Sanctions for violation of weapons storage requirements
Repeated attempts to violate the established procedure may result in deprivation of the license for a two-year period, according to Article 20.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. When negligent possession results in the death of a person, the liability increases. The perpetrator is charged with a criminal offense, threatening imprisonment for up to 12 months (Article 224 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The dimensions of cabinets or structures for storing shooting accessories are not regulated in detail. The degree of secrecy, fire resistance and burglary resistance is not indicated. There will be no need for armored door frames and doors to the premises, bars on windows, or installation of a sound alarm.
Common offenses include the following:
- absence or expired license;
- the owner has a loaded weapon;
- an unlocked box or steel safe;
- improper storage of the rifle and bandoleer;
- free access for adults and young family members.
The requirements for a safe for storing traumatic weapons do not take into account special fasteners for the box, and there is no need for bolted fastening to ensure a stationary position. Metal cabinets or wooden boxes lined with metal are suitable for storing ammunition. If a citizen is on a trip, the procedure for keeping firearms in places of temporary stay is not regulated. It is important not to allow strangers to the high-risk facility. Athletes are allowed to leave their rifle arsenal at shooting ranges where sport shooting competitions are taking place.
Safe Law
Supreme Court makes life easier for gun owners
From now on, the requirement to store weapons in a special safe screwed to the wall no longer applies to those who keep them at a location other than their permanent place of registration. Recently, a decision of the Supreme Court (SC) came into force, according to which the rule of the Ministry of Internal Affairs instructions on control over the circulation of civilian and service weapons and ammunition in the part “obliges citizens of the Russian Federation to store weapons and ammunition belonging to them at the place of stay in locked safes or metal cabinets, boxes made of high-strength materials or in wooden boxes lined with iron” is no longer valid. The only requirement for gun owners in such cases is to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing “dangerous toys.”
True, exactly how to prevent this and who should be considered “outsiders” remains unclear. In addition, a new legal conflict arose. On the one hand, this decision is fair in relation to, for example, hunters who do not need to take a gun safe with them along with their tent, or to military personnel who lead a nomadic lifestyle due to their profession. On the other hand, it turns out that those who store weapons where they are permanently registered must fulfill special requirements: acquire safes, metal cabinets and high-strength boxes and receive a local police officer for inspections. And those who live, for example, in a rented apartment, but are registered elsewhere, are now spared from these ceremonies.
The formal requirement to carry safes with you and have them everywhere possible caused dissatisfaction among many people who have the right to keep weapons, especially hunters. Not only is the safe not a light burden, it also needs to be screwed to the wall. How can you do this, for example, if you live in a tarpaulin tent in the forest? No way. There are no special safes in most hotels or holiday homes. But any guardian of order will have a reason to find fault - if there are rules, then they must be followed.
Apparently, one of our fellow citizens, Alexander Litovchenko, was so offended by this that he appealed to the Supreme Court with a demand to cancel what he considered an absurd rule. He won the dispute with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and largely due to the fact that at one time the rule-makers who created the instructions got a little confused with the definitions of “place of residence” and “place of stay”, did not decipher and clarify them, and this, in turn, gave rise to many problems.
As stated in the decision of the Supreme Court, the federal law “On Weapons” obliges owners to store shotguns, pistols, rifles and cartridges for them in conditions that ensure safety, security of storage and exclude access to unauthorized persons. The storage conditions were determined by the government in its resolution “On measures to regulate the circulation of civilian and service weapons”, supplementing it with relevant rules. These rules say that citizens must store such things at their place of residence in the above-mentioned safes, special cabinets or drawers. In this case, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have the right to verify the fulfillment of these conditions.
The same rules state that storage at the place of temporary residence of citizens “must be carried out in compliance with conditions that exclude access to weapons by unauthorized persons,” and there is no talk of any safes. But the instructions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs require them to be in temporary shelter.
As a normative act, an instruction is lower in rank than a government decree, and especially a federal law, and it turns out that by introducing a new rule, the police came into conflict with it. The controversial point of the instructions literally sounded like this: “they must store weapons at their place of residence (at their place of stay) ...”
It was the content of these brackets that Mr. Litovchenko asked to cancel. Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Supreme Court argued that “the concept of “place of residence” includes both the place of residence and the place of stay.” But the court did not agree with this. “By virtue of the law of the Russian Federation “On the right of citizens of the Russian Federation to freedom of movement, choice of place of stay and residence within the Russian Federation,” place of residence is understood to be a residential premises in which a citizen permanently or primarily resides as the owner, under a tenancy agreement, lease agreement or other grounds. And under the place of stay - a hotel, sanatorium, rest home, boarding house, camping site, tourist center, hospital, other similar institution, as well as residential premises that are not the citizen’s place of residence, in which he resides temporarily, the court decision says. — In the rules for the circulation of weapons, along with the concept of “place of residence,” the concept of “place of temporary residence” is used and various legal regulations for the storage of weapons are established, and the concept of “place of residence” does not cover the concept of “place of temporary residence.”
