Gun Safe Organizer Ideas: 10 Ways to Fit More in the Safe You Have

The fastest way to get more out of a gun safe is the door. Most safes have 4–6 square feet of flat steel on the inside of the door that holds nothing, and a magazine rack or pistol mount with magnets on the back turns it into storage in about thirty seconds, with no drilling.

Once the door is full, the next gains come from the interior: shelves on one side for handguns and ammo, vertical rifle mounts so long guns stand upright instead of leaning, and a light so you can see what’s in there. Below are ten gun safe organizer ideas, starting with the ones that free up the most space.

Helpful Tips Before You Put Your Guns in Your Safe 

Before you store your guns in a safe, you should consider several factors:

• Keeping yourself and your family safe
• Following gun safety rules
• Maintaining the best environment for your guns

Think about the following helpful tips when planning your gun safe organization.

Clean Guns Before Storing

You should thoroughly clean your guns before storing them in a safe. A light coating of oil on all metal surfaces and wax on wooden stocks will give them a layer of protection.

Remove Fingerprints

The oils and salts on your skin will create the potential for rust if left on your guns. Make sure to wipe off any surfaces you touched before storing them.

Avoid Overcrowding

When planning your gun safe organization ideas, make sure you allow enough room. Trying to stuff as many guns as possible into the storage space can damage your guns.

Control Humidity

The air in your gun safe should be around or below a constant 50 percent humidity. You can use a dehumidifier to keep it at that level. Check the humidity periodically, especially if you live in a humid climate.

Bolt Down Your Gun Safe

Your safe can’t protect your guns if thieves pick it up and take it away to crack open at their leisure. If thieves could pick up your safe, bolt it down for extra security.

Follow Firearm Safety Rules

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has 10 rules of firearm safety, and the first three apply even when handling guns for storage. They include:

• Always point the muzzle in a safe direction
• Unload firearms when not in use
• Don’t rely on the safety – treat every gun as if it could fire

Always practice basic gun safety, even when storing them.

Keep a Copy of the Safe Combination

If you have a safe with a combination entry, keep copies of the combination in secure places away from the safe.

Keep an Inventory List

Keep an updated list of every item in your safe, whether it’s guns, ammunition, or other valuables. List the serial numbers and descriptions, and store this list in a secure place.

Don’t Store Guns in Gun Cases

Guns need air circulation while in storage. Don’t keep them in non-breathable cases, including fabric, leather, or waterproof.

Ten Gun Safe Organizer Ideas

If you're ready to organize your safe, check out ten storage solutions below.

1. Magazine Racks on the Safe Door (No Drilling)

A magazine rack is the single highest-value thing you can add to a safe door. A 6-magazine PMAG rack holds six loaded 30-round magazines in a footprint of about 10" × 5"; a 3-magazine Glock rack does the same for pistol mags. Every Spartan magazine rack (129 of them, by magazine model) has screw holes on the back, and those holes take a Magnet Screw: a 1" neodymium magnet with 37 lb of pull force threaded onto the mounting screw.

How to do it: thread two Magnet Screws into a 3-mag rack, or four into a 6-mag rack, and press it onto bare steel. Four magnets on a 6-mag PMAG rack hold six fully loaded PMAGs; two on any pistol-mag rack hold any pistol or rifle magazines. Nothing is drilled, so the rack moves when your layout changes, and the safe’s fire rating is untouched.

If your door is fabric-lined, the magnet holds through thin fabric at reduced strength; through thick padding it won’t. If this is the case, you can attach them directly to the metal door with self tapping screws, or you can attach a wood backplate to the inside of the door as your mounting surface.

2. Pistols on the Door

Same idea, same hardware. A pistol mount with two Magnet Screws holds any pistol on bare steel, which puts a defensive handgun at eye level the moment the door opens, with the shelf space it would have used freed for ammunition or documents. A well laid out safe door can hold ~12 pistols.

