Firearms in Self Storage Units?
 

Hey all,

I'm a student at UCI. The housing community where I'm currently living at restricts the possession of firearms and ammo, and of course, being that I'm so close to school, I'm pretty sure the GFSZ extends out to where I live.

I just picked up my 870 back home here in the Bay, and I'd really like to keep it closer to me than a 6 hour drive; I realize not having it in my immediate possession isn't ideal, but I'll take the next best thing. I'd probably be only using it for training, and, of course, zombie outbreaks which shouldn't be too frequent.. and that's only for the next 5 months or so, since I plan to move off-campus so I can legally keep my firearms without violating any law.

So, with that said: anybody in the Irvine area know of any self-storage units that allow firearms to be stored? Or any other similar options available?

Just read the fine print in any contract. I manage a self storage facility and have no clauses in the contract that prevent the storage of firearms. As long as your not stockpiling guns and ammo in your unit you should be good.

Most storage units are not climate controlled. Be certain to take rust preventative measures.

Just got off the phone with Storage West in Irvine.

No restrictions on firearms, so if you're a student at UCI or anywhere near looking for a legal place to store your stuff, there you have it. They say they already have customers who are storing their guns there.

Hmm I would try to store it a gunshop
I would feel much more comfortable storing my gun there than a storage locker, its probably cheaper
1 shotgun doesnt take up hardly any space

There isn't a gfsz around universities, only K-12.

Here is my .02

I would not store my guns at a storage place, they are rife with theft. We had a unit years ago, every electronic item was stolen. my original Lock wasn't cut, or replaced by whomever stole it, must have picked the lock.

A lot of Police Stations also have firearm storage; Seal Beach PD stores firearms - I don't recall their rates, but it's probably less than renting a storage unit, and more secure if you're concerned about theft.

If the units are owned or subsidized by the university, then yes that would be a problem.

However, if it is a privately owned complex, that provision may be legally unenforceable. Whether, you want to push it, that is another question.

...I would never put anything of great value in a storage unit, as others have said these things are thief magnets.

Good luck.

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So "shall not be infringed" unless your furthering your education... wrap it in a towel and ...dont tell anyone

Great advice if you want the guy to get expelled. Will you also be there to pay his legal bills and compensate him for lost career earnings?

I just love it when people urge others to set themselves up to be guinea pigs and test cases for their causes.

There is a video somewhere of a UCI graduate student being taken down at AR point for possessing a firearm in graduate housing. On the other hand, the storage unit is a bad idea as a close buddy of mine recently had a 1000$ custom 10/22 stolen from his locked storage unit..inside job I am sure. I would store it at a range if I was you, its much more secure... alternatively, I believe you would be hard pressed to have a gun in your trunk unloaded and be arrested on campus, you might be arrested but I doubt it would stand up in court. Weigh the risks/benefits, and choose accordingly. I once had to make the same choice, fortunately I never paid a cost for it.

Cars are also bad ideas for gun storage. They are stolen frequently and broken into even more.

GFSZ does not apply to college campuses, only K-12

Self-storage is no bueno.

You should find a friend or a fellow Calgunner that is willing to store it for you.

That guy was alleged to have a firearm on campus, he did not actually have one.

I think its a bad idea. Climate control is one problem along with the thefts. Locally one fella had his entire collection stolen from a storage facility. Thefts at storage units are very common. Even with cameras, dogs and people living on site.

I would check with the indoor ranges & law enforcement agencies. I would really be careful about storing it with a "friend." If you entrust him/her with the gun and it gets lost, stolen, sold or whatever it will get ugly real quick (civil problem too). As Ron Solo mentioned cars are a bad idea. Keeping the gun at your home till you move off campus might be the best idea.

My son was in the same situation like you, but moved off campus with his other buddies (shooters as well). Even then he chased off a burglar that was trying to break into their house!

Re: Firearms in Self Storage Units?
 

Do not ask cops about storage. The chances of your gun going to a cop, getting molested, melted down or never released is too high.

hmmm. so what storage unit did you get?

