Have you always wanted to have your own gun room? Perhaps you have an area of your basement that you’re planning to turn into a place to store, clean, and work on your guns. Maybe you already have a gun room and are looking for tips to make it even better. Regardless of your reasons, here’s our list of Basement Gun Room Ideas to make it a place that safe, clean, and organized.
1) Designing and Building
Adding a gun room to your basement requires planning and forethought. What are your intentions for your gun room? Are you just looking for a wall to display your guns, or a whole room and workshop? Safety is a major concern, not just with proper handling and maintenance, but also proper storage. For more information on designing and building a gun room, this link has a great video that will help you start planning.
2) Hidden Door
In the video above, you may have noticed that the finished product designed by SecureIt was hidden behind a secret bookshelf door. If you want to hide your basement gun room in a similar fashion, you can purchase a hidden bookshelf door. When purchased, these doors come complete with the necessary installation hardware. Check out this video to learn how to properly install one of these doors.
3) Vault Door
If you are building your own basement gunroom, the best way to protect your guns is behind a vault door. The SnapSafe Vault Room Door can be purchased at Amazon and will ship inside it’s frame. It comes with a set of tools to help with proper installation. Be warned, this door is very heavy, so installing it will not be a project that can be taken on alone.
4) Standalone Gun Safe
If you don’t have room in your basement or your budget to seal off an area for your guns, the next best way to store them is a stand alone gun safe. There is a big selection of safes to choose from. This safe, from SecureIt, is strong and durable, and also light enough for relocation. It will hold six rifles and has a keypad control panel with a hidden key override.
5) Gun Cabinet
Another option for storing your guns securely is a gun cabinet. Like the gun safe, gun cabinets are standalone units that are lockable. The least expensive of these are made of steel mesh panels with a handle and a place to attach a padlock. If you have more room in your budget, this quad model series can be stacked on top of each other, or placed side by side.
6) Wall Safe
If you are looking to save space in your basement gun room, a great way to do that is to install a wall safe to store your guns. Most are designed to fit in between 16” studs and can be found is short models for handguns and longer models for rifles. V-Line sells a longer safe on Amazon that is easy to install and ships with the necessary installation hardware.
7) Gun Safe Light
If your safe is deeply recessed and the lighting in your basement gun room won’t penetrate to the back of the safe, gun safe lights will do the trick. ILLUMISAFE LIGHTS are one brand sold on Amazon. These LED lights are easy to install and work on motion sensors so they will turn on the minute the safe opens and turn off shortly after it closes.
8) Mini Dehumidifier
Another consideration for the safe storage of your guns is keeping them dry. Fortunately, if you store your guns in gun safe, this is easy to accomplish with a mini dehumidifier. For instance, the Eva-dry 500, requires no power and will sit quietly in your safe absorbing moisture. Once it reaches its capacity, you simply plug it into the wall for 2-14 hours and, presto, it’s ready to use again.
9) DIY Stealth Shelf
Storing your guns in your basement gun room is all well and good, but if you need quick access to a gun in case of an emergency, then you might want to include a safe storage place in an upper room of the house. Check out this video to learn how to build your own stealth shelf. With the right tools this project is super simple, even with an intermediate knowledge of woodworking.
10) Shop Lights
If you are planning on cleaning and working on your guns in your basement gun room, then you will need your work space to be well lit. This pack of 6 LED shop lights is a great way to light an enclosed space. Simple to use and install, theses lights are linkable and can be arranged to fit the needs of your space.
11) Gun Room Dehumidifier
As mentioned previously, guns need to be stored in a dry place for rust prevention. What if the storage area in your basement gun room is bigger than a safe? If so, then you will want to purchase a full size humidifier to keep that storage area dry. This model, will allow you to control the exact percentage of humidity in a room.
12) Vertical Gun Racks
If your basement gun room is big enough and has a secure door, then you will want to display your guns along the walls of your gun room. The options for wall displays are varied and boil down to how much space you have, and how you want to display your gunsㅡvertically or horizontally. This model, made by Hold Up Displays, is easy to install and can vertically hold six rifles.
13) Horizontal Gun Rack Hooks
Storing your rifles horizontally can also be accomplished many ways. One of the easiest is the horizontal gun rack hook. Essentially, you can anchor two of these to the wall on the same level and at the appropriate distance apart and simply hang a rifle on the hooks. These hooks, again by Hold Up Displays, are made from hardwood and steel and have a pivoting yoke that will accomodate to fit any rifle.
14) Brass Finished Hooks
Perhaps polished brass will better match the decor of your basement gun room. Polished brass gun mounts can be purchased to show off your firearm collection. The Allen Company makes a brass wall hanging kit that includes two hooks and the hardware to mount them. Even better, the insides of the hooks are lined with felt to protect the finish of the gun mounted in the hooks.
15) Vertical Gun Hooks
If you are only looking to mount a few rifles and don’t need a whole rack, you can still display them vertically with vertical gun hooks. Similar in design to the horizontal hooks, a single mount will have two hooks that will allow you to hang a rifle vertically between them. Hold Up Displays makes a vertical hook that you can purchase here.
16) Wooden Horizontal Rack
Just as vertical gun racks can be purchased to display your rifle collection, you can also purchase horizontal gun racks as well. Wooden horizontal gun racks have a rustic look that will remind you of your grandfather’s gun rack. They can be purchased at almost any sporting goods store, but this one includes a beautiful distressed American flag and can be purchased online.
