As for storage options, I had a friend who created a hidden "closet" under a staircase, when it didn't appear to have enough space for anything. I know others who have sealed rooms, with bars, and alarms. They are intended to delay the thieves, giving time for people to respond to the alarms( including the owners, who can have the alarm signal him on his phone or computer.)
False walls with hidden switches have long been used to hide personal treasures. I would not want to attempt to outfit a mobile home with this kind of thing, however. IN those cases, a separate structure- in the ground, is the way to go. If someone wants to get your stuff, and has enough time- you live in the boonies, all alone, with no one to watch your home when you are away--- they will get in. I have clients who carried loaded guns in their vehicles so that they are armed as they approach their own homes, on the off-chance that they may run into burglars and thieves at their rural homes.
Rural Neighborhood Watch programs emphasize noticing any vehicle that passes by, and identifying its owner. When strangers are spotted, members call ahead to alert neighbors- many miles away in some cases--- that a strange vehicle is headed in their direction. If no one answers the phone, other members of the watch group are called, and people converge on the unoccupied home, or follow the strange vehicle, while armed. Thankfully, most of these stranger vehicles are just people who took a wrong turn. But, every once in awhile, they do catch the bad guys, and hold them for the sheriff. What the court system does after that is not their business. But, they now know who the bad guys are, what they drive, and what they are after, and the Bad guys know that they can be caught if they try again in that area. When they see all the citizens armed, and ready to shoot, and sounding pretty hostile to them, It doesn't matter if the Courts are lenient to them. They will find someplace else to rob.
my brother has a flat safe that lays on the floor of his closet, under a piece of carpeting and shoes on top of that. The locks are under an edge and are the cylinder style of key locks. If you know where the locks are, you can reach under insert and turn the appropriate key, and open it up. If you don't you don't have room to see under the lip, and you can't pick the lock without the right key- its expensive for even locksmiths to buy! The safe is bolted to the floor, also. However, its not one of those 72" long safes mentioned above.
Thanks, for that information, BTW. I was hoping someone knew of a safe company that I didn't know about that produces a product that fills our needs. I knew a safe dealer back in the early 90s, and specifically asked him about accommodating long guns. And, ten years later I was at a gun show when dealers of two different brands of safes were there, and I talked to them about long guns, without success. Its now ten years later, and while long barrels Traditional MLers may be only a small part of sales, there must be enough of them around for a company to produce a safe to fit them. Terrific! :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
The good ol' boys in your neck of the woods may know guns, and MLers, but a fence still won't give them any money for a gun that has no lock on it, nor a ramrod with it. He simply can't sell it quickly for a profit to risk having it in his possession for long.
BTW. Putting a small card with your name, address, and date of purchase on it, Under the Butt plate is a great place to hide identifying information from Bad guys. Putting the same information in the bottom of the barrel channel of the stock also works. Adding your driver's license # will be easily recognized by police, and they can quickly locate you with it. Do NOT put a Social Security Number on anything for ID. No one has access to that information, save the Federal Government. However, giving that information out to crooks can prove more valuable than whatever they stole from you, as they can sell that information to people who forge SS cards, and sell them to illegal aliens.