How to organize a safe

[A-J]

I have a friend who is just as into guns as I am but has a lot more disposable income to indulge. Not having a wife or kids is apparently awesome. Anyway, whole he has the ability and desire to acquire almost anything he wants, he is seriously lacking in the organizational skills to keep things neat. Me, I'm basically the opposite. I've got the OCD and organizational skills, but not the means to acquire sufficient quantity to require organizing. Boo hoo, poor me, I know.

So the question becomes how does one organize a good sized collection. Do you do it by caliber, maker, type (revolver vs. handgun), color, what? The internet was shockingly less than helpful, as the majority of search results were links to products FOR organizing, but not much on HOW to do so. And the pics I've seen aren't terribly helpful unless you can tell what every gun is just from looking at the backstrap. I'm good, but nowhere near that good.

So I'm looking for ideas, and any input from you guys is appreciated. Without going into specifics, I can say he has plenty enough in various calibers and/or makers to go any number of ways, so the floor is open. This is just for the guns, I think I have the mags and other sundry items figured already. Thanks in advance!

[Librarian]

He has lots of space?

As a first consideration, does he merely want to store them, or display some/many (or, have it easy to display)?

I think my organizing principle would be year of manufacture, split into revolvers, semi-auto handguns, rifles, shotguns.

If it's just storage, a relatively tightly-packed set of safes would work. If there is a display element, considering how much unloading is needed to get to a particular item is important.

And, time for a decent gun-collection database; I don't use one, no need for such with my small number, so I have no recommendation. Search "gun collection database software".

[Mezcalfud]

Space is always a bigger problem then money!

[MonkeyMind]

Money can be traded for time and space
Just remember if it floats...

[Scramblerman]

Liquor in the front, poker in the rear.

[Verdha603]

I mean, that greatly depends, but I think the best place to start is having the owner/collector set goals for what they are intending to do.

What do they want to focus their collecting on? How many are they expecting/guesstimating to acquire over time?

At least under my particular circumstances, I usually tend to break organizing my firearms down between a few categories:

First, whether I deem them "collection firearms" or "practical firearms". The easiest distinction for me on this is whether it's a military or police surplus arm that I purchased and don't intend to do more beyond taking them to the shooting range and displaying them, versus more modern firearms I intend do actually put to use for a wider variety of tasks.

I then tend to break them down into age categories; Curio & Relic, or anything that's 50+ years old/on the approved C&R list, "Retro", which covers anything too young to be considered a C&R but old enough that I don't quite consider it a part of the third category, "Modern", with the dividing line being my birth year; if it was made before I was born, then it's in the second category, and if it was made on my birth year or later, then it's considered a part of the third category.

I then tend to break it down into the three general categories of rifles, shotguns, and handguns, without bothering with dividing revolvers from the pistols.

[A-J]

He's not a "collector" per se, he just likes guns. He reads a lot like most of us gun guys, and if he reads a lot of good things about a specific gun, he'll check it out, and of he likes it, he'll pick one up if the price is fair. No C&R, no antiques, and they're definitely not for display. He just doesn't want to dig through a disorganized pile of guns looking for something specific. The safe is pretty big, like 45 cubic feet or so, so there's plenty of available space for what he has. I also suggested he slow down a bit since he wants to shoot what he has, and he's way behind on that with the closures of local ranges and Covid BS. Even if he doesn't, I think there's still plenty of room for growth. He does seem to like getting the same guns in different calibers, so he has a few that are the same gun, but one is 9, one is 40, and the third is 45. We'll probably spend a day soon getting started, and I'm leaning towards caliber, and maker within that caliber. It's a start, and everything needs that first step. His tastes aren't as diverse as some others on here, so it may be easier than expected. First I'm gonna put everything into an Excel sheet, and maybe look into the database software someone mentioned. I remember a discussion a while back on that and remember thinking "that's the kind of problem I need to have!" lol. The other side is maybe my OCD is overthinking the whole thing and the problem will solve itself once we get everything laid out (outside the safe and out of the cases).

[Librarian]

First I'm gonna put everything into an Excel sheet, and maybe look into the database software someone mentioned.

Take pictures, too.

You'll want to consider insurance, and now's a good time to get a will going to leave those guns to whomever he might want them to go.

[hermosabeach]

they sell rods to go into your barrels... not all GUNS have a huge barrel...

https://smile.amazon.com/Gun-Storage-Solutions-Rifle-Expansion/dp/B06XKQZKVV/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=barrel+rods+for+gun+safe&qid=1645513453&sprefix=barrel+rods%2Caps%2C318&sr=8-2

[hermosabeach]

organizer for door


and you want better LED lighting inside to see what is there... goldenrod for humidity too

[12pewpew]

Space is always a bigger problem then money!

You can always acquire more space with money but you can't always acquire more money with space.

[9mmContagion]

Is his collection majority pistol or rifle? Of a significant enough collection, I prefer one safe for pistols and one safe for rifles. Rifles I prefer rifle rods. Pistols, I prefer SecureIt Tactical panels with their handgun rack. But that doesn’t necessarily fit your need of being able to identify a gun by the back strap. It works for me as I know every gun I own, and I also only have one caliber in handguns.

[Brother_Hesekiel]

Collectors usually like to display their collections. That's problematic with guns for obvious reasons. Serious collectors have a gun room with a steel door. If your friend just likes guns and has a bunch of them, he may not be a collector but a dude who spends too much money on his toys, kind of like a black ball player or boxer who gets paid millions a year and still has to file for bankruptcy years later. In the later case, I'd probably have a couple of large gun safes bolted down in the garage, one for long arms and one for hand guns. I would really be worried though about a break-in, so there's certainly a risk to having a lot of valuables at home.

[FalconLair]

as i posted in another thread i don't have a very big safe but i do have a spot for everything right now - i think i've gotten the most out of what space i do have by adding a couple of shelves and some gun hangers - i also reinforced my safe door and pegged a couple of my handguns there

the space i had for my rifles didn't seem sufficient but after i bought some rifle rods they really did help my storage space and now all my rifles fit inside

[golfish]

as i posted in another thread i don't have a very big safe but i do have a spot for everything right now - i think i've gotten the most out of what space i do have by adding a couple of shelves and some gun hangers - i also reinforced my safe door and pegged a couple of my handguns there

the space i had for my rifles didn't seem sufficient but after i bought some rifle rods they really did help my storage space and now all my rifles fit inside

Very well done sir...

I need another safe.