17) DIY Reclaimed Wood Gun Rack
If you are a handy woodworker, then building your own wooden gun rack is an easy and fun project to do. Reclaimed wood is very stylish now, so if you have access to some pieces of reclaimed wood, check out this video to learn how to use it in a gun rack design.
18) DIY $20 Gun Rack
This vertical gun rack can be built by almost anyone out of hand tools. With a total cost of $20, this DIY project is a super way to display your rifles without breaking the bank. All you need to make this rack is shelving board that you can purchase at any home improvement store, a hole saw, a circular saw, some wood glue, and screws.
19) Pegboard
Just as pegboard can be used to store and display tools in a workshop, it can also be used to store and display your gun collection. Traditional peg board can be purchased and mounted to a wall, but for something really durable, a company named Wall Control sells galvanized steel pegboard racks. They can be purchased in sections that hang horizontally or vertically and are easier to install than traditional pegboard.
20) How to Install Wall Control
As previously mentioned, Wall Control pegboard is easy to install. The fact that it is sold sectionally makes for easy shipping and ease of installation. It takes almost no time at all and can mount directly onto the studs of an unfinished basement wall, or through a finished wall using a stud finder. To learn how it’s mounted and to learn about all the nifty accessories you can purchase to hang things, watch the video.
21) Wall Control Shelf
Wall Control is also unique in that it has two ways to mount things. One is the traditional way that all pegboards use, the hole. This means that any item that can be hung from a traditional pegboard can be hung here. Wall Control also has a system of slats arranged along it that can be used to hang hooks, bins, or even this shelf, giving you plenty of storage options for your basement gunroom.
22) Handgun Hangers
We’ve talked a lot about displaying and storing your rifles, but what about your hand guns? One option for storing and displaying your handguns is the handgun hanger. These hangers can be slipped over any shelf, then the barrel of your handgun is slid over the other end of the hangar allowing it to hang in place. Safety Storage makes a model that can be purchased here.
23) Magnetic Gun Mount
Magnetic gun mounts are also a great way to mount and display your favorite handguns in your basement gun room. Not only that, but they can also be mounted in a gun safe to store your hand guns there as well. RYMMES makes a magnet mount that is lightweight, durable, and rubber coated so as not to damage your firearms. Once mounted, it will magnetically hold up to 45 pounds and can be purchased here.
24) Pistol Wall Mount Rack
Another option that can be used to hang handguns is the pistol wall mount rack. This rack, made by BOOMSTICK, will mount directly on the wall of your gun room or inside your gun room safe. Once installed, it will fit most widebody caliber pistols (up to 4) and is coated with vinyl to protect the gun’s finish.
25) Pegboard Bins
If you are using pegboard to mount and display your guns, it can also be used to store and organize other items important to your gunroom. Looking for a place to store and organize your magazines or loose shell casings to be used for reloading? Pegboard bins are great places to store these items. They can even be purchased in different colors to help with organization or to match your decor.
26) Workbench
Looking for a nice flat surface to clean your guns, work on your guns, or reload spent casings? If so, you’ll want a nice workbench for your basement gun room. A well-lit work space is crucial to give you room to work on your guns. These can be purchased at almost any home improvement store, but this model has a work light, a power strip, and pegboard backing with a shelf for storage.
27) Build You Own Workbench
Of course, if you like woodworking, then building your own workbench for your basement gun room is a nice way to give is a personal touch. Better yet, you can design that workcench to the specifications of your space, giving you more flexibility in how to best use it. Here’s a helpful video that will teach you how to build a sturdy workbench out of 2x4s.
28) Gun Vice
Once that workbench is in place, you might want to include a gun vice to hold your guns steady as you work on them. The Tipton Ultra Gun Vice is a beautiful tool that will hold your guns steady in its sturdy grip without marring their finish. It’s adaptable and will hold rifles and shotguns as well as pistols.
29) Gun Cleaning Mat
Another useful item for the workbench of your basement gun room is a gun cleaning mat. Cleaning mats serve two purposes. First, they protect your guns from the surface of your workbench. Secondly, they protect the surface of your work bench, not only from scratches the gun might make but from the oil used in cleaning your guns. This model, by Falko, is an excellent mat with a ton of great reviews.
30) Gun Cleaning Kit
Essential to every gun room, the gun cleaning kit is an accessory that should be high on your list of gun room purchase priorities. Universal gun cleaning kits are great in that they can be used to clean any type of gun; rife; shotgun, or handgun. GLORYFIRE makes this beauty, which has all the tools you’ll need and a handy travel case when you need to take it on the road.
31) Reloading Kit
Finally, the best way to save money as a gun owner, is to have your own reloading kit. These kits will allow you to reload your spent shells as opposed to having to buy manufactured ones. By doing the work yourself, you can save quite a bit of money. With the right kit and the right knowledge it’s easy to do. Fortunately, RCBS makes this kit and includes a reloading guide with every purchase.
That brings us to the end of our 31 Basement Gun Room ideas article. So, whether you are looking to design and build your own gun room, or looking for new tools and toys for an existing gun room, these handy tips will give you a few ideas to get you started. From safe storage to loading your own cartridges, what you do with your gun room is completely up to you.
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