The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Am still working my way through the app' for firearm certificate forms. Q15 asks about gun cabinets. Presumably one with a built in ammo safe is better than one without? Also do I have to wait until police come to inspect security or do I bolt it to the wall before they call to inspect. Sorry for these basic questions but the help that comes with the forms is not clear. Rgds Dw.

Internal/separate ammo safe doesn't really matter as long as it's big enough to store everything you're asking for.

If you're confident in the location you're putting the cabinet and there's nothing unusual about you/your application you might as well fit it beforehand as it'll save them having to come back out. Just my two penneth worth

Unless you are only holding small amounts of one caliber a built in safe is fairly useless, I could maybe get 1000 .22 in mine. I've bought a separate ammunition safe which was only about £40. The built in one hold backup hard drives, my passport and some other documents!
The other downside of a built in safe is that it makes the cabinet that much taller and heavier and even more difficult to handle.

I use an old pistol safe for ammo....plus a safe safe....and an old shotgun safe for overflow...

Make sure the main gunsafe is fitted to the fabric of the building (external wall/concrete floor/roof joists if in attic, etc.)
Fit it prior to FLO visit.

The guidance mentions BS locks etc. but there is NO minimum rule law on gunsafe specification.
But avoid exposed piano type hinges on anything but airgun safes.

One thing to bear in mind in regards to placing gun-safes in the attic is that some police forces dislike the idea on the grounds that it is all too easy for a shooter to come home and not put the gun away because of the hassle of climbing up into the attic. This could be especially true for a family man coming home in the early hours (perhaps with a wet gun) who does not want to disturb the whole family by pulling out ladders etc. So he shoves it behind the sofa etc.

Whilst the cabinet should be bolted to the permanent structure of your house, there are a few other considerations to take into account to keep your FEO happy.
The cabinet should not be visable if someone were to look in through the window of the room it is in (unless it's one of those hiddeous faux wooden things). It is also best to fix it into a corner of a room with the hinge side outermost - so that it would be difficult to apply leverage aginst the opening side of the door.
I cut out the back of one of my wardrobes and fixed the cabinet up against the wall inside, so that even a casual inspection of the room wouldn't highlight
that a security cabinet were installed.

HH1 wrote:One thing to bear in mind in regards to placing gun-safes in the attic is that some police forces dislike the idea on the grounds that it is all too easy for a shooter to come home and not put the gun away because of the hassle of climbing up into the attic. This could be especially true for a family man coming home in the early hours (perhaps with a wet gun) who does not want to disturb the whole family by pulling out ladders etc. So he shoves it behind the sofa etc.

That's what they'll TELL you....
Maybe the REAL reason is Health & Safety at Work: 17 stone.of FEO & small loft hatches are not a marriage made in heaven...and in lofts with no suitable flooring there is the added ballet de ceiling joists & the risks of a size 10 emerging into a room below...

ALL the loft fitted set ups I've seen were top notch & very much aspirational in comparison to fighting for space within the main dwelling space.

If I can get my loft sorted (floored) one of these days its the option I'll be following