Gun storage is sometimes a real PITA, as it were. As the collection grows, you sometimes wonder, “Where am I supposed to put all this stuff?” And as a guy raised with the mantra of, “A place for everything, and everything in its place” putting pistols on a shelf in a haphazard fashion is no bueno. But then I found these Handgun Hangers from Gun Storage Solutions and now life is better and more organized . . .
The Handgun Hangar is a simple piece of metal wire bent into a functional shape and dipped in a rubberized coating that protects the gun from being scratched by the metal. Just clip them on any shelf you have available, slide your pistol barrel first onto the hangar, and you’re done. The metal seems to be robust and springy which helps it hold piggy pistols like an XD(M) and also fits on a variety of shelf widths.
Some of the reviews on Amazon indicated that buyers had issues with Handgun Hangers not working on .22 LR pistols, but I didn’t have any issues storing several Ruger pistols on the Hanger. Your mileage obviously might vary.
The other issue, and this is not really a reflection on the Hanger itself is that it doesn’t work that well with RDS equipped pistols like my M&P 9 from Apex Tactical. I’ve currently got it stored using the Hanger, but instead of sliding the pistol straight forward, you have to cock it to the side, slide it forward, and then rotate the pistol vertical to help the RDS clear the metal wire. Once done though, it is VERY secure in this configuration.
Specifications: Gun Storage Solutions Handgun Hanger
- For guns with an overall length of 10″ or shorter.
- Fits on shelves 5/8″ – 1″ thick.
- Vinyl Coated
- Fits as small as a 22 caliber
- Price: $19.95 for a 4 pack. Available on Amazon Prime for $19.39
Ratings (out of five stars):
Fit, Function, Quality * * * * *
The Handgun Hangers are quite robust and seemed to fit a variety of handgun sizes. The rubberized coating is well applied and even after many cycles of guns going on and off, it has held up very well. The metal used has a good deal of spring to it, and had no difficulty grabbing shelves of different sizes.
Overall * * * * *
This is an excellent product whose simplicity belies its functionality. And at roughly ~$5/Hanger it is a pretty good deal. Especially when you consider the cost of of a newer, bigger safe for your pistol collection. If you have a decent sized collection of handguns going, an appropriate amount of 4 packs should be mandatory.
Why isn’t there a “Price/Availability” segment in such reviews?
I’m confused. Do you mean in ALL TTAG reviews or this one?
If he means all reviews I’m not sure why he brought it up here…
It’s not a bad point though. That new Kel-Tec model might be cool as hell, but if it’s only available for a hundred dollars (or more) over MSRP on Gunbroker that fact is certainly relevant to the review.
EDIT: Good review by the way. I might have to grab a few of these. I’m a shameless Amazon shopping addict.
I’ve done something similar with pegboard and straight “hooks.” Simple but useful product that may find a good market.
^^this.
I screwed pegboard to the inside of the safe door using spacers between the peg board and the door. Then use hooks to hang the gats on the door via trigger guards.
I’ve have 2 packs of these hooks for my growing collection. While they do work you wind up inching the guns closer together to pack “just one more” pistol into the space, and eventually you wind up with guns that are clinking together every time you try and extract one. there’s also the dead space left behind the gun when it’s hanging which you’ll invariably want to try and “fill” with something and then have to develop a way to wiggle it out. I’d say, if you have a shallow safe these will probably be awesome. Otherwise if you have a (moderately) deep safe you might start to hate them. I haven’t ditched mine yet, but I’m definitely looking for something better.
sota – see my comment below for “something better”.
@sota – Gun Storage Solutions has a whole line of Handgun Hangers for different places on your shelf. If you are concerned about loosing space behind the guns stored on the Original Handgun Hangers mentioned in this article, use Back-Under Handgun Hangers along with them. They will fill up the back of the shelf with even MORE guns! There are also Handgun Hangers that will store guns on the top of the shelf. Check them all out here – http://www.storemoreguns.com/collections/gun-safe-accessories/handgun-hangers
Rifle Rods are a similar solution for your long guns. Check those out too!