You might think about just leaving it at home until graduation. You probably won't have time to shoot it much anyway.

i used to store old cannons in a storage unit .. i did this before i got into buying at storage auction units .((((now after seeing first hand how easy it is to lose your unit to auction ))) i would never do it).. if you do this hide the guns in smothing very well camoflageed like a old couch, crapy box etc...... and remember the units arnt really secure .... also if the units bills arnt paid it WILL go to auction.... or be pilfered by the owner , the auctioneer will take the guns if they see them .if you must hide them well and say nothing or find another place

Who owns the building you are living in? I would look into that a little more. The ownership of the building is public record and you can probably find out on-line real quick who that is for free. If it is not school property spend your storage money on a small safe for your room. If you need help bolting it down let me know. If you have your own closet you can get away with hiding the holes real easy in most cases when it's time to move out. Good luck!

I stored mine for over a year with no problems. But I live in Santa Barbara area.

stay away from storage units. besides theft, lots of damage can occur from the environment and other people's crap. definitely look into who actually owns the building. If it's the school, then find somewhere else off campus like a shooting range or a gun store. It might not be cheap, but it'll be secure and that's the point. If it's not owned by the school then you might want to sneak it in and hope no one finds out for 5 months. It could be a costly battle if they found out, whether or not they have the right to restrict guns on their property.

You might want to think about how much you'll actually use the gun in the next 5 months. If you go shooting often or have that opportunity, then this is probably worth pursuing....but if you don't really go much and it's pretty much a just-in-case gun, then you might want to just leave it at home until you move somewhere you know you can safely keep it. good luck figuring it out!

Leave the gun at home, it's too much of a headache to rent a storage unit just to store one weapon, bringing it to your dorm is not acceptable, I would not want to risk expulsion to store it there. So leaving it home where its safer to store would be better.

If you can PM me the address, I can get the public records immediately. That will let you know who's own's it...but, you probably already know.

Self-storage units normally start at around $50/month, at least in my area...after a semester or so you will have exceeded the value of an 870 in storage fees. That's a rather low-value proposition when you think about it.

If your parents are OK with it, I would leave it at home. If not, find a friend out in town somewhere. If not that, drive it to San Diego and I will keep it for you in my safe (seriously.) It's silly to rent a storage unit just for one shotgun. Actually, it's silly to rent a storage unit at all. I shudder to think how much money I've burnt hanging on to crap that I haven't touched in 5 years, and thus clearly do not need. :(

I wouldn't recommend them, just in case. The Seal Beach PD seems to be anti-gun (the police chief was among the ones standing with the Brady bunch on the whole attempt to ban UOC, so I'd worry that he might also share their ideas on guns in general), and considering that SB is among the Orange County cities that send in the largest amount of guns to get melted, I wouldn't take the risk of having one of my guns be stored there and then somehow get mistakenly put away with the ones to be sent to get melted.

I'm not saying they'd do it on purpose, of course, but I'd be a bit worried about whatever might happen to the gun, if a mistake were to happen. Better safe than sorry.

You can leave your long gun with me if you want :D

I'm also a UCI student, but currently not attending any classes. Working full time instead :|

PM me if you're serious about having your gun down in socal with you. I have a house in Irvine, about 5 miles away from campus. I'm from the Bay as well.


This is the worst advice I've ever seen given on CGN.

Hey guys,

Sorry for the super late response. I haven't been checking this thread. My 870 is already at a buddy's house, but thanks for all the kind offers! Much appreciated.

Hey, my girlfriend goes to UCI and I'll be there in two weeks :) Anyway, if you have a police station on campus they may be able to hold your firearms. That's what I do here in Colorado and I go to a pretty liberal school, so they might do it. That's only if you ever want to get your shotgun out of your friends house.

hahah, i'd never give my guns to a cop. I'd never give my guns to UCI cops (a true bunch of idiots). I'd never tell a cop I had a gun. I'd never let a cop see my gun w/out a warrant. BADDDDD IDEA.

Congratulations, that's possibly the worst response I've ever seen on this forum.

really, how is that genius? There is no reason to alert a cop to your gun ownership unless they have a warrant, or you are concealed carrying (as mandated by your CCW license). UCI cops are idiots, I know from experience. The UCI police department is on campus, so you would be commiting a crime by bringing your gun to them (no guns on campus)...in addition, they are highly spooked by guns, especially following a shooting death of a student by her ex last year... you will be surrounded by SWAT in 3 minutes if you present a gun. Please bless us all with your vast knowledge on how my comment is poor.

Quite frankly, your idea was the stupidest thing I've ever seen on this forum.