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Yep, you read that title right. I know – I sound like my tin foil hat is a bit tight right now. It’s 2018 – why would you need to learn how to hide your guns from confiscation? Gun confiscation in America hasn’t happened yet – what’s there to worry about? My response to that: the key word is in that sentence is “yet”.
Before I go any further into this article, I’ll start off by letting you know that I’ve been a patriot from birth and will be a patriot until I die.
However, while I may bleed red, white, and blue, I can’t say everyone else in America does – both citizens and government officials. And as we know, the 2nd Amendment has been a touchy subject across the United States in recent times. With changing laws and recent court cases, I’ve started to listen a bit more when my fellow gun owners talk to me about preparing for gun confiscation. In this past half year alone, I’ve been asked at least 10 different times by fellow gun owners on how to hide your guns from confiscation and/or potential martial law.
In this article, I’m going to cover why should start THINKING about the possibility of needing to prepare for gun confiscation, how gun confiscation might rear its head during martial law, and teach you how to hide your guns during confiscation.
As you read this, remember: the Oval Office has been gun friendly in recent times. Also, while there have been some instances of gun confiscation in America, confiscation isn’t something that is going to just happen tomorrow. The rule for off-chance occurrences (soldiers knocking at your door demanding your firearms, asteroids hitting your house, etc.) is to not worry about them.
HOWEVER, it’s good to know these things ahead of time and prepare. Because they could happen, and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down. Our job is to inform you on everything gun concealment related, we would be doing you a disservice by not covering one of the more extreme examples: when you need to hide your firearms from the government to protect your 2nd Amendment rights and your family.
“If it is time to bury your guns, then it is time to dig them back up”
-Tam, gun owner from Indianapolis
Table of Contents
Gun confiscation in America: what is the fear and when has it been realized?
Does the federal government protect against gun seizures?
What might gun confiscation in America look like?
How to hide your guns from confiscation and martial law
So, what are the odds?
Gun confiscation in America: what is the fear and when has it been realized?
We’ve all heard of the “end-of-days” scenarios where the government finally passes through enough “gun control” laws and mounts a full-scale attack on democracy, running through houses with gun sniffing dogs to confiscate guns, running concealed carry permits, etc. The general fear held by most anti-gun confiscation groups (which should probably include any and all gun owners) is the idea of the US government announcing martial law during an “emergency” and seizing all firearms to “maintain peace”.
Now, I have full trust in our great American democracy. I know that as long as we as gun owners stand up for our God given right to own firearms, we will be able to protect the gold.
However, I’m generally an optimist and there unfortunately have been moments in American history where gun confiscation HAS happened. For instance, take the Hurricane Katrina Gun Confiscation. You’ve all probably seen the below video (and if you haven’t already, watch it).
Pretty brutal.
Not really what you’d want to see your grandmother (or mother) go through. Some context: as New Orleans fell apart after Hurricane Katrina swept through the city, local law enforcement had ordered the confiscation of firearms from local residents to more easily herd them into localized areas (while evicting them from their homes).
New Orleans Superintendent P. Edwin Compass was recorded saying “no one will be able to be armed…guns will be taken. Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns”.
This brutal crackdown resulted in armed officers going door to door throughout New Orleans to law-abiding, 2nd Amendment practicing Americans houses, demanding their guns from them. These demands were frequently made at gunpoint (oh, the irony). Given the dangers of looting and crime during that time frame, it’s hard to say what gun owners in New Orleans felt like after being evicted out of their own homes and stripped of their firearms.
Does the federal government protect against gun seizures?
The short answer, as of today, is yes – the American government unequivocally and absolutely does protect against gun seizures and gun confiscation. As per 42 U.S. Code § 5207:
Prohibition on confiscation of firearms No officer or employee of the United States (including any member of the uniformed services), or person operating pursuant to or under color of Federal law, or receiving Federal funds, or under control of any Federal official, or providing services to such an officer, employee, or other person, while acting in support of relief from a major disaster or emergency, may—
temporarily or permanently seize, or authorize seizure of, any firearm the possession of which is not prohibited under Federal, State, or local law, other than for forfeiture in compliance with Federal law or as evidence in a criminal investigation;
require registration of any firearm for which registration is not required by Federal, State, or local law;
prohibit possession of any firearm, or promulgate any rule, regulation, or order prohibiting possession of any firearm, in any place or by any person where such possession is not otherwise prohibited by Federal, State, or local law; or prohibit the carrying of firearms by any person otherwise authorized to carry firearms under Federal, State, or local law, solely because such person is operating under the direction, control, or supervision of a Federal agency in support of relief from the major disaster or emergency.