Until I read the part about the rubberized coating, I was wary about it ruining the rifling.
….Still am a little bit about when the “rubberized coating” wears off though.
Jon, I’ve had mine for about 3 years or so now. No issues with the coating coming off at all. And, trust me, I keep an eye on it as I was wary of the same thing. No issues so far.
Much more fearful of using them on my 22s. You have to remove the end-cap to do so. Much more likely to have the coating wear off on that end section at it will have the most contact with the BBL (and end of the gun whilst you are fiddling with getting it lined up with the BBL).
Seems more like a candidate for “What could possibly go wrong.” Maybe it’s because of the picture, where it looks like its hung under a park bench. Brochure should say: Hangs handily under any restaurant table so you can be prepared in case someone comes collecting for Jabba the Hut. Caution Never, ever, have your back to the door.
Looked more like a table at a shooting range to me, not a park bench.
As the collection grows, you sometimes wonder, “Where am I supposed to put all this stuff?”
Sell some guns. Or take them to a buyback. Problem solved.
😉
Buyback? Sure, if you want to get a $25 gift card for a $500 gun.
You’re a funny guy…Rokurota.
Bought six of these at the NRA national convention last year. Handy space-savers!
Been using the hangers for a few years. Love them, hands down. I fill the space behind them with things I am not likely to have to get to very often (odds and sods). Or you can hang these in front of the long guns and save lots of critical shelf space for the 3572 magazines that also have to fit in the safe. What? Doesn’t everyone have that problem? 😉
Just on the off-hand: They also make ‘reverse hangers’ that point towards the front of the safe. I have used these hanging from the REAR of the safe shelf (which would then orient the muzzle rearward again). This gets you back your ‘lost’ shelf space again.
I would guess that those that have issue with .22s working are not removing the little rubber cap that you install on the end. It MUST be removed to fit in a .22. The end is still coated and, as long as you take care of it, it should last a long time without the coating being scraped off. Once it reaches that stage though, I’d swap it out for another one and just stick the rubber cap on that scrapped one and recycle it for a larger caliber handgun.
And no conversation about handgun hangers should go without mentioning their other product: Rifle Rods. Best safe organization accessory, ever. Tired of not being able to get 13 guns into that “22 gun” safe? You can with Rifle Rods. So much easier to organize, to ‘re-organize’ (when you just have to squeeze in ‘one more FA’, and you don’t have FAs leaning all over the place that all have to be moved to get at that one gun in the back.
I have these and have used them for several years. I quite like them. I had the same issue with .22, but popping the rubber cap off the end took care of it.
So far I haven’t had a problem with the coating coming off.
Another option for the space-challenged accumulator of handguns is a silicone-treated, breathable fuzzy-padding fabric pouch (varying sizes available for pistol and long guns) called Bore Stores, available at http://borestores.com, and from many retailers. I have used these for years, and they are great for piling the handguns up as deep as the shelf. Hard to locate an individual gun when you want it, but opening all of the Velcro flaps is sort of like Christmas – you never know what will be in there. They do NOT hold in the moisture (like sheepskin, leather, or vinyl cases), and they are padded enough that you don’t worry about the guns dinging each other. They run around $5-10 each for the pistol sizes.
I laughed at the Christmas present reference. I sometimes get that way just opening up the safes. Mmmmms. Goodies.
I’d love it if Santa could squeeze a few more surprises in there. Wouldn’t that be great 😀
Yeah, but do we want to trust some guy in a fake beard who uses the chimney to enter our house (when all are asleep), by leaving the gun safe open on Christmas Eve?
If the old carpetbagger can magic himself down vent holes in houses without chimneys, he can ‘poof’ new FAs into my safe 😀
Besides, you just described how my uncle Ivan comes to Chrismas every year. Except Santa isn’t usually on his 5th vodka 😉
Or uncle Ivan IS Santa. In which case we need to have a talk.
Silicone impregnated soft dry cases from Bore Stores are great. I’ve used them for a few years now also and they are an outstanding solution for all the reasons you state. I bought extra to allow for…growth.
