Cheap gun cabinets - what’s the catch?

[Craig-P]

Morning all,
I need to buy another cabinet - my own collection has grown and I’m running out of space to keep customers’ stuff in. My daughter is rapidly approaching the ‘let’s have a look at this and cover it in sparkly stickers’, age - and I really can’t afford to chance her damaging something special that has been left in my care.
I already have a few cabinets from Stack On and Brattonsound and am more than happy with them - but I’ve been pointed toward some very cheap offerings on so and so bay. I’ve just seen a ‘police approved’ ten gun, extra deep for less than two hundred sheets - my Stack On cabinet cost nearly three times that...so with that in mind, I sense something amiss.
So does anyone have any further details or experiences concerning these particular cabinets? Obviously I can’t provide a link but they’re the black and red numbers on that well known bidding site.

Many thanks in advance, Craig.

[bighit]

GDK the seller? they have been selling gun cabinets for years . tempted to get one myself .

If its got the BS standard then I can't see much wrong with them. . They will be built to the same standard as Brattonsound I would guess . They are just metal boxes with two locks on them after all.

If I remember right the gun safe only has to deter a thief and keep him out for a certain time limit as I have read countless time on here .

[Craig-P]

GDK the seller? they have been selling gun cabinets for years . tempted to get one myself .

If its got the BS standard then I can't see much wrong with them. . They will be built to the same standard as Brattonsound I would guess . They are just metal boxes with two locks on them after all.

If I remember right the gun safe only has to deter a thief and keep him out for a certain time limit as I have read countless time on here .

Thanks mate.
It’s not GDK though, they look like very similar cabinets being offered by a number of various dealers (one being on my workplace doorstep).
In all fairness this particular cabinet doesnt have to be as study/secure as the cabinets I lock my FAC stuff up in, I was more concerned about the lock being cheap and breaking, possibly with someone’s pride and joy stuck inside...

[bhodge]

GDK, I've got one of those, but mine is only a 5 gun model. FEO had no problem with it when he called to check me out. Cost £86 if I recall correctly but that was about 3years ago.

[angrybear]

Morning all,
I need to buy another cabinet - my own collection has grown and I’m running out of space to keep customers’ stuff in. My daughter is rapidly approaching the ‘let’s have a look at this and cover it in sparkly stickers’, age - and I really can’t afford to chance her damaging something special that has been left in my care.
I already have a few cabinets from Stack On and Brattonsound and am more than happy with them - but I’ve been pointed toward some very cheap offerings on so and so bay. I’ve just seen a ‘police approved’ ten gun, extra deep for less than two hundred sheets - my Stack On cabinet cost nearly three times that...so with that in mind, I sense something amiss.
So does anyone have any further details or experiences concerning these particular cabinets? Obviously I can’t provide a link but they’re the black and red numbers on that well known bidding site.

Many thanks in advance, Craig.

You can't link but you can put the item number for people to look up

Item 123543906863 maybe ? from those sizes you might get 10 un-scoped springers in it, but nowhere near that if they have sidewheel scopes on them
I've got an "infac 8 gun" extra deep, but it only fits 5 rifles with sidewheel scopes & mine is 45cm W x 33cm D x 150cm T.

[Craig-P]

You can't link but you can put the item number for people to look up

Ah, of course: 123505299367

[angrybear]

Check the item no in my post above for the sizes, it's the same item.

If it's only for air rifles & mainly to keep small fingers off them then I'd go for item 173796703308 & modify it to suit.

[Craig-P]

You can't link but you can put the item number for people to look up

Item 123543906863 maybe ? from those sizes you might get 10 un-scoped springers in it, but nowhere near that if they have sidewheel scopes on them
I've got an "infac 8 gun" extra deep, but it only fits 5 rifles with sidewheel scopes & mine is 45cm W x 33cm D x 150cm T.

I have a good few from various manufacturers, all 330mm depth and none of them will accommodate the number of rifles they claim to hold (especially when they’re FT rigs or bulky target rifles). Maybe if I had a collection of single barrel 9mm garden guns then they would fit the claim...
Not a bad idea on the filing cabinet though mate, thank you. It’ll be in a secure strong room with the other cabinets anyway so that may be the way to go.
Thanks again.

[Peter Dunkley]

You don't say whether you are keeping firearms in them!
If only air guns any old cabinet will do as long as the guns are SECURE
To be secure there is no requirement for a cabinet at all YET

[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.

[phil384]

My recent experience of buying cheap Chinese cabinets didn't end well.

£65 delivered for a 3 gun cabinet seemed too good to be true and it was.

The cabinet seemed sturdy enough but one of the locks didn't work.

I e-mailed the seller, the initially offered me a partial refund but what good is a cabinet I can't open?

Eventually I got a full refund and have given the cabinet away so at least I didn't lose out.

In the end I bought a used BOXX cabinet which is good. Now have a 4 gun and a 6 gun cabinet for 6 guns so no more scraping and cramming them in.

[Craig-P]

My recent experience of buying cheap Chinese cabinets didn't end well.

£65 delivered for a 3 gun cabinet seemed too good to be true and it was.

The cabinet seemed sturdy enough but one of the locks didn't work.

I e-mailed the seller, the initially offered me a partial refund but what good is a cabinet I can't open?

Eventually I got a full refund and have given the cabinet away so at least I didn't lose out.

In the end I bought a used BOXX cabinet which is good. Now have a 4 gun and a 6 gun cabinet for 6 guns so no more scraping and cramming them in.

This is/was my main concern. I’ve just been pm-ing my good mate on here about the very same thing. The last thing I want to happen is to get a customers’ pride and joy stuck in a cabinet after I’ve put a good few quids worth of work on it.
I’ll stick to the filing cabinet solution I reckon.
Thanks mate.