In plain English, this means that under no normal circumstances, can any federal official confiscate your firearms during a disaster or emergency. However, does this mean states are prohibited from seizing/confiscating your firearms during an emergency?
For one example, let’s look at Texas law – specifically Government Code Chapter 418. This section of law allows the Texas government to suspend certain local laws during certain emergencies:
Sec. 418.003. LIMITATIONS. This chapter does not:
(5) except as provided by Section 418.184, authorize the seizure or confiscation of any firearm or ammunition from an individual who is lawfully carrying or possessing the firearm or ammunition;
Sec. 418.184. FIREARMS.
(a) A peace officer who is acting in the lawful execution of the officer’s official duties during a state of disaster may disarm an individual if the officer reasonably believes it is immediately necessary for the protection of the officer or another individual.
(b) The peace officer shall return a firearm and any ammunition to an individual disarmed under Subsection (a) before ceasing to detain the individual unless the officer:
(1) arrests the individual for engaging in criminal activity; or
(2) seizes the firearm as evidence in a criminal investigation.
As per this, there is no Texas law in place that allows for the disarming of citizens during emergencies (otherwise, most Texans would probably already know how to hide their guns from confiscation). The same rule goes for most other states as well.
What might gun confiscation in America look like?
If you watched the Hurricane Katrina gun confiscation video above, that’s more or less what any gun confiscation campaign would look like in America. Any government troops knocking on your door to ask for your guns probably aren’t going to ask too nicely. They know you have firearms, and likely feel that citizens owning firearms is a dangerous idea. Some likely scenarios/factors:
Armed soldiers
In online reports about the Hurricane Katrina gun confiscation, it was reported that police officers went door-to-door, holding citizens at gunpoint while interrogating them/searching their houses for firearms.
Gun sniffing dogs
Like drug sniffing dogs, gun sniffing dogs are trained by LEOs to sniff out any part of your gun. They can smell the powder, barrel, oil – anything. If you are trying to learn how to hide your guns from confiscation, taking gun sniffing dog into account while planning out gun concealment is crucial.
Radar and metal detectors
With radar and metal detector technology more powerful ever, LEOs will likely have equipment on them that can detect metal within a structure or in the ground. This makes hiding your guns from confiscation via burying them in walls or the ground difficult.
Existing knowledge of the guns you own
The officials searching your home for guns will have your Concealed Carry Permit records and records of any gun registries you’ve registered to. Thus, you should operate under the assumption that they know about your guns before they get to your front door.
Extensive knowledge of potential existing gun hiding spots in your house
The searchers in charge of any martial law gun confiscation will have searched many houses before yours. Thus, they will know many, if not most, nooks and crannies where you might hide your guns from confiscation.
Strong air of authority and potential aggression
As we’ve seen in the Hurricane Katrina video, some of these officials might be aggressive with you. As you won’t be able to protect your family if you get shot and killed, DO NOT physically resist in these scenarios.
How to hide your guns from confiscation and martial law
Now, things might seem a bit dire. I’ve just listed out some doomsday scenarios, with seemingly no relief in sight. However, as you’ve probably known by now, GMW always has solutions. Before proceeding, for the record: we are NOT suggesting for you to carry through and implement any of the below methodologies to hide your guns from confiscation.
However, these are tips and tricks to bear in mind as POSSIBILITIES for the “worst case scenario”. Remember, love your country – the USA is the best country on Earth. But also protect your 2nd Amendment rights.
Hide them in plain site
Yes – I did mention earlier that your searchers will probably know many if not most of your potential hiding spots. However, most does not mean all, and there’s a lot of room to get creative. Underneath shelves with a gun magnet, in air vents, inside a cereal box, inside your mattress…the list goes on. For a quick shortlist on how to hide a gun in your bedroom, click here.
Use gun concealment furniture
While some officials might have a keen eye for gun concealment furniture, some gun wardrobes are so well designed they can fool the naked eye. Read our guide on gun concealment furniture here.
