Cheap gun cabinets - what’s the catch?

[Shed tuner]

I use a big old solid metal filing cabinet, with a couple of fairly meaty hasps and disc padlocks.. made a dividing "shelf" from plywood with a jigsaw for cutouts for the barrels, and the extra height is used for a couple of shelves for pistols, scopes etc.

If you can get and old tatty one, they are generally much heavier, hence more secure, and hence also cheaper.

[Peter Dunkley]

If you look around there are always a few quite nice cabinets which have been used for firearms and are no longer allowed.

It used to be in most areas that older type cabinets with external hinges for instance would be passed as long as they have been in use since this type was allowed.

Tightening up no longer allows these cabinets and they often come up on various sites. I got one for a tenner a year or so ago. External hinge so no go for firearms but a good sound safe for airguns.

[Craig-P]

Thanks again all. I think a big (cheap) filing cabinet is the way I’ll be going.
Cheers, Craig

[Turnup]

I have one of those without the ammo box. FEO approved it with no comments. It's been perfectly fine but two small snags:

1) The two locks are the key retaining type, so you cannot put the two keys on the same key ring. There is a fix for this - the key retention feature is an asymmetric ward in each lock, so I just filed the ward off one of the locks - sorted

2) They are somewhat flimsy - mine is fixed to two walls, the floor, and an adjacent smaller gun safe. Obviously the two walls are not at right angles so the safe has distorted a little making the door catch a little on closing but I can live with that. More care with packing when screwing it down would probably have avoided that but I can't be bothered to take it off and re-pack.

Not exactly a snag but the chrome plating on the keys has worn away showing the copper layer beneath - I'm not bothered.

Works for me and fantastic at the price.