Do you display your flintlock or other guns in your home

[sussexmuzllodr]

Amazing on how many took off their shirt on this one....voluntarily.....

 

[Mike in FL]

Yep, mine are in the living room. My prettiest one on the mantle of the brick fireplace. Also have two cartridge rifles and a gorgeous double barrel 20 gauge high on two different walls. My BP revolver on an antique tea cart along with some of the wife's vintage dishes.

 

[SOLANCO]

When we moved here, rural, we put in a security system because of concerns about fire. If the house took fire likely no one would see until it was too late. But along with that came intrusion security. Various types of perimeter and interior motion alarms. The annual monitoring fee is cheap insurance and they are alert. If I or the pets set something off we get a call almost immediately. If we don't answer or say something is wrong they call the State Police and the response time is excellent.
So, no. I am not hiding my favorite things away out of sight. I spent a lot of years working hard and for long hours. No stinking junkie, burglar or tin pot gangster is going to stop me from enjoying the fruits of my labors.

 

[Sir Boniface Harrison]

Most of mine are displayed, but are also secured. There is a step or two to get most of the displayed guns off of the racks. The more modern stuff is either secured or strategically placed. Very rarely is nobody home. And the rare occasions everyone is gone, it still looks like someone is there.

Displaying my smoke poles over the last year has given me opportunity to introduce others to the hobby.

Ditto. Where I live there is no legal requirement to keep BP guns in a safe. I have them on display, in an alcove which cannot be seen from outside the house, and each one is attached to the rack by a lock and chain. These are beautiful works of craftsmanship, each one tells a story, and they should be on display to all selected guests who enter my house. The alcove has a curtain which hides them from view if utilities workers or other non-acquaintances have need to enter the house.

 

[nick_1]

I have my hawken on the wall. It looks good there. when they broke in last winter they had Zero intrest in a musket hanging on the wall. they are looking for stuff they can turn into quick cash for drugs. trashed my place and stole a guitar and took 100 bucks in change. spent the bulk of their time trying to break into the safe where the handguns and modern stuff is. also went through the medicine cabinets looking for prescriptions. lots of cameras and ****y traps now.

 

[ChuckJonesWagon]

Remember the days when you put your social security number on things for identifying them as yours.

That's so true!!

I have picked up two rifles that had names and SS#'s on them. One was a Winchester 62A, built in 1947. The owner actually peened his SS# on both the upper tang and lower tang!! The rifle was not cared for very well (but it's a great shooter for 22LR) and had turned all patina. Well, with some careful stoning and then an application of a Patina solution, you can no longer see the peen dimples....unless you put on magnifying glass's and look very close.

The second was I had a Savage Shilen barrel "hanging out" in my shop. I picked up a cheap Savage rifle and swapped out the barrels. I also cut the stock down for a smaller frame person. When I took off the buttplate there was a previous owner's name, address and SS$ written in with indelible marker!! I cut that section off and tossed it in the burn pile.

 

[wiscoaster]

Amazing on how many took off their shirt on this one....voluntarily.....

The guns I have on the wall would be of no use to a crash & grab burglar. That's taken into account when I decide what to hang up there. I really can't see them holding up a Kwik Trip with a black powder flintlock they stole from me.

 

[Jedidiah]

I keep BP firearms out and visible. All cartridge firearms are in the safe(s).

 

[HawkenHorse]

I have one displayed but it’s in my upstairs office. It’s not on a main thoroughfare and I keep my office shut/locked when I’m not in it. The only people who ever see it are family, friends or coworkers who I am with at the time.

That being said, the rest are all locked up.

 

[Rebel bull]

I can't remember which one said it O'Conner or Carmichael but they were absolutely right " You spend 10% of your time hunting/shooting your guns so you need to have them displayed for looking at" and mine are works of art in my eyes even the CVA kentucky kit that I just slapped together no fitting or finish as it came out of the box because I promised the wife that I wouldn't finish another gun until I finished the remodel of the bathroom she passed before it got done so that flintlock will never get finished, but it still shoots like a house on fire

 

[Sparkplug]

Ditto. Where I live there is no legal requirement to keep BP guns in a safe. I have them on display, in an alcove which cannot be seen from outside the house, and each one is attached to the rack by a lock and chain. These are beautiful works of craftsmanship, each one tells a story, and they should be on display to all selected guests who enter my house. The alcove has a curtain which hides them from view if utilities workers or other non-acquaintances have need to enter the house.

Only those I truly trust enter my home. Only a very few from my family even know where I live. So most have no clue what I own. If/when I host a family event, it's held in my field at my outdoor saloon. So there is no need for anyone to even be up at the house. And, like you, all are placed to they can't be seen from a door or window.