Getting throw away guns or decoy guns
This is a tactic that has been advocated by many survivalists on how to hide your guns from confiscation via “giving up” a gun or two to satisfy searchers. If your guns are not registered in any gun registry and your searchers somehow have not done their homework/are in a rush, handing over a couple of cheap guns you don’t care about to keep them happy (government are bureaucratic – sometimes it just comes down to checking off a box) may keep them walking. This will allow you to keep your other guns that you’ve hidden more carefully.
Build your own gun
Want to go completely off the grid? Start thinking about 3D printed guns.
Get guns as gifts from friends
Get a gun as a gift, and it’ll be off any records under your name. However, the person who gave it to you may have it registered under his/her own name. Thus, be sure to collaborate ahead of time.
Bury your guns underground (with other pieces of metal lying around in the same area)
This method is one of the most common ways to hide your guns from confiscation. However, it’s a bit more complex than just burying your gun directly into the ground. The general protocol gun owners follow when burying their guns in the ground:
Disassemble and clean the firearm as per manufacturer standards
Oil the firearm
Place firearm into a PVC pipe with desiccant packets
Seal the PVC pipe
Bury the PVC pipe
This method protects your gun from moisture and protects from the elements. To learn how to keep your gun from rusting during long term storage, check out our more in-depth storage article here!
As for burying other pieces of metal around your firearm – government officials probably won’t run radar/metal detectors across every section of your property as doing so would be too expensive. Thus, burying “dummy” scrap in the same area you buried your firearm will cause their devices to first find the decoy scrap metal. After a few such discoveries, they might get discouraged and move on.
Build a hidden gun room
Do you have room in your basement to carve out a hidden gun room? It might be worth investing into, especially if you’re good with your hands. Once built, you’ll be able to mount your guns on the wall around your gun room.
Hide them in your car
Government officials searching your house will also probably be looking to check your car as well. However, if you have your car parked elsewhere away from your home with your guns hidden in it, it’s a mobile hiding spot. We covered 12 ways to hide your gun in your car here.
Report your gun as stolen
This is a highly illegal and not advisable, and definitely NOT something that GMW supports and is suggesting you to do. But if the day comes when you need to start talking about burying your guns, well….
In this scenario, you would report your gun as stolen after hiding it in a secret location ahead of time before government officials come to take away your guns.
Store your guns in offsite locations away from your home
Hiding your guns in other properties that you own might be risky because those properties are linked to your name. Thus, this tactic involves hiding your guns in secluded areas with easily identifiable landmarks.
Such areas would not be linked to your name and would not be easy to find. Many gun owners hide guns buried in the ground in secluded, wooded areas near their house in case of “doomsday” confiscation scenarios, as seen in the video below.
So, what are the odds?
What are the odds of the US government knocking on your door to take away your guns? In this day and age, it’s hard to say, but within the next few years, not very likely.
However, you never can know for certain what might happen in our current political and social climate, and it never hurts to be ready. It’s certainly never too early to learn how to hide your gun from confiscation, because when it comes, you might not see it coming.
Gun confiscation in America is a complex issue, and the best you can do is prepare for the worst to protect yourself and your family.
Thoughts? Comments? If so, shoot us an email at support@gunmagnetworld.com or comment in the comment section below. Or, share this post on Twitter or Facebook and see what your friends think!
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How to Hide Your Guns from Confiscation and Martial Law: Preparing for Gun Confiscation
The GMW Gun Hooks with Cable Gun Lock Hole and the GMW AR15 Wall Mount. Now available now on Amazon.com.
BUY NOW
BUY NOW
The GMW PMAG Wall Mount. Now available now on Amazon.com.
BUY NOW
Yep, you read that title right. I know – I sound like my tin foil hat is a bit tight right now. It’s 2018 – why would you need to learn how to hide your guns from confiscation? Gun confiscation in America hasn’t happened yet – what’s there to worry about? My response to that: the key word is in that sentence is “yet”.
Before I go any further into this article, I’ll start off by letting you know that I’ve been a patriot from birth and will be a patriot until I die.
However, while I may bleed red, white, and blue, I can’t say everyone else in America does – both citizens and government officials. And as we know, the 2nd Amendment has been a touchy subject across the United States in recent times. With changing laws and recent court cases, I’ve started to listen a bit more when my fellow gun owners talk to me about preparing for gun confiscation. In this past half year alone, I’ve been asked at least 10 different times by fellow gun owners on how to hide your guns from confiscation and/or potential martial law.
In this article, I’m going to cover why should start THINKING about the possibility of needing to prepare for gun confiscation, how gun confiscation might rear its head during martial law, and teach you how to hide your guns during confiscation.
