The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - (VA) In-home concealment, instant access

BrokenPaw · September 9, 2002, 09:02 AM

Skunkabilly's thread, here , about roommates and long gun storage, was well-timed.

Just yesterday, I finished building a concealment/instant access vault into my house. Until recently, I had no need for such a thing, being a guy living alone. But when my girlfriend and her two kids moved in, suddenly the rules changed. Suddenly I had a curious 7-year-old boy and a precocious 10-year-old girl in the house, all the time. Including when I'm not there.

No more AR-15 in Condition 2 behind all of my clothes in the closet. No more Mossberg loaded with 00 Buck lurking behind the couch. No more P32 hidden in my underwear drawer when I'm not wearing it.

But no less need for instant access. We all know what the chances are of getting police response in time to actually help in a home-defense situation, and living way down a dirt road in the back-end of Manassas, Virginia doesn't help with response times.

So I bought a 1500-pound electromagnetic lock, and an APC UPS, and some other bits and pieces, and I built a concealed chamber into a dead space near my living room. I will post pics and a video of it opening when I get a chance, and if people are interested. The space I had to work with was small, but I have room to store 7 long guns and several handguns, as well as ammo and other related stuff. There are automatic lights inside, so that when it opens, you can see what you're grabbing.

The thing opens by RF remote control, and I am installing two remote hardwire switches in a different, concealed location in the house, inside a locked panel: An emergency-open switch, in case the batteries in the remotes die; and a "babysitter" switch, so that when I'm not home, nothing can open the vault at all.

The kids know about it, and they know what's in it, but none of their friends have to know, and none of my friends have to know, except the ones who are also shooters. I can train the kids to be safe, but I can't assume anything about their friends.

The project started out mainly as a "Gee, can I...?" investigation, and it turned out so well, and has already proven to be so handy, I'm considering starting a side business (I'm a software engineer by day) installing these things custom in people's homes. Since I live in northern Virginia, I'd have to start with only doing the work within 50 miles or so.

Anyone have any thoughts? Good idea? Bad idea? Anyone interested in becoming a First Customer?

-BP

September 9, 2002, 09:02 AM	#1
BrokenPaw Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2002 Location: Manassas, Virginia Posts: 101	(VA) In-home concealment (w/ pics and video) Skunkabilly's thread, here , about roommates and long gun storage, was well-timed. Just yesterday, I finished building a concealment/instant access vault into my house. Until recently, I had no need for such a thing, being a guy living alone. But when my girlfriend and her two kids moved in, suddenly the rules changed. Suddenly I had a curious 7-year-old boy and a precocious 10-year-old girl in the house, all the time. Including when I'm not there. No more AR-15 in Condition 2 behind all of my clothes in the closet. No more Mossberg loaded with 00 Buck lurking behind the couch. No more P32 hidden in my underwear drawer when I'm not wearing it. But no less need for instant access. We all know what the chances are of getting police response in time to actually help in a home-defense situation, and living way down a dirt road in the back-end of Manassas, Virginia doesn't help with response times. So I bought a 1500-pound electromagnetic lock, and an APC UPS, and some other bits and pieces, and I built a concealed chamber into a dead space near my living room. I will post pics and a video of it opening when I get a chance, and if people are interested. The space I had to work with was small, but I have room to store 7 long guns and several handguns, as well as ammo and other related stuff. There are automatic lights inside, so that when it opens, you can see what you're grabbing. The thing opens by RF remote control, and I am installing two remote hardwire switches in a different, concealed location in the house, inside a locked panel: An emergency-open switch, in case the batteries in the remotes die; and a "babysitter" switch, so that when I'm not home, nothing can open the vault at all. The kids know about it, and they know what's in it, but none of their friends have to know, and none of my friends have to know, except the ones who are also shooters. I can train the kids to be safe, but I can't assume anything about their friends. The project started out mainly as a "Gee, can I...?" investigation, and it turned out so well, and has already proven to be so handy, I'm considering starting a side business (I'm a software engineer by day) installing these things custom in people's homes. Since I live in northern Virginia, I'd have to start with only doing the work within 50 miles or so. Anyone have any thoughts? Good idea? Bad idea? Anyone interested in becoming a First Customer? -BP __________________ Seek out wisdom in books, rare manuscripts, and cryptic poems if you will, but seek it also in simple stones and fragile herbs and in the cries of wild birds. Listen to the whisperings of the wind and the roar of water if you would discover magic, for it is here that the old secrets are still preserved. - Ardaynes #38 Last edited by BrokenPaw; September 11, 2002 at 06:09 PM.