5 Small Gun Room Ideas for Optimal Security

September 06, 2022 6 min read

Gun Room with American flag

Gun safes and gun cabinets are great for keeping your long guns and firearms secure, but as your collection grows, you may run out of room in your safe. You can purchase a second safe for your additional guns or replace your current safe with a larger one, but if you keep collecting, you will find yourself in the same situation again.

Or maybe you’ve put a lot of time, effort, and money into building your collection, and having them always locked away out of sight doesn’t allow you to enjoy them.

In either of these cases, the solution may be a custom gun room, which provides a secure method to display your gun collection on gun mounts.

 

What is a Gun Room?

A gun room is a secured room in your home where you can display your firearm collection on the walls without any fear of them falling into the hands of people who shouldn’t be using them. You could compare this room to a bank vault or safe room rather than a gun safe. 

In 2020, more than 45,000 people died from gun-related injuries, and having guns secured could likely have prevented some of them.

The walls of a gun room often display a collection of firearms using gun mounts. Additionally, gun rooms often protect against break-ins, fire, and other situations. These already-reinforced walls also make the gun room an ideal place to keep other valuables.

Spartan Blog: Storing Guns

Advantages of a Secure Gun Room

A secure gun room allows you to display or store your guns, ammo, and other valuables in a secure and controlled environment. There were nearly 7 million property crimes in 2019 in the U.S., resulting in losses of over $16 billion. Keeping your guns and valuables in a gun room can keep them from becoming part of that statistic. Many gun shops use a gun room or gun closet with concrete walls to secure their large collection, and this may be the best way for your firearm storage as well.

 

How to Build a Small Gun Room

There are a few steps in creating a home gun room design. Keep your goals and gun room ideas in mind throughout the process.

1. Find a location

Vertical AR Gun Room Wall

The first step is to choose the best location for a gun room in your home. If you have enough space to include hidden gun room ideas, that’s ideal. A closet, mechanical room or a basement gun room are options, as long as they have the available space and not too many access points.

Assuming you will keep your self-defense weapons in more accessible locations, your gun room can be in a less convenient location in your home. And if you have already-reinforced walls anywhere in your home, that can make the building process easier. You even have the option of going all-out and building your gun display into your man cave!

2. Plan window and wall reinforcements

Gun rooms in homes need to protect from multiple potential threats, such as:

  • Break-in
  • Fire
  • Water or moisture

It is a good idea to consider how you will reinforce the walls against a person breaking in or a fire in your home. Firearms in gun mounts on the main or upper level of your home are safe from most flooding, but flooding may be a concern if you plan to build your vault room in a basement.

DIY gun room ideas for preventing water or moisture damage include installing your gun mounts higher on the walls, having an operating sump pump in your basement gunroom, and running a dehumidifier if in the basement or other room that is prone to high humidity.

3. Choose a secure door

A secure door, such as a vault door or steel door, will keep your collection of firearms safe inside your custom home gun room. A biometric fingerprint safe door will allow you quick and easy access while keeping out anyone else. Around 4.6 million kids live in homes with unsecured, loaded weapons, and a secure door is a way to keep them safe. This is especially easy if you are building into new construction.

4. Design your weapons display

Gun Rifle Display Wall

Consider how to best display each type of gun. Prioritize the ones you especially want to admire, such as any rare or antique firearms, and give them the prime spots. Ensure you have the appropriate gun wall kit, rifle mounts, or handgun mounts for each type of gun. Spartan Mounts offers a range of display products for gun owners, including handgun hangers, horizontal gun rack hooks and vertical gun racks for a large number of guns.

5. Install security features

As a gun owner, security is your top priority. The security features you choose for your gun room will depend on the people living in your home. A biometric fingerprint safe, for example, keeps out anyone whose fingerprint isn’t authorized.

Other additional security features you may choose for your gun room include:

  • Cameras
  • Ammo lockboxes
  • Gun safes
  • Safe deposit box
  • Gun rack systems

Think about what you want to keep in your gun room and whether you need any additional security features, then tailor the room to your needs.

 

5 Small Gun Room Ideas

There are several additional gun room ideas you can incorporate to make yours the envy of all your gun owner friends.

1. Use a Hidden Door

You can install a security door and reinforce the walls, but the best protection against theft of your firearm collection is invisibility. Thieves can’t steal what they don’t know is there, so adding a secret door is a great way to increase the security of your wall displays. It can be as simple as a mirror door, or if you want to get more complex, you can put a sliding bookshelf in front of a storage area in the basement.

Spartan Blog: Hidden Gun Storage Ideas

2. Get Creative with Lighting

Well Lit Rifle Display

There are several ways to get creative with the lighting in your gun room from highlighting your favorite weapons you have displayed on the walls to concealed lighting in the cabinets to task lighting so you can see while cleaning your guns. You can use LED grid panels, LED light strips, or even a custom built safe light.

3. Install Separate Humidity and Temperature Controls

A climate-controlled environment is best for preserving your collection, especially if it includes antique firearms. Consider having separate humidity and temperature controls specific to your gun room.

4. Build a Gun Cleaning Station

Rifle Display with Workbench

If you’ve got space in your gun room, having a reloading bench or station to clean your guns can be very convenient and make caring for your collection quick and simple.

5. Install a Safe Deposit Box

Since your gun room is a great place to keep other valuables, and it’s probably less susceptible to fire and water damage than other areas of your home, consider installing a safe deposit box. You can safely store important documents, cash, jewelry, and more and not worry about them being stolen or damaged.

 

Small Gun Room FAQs

What are gun rooms called?

Gun rooms can also be called gun vaults or gun safe rooms.

Is a gun room the same as a panic room?

Not exactly. While they have some similarities, such as specific security features, a panic room keeps people safe from an attack for a short time until law enforcement arrives. Gun rooms act like a larger version of gun safes, keeping the guns out of the hands of burglars, children, and anyone else who shouldn’t access them.

A gun room could offer some protection similar to a panic room in case of a break-in. Thirty-eight percent of assaults and 60% of rapes take place during home invasions, and if you aren’t able to escape the home, hiding in the gun room could be your next best option.

Can a room be a gun safe?

Yes. You can turn a room into a gun safe by adding a vault door or other secured entry and possibly other security features. 

Where is the safest place to hide a gun?

There are many safe places to hide a gun, depending on your purpose for it. If it’s for self-defense, proper storage would be concealed in a holster on your person since quick access is perhaps the safest place. Firearms are used for self-defense 2.5 million times each year. When keeping it safe from theft or environmental threats, a climate-controlled, fire-proof gun safe or gun room is a safe location.

What is an armory room?

An armory room is a secure location to keep weapons and ammunition, often at a gun range or military base.

What are the laws around gun storage?

There is no federal law regarding gun storage, so you will need to look up the laws of the state you live in. Some states have requirements for safe gun storage, and others do not.

 

Ready to Build Your Own Gun Room?

A lot can go into building a gun room, from security features to lighting to reinforcing the walls. However, the simplest way to start is to secure the entrance and mount some guns on the walls.

Lock a door with a key and look into a gun wall kit or shop wall mounts for your small gun room to start your gun room today.