As you read this, remember: the Oval Office has been gun friendly in recent times. Also, while there have been some instances of gun confiscation in America, confiscation isn’t something that is going to just happen tomorrow. The rule for off-chance occurrences (soldiers knocking at your door demanding your firearms, asteroids hitting your house, etc.) is to not worry about them.
HOWEVER, it’s good to know these things ahead of time and prepare. Because they could happen, and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down. Our job is to inform you on everything gun concealment related, we would be doing you a disservice by not covering one of the more extreme examples: when you need to hide your firearms from the government to protect your 2nd Amendment rights and your family.
“If it is time to bury your guns, then it is time to dig them back up”
-Tam, gun owner from Indianapolis
Table of Contents
Gun confiscation in America: what is the fear and when has it been realized?
Does the federal government protect against gun seizures?
What might gun confiscation in America look like?
How to hide your guns from confiscation and martial law
So, what are the odds?
Gun confiscation in America: what is the fear and when has it been realized?
We’ve all heard of the “end-of-days” scenarios where the government finally passes through enough “gun control” laws and mounts a full-scale attack on democracy, running through houses with gun sniffing dogs to confiscate guns, running concealed carry permits, etc. The general fear held by most anti-gun confiscation groups (which should probably include any and all gun owners) is the idea of the US government announcing martial law during an “emergency” and seizing all firearms to “maintain peace”.
Now, I have full trust in our great American democracy. I know that as long as we as gun owners stand up for our God given right to own firearms, we will be able to protect the gold.
However, I’m generally an optimist and there unfortunately have been moments in American history where gun confiscation HAS happened. For instance, take the Hurricane Katrina Gun Confiscation. You’ve all probably seen the below video (and if you haven’t already, watch it).
Pretty brutal.
Not really what you’d want to see your grandmother (or mother) go through. Some context: as New Orleans fell apart after Hurricane Katrina swept through the city, local law enforcement had ordered the confiscation of firearms from local residents to more easily herd them into localized areas (while evicting them from their homes).
New Orleans Superintendent P. Edwin Compass was recorded saying “no one will be able to be armed…guns will be taken. Only law enforcement will be allowed to have guns”.
This brutal crackdown resulted in armed officers going door to door throughout New Orleans to law-abiding, 2nd Amendment practicing Americans houses, demanding their guns from them. These demands were frequently made at gunpoint (oh, the irony). Given the dangers of looting and crime during that time frame, it’s hard to say what gun owners in New Orleans felt like after being evicted out of their own homes and stripped of their firearms.
Does the federal government protect against gun seizures?
The short answer, as of today, is yes – the American government unequivocally and absolutely does protect against gun seizures and gun confiscation. As per 42 U.S. Code § 5207:
In plain English, this means that under no normal circumstances, can any federal official confiscate your firearms during a disaster or emergency. However, does this mean states are prohibited from seizing/confiscating your firearms during an emergency?
For one example, let’s look at Texas law – specifically Government Code Chapter 418. This section of law allows the Texas government to suspend certain local laws during certain emergencies:
As per this, there is no Texas law in place that allows for the disarming of citizens during emergencies (otherwise, most Texans would probably already know how to hide their guns from confiscation). The same rule goes for most other states as well.
What might gun confiscation in America look like?
If you watched the Hurricane Katrina gun confiscation video above, that’s more or less what any gun confiscation campaign would look like in America. Any government troops knocking on your door to ask for your guns probably aren’t going to ask too nicely. They know you have firearms, and likely feel that citizens owning firearms is a dangerous idea. Some likely scenarios/factors:
Armed soldiers
In online reports about the Hurricane Katrina gun confiscation, it was reported that police officers went door-to-door, holding citizens at gunpoint while interrogating them/searching their houses for firearms.
Gun sniffing dogs
Like drug sniffing dogs, gun sniffing dogs are trained by LEOs to sniff out any part of your gun. They can smell the powder, barrel, oil – anything. If you are trying to learn how to hide your guns from confiscation, taking gun sniffing dog into account while planning out gun concealment is crucial.
Radar and metal detectors
With radar and metal detector technology more powerful ever, LEOs will likely have equipment on them that can detect metal within a structure or in the ground. This makes hiding your guns from confiscation via burying them in walls or the ground difficult.
