By Jason Reid
New York -(Ammoland.com)- Scratched in pencil on the old faded cabin door read, “Nothing of value, please do not break in.”
Opening the door to my old get-away, the musty air lay heavy on my lips with each breath. Dead flies lined the windowsills. Rotted tiles strewn the carpet, which was brown, either as an original color or from the years of boot tracked mud.
This little cabin was home for nearly eight weekends per year, and above the worn Colman stove, was the altar, the gun rack.
Each season I would watch dad’s trusted 870 be pulled from an old sheath and rested on the rungs, waiting for the odd Remington Slugger to be chambered for a swift punch through a whitetail’s chest.
For some, gun racks are a thing of beauty and memory. In most other situations, gun racks serve functional convenience. Here is a look at five that deserve a place in your home, truck or cabin retreat.
Winchester Run Around Susan 12 Gun Rotating Gun Rack Wood
A lazy Susan is a turn table piece for food. I have one in my house made of slate for cheese. While a gun rack has nothing lazy about it, the idea of the Lazy Susan is great for a gun rack. Winchester’s Run Around Susan 12 Gun Rotating Gun Rack offers this 12 gun rotating rack for rifles and shotguns at a affordable price. Although it weighs 25 pounds, the circumference is 24 inches, and this is a telescoping system. This could fit in most gun cabinets but is also a great standalone piece in your hunting room.
But be conscious if you have little kids (or irresponsible adults) to keep it safe.
The materials of this rack are plywood and steel with soft felt contact points for the barrels. So fill it up and rotate away as you pick the right gun for the morning hunt.
LOCKDOWN 6 Gun Handgun Rack
Want to keep your pistols organized in the gun cabinet? Ringing up at a cheap $16.99, the Lockdown Pistol Rack is about as simple as it gets, just a 14” by 7” by 5” steel rack coated in vinyl for quick organization and no marring of your gun.
“These vinyl coated metal handgun racks are extremely handy for use in your gun vault or at the shooting range to provide a safe place to rest your handguns. The individual channels are specially designed to cradle the grip and barrel of the gun and are wide enough to accommodate most wide body pistols or magnum revolvers.”
I should note this supports full sized pistols best as subcompact pistols just don’t fit, they fall through.
Allen Wall Display 4-Gun Rack Wood
Do you like the classics? Who doesn’t? You can’t beat em. They worked back in the day and still do the job today.
Much like the rack mentioned in the introduction, the Allen 4-Gun Wall Rack provides the classic deer camp feel, keeps your guns off the floor, safe from being tipped over. Padded with felt on the notches, each holder is 4.5” deep for control and protection. At less than $50.00 you could not build it your self cheaper. https://tiny.cc/c0qcxx
Big Sky Racks Overhead Gun Rack
Everyone’s greatest fear of keeping their guns in the car on a trip is the risk of having the car broken into. If you have not had this thought, and piled a few more bags onto the gun case, you are a kidding yourself.
Big Sky Racks Overhead Gun Rack is a possible solution not just for anti-theft, but also for freeing up some space in the car. This overhead gun rack system does require you to tap into your ceiling of the cab, and comes with these self taping sheet screws. Make sure you have double wall roof before you install.
“The Big Sky BSR-2 Gun Rack is for overhead, horizontal mounting in cars, camper shells, boats, airplanes, vans, closets and trunk lids. It holds two guns and deters theft by keeping long guns out of sight.”
The dimensions of the rack is 15.875” x 17.5” x 3.5”, is built from steel and keeps your guns protected with dense foam and in place with nylon straps.
Hatchie Back Seat Gun Sling
This polyester back seat gun sling claims to be tear resistant, and from reviews social media, seems to hold up to its promise. The name of the product does exactly what it says, holds gun off the back seat. this is actually family convenient as it can hold two shot guns or rifles, and we all know just how organized our trucks become during hunting season.
“Hatchie Bottom has you covered with all your vehicle’s accessory needs. Constructed of durable 3mm Neoprene the sling features 2 large cargo-type pockets for shells and gear. Sling straps around headrest and securely fastens to bottom of seat.”
The installation is simple, just slip the heavy duty straps over the head read of the driver and passenger seat and Presto-you have yourself a nifty life gun carrier. This system is built with padding and non slip lining to protect your guns.
Gun racks add to the art of a cabin or the practicality of your truck. Either way, they become an unsung hero of your equipment for their long lasting value and continued protection of your firearms.
Editors Note: In this age of heighten gun safety, we can not mention all the great gun storage tools above with reminding readers to check state laws regarding legal gun storage and taking proper gun safety measures to assure that no untrained children or adults get access to unsupervised firearms.
About Jason Reid:
Jason Reid is a writer and business professional from upstate New York. After deciding to pursue his dream of becoming an outdoor writer, Jason started a blog from his dorm room at Houghton College, growing it and working hard to earn opportunities. While bowhunting big game is his ultimate passion, Jason welcomes all outdoor challenges which force him to push his limits. More of Jason’s work can be viewed on his website Pushingthewildlimits.com