Coyote gun rack ideas?

[rabler]

Looking for ideas for a simple locking gun rack for a single AR-15. Wood, metal, combo ... Probably something that I can use a key rather than combo or biometric. Quick check on Brownells and amazon didn't turn up anything quite suitable. Besides, might be a fun little side project.

Normally my guns and supplies sit in a typical large gun safe in another building. My shop is next to one of our fields. That field bridges two wooded areas so is a run for all sorts of animals, deer and coyotes being common. I'm not much of a hunter but the coyotes have taken more than one of my wife's cats, so time has come to keep a rifle (probably an AR) out in the shop. Looking for ideas for a gun rack that has a simple lock. I rarely lock my shop up, and grew up in a house that kept loaded .22's in the living room. But in today's world I'd like to have something that would keep a casual visiting kid from grabbing a rifle. (With the tools in the shop, there's nothing that would keep a determined thief from breaking into whatever they want)

 

[Ischgl99]

What about something like this? Same style as used in police cruisers.

Lockable Gun Rack | Find a Fingerprint Gun Lock & Locking Wall Mount Gun Rack -Tufloc

Choose the best lockable gun rack solution for your home at Tufloc. Our fingerprint gun lock and locking wall mount gun rack options keep your guns safe and accessible. Plus, our gun racks for home use are space-saving and easy to install. Find a Tufloc lockable gun rack distributor today.

www.tufloc.com

A bit more basic uses a trigger lock and might be easy enough to fabricate yourself if you already have a trigger lock.

Locking One Piece Long Gun Display - HD711

Our Locking One Piece Long Gun Display is designed to secure long guns specifically such as rifles and shotguns. This locking gun display rack rests horizontally.

www.holdupdisplays.com

 

[woodchucker]

so you realize you are in a machine shop. Anyone can utilize your full set of tools to disable any of those. I think a gun safe is your best bet, since it's not in your view full time.. Once someone knows they are there and your tools, they don't have to do much work to get at it.

 

[rabler]

so you realize you are in a machine shop. Anyone can utilize your full set of tools to disable any of those. I think a gun safe is your best bet, since it's not in your view full time.. Once someone knows they are there and your tools, they don't have to do much work to get at it.

The alternative is I'm going to leave it lying around unlocked. So while I understand your logic I'm discarding it. Frankly a gun safe isn't going to hold up any better to an angle grinder or plasma torch.

edited to add: This isn't long term storage. I'm in the country, you have to drive past a wooded front yard past my house and security cameras to get to the shop. Lots more stuff is going to get stolen besides a gun if someone breaks into my shop. At some point it is just another tool.

 

[GeneT45]

I'm leaning toward a homespun version of something like what @Ischgl99 suggested. As you noted - they're in your shop - nothing will keep them out for hours, but keeping them out for a few minutes might make all the difference. Another thought (particularly if it's an AR) is to remove, and hide the Bolt Carrier Group. If you get to your shop in a Gator, 4-wheeler, Golf Car, or Lamborghini (as I do... ;-)), then it's easy to store separately and re-combine as needed in just a few seconds. If not, it's still easy to hide the BCG.

GsT

 

[rabler]

I'm leaning toward a homespun version of something like what @Ischgl99 suggested. As you noted - they're in your shop - nothing will keep them out for hours, but keeping them out for a few minutes might make all the difference. Another thought (particularly if it's an AR) is to remove, and hide the Bolt Carrier Group. If you get to your shop in a Gator, 4-wheeler, Golf Car, or Lamborghini (as I do... ;-)), then it's easy to store separately and re-combine as needed in just a few seconds. If not, it's still easy to hide the BCG.

GsT

Yep, AR. The tufloc looks decent. Rather than removing the BCG, I was pondering something like a rack that included a modified pickup hitch receiver lock that went up through the magazine well and out the ejection port. Challenge is from seeing a coyote to being gone is usually a matter of 30 seconds. May not be manageable.

 

[Meta Key]

Maybe, instead of a rack, an excellent hiding place? Something like a huge electrical panel mounted into the wall with the AR inside rather than breakers and wiring. Criminals might not even notice the panel with all the other cool stuff to steal. Could be lockable too.

 

[pontiac428]

In your situation, it's probably best hidden in plain sight. Or hang it on a peg behind a shelving unit or cabinet, something you wouldn't find unless you were really looking.

 

[BGHansen]

Yeah, the balancing act of easy/quick accessibility vs. the need to be a responsible gun owner. In today's world I'm worried about possible litigation against me (and the harm inflicted on others) if someone broke in, stole something, and became a story on the 6 o'clock news. I inherited quite the arsenal when my mom passed away (dad's guns). My "home defense" Ruger 380 is in a hidden in plain site spot. The readily accessible S&W .40 has a combo trigger lock; I have multiples of this type. They are all set to the same combo and have the tumblers set one number off in the same direction; simple roll of the 3 and the lock is off. I went this route to legally cover my butt if someone got ahold of something and didn't act responsibly. Plausible deniability with a lock in place; though it wouldn't take too long to run through all 1000 numbers.

Bruce

 

[Eyerelief]

Yep, AR. The tufloc looks decent. Rather than removing the BCG, I was pondering something like a rack that included a modified pickup hitch receiver lock that went up through the magazine well and out the ejection port. Challenge is from seeing a coyote to being gone is usually a matter of 30 seconds. May not be manageable.

I like the tufloc set up, allows you to put the gun where its most convenient for when those flea bitten varmints show up. Coyotes have a real affliction to being shot at so there is a good chance that with a couple of well placed rounds they might scratch your place off their map for a while with a pencil of course). Having some tasty morsels like cats running around outside wont allow them to scratch your place off their maps with a red sharpie.
I recently helped a lady get rid of coyotes, it was a combined effort. I eradicated her regular customers but more came, coons too. I ultimately convinced her to reel her cats in at night and stop feeding them on the porch. The smell of cat food made coons and coyotes very bold.