# Newby here: gunbox for home?



## Expateach (Jan 1, 2012)

Hi.

I am soon going to buy my first hand gun for home protection. A friend is going to make a gun box for me. I want the box to be small and hang on my wall. My questions:

1. What are the average dimensions for a typical handgun used for home protection. Height, length, width. I want my box made so it's just big enough to house such a handgun. I don't want a thick box sticking out of the wall. I will be buying my first handgun in the next few months but want the box built now.

2. Is there anything inside a gunbox such as some holder to keep the gun upright or in a certain position that I could buy and have installed in my box. Or a small holder for the ammo or an ammo clip?

Thanks for any help.


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## bruce333 (Sep 1, 2006)

Depends on the gun...for a general idea you can look at commercially available boxes.

Secure-It Handgun Storage Safe - American Association of Certified Firearms Instructors

MTM Lockable Handgun Storage Box Black 804-40. 804-40. MTM Gun Cases.

GunVault Mini Deluxe Handgun Safe | Overstock.com

Locksaf Biometric Handgun Safe, Shooting Accessories, Locksaf at Sportsman's Guide


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Expateach said:


> Hi.
> 
> I am soon going to buy my first hand gun for home protection. A friend is going to make a gun box for me. I want the box to be small and hang on my wall. My questions:
> 
> 1. What are the average dimensions for a typical handgun used for home protection. Height, length, width. I want my box made so it's just big enough to house such a handgun. I don't want a thick box sticking out of the wall. I will be buying my first handgun in the next few months but want the box built now...


What's your hurry?
Pistols come in many sizes, some of which are similar to others, and some of which are very different. If you want the box to be of minimum dimensions, the very best way to proceed would be to wait until you have the actual gun that's going into the box.
Further, I suggest giving some thought to what the outside of the box will look like. Is it to be some sort of camouflage, for instance a picture frame or a clock? Bear in mind that a thief will already know about these sorts of hidey-holes, so your box may be pretty easy to defeat.



Expateach said:


> 2. Is there anything inside a gunbox such as some holder to keep the gun upright or in a certain position that I could buy and have installed in my box. Or a small holder for the ammo or an ammo clip?...


The simplest form of retainer would be a full-width shelf, faced by a vertical, wooden retention strip. This would keep your pistol in its place yet make it easy to grab, and would also provide space for reload magazines (not "ammo clip").
When you are at home, the safest place for your defensive weapon is right there on your body, or, when you're in bed, right next to you on a night-stand or in a "bed holster" attached between mattress and box spring.
The only use for a hidey-hole is for "spares," or for when you are not at home but can't carry your pistol (for instance, in NYC).

When I lived in a home in a medium-crime area (West Los Angeles), I replaced our bathroom's set-into-the-wall medicine cabinet with a larger surface-mounted unit. I installed the surface-mounted cabinet with hidden hinges at its top, and with quarter-turn aircraft fastenings, the heads of which look just like ordinary screws, at its bottom. When one opened this cabinet, one saw what looked like ordinary screws that fastened it to the wall at both top and bottom.
Any ordinary screwdriver, like the "coin" I carried on my key ring, quickly undid the bottom "screws," and the surface-mounted cabinet flipped upwards on its hinges to reveal the old in-the-wall medicine cabinet, complete with shelves, on which rested a pistol, its ammunition, and emergency cash, among other things.
(Because this was a bathroom, each item in that hidden storage compartment was contained in its own plastic bag, with an anti-rust-vapor emitter.)


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