Spoiler alert: Your Utah home probably fails 2 out of the 3...
Stow or Go, Where Can I Store My Guns?
This question troubles thousands of people every year. The right to keep and bear arms, guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, is a valued and cherished right in the United States.
We agree that having a firearm safely stored at home for personal protection is a closely guarded right and privilege, however, there are occasions when storing a firearm in your home is not an option.
For example:
- A family member or resident of the home has a history of struggling with depression. anxiety, or suicidal thoughts.
According to the American Psychiatric Association “more than 60 percent of all firearm deaths are suicides. Although there are many ways of trying to commit self-harm, attempting suicide with guns is lethal 85 percent of the time, and over 50 percent of completed suicides involve firearms.”
You are concerned with the increasingly strange behavior of your teenage children…
The American Psychiatric Association also states that “Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. About 40 percent of teen suicides are committed with firearms—typically those of their parents.”
Leaving your home for an extended period of time for Active Military Duty, a long business trip, or temporarily relocation.
Temporarily renting out your home.
You own expensive show guns, and don’t want to risk them being stolen.
A divorce necessitates the removal of firearms from your home during proceedings.
We get it, sometimes word gets around that a particular neighbor has a lot of guns at home. And although it sounds counter intuitive, statistics show that homes known for having many guns are more likely to be victims of firearm theft. In fact, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, claims that more than 300,394 firearms were reported stolen from private citizens in 2020. Ref
We believe in the Stow and Go method of firearm storage. Or Show and Go… the idea being to keep protective firearms safely accessible at home, but keep the show guns or special use guns in a more protected location safe from theft and accidental misuse. But still stored in highly accessible and secure locations. But more on that in a minute…
Fortunately, there are local pro-gun solutions for storing firearms away from home for a period of time. We’re going to take a look at the details of each solution, but first, let’s take a look at the factors you need to consider when storing firearms.
Read about Jeremy’s experience with this stituation…
Offsite Firearm Storage
Keeping firearms in a secure location aside from home or place of work.
Offsite firearm storage is typically used when home storage is not an option due to mental illness or an extended leave of absence, or to protect valuable firearms from theft.
3 Considerations of Offsite Firearms Storage
1. Security
Store your firearms in a location that is safe and secure. This is a no-brainer.
Security includes denying access to children and individuals who are a danger to themselves and others, as well as preventing theft and damage to the firearms stored there.
- In 2020, over $135 million worth of firearms were stolen in the US. Frankly, storing your guns in a buddy’s safe might not be enough.
- As mentioned earlier, children, especially teens, can quickly discover hidden keys and learn combinations.
2. Convenience
24/7 access to your firearms is ideal. This gives you the flexibility to swing by your off-site location to grab your rifles before a Saturday morning shoot or showing them to an interested buyer on short notice.
Even if 24/7 access isn’t an option, keep in mind how much of a hassle it could be to get to your firearms if the need arises.
3. Length of Potential Storage Time
Do you need offsite firearm storage for a week or a year? Or is it still up in the air?
Special use guns, like hunting rifles, semi-automatic rifles, and valuable show guns pose an increased theft risk to homeowners, even when stored inside in home safes. Take a moment with each of your guns and determine how often you “need” access to that gun inside of your home. Often owners discover the accessibility to show guns and hunting rifles is far less important than ensuring their protection from theft from civilian and/or political thieves.
Knowing how long you are looking for storage will help you select the right firearm storage solution.
Bonus: FFL Holding Storage Location
While not a necessity, using a firearm storage location that holds an FFL (Federal Firearms License) can be very useful. FFL holders are able to handle shipments of firearms and can help if you want to send or receive firearms. An FFL holder could also help if you were trying to sell or purchase additional firearms.
Want to cut to the chase and see a storage location that ranks highest in all of these? Schedule a guided tour of our private vault facility today!
Anonymous Asset Storage
The act of storing assets for future access or use without revealing the identity of the owner.
Anonymous storage is often used to shield assets from unscrupulous individuals targeting the owner.
The 4 Options for Offsite Firearm Storage
Contrary to popular belief, you cannot store firearms in most bank safe deposit boxes and residential storage units.
Virtually everyone who stores their firearms offsite uses one of the following four locations. We have ranked them worst to best according to the above criteria.
#4 - With the Local Police Department
Most police departments will take custody of a firearm for short periods of time if there is a concern that someone with access to the firearm (you or a family member) will attempt to harm themselves.
This is an excellent option for storing firearms short term to prevent a possible suicide, but this is not a viable option for long term firearm storage. It could also be difficult to access your firearm while it is being stored by police until the potential threat of misuse of the firearm has passed.
#3 - At a Firearms Store or Shooting Range
Bonus points for this one if you value a firearm storage location with an FFL.
Similar to police departments, many gun stores or ranges are willing to store firearms for a time if you need to store your weapon out of the house. There are a few that might offer long-term firearm storage, but most are willing to help out for short term situations.
If you need access to your firearms while it is being stored, a store or range will likely be more accommodating than a police department, but you will still have to be there during business hours and work around their schedule.
#2 - At a Friend or Relative's Home
A friend or relatives’ home is definitely the most commonly used offsite firearm storage location, and can be simple and convenient. Unless the individual you are storing firearms with is going to move soon, you can usually keep your guns in their safe for up to a couple years without causing too much inconvenience.
The biggest downside with this approach is security. This is usually the least secure of any of the four storage options, even with the assumption that your firearm is locked in their safe.
(Over 380,000 guns are stolen, on average, in the United States per year.)
It might also be frustrating to only have access to your firearms when someone else is available to let you in their house and get them for you. (It’s tricky if they left on their week-long hunting trip before you, and you haven’t grabbed your rifle yet…)
#1 - In a Private Vault Facility
If spending some money on a secure location for firearms storage is a deal breaker, then look elsewhere. But otherwise, this is by far the best solution for secure firearm storage.
A good private vault will have multiple layers of security keeping your firearms safe (Eye scanners, bulletproof walls, multiple checkpoints, etc.), will give you 24/7 access to whatever you have stored there, and will allow you to rent a vault for firearm storage for as long as you want. A few private vaults also hold FFLs and can handle firearms sales and transfers.
Basically a bank vault on steroids, a private vault is the ideal storage location if the firearms being stored are high in value, if you need easy access to your firearms, or if you want the very best security for your firearms collection.
Interested in learning more about private vaults?
Schedule a guided tour of our first-class private vault facility today!
Private Vault
A secure self-storage facility for storing assets such as gold, silver, firearms, important documents, jewelry, artwork, cash, etc.
Private Vaults typically have far fewer regulations on storage and much higher levels of security than bank safe deposit boxes and residential storage locations.
Recap
When considering where to store your firearms, make sure that you evaluate possible storage locations on these three criteria: security, convenience, and how long you will be storing your guns for.
The four potential firearm storage locations are (from worst to best):
The local police department
A gun store or range
With a friend or relative
At a private vault (the best and safest option in our opinion)
Schedule a personal tour of our private vault facility, and see if this is the right firearm storage location for your needs.
