Choosing the right bolts for gun cabinets is just as important as choosing the right gun cabinet in the first place. Firearm and shotgun owners in the UK are legally required to store guns securely. Yes, the Police will come round and check your install, but ultimately – you are responsible. Choose the wrong fixings when installing your gun cabinet can lead to a failed inspection by the FEO or compromise the safety of your guns even if it does get a pass. Understanding the correct bolts to use when it comes to gun cabinets, materials and installation methods will help ensure you remain compliant and avoid any disappointment come inspection day.

There isn’t any set size in terms of the size of bolt you should use when it comes to bolting down your gun cabinet. The general rule is that fixings are at least 10mm in diameter. More often than not, and certainly with all of the gun cabinets we supply, there will be at least four fixing holes (or pre-drilled holes) and you should look to fix into as many as possible.

We’ve become aware that more and more forces are now requiring you to fix into both the floor and the wall. Any decent gun cabinet will have pre-drilled holes in both the floor and wall anyway so it shouldn’t be an issue – just be mindful that some cheap cabinets available on online market places may not. We know that Warwickshire Police in particular over the last year have insisted on fixings into both the floor and wall. Personally, we would agree. It takes a few more minutes to install the extra bolts and offers significant gains in terms of security. Take a look at the HuntGuard Rangemore 5 Gun – it has pre-drilled fixing holes in the floor and the wall.

The key takeaway is simple: the bolts you choose must be strong enough to prevent the cabinet from being removed or pried away from the wall and the floor.

Several bolt types are commonly used when securing gun cabinets. Many gun cabinets now come supplied with fixing bolts already. More often than not, they are expansion or sleeve bolts. Just be mindful that although they are not terrible, many of these ‘free’ bolts are often poor quality. We’ve had a number of customers who have later gone on to purchase our gun cabinet fixing kit, simply because the bolts that came with their cabinet have snapped half way through installing. We’ll talk about this further down because it can be a nightmare to sort out if it happens, but something to keep in mind!

Installing a gun cabinet is easy. With basic DIY skills, you will have a gun cabinet like our HuntGuard Rangemore 3 gun installed in under 30 minutes. The biggest issue when it comes to an install is a snapped expansion bolt. You’ve took the time to measure up where your cabinet is going to go – you’ve checked for pipes and everything else behind before you start drilling and you finally conclude with a number of pre-drilled holes ready to place the anchor bolt in. You tighten and mid-depth your bolt snaps. It happens all the time with cheap gun cabinet bolts. Depending on how far the expansion bolt has already expanded will determine how quickly you can rectify the issue. More often than not, you will have to either drill the anchor out of the hole or move the cabinet to a new position. We always advise to purchase quality bolts – whether you buy our gun cabinet fixing kit or one from somewhere else - invest in quality bolts from the outset and your install will be a breeze.

Invest in quality bolts from the start. Unless you move or replace your cabinet, they'll last forever. This premium gun cabinet fixing kit has everything you would need to install into brick, masonry and timber - plus it comes with a free carbide drill bit and they won't snap!