Displaying your SA Revolvers

[ThomTender]

Does anyone here display their Ruger Handgun collection and if so how do you show them. Gun Case, on the wall, etc. I have some SA Revolvers , Blackhawks and single sixes etc. I would like to display for friends, family and myself. Now they are all in bags out of view.

 

[JCW64]

Well, I think it is risky displaying firearms in the home unless it is in a walk in vault but you know your situation better than anyone else. To me it is not worth the theft risk.

 

[WIL TERRY]

WHY would you ever want to do that ? THAT just makes peoples tongues wag and soon you get visiters-in-the-night.
THINK!
And so it goes...

 

[powder smoke]

Keep my guns in the safe except my home defense weapons. ps

 

[GunnyGene]

Does anyone here display their Ruger Handgun collection and if so how do you show them. Gun Case, on the wall, etc. I have some SA Revolvers , Blackhawks and single sixes etc. I would like to display for friends, family and myself. Now they are all in bags out of view.

I have a display I made several years ago that's on a den wall. As you can see it has more than just a SA Ruger on it. I rearrange it occasionally, so what you see below, might be different next week.

Also have made a few glass top handgun display boxes for myself and others, similar to this one, although each one was unique. This one was for a retired local Sheriff for his service revolver.

 

[contender]

Good points above about security AND tongue waggers. Open displays invite easy theft. Miss Penny wanted a fancy, stand up jewelry chest. I bought her a NICE one. Our home break-in cost her about $12,000 in jewelry alone. I lost ONE gun,,, it wasn't in the safe. (One of three out,,, but the thug didn't find the other two.)
This coming weekend,,, in Ohio,,, will be the OGCA show,,, and the ROCS will have displays for all to see. Lots of neat ideas at these shows on how to build displays.
But,,, unless you have a walk in vault,,, displays should be done with items you wouldn't mind losing,,, just in case.

 

[ifithitu]

All mine live in a safe if they are not on me.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

IMHO the days of nice, glass-front, cabinet-quality gun cases are long gone. Your close friends that might see it might be OK, but you have no idea who they might tell or who that person might tell, etc, etc, etc.

:roll: :x

 

[GunnyGene]

Well, I think it is risky displaying firearms in the home unless it is in a walk in vault but you know your situation better than anyone else. To me it is not worth the theft risk.

Keeping weapons ready for instant use has been a family tradition for nearly 400 years. I see no reason to break with that tradition.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

I understand that position, Gunny, but are you there every day, 24-hours per day, to keep an eye on your nice display?

 

[Mus408]

My display sits in a cabinet which can be locked...3 locks plus sits in a room with dead bolted door with alarm plus a dog that can hear a gnat fart 50 ft. away!

 

[mohavesam]

Consider a braided stainless cable or locking posts tht resist a grown man yanking with both hands.

Displays are nice indeed. But my attorney reminds me of real potential if, if, if even one of my weapons winds up, even years later, used to harm or kill even one person.
The world outside your family and home is real, and it is out there 24/7/365. And they are looking through your windows...
Smash-n-grab. It ain't just for liquor stores anymore. :shock:

 

[SteelBlue]

If I were to display a revolver, I would use this:

 

[ThomTender]

After listening to the thoughts on display, I think for security reasons I will just keep them locked up or get a bigger safe to fit everything in and just leave the door open when I am home. Thanks for all the thoughts.

 

[Mus408]

If I were to display a revolver, I would use this:

I like that! Which makes for another woodworking project!

 

[SteelBlue]

You can buy them from Smith Gun Display for $40. Choice of wood, their cherry looks great.

 

[contender]

At $40 a pop,,, I could buy a LOT of guns for the money I'd spend on stands like that! I use a different method,,, that's a LOT cheaper. But,, those stands do look mighty nice!

 

[SteelBlue]

I think one would buy one maybe two of these. Not a huge expense. I have one of their rifle displays and the quality of workmanship is outstanding.

 

[DPris]

There's a great deal of difference between leaving a couple guns stashed for quick defense access & displaying multiple guns just to look at.

As mentioned previously- the days of nice glass & wood cabinets & so on are long gone.

Buddy of mine had several guns in a pretty glass & wood cabinet.
You may note I said "had".
One res burg & they were gone.

Bad idea.
Denis

 

[22/45 Fan]

I certainly agree it's a bad idea. You might as well hang a "Steal Me" sign on it.

 

[bogus bill]

I have been hit bad several times in my life. Unfortunately it`s no longer the 1940`s or 1950`s. Back then you could do it, at least where I grew up. The country now is low moralized, druggies thieve to support their habit etc. Unless there always is some one home, get a safe.