 

[Shortfingers]

They hang on the walls of my study, and you'd have to go in there to see them. We are having work done on the house soon, so they will get packed up and be watched by a friend while the workers are at it - too long to fit in the safe. Will do some rearranging when the furniture comes back in, so they will be even less visible to those not in the room.

Same here….

 

[Shortfingers]

As of recently, I do. As I sit in my living room right now, I can see four. I'm 75 and started wondering why I don't enjoy them every day I have left. Should have done it years ago. I know chance of theft is enhanced many times over by leaving them out of the safe. In my case, I have no one interested in guns to leave them to. I do take precautions though. Secure them if I leave overnight and close the curtains after dark, plus I placed them high and out of reach. A bit risky still. When my eyes rest on any particular one, it "talks" to me, reminding me of previous adventures in the wildwood or at the range. How about you?

I have some of mine on display in my office upstairs. Not that I’m hiding them but the “better half” says I already have too much other stuff hanging in the family room and the rest of the house is hers. We made that deal years ago and it has served us well.

 

[SPQR70AD]

all my rifles and pistols are in an underground nuclear proof vault 75 ft down.

 

[SOLANCO]

I have my hawken on the wall. It looks good there. when they broke in last winter they had Zero intrest in a musket hanging on the wall. they are looking for stuff they can turn into quick cash for drugs. trashed my place and stole a guitar and took 100 bucks in change. spent the bulk of their time trying to break into the safe where the handguns and modern stuff is. also went through the medicine cabinets looking for prescriptions. lots of cameras and ****y traps now.

"lots of cameras and ****y traps now."
Have a care with the ****y traps. I have heard of civil suits and even criminal charges when an intruder is harmed or killed by a ****y trap. And heaven forfend some innocent wander into one!

 

[Gordoncourtney]

"lots of cameras and ****y traps now."
Have a care with the ****y traps. I have heard of civil suits and even criminal charges when an intruder is harmed or killed by a ****y trap. And heaven forfend some innocent wander into one!

In Nigeria. We had a big boxer mixed with a bush dog. , he was lovely and protected our kids. He bit to many people in our compound and in the road, we had Arab night watch too, he loved our Skipper , Oh he had been castrated to calm him down. Dogs don’t ask questions when they go for people. , obviously trained to go for the poor black locals , robbers as well , in retrospect he caused more trouble than the protection we got , ha ha poor skipper he had to be put down as we could not find a home, locals would probably have eaten him, good chop. Yum yum. Just tails of Africa , pay no attention

Just made a trial pig sticker for my Jager Feldstutzer out of a cutlery steel knifes sharpener

I wish you well from across the pond and to you in far flung places

 

[Twisted_1in66]

As of recently, I do. As I sit in my living room right now, I can see four. I'm 75 and started wondering why I don't enjoy them every day I have left. Should have done it years ago. I know chance of theft is enhanced many times over by leaving them out of the safe. In my case, I have no one interested in guns to leave them to. I do take precautions though. Secure them if I leave overnight and close the curtains after dark, plus I placed them high and out of reach. A bit risky still. When my eyes rest on any particular one, it "talks" to me, reminding me of previous adventures in the wildwood or at the range. How about you?

Yes I do. It's my Early Lancaster Longrifle built by a fellow who used to be on here who went by the screen name of "tg". It has a 44½" swamped barrel and an L&R Queen Anne lock. It's beautifully done and lighter by almost 2-lbs than my previous Traditions Longrifle is. It sits above our antique side board.

 

[manbat]

Any corner will do.

 

[nick_1]

My ****y traps are non lethal but they even scare the crap out of me when I forget and trip them..

 

[sheriff john]

Worked burglaries 40 years - hundreds of them. Unless the stars are aligned and the thief was an *****, really unlucky, or the case involved some traceable item (could be most anything that can be entered into the NCIC nationwide law enforcement system) chances of seeing non-serialized anything are really, really slim unless you can provide photographic evidence to the initial investigating officer.

Every 24 hours after a crime is committed (not reported, but actually happens) chances of being cleared go down 50%. Thankfully, today digital images can be provided to officers, included in their report, and greatly increase the likelihood of recovery/insurance payoff. It's up to you to stack the odds. Good descriptions with photos are equally important. Thumb drive the officer can download into his/her report and, of course, a well-trained interested officer with time enough to do a thorough job is crucial as well.

Collectible firearms are not stolen by collectors, but typically fenced quickly for cash. They're hard to turn, but attractive to amateur thieves. The "pros" I've known never dealt with such unless it was a truly valuable item (fine jewelry, cash, transferrable bonds, etc.), but they are rare. More likely it will be kids or spree criminals. Home invasions (most feared) where someone is home are among the rarest crimes. Thieves need to get rid of loot as fast as possible, which is why we need to have the information in hand as part of preparation.

Heard folks say "Those guys couldn't investigate stinky feet." or "The cops didn't do anything." In fact, it ain't like TV. Sometimes the dragon wins.