns.  If they can’t get to your handguns, the rifles in your display case will walk!

At the very least, try to put, say, a bolt or similar part from your long guns in the safe.  Burglars might be less inclined to take an incomplete firearm.  If they take it, they’ll have a harder time getting rid of it – and you certainly don’t owe them any favors!

Actually, a nice thing about an AR is if you definitely don’t have room in your safe for the entire rifle, you can at least lock up the lower assembly.    

mattsd as a mason it humors me in bricking up with cinder block and lining with lead and steel and inter locking cinder block. if i were going to build this room i would use cinder block and fill the cells with grout and use rebar in every 4th cell.