“I lost them in a boating accident,” remains a common refrain of gun owners unwilling to answer questions about where their guns went. I’ve had a couple boating accidents myself – and I have the photos to prove it.
With the new day in American politics and the hard left drunk with power, gun control is undoubtedly just around the corner. Will they ban possession in addition to sales? Have you given any consideration to what will happen if Beijing Biden does indeed recruit Beto O’Rourke to implement his plan of “Hell yes, we’re coming for your AR-15!” in real life? You should, unless you’re going to surrender your self-defense like a good sheeple.
Yes, an argument can be made that if it’s time to bury your guns you should instead consider using them. We’ll save that discussion for another day and time.
Don’t keep all of your eggs in the same basket!
If you have more than a dozen guns, you should be spreading them out in case disaster strikes. Just as you should keep your retirement investments diversified, the same goes for your self-defense tools.
The low end of diversification involves asking a very trusted friend or family member to store one or more of your firearms, along with some ammo and perhaps some other gear like holsters. That way in event of theft, fire, natural disaster or police action at your residence, you won’t lose everything.
Obviously, this wouldn’t be someone you just met, but a long-time friend with honesty, integrity, stability and sobriety in their lives. And if his name is Hunter Biden, you need better friends and better skills at evaluating a person’s character.
Some people think they can hide their guns within their homes. Inside the home, a hidden gun safe or gun concealment furniture might work against a meth-head looking for a quick score. However, if Uncle Sugar believes you are hiding firearms, oath breaking thugs won’t hesitate to literally tear your place apart to find them. So scratch that idea.
Burying them in the back yard – or maybe even in the land behind your property might seem like a better idea. But ground penetrating radar, scent-trained dogs and lasers that can detect recently dug up ground will lead Beto’s Boys right to your hidey hole in less time than it took for you to dig the hole in the first place.
Off-site caching
If you don’t have any trusted friends or your family name is Biden, you may not want to leave some of your collection with a friend or family members. That will generally mean off-site caching.
Clearly, considering a cache or two of firearms, magazines and ammunition remains a very personal decision. Many serious gun owners have considered this over their lifetimes. Here are some strategies that don’t involve the bottom of a body of water.
Believe the black helicopters are coming for you and your stuff? All hope isn’t lost. You can be creative to help thwart easy detection. Planting your stash under tilled crop fields will make life challenging for unauthorized recovery of your stuff. Especially if done at certain times of the year. Hillsides make fine places as do fence rows between farm fields. Or under things like concrete pads, junk cars or brush piles.
Have you considered an old mausoleum (no digging needed!) or an unused plot in an old, abandoned cemetery? You should. Ditto for any abandoned cisterns currently dry.
In an ironic twist, you might even consider a cache hidden in an out of the way spot within a big state- or county- park. Or in the springtime, I’ve even suggested burying guns things deeply under the flower bed out front of the Deerfield Village Hall.
I recommend “ghost guns” or no-paper guns for off-property storage to eliminate any possibility of an unauthorized discovery being traced back to your smiling face.
Another point to consider: At the outset of WWII, my great grandfather cached a number of rifles and handguns in the Hewittville neighborhood of Taylorville, IL. He and his wife both went to their graves without anyone knowing where he buried them. And none of his many sons or daughter ever found them. Don’t let that be you unless you’re independently wealthy.
Make sure you identify your special place by prominent landmarks. Share this information with the fewest people possible. And don’t be like the famous story “Sundown at Coffin Rock” published by Dillon Precision in The Blue Press.
Raymond K. Paden wrote the story about an old patriot telling his grandson about freedom, patriotism… and the location of his secret gun stash. However, lousy parenting and public school indoctrination had brainwashed the boy into becoming a good informant for the state – and against his own grandfather.
What to bury and how to bury it?
There are whole college-level courses in how to cache arms and ammunition. Here’s some Cliff’s Notes…
Expect to say goodbye to whatever you bury, possibly forever. Consider “ghost guns” or guns without a paper trail. A centerfire rifle or two, a pistol or revolver or two and a shotgun would be a well-rounded cache for two people. Oil them heavily. Add some ammunition and magazines. Don’t wrap anything in plastic. Sealed battlepacks of ammo are okay. Don’t forget your desiccant – either anhydrous calcium sulfate or silica gel. Then seal it up. You might paint it dark brown while at home so it won’t stick out like a sore thumb when you carry it to its (final?) resting place.
Bury it upright to minimize the signature to metal detectors and ground penetrating radar. Obviously, don’t make your tube longer than you absolutely have to.
Remember, your primary goal is to keep your cache undetected to unauthorized persons. The secondary goal is to keep out water. Moisture and your guns and ammo won’t play well together.
No matter how you do it, diversify your gun collection’s locations. Just in case.
Lastly, be sure to read our accompanying post on “OF COURSE YOU CAN BURY GUNS IN YOUR YARD! Have some fun and help a friend!“