The site for Gun Storage Solutions states “Handgun Hangers provide an innovative way to store pistols by utilizing the wasted space underneath the shelf.” There is no such animal as “wasted space underneath” in any safe I own. What I need is to buy another large safe instead of more guns. I did however notice that they have a product that would be handy for organizing and attaching extra mags to the safe wall or under the shelves; 2 Pack of magnet strips called Multi-Mags. Those would be very useful.
I used these for a while, but then moved to handgun holders with velcro on them that I can put all over the interior doors and walls. Much easier to get the handguns in/out of the safe than with the wire things.
You can actually see the interior walls of your safe? I’m impressed. 😉
This appears to be the same item for considerably less:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AWHLTYM
That’s where I got them.
@jans – This version on Amazon does “appear” to be the same product, but I assure you they are NOT made in America by Gun Storage Solutions. This is a Chinese, counterfeit company that has stolen a considerable amount of business away from our American dealers. If you choose to buy the cheaper, counterfeit version of this product, that is what you will get, a cheaper version. Gun Storage Solutions has tested this product and is an inferior product where the plastic coating peels off easily and does not work on .22s.
Please support Gun Storage Solutions! We are a family owned business, we invented this product and have chosen to have it MADE in the USA. 6 years have gone into inventing, developing and marketing this product. The Chinese are able to sell these products so cheap on Amazon because they are indeed cheap and they have no overhead costs to figure into the price.
It sounds like many of you have bought direct from GSS or one of our dealers, so THANK YOU for your support of our business! You have supported our livelihood and a true American Dream!
Not a bad idea, in general. You can make something substantially similar yourself, for probably less, though. You’d want to be particularly cautious about safe handling. I can just imagine how a negligent discharge would take on new and even worse proportions with a metal rod inserted in the barrel. Overall, it looks like a simple and effective space multiplier.
Made my own out of Whatever gauge wire from Lowe’s and plasti-dip. $12 for four!
No wire hangers! No wire hangers EVER!
Nice one, Ralphie Dearest.
That can’t be good for the barrel, especially the crown.
There’s a reason we clean from the chamber and not the muzzle.
I use Rare earth magnets from a couple of old hard drives to hold my 9mm firmly under my desk at work.. been there for years.
I use their rifle rod system and it’s great but, not the pistol hangers. For that I made my own out of 1/8″ rod welded to a piece of bar stock that is bolted to the top shelf. I then covered each rod with a piece of flexible PVC and plastic tip so that there’s no chance for damage. Only drawback is that I can’t store anything smaller than a .380. It’s worth it though. I have 13 pistols floating above the top shelf of my safe with no space lost whatsoever.
I use these in my gun safe, GREAT way to store handguns…utilizes otherwise empty space…my handguns are loaded at ALL times, even in the safe, that way all I have to do is grab one and go, no loading, racking, etc, just grab and go…2 thumbs up…
I store a couple of guns this way for CCW purposes. Had to stop storing my Shield 9mm with one in the pipe because the barrel is so short that the post made contact with the end of the round. No matter how careful I put it in the safe just the weight of the gun would put enough pressure on the round that it would actually crimp the petals of the hollow point together in short order.
I own a set of these and definitely use them for 2 or 3 of my lesser-used guns. They work wonderfully! My only problem with them–and this is not a criticism of the product as much as it is of my usage–is that the one gun I store loaded on this (a Glock 35 with 16 rounds on board) REALLY pulls down on the thing. But, no steel of this gauge can change gravity pulling down on such a heavy load. I just like keeping a loaded gun right at the front just in case I am ever forced to open the safe…
I’m not stuffing anything down the muzzle of my firearms.
Tyler – Thank you for writing this article and supporting an American Made product! It was a fair and honest review, which Gun Storage Solutions appreciates.
Be sure to check out our other products – the full Handgun Hanger line, Rifle Rods and our magazine storage products.
Cheers!
– Katie Stephey, Gun Storage Solutions Marketing Director
Use brass, doesn’t leave a mark. All my cleaning rods are brass from I/8th. and up. Always give yourself room for a smooth draw and keep your back to a wall with you facing entry!
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