3. Anywhere Else There’s Steel

The magnets aren’t limited to the door. Spartan mounts with Magnet Screws also go on the underside of a shelf, the safe ceiling, the side walls behind the long guns, and the outside of the safe body in a gun room. The rule: magnets are designed for magazines, pistols and battery mounts. Most two-hole rifle and shotgun mounts won’t hold a long gun magnetically; three-hole rifle mounts may, depending on rifle weight. For long guns, use the mounts with screws (idea #7) or rifle rods (idea #6).

4. Handgun Hangers

Handgun hangers attach to a shelf and allow you to hang your handguns. Since the hanger simply slides into the barrel, they provide quick access. Consider handgun mounts, too, for convenient access.

5. Pistol Racks

Pistol racks make great gun storage solutions. You can choose from different styles of pistol racks, depending on whether you want your guns more on display or fully enclosed. 

6. Rifle Rods

Rifle rods go into the barrels of your rifles and stand them straight up, giving you more space than if they are leaning against the walls. You can often keep many more guns in the same amount of space using gun storage solutions like this.

7. Long Gun Storage + Gun Safe Shelves

If you have a variety of guns and other items to keep in your safe, make sure you look into some gun safe shelving ideas. One popular arrangement is to have one side of the safe open for long guns while the other side has shelves for handguns, ammunition, and documents or valuables. Customize the space to your needs. If the safe has a bare steel back wall, a magnetic rack works there too (idea #3).

8. Light Accessories

Safes often have shadows that can make locating what you need more difficult. Incorporating lights in your safe can solve this issue and allow you to locate what you need easily.

9. Fire Protection

If you are also storing important documents, like marriage licenses or birth certificates, in your safe, adding fire protection is crucial. You can purchase a fire-resistant bag to put documents in to protect them from charring in the case of a fire.

10. Alarm Accessories

If you’d like to be alerted if someone attempts to break into your safe, an alarm system can do just that.

This may mean adding to your current home security system by placing a sensor on your safe, or it may be a stand-alone monitoring system. Some features to look for beyond just an alert that the door opened include:

• Movement sensor
• Temperature or humidity change sensors
• Low battery alerts
• Notifications by text or email
• Customizable alerts

Alarm systems can be a bit pricey, so look for one that balances the features you want with a price point you can live with.

Organize Your Gun Safe Today

There are a lot of gun safe organizer ideas out there, so shop for options and find what works best for your firearm collection.

FAQs About Gun Safe Organization

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions regarding gun safe organization tips.

What’s the best way to store magazines on a gun safe door?
A magazine rack with magnets on the back. A 6-magazine rack with four Magnet Screws holds six loaded 30-round magazines on bare steel with no drilling; a 3-magazine pistol rack needs two. If the door is fabric-lined, use self-tapping screws into the steel or add a wood backplate.

Will magnets hold loaded magazines on a safe door?
Yes, on bare steel. Each Magnet Screw has 37 lb of pull force; four on a 6-magazine rack hold six loaded PMAGs, two on a pistol-magazine rack hold any pistol or rifle magazines. Thick fabric, textured paint or uneven surfaces reduce the hold.

Can I put a gun mount inside a gun safe without drilling?
Yes. Any Spartan magazine rack or pistol mount accepts Magnet Screws in its mounting holes and sticks to steel. Rifle and shotgun mounts generally need screws: most two-hole long-gun mounts won’t hold a rifle magnetically.

Where is the best place to put a gun safe?
Out of sight and bolted down — a closet, a basement corner, a garage interior wall. Many people avoid the master bedroom closet because it’s the first place a burglar looks.

Can you add shelves to a gun safe?
Yes. Most safes take the maker’s shelf kits; a plywood shelf cut to the interior width works too. A magnetic rack on the underside of a shelf uses space a shelf alone wastes.

Can you store guns and ammo in the same safe?
Yes. A safe is the recommended place for both. Keep the humidity near or below 50% so neither rusts — see our guide to keeping moisture out of a gun safe.

Should I bolt my gun safe to the floor?
Yes if it’s light enough for two people to move. Bolting is what stops a thief from taking the whole safe and opening it elsewhere.

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