With a continuing interest in firearms and shooting, the weapon collection at 558L was growing to significant size with nowhere to securely store it. To help deter theft, unauthorized use, or accidental damage, a vault was needed for the weapons. Since the tenants of 558L are relatively poor (being students), the nice $2000+ gun safes are not affordable, and represent double the cost of replacing the firearms themselves.
After a bit of thought and measuring, it was realized that a spare storage room (occupied only with empty boxes) could make an excellent secure storage for firearms, ammunition, and other equipment. A weekend of work, a new hammer-drill, and some expansion bolts later, 558L was equipped with secure storage.
Here are some photos and description of the "safe" and its contents. There is no effort to keep this up-to-date, nor is any of the information guaranteed accurate. Use at your own risk.
Each 640x480 thumbnail is linked to the full resolution digital image for more detailed inspection.
The vault itself is a converted truck box. The box has been mounted vertically with 4 expansion bolts into the concrete wall of the house. As the truck box has been designed to deter theft, the locking mechanism is internal and will resist anything but a concerted effort to break open the box.
All corners are continuously-welded or bent steel, so the box is also fairly resistant to attack at the joints, although a cutting torch will certainly get through. The safe is not truly fireproof, unfortunately; the interior space was needed for the weapons and could not be spared for fireproofing.
Inside the vault is a set of shelves to hold ammunition, magazines, and handguns. Rifle are stored vertically on carpeting to protect the finish from the steel of the vault. Note that if any of the weapons are loaded, they are easy to deploy once the safe is open; if the keys to the safe are always handy, the safe provides a reasonable access time for home defense. For the most paranoid readers, install a combination quick-access safe with a loaded handgun next to the bed, which will allow you to fight your way to the full safe, where you can upgrade to the shotgun(s) and such.
Shelving alongside the vault provides storage for ammunition, cleaning supplies, tools, paper targets, cases, etc.
Heckler & Koch USP Compact .45 ACP - Designed as a concealed carry handgun, in the popular .45 ACP (AKA .45, '45') cartridge. Note the bobbed hammer and clean lines to prevent snagging on clothing when drawing from a concealed holster. 8+1 capacity. Hostile environment finish. Has both decock and safety using the frame-mounted lever visible at the back. Very accurate despite the short (3.78") barrel, and a joy to shoot. This gun has never malfunctioned, regardless of ammunition, for well over 4000 rounds (it is cleaned between shooting sessions). Some incorrect handloads caused jamming problems (the gun wouldn't close to battery), but the problem has been solved by proper handloading procedures. My favorite handgun of all, although the "Baby" Eagle is a close second.
Magnum Research Baby Eagle 9x19mm - Designed and manufactured by Israel Military Industries, the Baby Eagle is marketed by Magnum Research in the U.S. (designers of the famed Desert Eagle pistol). This model of pistol has also been called the Jericho (by IMI) and Uzi Eagle. The Baby Eagle is a conventional blowback semi-automatic pistol, very similar in design to a CZ75. This particular model is chambered for the popular 9x19mm cartridge (AKA 9mm Luger, 9mm Parabellum, 9mm, 'Nine'). This pistol is quite heavy (2 lbs 6.6 oz unloaded), somewhat bulky, and not designed for concealed carry. It has a 4.5" barrel, and is built to never, ever break. It is very accurate - better than the H&K (which has a 3/4" shorter barrel), but the difference is only noticeable at long range (20+ yds). With 2 bracketing shots, it was easily possible to hit a 12" steel plate at 117 yards with this gun. This is my second favorite handgun. At about half the price of the H&K, it is also an incredible deal.
Beretta Couger 8040 D - Medium-sized semi-automatic pistol in .40 S&W, by the makers of the famous 92/92FS series (known as the M-9 in the US Armed Forces). The .40 S&W round is considered a nice balance between the easy-shooting (but not-so-lethal) 9x19mm and highly lethal (but not-so-easy-shooting) .45 ACP. My pistol came with night sights (Trijicon), as it was a used police-issue. The "D" series Cougars are double-action only. Hence, there is no manual safety; if there is a round in the chamber, the pistol is ready to rock-and-roll. The hammer is spurless, and the lines are very clean to allow for easy concealed-carry; this was the original intention of the 8000 series. My particular pistol was a police-issue pistol to the Utah Highway Patrol, and has a nice set of gold marking on the slide. The image above is taken from Beretta's web site, and will be replaced with an actual photo once I can borrow a digital camera.
Marlin Model 1894 lever-action rifle, .44 Remington Magnum - This is a new production of the ancient lever-action design but with the inclusion of a cross-bolt safety. 20" barrel. Chambered for .44 Remington Magnum. 10+1 capacity in the tubular magazine beneath the barrel. Elevation adjustable rear sight (via the ramp); hooded front sight post. Well balanced for carrying, and light at ~6 lbs. Recoil with full-power loads is noticeable, but not punishing. Accurate to at least 300 yards; easily lethal to 200 yards. Great fun to shoot, and can use .44 Special ammunition for short-range target practice.
Springfield .22LR bolt-action rifle - 5+1 capacity with removable internal magazine. Bolt-action, with 24" barrel. Remarkably accurate with iron sights; anything within 100 yds can be hit without trying. Light, and hence good for teaching smaller kids about firearms. Ammunition is very cheap, so this rifle is great for target practice.
Mossberg 500A w/sidesaddle - 12 gauge pump-action shotgun with extended tubular magazine and side-saddle. 7+1 capacity with either 2-3/4" or 3" shotgun shells. Sidesaddle holds an additional 6 shells ready to load. Note the detachable aluminum heat shield over the 18" barrel. Barrel is cylinder bore (no choke), making it suitable for slugs. Ambi-dextrous safety, which is handy for left-handed shooting. Bought used, with one screw replaced to bring to perfect working order. Suitable for skeet and trap shooting, hunting, breaching, and home defense. This model is no longer made; it has been replaced by the Special Purpose 500 and 590 models.
Smith & Wesson SW9F - A roommate's clone of a 9x19mm Glock 17. Polymer-frame, with identical controls and feel to a Glock 17. Carries 10 or 17 rounds per magazine, and can fire most (if not all) 9x19mm ammunition. Accurate and easy to shoot, although the grip is not as comfortable in my hands as the H&K USP Compact or "Baby" Eagle. Reliable and easy to maintain; this particular gun (bought used) has gone for ~1000 rounds without cleaning with no problems due to fouling. Relatively cheap and can be found used at gun shows and dealers.
In addition to the weapons and the vault, there is also a space for reloading ammunition. Not all calibers are reloaded, since some can be bought cheaper than can be reloaded (e.g. 9mm). However, more exotic calibers (.44 Rem. Mag.) or calibers which can benefit from the precision of handloading (.308 Win) are reloaded. Note the single-stage press, drawer set to organize tools and dies, and the wall-mounted scale. Mounting the scale on 1/4" steel plate and bolting to the wall stabilizes the scale, allowing it to remain level and quiet while the bench is shaken by the reloading press. Note also the powder measure at the side of the bench - reloading non-target loads is vastly faster with the powder measure, which is repeatable to 0.1 to 0.3 gr depending on powder type. The bench is made entirely of wood to reduce risk of static discharge (spark) near smokeless powder or primers. The hole visible behind the powder containers is the bottom of a chimney which is open to the sky; in case of explosion, gases can vent through the chimney, limiting damage to the room and house.