Replies

1. 
   JeffHeath | Nov 29, 2006 01:32am | #1

   Tell him to go to his local gun or sporting goods store that sells hunting equipment.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

   Mine has individual slots for the shotgun/rifle to lean into, covered in felt for a soft, non scratchable surface.  Also, it has recesses in the base to hold the gun stock without allowing it to slide around.

   My camera's in Florida with my daughter right now, otherwise I'd snap a photo.  But, if he googles it, I'm sure a gazillion pics will come up.

   Jeff

2. 
   joinerswork | Nov 29, 2006 01:48am | #2

   Ralph,

   The usual arrangement is a 8-10" board at the bottom of the cabinet that is cut out in a series of "U" shaped notches,  or oval cut-outs, to accept the butts of the guns.  The notches or slots are either at 90* to the edge of the board, presenting the guns head-on to the front of the cabinet, or sometimes the slots are cut at a 30-45* angle, which presents the guns in a more attractive  way.  Often the edges of the cut-outs are covered in felt or similar, to avoid marring the stocks' finish.  I've also seen the bottom of the cabinet "upholstered", covered with 1/4" or so foam, with leather or fabric on top of that, and the slotted board pulled down into the upholstery and attached, so that the butts are padded, and less likely to slide around.

   About 24" up, there is a narrower board attached to the back of the cabinet, with shallow "U's" cut out (again lined with felt or leather) to capture the barrels.  The distance from the bottom might need to be more or less than 24" given the specific guns in the collection, so you might want to play around to find a good average height before permanently attaching it.  Also, side-by side double barreled shotguns will need wider barrel notches than the average single barrel or over-and-under gun.

   Some things to be aware of:

   The relationship of the width of the tops and bottom supports needs to be such that the guns want to lean back into the topmost notches.  Also, if there are scoped rifles in the collection, the supports will want to be wider (farther from the back) to provide clearance for the optics.

   Regards,

   Ray Pine

    

3. 
   forestgirl | Nov 29, 2006 03:11am | #3

   Another thing to think about, I'm not sure how significant it is.  The gun cabinets/displays I used to see, when we were in business going to estate auctions and such, always had a base that was deeper than the glassed cabinet itself.  I assumed they were designed that way due to center-of-gravity issues that the guns produced.  Maybe someone here knows for sure.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

4. 
   RabbetRun | Nov 29, 2006 11:58am | #4

   I was puzzling over the same sort of question myself. I'm in the planning stages of  building a gun cabinet for my son. He has 6 guns presently, so I wanted to build something with space for 8. There is company called Vigilant that makes to order high end cabinets. The website is: http://www.guncabinetdesign.com They have a little "design" program that lets you size the cabinet and specify the number of guns that will fit. They even specify a 30 degree angle to maximize gun storage. There is a description and a couple of pictures of the area where the gun butt fits. As another reader posted, "a picture is worth a thousand words". Good luck.

   Susan in VA     

1. 
   Dave45 | Nov 29, 2006 05:05pm | #5

   All good suggestions so far and I would add a couple more.

   Figure out a way to lock the doors.  CA law requires that gun cabinets be lockable - but it's a good idea in any case.

   If you're in an area with high humidity, find a way to hide some dessicant packs inside the cabinet.  It's no fun finding rust in the barrels.