There are few simple or customizable solutions for storing rifles and pistols. Gun safes are expensive, incredibly heavy, and often lack the storage space for all your accessories and ammo.
If you’re living in a rental or apartment, you may not have the option of getting a gun safe into your home. If you happen to be someone who moves often, you’re not going to want to move a gun safe more than once. It’s a pain. Trust me, I know.
So what do you do when you don’t want to go all in on a gun safe but still want secure storage for your rifles, pistols, optics, ammo, and all the rest? Well, New Age may have just what you need. It isn’t for everyone, but it is a solid solution for those who need something more than the old glass-front gun cabinet but not quite an impenetrable gun safe.
In short: The New Age Gun Cabinet ($999) offers secure storage with tons of customization options that just happens to fit seamlessly with the rest of their storage cabinetry solutions.
DISCLAIMER: Before we continue, your weapons should be secure at all times. Regardless of your living situation, guns should be stored unloaded and under lock and key. This is especially true if you live with children or have young visitors. All guns should be in a locking cabinet or safe and/or equipped with safety measures such as a trigger or cable lock. For more information about keeping your firearms secure, please visit the Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
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Material
Steel -
Dimensions
36″ W x 24″ D x 80″ H -
Weight
205.4 lbs. -
Gun capacity
(expandable) 18 rifles & 6 pistols -
Weight capacity
1,000 lbs. - 2 shelves for ammo/optics storage
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Secure -
Highly customizable -
Tons of storage -
Discrete
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Not fireproof/humidity-proof -
Not as secure as a traditional safe
New Age Gun Cabinet Quick Specs and Accessories
The first thing we need to discuss is the storage space and storage accessories. The amount of included storage accessories is pretty staggering. With a New Age Gun Cabinet purchase, you’ll receive:
- 1 x 36 in. Secure Gun Cabinet
- 12 x Short Barrel Rests
- 2 x Side Barrel Rests
- 1 x 36 in. Stock Shelf
- 1 x 36 in. 12 Gun Stock Rest
- 1 x 36 in. 6 Gun Stock Rest
- 2 x Pistol Holders (which hold three pistols each)
- 2 x Parts Bins with Support Bracket
- 1 x 36 in. Pro Series Locker Shelf
- 1 x Closet Rod with Multi-Peg Hooks
I initially planned on purchasing several other accessories to customize my gun layout, but I held off, and I’m glad I did. Once I got everything set up, I had more than enough gadgets and gizmos to lay everything out super efficiently. There is so much space.
The build of this cabinet is what you might consider your standard steel garage cabinet. At first look, it doesn’t appear to be a gun cabinet at all.
It’s relatively lightweight (at a little over 200 pounds) and has a vented back, allowing for accessories and attachment to the wall. The side and doors are solid, with attachment points attached to the interior. A simple turn-style lock wraps up the bulk of the build.
Testing the New Age Secure Gun Cabinet
Measure Before You Order
This is not a small cabinet. Knowing that I had the perfect location picked out and was all set to build this puppy, the joke was on me; it arrived assembled. Typically, I’d be giddy about that. It just means far less work. However, because I did not plan to place this cabinet in a garage with easy access, this became a challenge and a half.
It arrives on a pallet, and let me tell you, getting it through a front door and into place is not an easy feat. Call your buddies, order pizza, and measure your front door first. If I didn’t have a vaulted section of my 8-foot ceilings, this puppy would have never been able to be tipped up into place. If it’s going into your garage with easy access, just pull out your CC and add that puppy to your cart.
Pro-Tip: Add a Light
Right off the bat, I added an accessory that seemed almost like a necessity but wasn’t included: a magnetic, rechargeable, motion-activated light is a must. Unless you place this cabinet in a bright location, it’s tough to see what’s what without one. Trust me on this. It’s a cheap addition you won’t regret. I still haven’t had to recharge mine.
Rifle Storage
The easiest way to lay out my setup was around the outer perimeter with an old-school ammo box in the center. This way, I could easily access any of the rifles I wanted to grab without wiggling them out.
Regardless of the style of rifle, shotgun, or otherwise, there was ample space for even my longest barrels. The stubby youth models fit alongside my ultra-long black powder sticks. The option to mount the barrel rests wherever you want helps customize the storage for whatever weapons you may have.
The foam cutouts in the base can be reconfigured in a few different ways, but regardless of how you lay them out, they offer a secure spot that won’t damage your stock.
Additional Storage
One of the best parts of this cabinet is the ample storage. Because it’s just thin steel, you don’t lose internal space like you would with a safe. The way I have it configured, I have plenty of space to store optics, ammo, and just random odds and ends.
With the plethora of accessories (half of which I’m not even using), you can hang your bino harness, keep your pistols in reach, store your cleaning accessories, and stash whatever else you might want to have inside.
What It Does Best
One of the things I love the most about this particular gun cabinet is that it doesn’t look like a gun cabinet at all. When combined with other New Age cabinet products, it looks like standard storage, which might be important to those who don’t want the location of their rifles to be obvious.
It also offers a ton of storage compared to a safe of the same size.
Who Shouldn’t Buy the New Age Gun Cabinet
If your main goal is to keep your rifles secure from people, water, or fire, look elsewhere. This is a cabinet, not a safe. That means the one little lock isn’t going to keep a motivated human out for long.
The simple steel construction is also not going to protect your guns in the event of a fire.
If you live in a humid area and are worried about corrosion, you could still use this cabinet, but you should consider sealing the back a bit and adding some moisture absorption solutions like DampRid.
Is It Worth It?
For my setup and what I’m using the New Age Gun Cabinet to store, it works perfectly. I don’t have humidity issues in my area, and I’ll continue to keep my fingers crossed that fire doesn’t find us.
In conjunction with other security methods (which are none of your dang business), I’m confident my guns are in a good spot. It’s everything I need to feel like my rifles are stored well, secured, and organized.
