Courtesy of NSSF

Construct an Outdoor Gun Rack

Provide safe, orderly storage for long arms

By John Ross

Materials You’ll Need | Step-by-Step Directions | Printer-Friendly Layout | Video

There are many places at a gun club where providing a simple gun rack can be a convenience. A gun rack at ranges, at shooting stations or outside buildings where guns are not allowed inside can offer club members a safe place to rest their guns while they wait their turn or simply hang out and socialize.

Gun racks create an orderly appearance and protect guns from the hazards of being set on a table or leaned against a wall or a tree. Of course, all guns placed in a gun rack should be empty of ammunition and have the safety “on.”

The gun rack constructed for this article was designed for the covered porch of a local gun range’s clubhouse where firearms are not allowed inside. Within the first hours of being installed, the club members started using the rack. It saved them the hassle of casing their firearms or walking to their vehicles to store them.

The need for a gun rack was apparent, but not so obvious was the design, which we carefully considered to provide the most benefit. The construction details that are outlined here will accommodate a variety of situations but can also be easily modified as needed.

The rack was placed near the front door for convenience but does not crowd the area of foot traffic through the door or down the stairs. This reduces the chance that the rack will be inadvertently bumped or that loose clothing will snag the guns. For this reason the rack was also placed away from any coat racks or boot sweeps.

This rack accommodates six guns and is a little wider than three feet. If space is needed for more guns, two or more racks can be ganged together provided that they are securely fastened to each other and to the wall or another form of support.

Likewise the rack can be shortened to fit in a tighter space, but this, of course will limit the number of guns it can hold.

The framing consists of dimensional lumber purchased at a local Home Depot store and is held together with deck screws of a variety of sizes (see materials list). To protect the finish on the gun butts and barrels, the exposed edges and corners were rounded and smoothed with 100-grit sand paper. To further protect the gun finishes, felt left over from a Halloween costume, was incorporated in key areas of the top and bottom. For a rack not exposed to the outdoors, covering all the areas that contact the guns with felt would certainly offer more protection. The total cost of materials was $60.

This rack stands 36 inches tall and extends 18 inches from the wall. Most rifles and shotguns fit comfortably well with these dimensions. The slots for the butts are two inches wide and five inches from front to back. Both the larger shotguns and smaller rifles we tested for fit rested in the rack securely.

An outdoor gun rack can be constructed of readily available materials for $60 or less. The legs are 2×6s cut to length. A gun-butt carriage is assembled of 1×4 and 1×6 pine boards and short pieces of 2×4 lumber. The rack’s top cradles the muzzles between 2×2 blocks of cedar. Felt helps protect the guns’ finishes. This rack stands outside the front door of the range’s club house.