I don’t know if you saw the remake of Death Wish with Bruce Willis, but it came out quite a while ago.
(Spoiler alert, if you’re still catching up on the biggest hits of 2018 on VHS.)
Near the end of the movie, Bruce grabs a fully automatic AR pistol from a hidden drawer in a piece of furniture.
Now, we all know that’s total BS – because there’s no way he was going to have a legal machine gun for home defense – right?
I mean, I guess somewhere out there is a guy who’s managed to pull off that paperwork, but I don’t know anybody who has… and I live part time in Texas.
But, to be honest, that WASN’T my biggest problem with that part of the film!
What I really hated was the gimmicky coffee table with the rifle “hidden” in it.
Let me explain why…
3 “Hide Your Gun FAILS (Plus A Never-Fail Option For Hidden Guns & Knives)
Hiding a gun in a piece of furniture is one of those things that seems like a good idea in the movies… but has some problems in real life.
We all know we live in a dangerous world, and we’re all aware that home invasion is a real danger.
Being able to get to a gun – especially one the “bad guy” doesn’t know about – is a good thing.
But when it comes to hiding firearms, there’s stuff like Bruce Willis’ coffee table in the movies, and then there’s real life.
If you buy a piece of furniture like a coffee table or an end table to hide a gun in, I can almost GUARANTEE that it has these problems:
It’s gimmicky, so it’s probably not made all that well – meaning it’s fragile compared to “real” furniture.
It’s not secure, so if you have curious kids in the home, stashing a gun in one of these is no better that hiding it under the couch cushions.
It may be an awkward place to get to a gun – but you’re limited to where that piece of furniture looks like it belongs, so there are only so many places you can put it.
But it’s not just Bruce and his coffee table that I consider a problem, because three of the other popular gun-hiding options all have hidden issues:
1. Gun Hidden In A Picture Frame
The big problem with these is that they’re very obvious.
(Maybe when they were first introduced, people weren’t looking for them, but I see them in ads all the time now.)
If a burglar breaks into your house looking for things he can steal, guns will be high on the list.
And trust me, he’s gonna notice that suspiciously HUGE picture frame bolted to the wall.
2. Gun In A Clock (Or Some Other Object)
There are all kinds of small objects that can be hollowed out to make spaces just big enough for a gun.
These are better than pieces of furniture, because you have more options for where to put them.
They’re still not secure, though, so you’ve basically just left a gun lying around for anybody to find (unless you add a trigger lock).
If you go with this option, make sure it blends in well.
It’s also not a good idea to use these when you’ve got kids in the house.
(Trust me, they can find anything, and they’ll find ways to break things you can’t even imagine.)
3. Gun In A Hollow Book
Hiding something in a hollow book always makes me feel like a super-spy.
These are better for hiding, because if you have a lot of books, finding your gun is like finding a old gun-shaped needle in a books-shaped haystack.
The problem with these, though, is that they’re hard to get to under stress.
When a guy is coming at you with a knife from across your living room, he’s not going to wait while you thumb through your books, you know?
A Better Option For Hiding Your Guns (AND KNIVES)
A better option for hiding your guns, or ANY metal weapon (like a knife) is a gun magnet.
These are powerful magnets that let you stick your gun ANYWHERE (including where your kids can’t get to them).
That means you can put them any place that your gun is most easily accessible, yet still hidden.
Plus, since you’re basically creating a custom hiding spot based on where you install the magnet, a burglar won’t have any way of knowing what your hiding spot looks like.
(Unlike if you buy a commercial gun-hiding device, because bad guys can look through catalogs and websites too!)
If you want to hide a gun in your home for a home invasion, then, you’re best bet is to pick the hiding spot FIRST, then install the magnet to hold the weapon.
Not only that, but gun magnets are very affordable compared to gun-hiding furniture, and they even work for knives (here’s one that one of my employees keeps under his kitchen table):
You can check out the powerful, extremely budget-friendly magnet that I like on this page.
Just think through your hiding spot, and access to it, before you get started.
If you ever do need it in a home invasion, you’ll be glad you did.
