This was actually was my wife's idea, which came as a surprise.

She suggested one of the hidden display shelves you mount on the wall. My concern is safety. I have two teenagers who are well versed in the fine arts of firearm safety. But my concern is when other kids are over. I don't think my son's would tell their friends, but that is always in the back of my mind.

I have seen some that have a remote access magnetic lock or something. A firearm would probably not be stored in it when neither my wife or I am not home.

Just looking for suggestions.

Happy New Year, SigForum

If I were in a setting that I wanted quicker access than the main safe, I'd keep it on my body.

A single handgun safe is probably a better idea. No one unauthorized can get access. I've been researching them but have not reached a decision yet. We have no kids in the house but have a grandson who will be 3 shortly who is over for visits. That is my only concern. I never felt the hidden shelves, mirrors, tables were that effective and more along a novelty line. Others probably feel differently.

Pass. Burglars are wise to them or discover them when they ransack through your belongings. Amazing what they can do / steal in six minutes or less...

I keep a gun on me....that way I don’t forget it on top of the toilet if someone decides to take the asphalt challenge at Casa de Mike.

Also keeps the Tomminator from it. And his friends when they come over to play.

Plus burglars know what these things are...they have the internet too....

Given the new laws in VA, I am no longer letting anyone under 18 in my house. I have no kids, so it doesn't inconvenience me so much. I am flirting with the idea of posting a sign by my front door, "No Minors Allowed on Premises." That doesn't mean I leave unsecured firearms lying around, and to respond directly to the OP, I don't consider the hidden shelf to be secure storage, most of the ones I've seen requiring no more than simply pressing a latch to access the contents.

Here is a 2-part plan so there is nothing for the OP’s teenage boys to tell their friends:

Install it when the teenage boys aren’t home as most teenage boys don’t give a damn about home decorating. Only shelves teenage boys notice are in the pantry and refrigerator.

Always keep a gun in it so teenage boys don’t know that it’s more than a shelf.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

I don't think my son's would tell their friends, but that is always in the back of my mind.

Sounds like you really don't trust your kids.
I know it was a LONG time ago but when I was a kid my dad converted a room for me as a bedroom.
In that room was a built in gun rack.
Right over my bed was all the the family guns.
My dad never had an issue (he knew he taught me right) and neither did I and never would jeopardize safety.
PLUS it was nice to know I was armed 24 hours a day.

As far as a hidden shelf on it's own ~ I think they are great.
I don't have one but have no problem and maybe someday I will.

I like the idea of the concealment shelf. As Mike said, "burglars know what these things are."
That said, I'm way tempted to build a hidden container into an existing piece of furniture.

Personally, it's not that I don't trust kids or grandkids but I know what kind of escapades my curiosity got me into. Maybe I am an exception but I don't think so. If a young one finds something or knows about it, they will explore.
Regarding the gun shelves as said before the bad guys have internet too.

Hey, if this was your wife's idea, I would take her up on it! You don't have to sell her on the idea, which often id the most difficult thing.

Let her choose the design, and you can work together for the best place to put it. Then, you can decide your comfort level with hiding a firearm inside.

Better to have it and not use it.....

Hidden isn't secure. I have a standing bet with my family. You can come into my house unannounced, and if you can find an unsecured firearm I'll give you 100 dollars. Its either in the safe or on my person.

It’s not that I don’t trust my kids, my oldest is leaving for the Army in 6 months, and has years of experience. My youngest doesn’t really have an interest in them.

I have a large safe, and that’s where everything thing is stored. I keep a handgun out at night, when I am home.

Maybe I will talk to my wife about a lockable handgun safe, we could bolt it somewhere. She has recently gotten more involved with firearms with everything going on in our country.

When I speak with people who have little knowledge or just don’t like firearms, I tell them this. “All kids, especially boys, need to be taught how to swim or handle a firearm. Eventually they will try on their own, and bad things could happen”. I just don’t want my house to be where bad things could happen.

Thanks for the replies, I think we will pass on this.

My best friend installed one in his bedroom, wife's idea. He demoed it for me, it had a card that you used to activate it, the storage area dropped down. I thought it was OK, not for me, I'll just keep a gun handy.

Pass.

Especially Teenagers.

Play the odds. First, what are the odds of an event happening in your home where you need immediate access to a firearm? Second, what are the odds the extra 3 seconds to unlock a bedside safe makes an appreciable difference to the outcome?

Vs what are the odds that your teenagers will have friends over when you aren't home? What are the odds that teenagers make astonishingly bad decisions in the face of overwhelmingly simple options? What are the odds that some parent will take you to task with a life ruining lawsuit if their precious little snowflake gets injured with a firearm that wasn't secured with some sort of locking device?

Also, your teenagers are level headed and responsible up until the day they aren't. Part of being a teenager is encountering new situations that challenge one's emotional and intellectual maturity. All teenagers will encounter a situation in their life where they will be pushed to the limits of the maturity, and some will fail the maturity test spectacularly. Don't be the guy that let his teenager (or young adult) have access to a gun to express his or her volatile emotions.

I considered something like this but ended up with a Fort Knox pistol box in the bedroom. Locks for safety and doesn’t have any electronics. Super fast access as well. May be another option.

I really like the “challenge” mentioned above. Same thing in my household. Every gun is secured, always.

On me or arm’s reach with me in the room/sleeping = secure in my house.

I like the Vline simplex lock boxes for quick access. I’ve got two picture frame hidden access, one currently mounted, but no guns in either these days due to kids.

I’d describe myself as highly responsible as a teenager. Had access to my own firearms from probably 7. I still did dumb shit and was saved by luck on multiple occasions.

In today’s times I prefer to keep my guns locked up.

I wonder if one could make a true "hidden safe" with a biometric lock that you could hide with a trinket.

Might be a step safer than the RFID or magnetic lock...

Nope. Not with kids around. Kids are dumb, and sneaky, and ingenious, and hidden isn't secured.

I have an antique hammer-fired double barrel shotgun that my grandfather rebuilt from parts as a hobby. It's 100% nonfunctional (no firing pins), but looks pretty. I had it displayed just off the living room area, along with some of my then-wife's collectible antique hand-carved duck decoys.

One day, my then-stepson, who was like 16 at the time (just driving) stopped by the house with a friend of his. This was the first time this other kid had been at our house. No adults were home. He sheepishly admitted to us later that evening that he pointed it out to this other kid because he thought it was cool, and the first thing this other kid did was make a beeline for the displayed shotgun, pick it up, shoulder it, and start swinging it around while pulling the triggers, above the protestations of my stepson.

Kids are dumb.

(And yes, that particular kid was barred from our house from then on.)

I’m in the “safe only or on my person” crowd. I’d consider a manual button (no battery/electric) hard mounted lock box if I really needed quick access beyond what’s always on my belt 24/7. Your kids might respect your rules and firearms safety but others simply cannot be trusted to have had the same upbringing and guidance.