One of the questions we are asked most often is, ‘How big of a gun safe do I need?' Simply put, bigger than you might expect. Keep in mind what you're planning to put inside your safe will probably take up more space than what you're expecting and you need to account for future growth since a safe is something you'll use for the rest of your life.
Accessories (like rifle rods, handgun racks, extra shelving, and gun safe shelf clips) can help you maximize this storage capacity. Use these tips to limit wasted space and fit more in your gun safe.
An Organized Gun Safe Holds More
Have you ever played Tetris? Or packed for a long vacation? Or made an epic trip to Costco? Organization isn’t just for people who like to keep their space tidy and clean. Organizing allows you to maximize your space by fitting the most number of items within your safe.
Sort Your Firearms By Type
When it comes to organizing a gun safe, you want to start by sorting your guns. Generally this means separating them by long guns and handguns. You might find it helpful to further sort them by caliber or by use — this will allow you to places guns you access more frequently in more easily accessible locations.
Why sort firearms by type? The number of firearms and the type of firearms you have will often dictate how you organize a gun safe. For instance, the more long barrel guns you have, the more vertical space you will need to dedicate to long gun storage.
The lower section of most large gun safes are divided into two sections. Depending on how many long barrel guns you have, you may only need one of these sections for long gun storage. In this case, the other section can be utilized to store smaller firearms and valuables.
Gun Holders: Rifle Rods, Handgun Hangers & More
Large gun safes come equipped with a notched gun rack and shelving. In some instances, like many Liberty Safes, these interiors are adjustable.
Rifle Rods
These traditional gun racks are used to store guns upright, by giving each firearm its own comfortable resting place. Unfortunately, notched gun racks are bulky. They take up an extreme amount of space.
Rifle Rods are extremely efficient at helping you maximize your long gun storage — allowing you to store up to four times more than a notched gun rack. The kit comes equipped with a sheet of adhesive velcro to place under any non-carpeted shelving within your safe, helping keep the rods in place.
Handgun Hangers
The open air between something placed on a shelf and the shelf above it is one of the most commonly wasted spaces within a gun safe. Handgun Hangers allow you to suspend your pistol in this unused space. The most basic of these hangers is the Back Under Shelf Handgun Hanger is the most basic of these hangers. These hangers fit shelves that are between ⅝ and 1-inch thick and at least 10-inches deep. They feature a vinyl-coated steel barrel rod that holds your pistol suspended in the air.
One of the ‘hiccups of the Back Under hanger is the uneven surface it creates on the top of the shelf. For those with multiple handguns, you can double up on your storage without battling the uneven shelf dilemma by utilizing the Over/Under Shelf Handgun Hanger. This creative handgun storage devices is one of our most popular gun safe accessories. It allows you to suspend one gun below the shelf and hold one gun ready to be grabbed above the shelf.
Similar handgun storage options for shelves include:
Magnetic Pistol Rack
Magnetic Pistol Racks can be attached to the wall of a gun safe or the door of a gun safe. This is another creative way to suspend handguns within unused space. One of our most popular magnetic pistol racks is Vaultek’s Single Slot Pistol Rack, which can easily be moved as needed.
Another great option is Twin Pistol/AR Magazine Rack, which can hold both handguns and magazines. This multi-purpose holder allows you to adjust your storage as needed.
Utilizing Gun Safe Shelves
While guns are the primary items individuals store in a gun safe, it’s also extremely common to store other items in a gun safe. These might include:
- Jewelry
- Cash
- Precious Metals
- Extra Ammunition
- Important Documents
- Proprietary Technology
- High-End Collectables & Antiques
Gun safe shelves give you the ability to store and organize these items. In some instances, gun safe shelves will be fixed. But most of the higher end gun safes, like the American made Liberty gun safes, feature flexible interiors. Shelves can be adjusted to your desired height.
In some instances you might consider adding extra shelving to accommodate a large collection of small valuables.
Gun Safe Shelf Clips
If you buy a new shelf, it will typically come with clips, like the Liberty Gun Safe Shelves we sell. But overtime as you adjust your shelving, you may find your clips are looking a little worse for wear. Or if a shelf hasn’t been used for sometime, you may misplace one (or more) of your clips.
The good news is, buying new gun safe shelf clips is an extremely affordable solution. They can easily be purchased online and shipped to you directly.
Gun Safe Lighting
No article about how to organize a gun safe would be complete without mention of lighting. Without interior lighting, gun safes can become big dark holes. It’s easy to misplace items in dark shadows and fail to utilize the whole interior.
An LED light kit can easily be installed within your safe, making it easier to see the contents. This is arguably the best upgrade you can make to your safe.