Thus, the Armed Forces made it possible for hunters to safely hunt and store guns in tents, hotels and campsites without safes screwed to the tarpaulin, as long as they did not allow strangers into it, but at the same time made it possible for many others to avoid the established general procedure for storing weapons. Since the Civil Procedure Code prohibits the issuance of regulations to replace those canceled by the courts, no new changes will be made to the instructions.
Ekaterina BUTORINA,
News Time
Requirements for a safe for storing hunting weapons
Government Decree No. 814, which was amended until the last ten days of 2021, provides detailed instructions on the permanent locations of firearms. The instructions apply to weapon cartridges, gunpowder, primers, flammable substances and ignition initiators. We are talking about ammunition purchased officially at specialized sales points, manufactured independently for hunting. Our employees will help you understand the nuances of legislation in order to acquire a suitable safe model that meets regulatory security characteristics.
The following reasonable requirements are imposed on lockable cabinets:
- you will need to install at least two locks;
- the cartridge compartment must be locked;
- walls of a safe with a bandoleer - 3 millimeters;
- metal thickness – 2 millimeters or more.
Steel boxes must be screwed with anchor bolts to the floor or main wall of a residential structure if the total weight of the structure does not exceed one ton. The owner will have to acquire two anchors for proper fastening, the thread diameter of which is 16 millimeters. The legislation prescribes minimum standards, and the overall dimensions of door frames and additional precautions are left to the discretion of individuals, taking into account civil liability.
If a hunter or collector of ancient artifacts wishes, then it is allowed to equip an entire room for firearms. Such construction and refurbishment will cost more than a traditional hunting safe. You will need to install a security and fire alarm system, a burglar-resistant fire door and welded grilles in the window openings. A person who has received a license has the right to have unrestricted access to the premises. The presence of other family members is possible along with the owner of the arsenal.
Permitted types of locks:
- lever - a mechanical locking method is used using a key;
- with code – opens after typing a secret combination on the numeric keyboard;
- electronic – a magnetic key is used, fingerprints are used, the retina is scanned;
- combined – a complex combination of two or more door locking methods.
A securely fixed ammunition box must not be installed closer than one meter to heating appliances, chimneys, heaters, gas or electric stoves. The standard distance to the front door is 1.5 m, to the nearest window – 0.5 m. The gun cabinet should not interfere with the opening of doors or window transoms. It is better to hide the inventory from the eyes of visitors or guests. Installation in children's rooms is prohibited. A visit to a local police officer for an inspection occurs unexpectedly, so following the instructions will save money and nerves. Resourceful inspectors ask relatives to show equipment in order to provoke a violation.
Requirements for a gun cabinet
The owner must store weapons in places that prevent the gun or pistol from falling into the hands of strangers. To avoid disagreements regarding the availability of weapons, rules have been developed for installing a gun safe in an apartment. They are aimed at ensuring the safety of citizens from weapons falling into the wrong hands.
Gun cabinet locking mechanisms can be one of three types:
- lock with keys;
- code;
- electronic.
Reliability is ensured by at least two locks when one of them is blocked before the second is opened. This is important to consider when deciding which gun safe to choose.
What type of safe is needed for rifled weapons?
Some types of firearms are not subject to restrictions. Without registration and special conditions, it is allowed to store specialized equipment, gaming or props, the appearance of which is similar to a pistol or revolver, in private housing. If the muzzle energy of a rifle or pistol is less than or equal to 3 J, then such traumatic accessories and components do not require official permits from government agencies.
An additional list concerns pistols that can be kept at home:
- pneumatic operating principle;
- caliber less than six millimeters;
- signal, sports, starting.
Our staff will help you choose the appropriate safe based on the dimensions of the stored equipment. We will help you determine the type, size and design of the internal filling. The company's catalog contains safes of various price categories, fully adapted to the specific tasks of hunters, collectors, law enforcement officers and paramilitary security companies. Weapon models of armored cabinets are divided into categories: pistol, with armored glass, elite, for smooth-bore or rifled subcategories.
We will advise you on the issues of attaching a large product to a wall or floor, equipping a separate room in an apartment, office or private house. Let's double-check the need to purchase specialized cabinets or purchase classic modifications. Comprehensive services simplify the task of storing weapons, guarantee compliance with safety standards and legal requirements.
Storing weapons at home
The size of the weapons cabinet depends on the type of weapon and its quantity. Experienced owners purchase a device for storing guns “with a reserve”, of a larger size, because the number of units may increase over time. This determines the size of gun safes. The depth of 35 cm will allow regular shotguns to fit perfectly, but weapons with optical sights will require a deeper cabinet. The width of the safe should be more than 50 cm. The height of the storage should be equal to the length of the gun, plus the height of the treyzer and another 30 cm. A long-barreled carbine will require a gun cabinet of 175 cm.
Best Gun Safes
Below is a list of the most popular storage facilities. The rating of gun safes includes the following models, which are recognized as the best according to customer reviews in 2021. These are products from well-known brands that manufacture gun cabinets:
- AIKO "Berkut 150", with two locks, can accommodate 4 guns;
- VALBERG "Arsenal 148T" for 4 barrels.
For pistols, the AIKO “TT-28” was named the best container. The list of the best gun safe companies is topped by the German company Promet, owner of the AIKO and Valberg brands. It is a well-known manufacturer of gun cabinets and fireproof storage.