 

[princeout]

Well, I think it is risky displaying firearms in the home unless it is in a walk in vault but you know your situation better than anyone else. To me it is not worth the theft risk.

When we built our home in Oklahoma, we included a storm room. 10' x 20' with 9' ceiling, 12" thick concrete everywhere, with a 1/2 bath on one end for the ladies and a workbench on the other end for reloading. Long guns are on a big Lazy Susan style rack in the workbench area, located over the folding chair storage area. Hand guns are in a second hand store furniture piece with glass cases and shelves on each end.

The rest of the wall space has bass guitars hanging on it.

Topping the whole thing off is an inward swinging vault door from Fort Knox Safes. That was the toughest part to find, a door that swings inward, but important in the aftermath of a tornado.

It's a multi-use space and we've had 10 people and 5 dogs in there during storms. Sure beats running outside in the rain to get to the cellar in the middle of the night! Plus, guns and guitars are safe from fire, kids and thieves.
Tim

 

[mike campbell]

I leave $80,000 worth of vehicles in my driveway every night. Local car dealer leaves several million $$$ worth of vehicles on his lot. I wonder which carries the greater risk...trying to steal a $80,000 SUV or one of my $1000 guns?

 

[DPris]

Not even in the same universe, comparison-wise.
Houses are easily broken into, guns are very portable & easy to re-sell without a paper trail.

If you want to assume the risk of loss by displaying your guns, that's your choice.

I took far more gun theft reports when I was a working man than stolen $80,000 SUV reports.
Denis

 

[mike campbell]

Thank you for letting me choose. If you choose to hide yours, you may do so.

 

[DPris]

Since I intend to keep them, I will.
Knowing they're here & won't be lost if we're ever burgled gives me infinitely more satisfaction than seeing them daily, and worrying about them whenever we leave the house.

My small town gets hit periodically in burgs & outbuilding thefts.
Including houses next door and within sight of my place.
Guns taken from one house nearby in particular were involved in a small "crime spree" a couple years back by a male & female partnership that only resulted in some being recovered on arrest, in another state.

Vehicles stolen here? Rare.
Insured if they are.
Unlike cars, most insurance policies won't cover firearms loss beyond a very limited ceiling.

My guns will stay locked up.
The vehicles are much harder to make off with, harder to dispose of, and easily replaced.

There's not a single piece of "display art" in the whole house that'd cause me angst if we had it stolen, aside from framed photos that nobody's going to bother with.
If we want to do interior decorating, it doesn't involve expensive guns that we've taken a lifetime to acquire.

You've made your choice, I'm addressing others on the fence.
Guns are a valuable & extremely trade-able commodity, no matter where you live.
Displaying them openly is NOT wise.

If you can't afford a good safe, at the very least make them hard to find for the average quick in/quick out resburger.
Denis

 

[DPris]

Having taken thousands of burglary reports over the years as a cop, I know what they go for & what they leave with.
If guns are displayed when they get in, they won't be when they leave.

It's not a matter of worrying about the people you DO invite in, it's a matter of the people you DON'T invite in.

And nobody, invited or not, sees what we have here, unless I haul something out deliberately.
Several I could never replace, and havin' in the vault is more important than seein' in the living room.

I'm not a gambler & I'm not risking any part of a lifetime's accumulation in leaving guns laying around in the open.
That has nothing to do with responsibility for stolen guns after they've been taken. It's simply a matter of safeguarding valuable assets that can't be replaced.

I wouldn't leave a $10,000 bill displayed in a frame over the fireplace, just because I liked to look at it.
Same deal with the guns.
Denis

 

[Big Old Boy]

Mike my ROCS bearcat sits in one of your stands in the dining room but if I'm gone for any length of time it is well hidden.

 

[mike campbell]

Gladdens my heart!

All of mine are "displayed" on the stands in my gunroom behind a hidden-access, double-bolted steel door and concrete walls. My long guns are displayed horizontally on the walls. I like to enjoy my toys even when I'm not actively playing with em. In the last 40 years, maybe a half-dozen people outside of immediate family have been invited in.

 

[artey]

When I built my walk in vault I stood my rifles upright with plenty of space between them so they could be seen from the side. I put a counter along one wall with the top being dark red 1/4 inch headliner, same used in safes for the shelves, over the top of sheetrock base to lay my handguns on. It's soft, doesn't hold moisture, and looks great. Just an idea for you.