Hanshi said:
Jim, I'm in Gardiner. It's a nice place, but being small it lacks a couple of activities I engage in. Good gun club here and that's very important. I'm also planning to join a ML organization.
I've always worried about thieves & druggies. Don't actually have a safe. Cost is the problem. Also there is no where to put one. We have a basement but the only entrance would not be safe or easy to use. But I do my best with what little I do have. Tom
That's often the case these days, what with the lousy economy everywhere - especially Maine. I think it's # 50 out of 50 right now, or pretty darn close. Still, once you look past the economy, it's a great state. My favorite, in fact.
That leaves building a hidden space in the wall that's not obvious to the casual observer. I have a friend who rebuilt his closet so that you look into it and can't tell there's a door in the wall. Same wall that's facing out into the bedroom. You have to reach into the closet and off to the side to open the door into the closet area. He used those catches that kitchen cabinets have; you push the panel in and then it pops open. It's almost seamless. He spent some time making it as invisible as possible. If you were to go into the closet with a flashlight, you still wouldn't notice anything. The wall is a little thicker than it should be from front to back, but not enough to draw attention to it. I think the best part about this setup is that the guns are accessible with a quick push on the panel, and it's not expensive to build. You use ordinary kitchen cabinet hardware.
A girl I knew in High School described the one she built to me. She made one in her bedroom that was nearly the same, on a wall that was covered in Wanescoting beadboard, and with all the vertical lines, she says it's impossible to tell. She used the same push-pop latches as the other guy.
My apologies for going off-topic! I suppose I should mention that besides my 336C 30-30, I also have a 45-70 Guide gun almost identical to Tony's Thunderstick 1895 Marlin 45-70 Big Loop; mine's an 1895 GBL, though I can't tell what he has for a scope. Mine's a Leupold 2 X 7 X 33 Rifleman scope, great for a brush gun like that, and still perfect at a hundred yards. I call it The Sledge Hammer, because it knocks 'em down hard. Like Tony, I use the Hornady Leverrevolutions 325 rounds, which do the job just fine. Put a 400 or 500 grain round in it, and it's a total Sledge Hammer. It doesn't kick; I would describe it as a shove. That's with the 325s. It's a considerably harder shove with the 400 or 500 grain bullets.