Existing knowledge of the guns you own
The officials searching your home for guns will have your Concealed Carry Permit records and records of any gun registries you’ve registered to. Thus, you should operate under the assumption that they know about your guns before they get to your front door.
Extensive knowledge of potential existing gun hiding spots in your house
The searchers in charge of any martial law gun confiscation will have searched many houses before yours. Thus, they will know many, if not most, nooks and crannies where you might hide your guns from confiscation.
Strong air of authority and potential aggression
How to hide your guns from confiscation and martial law
Now, things might seem a bit dire. I’ve just listed out some doomsday scenarios, with seemingly no relief in sight. However, as you’ve probably known by now, GMW always has solutions. Before proceeding, for the record: we are NOT suggesting for you to carry through and implement any of the below methodologies to hide your guns from confiscation.
However, these are tips and tricks to bear in mind as POSSIBILITIES for the “worst case scenario”. Remember, love your country – the USA is the best country on Earth. But also protect your 2nd Amendment rights.
Hide them in plain site
Yes – I did mention earlier that your searchers will probably know many if not most of your potential hiding spots. However, most does not mean all, and there’s a lot of room to get creative. Underneath shelves with a gun magnet, in air vents, inside a cereal box, inside your mattress…the list goes on. For a quick shortlist on how to hide a gun in your bedroom, click here.
Use gun concealment furniture
While some officials might have a keen eye for gun concealment furniture, some gun wardrobes are so well designed they can fool the naked eye. Read our guide on gun concealment furniture here.
Getting throw away guns or decoy guns
This is a tactic that has been advocated by many survivalists on how to hide your guns from confiscation via “giving up” a gun or two to satisfy searchers. If your guns are not registered in any gun registry and your searchers somehow have not done their homework/are in a rush, handing over a couple of cheap guns you don’t care about to keep them happy (government are bureaucratic – sometimes it just comes down to checking off a box) may keep them walking. This will allow you to keep your other guns that you’ve hidden more carefully.
Build your own gun
Want to go completely off the grid? Start thinking about 3D printed guns.
Get guns as gifts from friends
Get a gun as a gift, and it’ll be off any records under your name. However, the person who gave it to you may have it registered under his/her own name. Thus, be sure to collaborate ahead of time.
Bury your guns underground (with other pieces of metal lying around in the same area)
This method is one of the most common ways to hide your guns from confiscation. However, it’s a bit more complex than just burying your gun directly into the ground. The general protocol gun owners follow when burying their guns in the ground:
This method protects your gun from moisture and protects from the elements. To learn how to keep your gun from rusting during long term storage, check out our more in-depth storage article here!
As for burying other pieces of metal around your firearm – government officials probably won’t run radar/metal detectors across every section of your property as doing so would be too expensive. Thus, burying “dummy” scrap in the same area you buried your firearm will cause their devices to first find the decoy scrap metal. After a few such discoveries, they might get discouraged and move on.
Build a hidden gun room
Do you have room in your basement to carve out a hidden gun room? It might be worth investing into, especially if you’re good with your hands. Once built, you’ll be able to mount your guns on the wall around your gun room.
Hide them in your car
Government officials searching your house will also probably be looking to check your car as well. However, if you have your car parked elsewhere away from your home with your guns hidden in it, it’s a mobile hiding spot. We covered 12 ways to hide your gun in your car here.
Report your gun as stolen
In this scenario, you would report your gun as stolen after hiding it in a secret location ahead of time before government officials come to take away your guns.
Store your guns in offsite locations away from your home
Hiding your guns in other properties that you own might be risky because those properties are linked to your name. Thus, this tactic involves hiding your guns in secluded areas with easily identifiable landmarks.
Such areas would not be linked to your name and would not be easy to find. Many gun owners hide guns buried in the ground in secluded, wooded areas near their house in case of “doomsday” confiscation scenarios, as seen in the video below.
So, what are the odds?
What are the odds of the US government knocking on your door to take away your guns? In this day and age, it’s hard to say, but within the next few years, not very likely.
However, you never can know for certain what might happen in our current political and social climate, and it never hurts to be ready. It’s certainly never too early to learn how to hide your gun from confiscation, because when it comes, you might not see it coming.
Gun confiscation in America is a complex issue, and the best you can do is prepare for the worst to protect yourself and your family.
Thoughts? Comments? If so, shoot us an email at support@gunmagnetworld.com or comment in the comment section below. Or, share this post on Twitter or Facebook and see what your friends think!