Independence from Gun Clutter

I am not easily impressed. I worked in the space program for a number of years, and worked on many exciting high tech projects. Many of the “gadgets” we see today in the commercial markets I had reviewed 20 years ago in aerospace or defense applications. I left the space program and started a technology consulting firm that would become one of the leading high-tech organizational development start-up consultancies in North America. Over the past 17 years we have led start-up efforts for advanced technology companies in everything from telecommunications to defense to optics to information technology. I work in advanced technology still today. Yet, in all the technological applications I have witnessed, sometimes it is the simple things that mean the most. The subject of this article is not really high tech, but one of the best designs for its intended purpose that I have seen in a long time.

Campbell Industrial Supply in Sanger, California has created an innovative Rotary Gun Rack product that truly fills the bill for those wanting to better manage their long gun collection. They started building a great rotary gun rack several years ago with a quality retention band system to keep the long gun from coming off the rack when rotated. This system works well and is still in use today in their retention band rotary gun rack products. But, what caught my eye at SHOT 08, and again at the 2008 NRA Show, was their Magnetic Rotary Gun Rack products. So, Chris at Campbell sent us some of these products for test and evaluation, and they are great.

We have promoted Heritage gun safes for many years now, and still do so. We consider Heritage safes some of the finest on the market, and the Heritage Traditions safe is the only safe on the market that gets the Gunblast.com endorsement, and the only company that offers the Gunblast.com Limited Edition model. Coming soon is an article on a new Gunblast.com Limited Edition model test, as well as an opportunity for our readers to now purchase these great limited edition safes at super prices. Campbell also offers high-quality pistol racks made specifically for gun safes, and we will provide information on them at a later date in another article.

Many of our readers don’t have the need, or the space, or the budget, for a high-quality gun safe. Instead, they store their guns in a closet, or in the corner of their bedroom, or scattered around their house or garage. Campbell has a much better solution to address all these needs, as well as the needs of gun safe owners who simply need a solution for temporary storage and cleaning of their guns before going back into the safe or gun cabinet.

Therefore, in keeping with the spirit of the recent Independence day holiday, I call this solution Independence from Gun Clutter.

Campbell has several solutions to help gun owners today. Their Retention Band Rotary Gun Rack, developed several years ago and still a big seller, provides a quality rotating gun rack with a retention band to keep the barrel (and therefore the gun) in place. Their new Magnetic Rotary Gun Racks offer the same high quality base, 1000 pound ball bearing movement system, and quality construction as the retention band models, but with a marked improvement. Instead of a retention band holding the barrel of the long gun, a high-powered magnet holds the metal barrel of the gun (rifle or shotgun) in place. A gentle tug on the barrel, and you can lift the gun out of the stock rest and into action. This is an innovative yet simple design that works, and works well. In all my years of testing high-tech products, it makes me wonder why someone didn’t think of this sooner! I’m glad Chris and the gang at Campbell Industries did so, and then completed the project with quality implementation to produce for the market a reliable and efficient system of long gun storage. Goodbye gun room clutter! So long, storage in bedroom closet corners!

While we always keep our guns locked up securely in a safe, we sometimes have guns that we are testing leaned against the walls and benches in the gun room. Doing this, they can get in the way, and are prone to being knocked over. Placing them on the revolving gun rack is a much better solution, as they are not in our way, and are in no danger of being scratched or dented.

There are several models of the Magnetic Rotary Gun Rack to choose from, and prices are very reasonable. Their 10-gun model with a small 18” base should fit well in any closet or small location, and safely store and provide immediate access to the long guns within, at a price of only $209 (plus S/H) direct from Campbell Industrial. They offer a 12-gun magnetic rotary rack on a 22” base for $229, and a 16-gun on a 22” base for $239. The bases are the same, but the distances between the gun rests are different, making the 12-gun rack a better choice with wide bolt rifles and double-guns, and the 16-gun rack a good alternative to store the most guns in the smallest of spaces. How small? In the span of a 22” diameter, safely storing 16 guns is very efficient indeed!

Their two largest magnetic rotary racks are on a 30” base. They have a 17-gun rack for $289, and a 22-gun rack for $299. All prices are direct from the manufacturer, and do not include shipping and handling.

Speaking of shipping and handling, I was impressed with the Campbell products before I even opened the boxes. The boxes are very large compared to what is inside, meaning they are packed extremely well at the factory. Kudos for Chris and his team on making sure the product gets to the customer safely, even when the boys in brown may upon occasion drop a box or two.

All of the Magnetic Rotary Gun Racks are made from marine grade plywood with maple veneer on both sides. The wood veneer is then hand-rubbed with Carnauba wax for protection and beauty. The pedestal is manufactured of steel tubing with a welded metal plate on both ends. It assembles with bolts. The metal is powder-coated (baked-on finish) for durability. High powered magnets are underneath the protective felt on the barrel rest for each long-gun, and “stick” the barrel of the rifle to the gun rest. A clever design for ease of access to your guns. And, each rotary rack has a 1000 pound capacity ball bearing base that allows for ease in rotation, even when loaded with the heaviest long guns.

When you pick up the box the UPS guy delivered, you’ll understand why he was cussing you under his breath when he left your package. The rotary gun racks are pretty heavy, but this is a good thing. I thought there may be a problem with balance, such as loading guns on one side but not on the other, and feared the rifle rack would tip over, but we didn’t experience this problem at all. This is probably greatly due to the weight, but also another good design benefit.

The Magnetic Rotary Gun Racks are offered in either dark walnut or light oak finish; your choice same price. For taller guns or very long scopes, larger length pedestals are available.

Another product offered by Campbell, and along the same lines as the rotary gun racks, are the fixed position corner gun racks. For those of us with limited space and that cannot find enough corners in a room to lean your long guns, this is a product you will truly love. Their Magnetic Corner Gun Racks offer the same magnetic retention system as their magnetic rotary racks, but they do not rotate. They have a fixed base and are designed to be place in the 90-degree corner of a room. They offer a Retention-Band 6-gun model for $129, and a 6-gun Magnetic model (as tested) for $159. Prices do not include shipping and handling. The quality and features are similar to the rotating racks; quality, heavy-duty gun storage systems for the corner of a room. Providing quick access, good looks, low cost, high quality, and the ability to put 6 guns in one corner makes these a must for any gun room or gun storage closet. Note that you may need to stagger the larger scoped guns, meaning you may only get 3 scoped guns in the 6-gun corner rack.

Our gun rooms at Gunblast.com now have Campbell Rotary Racks to efficiently store, and provide immediate access to, guns that are not in our safes for storage. Guns that are awaiting cleaning, that are subject to upcoming tests and evaluation, or guns that we want to put somewhere before taking out and shooting them, often now get placed in our Campbell Racks.

How impressed are we with Campbell’s gun rack products? Not only are we using their products, we took them on as a Gunblast.com advertiser. All our advertisers are “invitation only”, and they are not invited unless we like their products. We like the products of Campbell Industries, and feel that you will as well.

So, if you have long guns looking for an efficient and inexpensive storage solution, whether to keep on hand for intruder protection, to aid in storage when cleaning, to have available for rapid acquisition when getting ready for that special hunting trip, or for efficient storage in the corner of a room or closet, you can’t do much better than to consider the long gun racks of Campbell Industries. Good quality. Efficient design. Not a lot of money.

To order Campbell Industries' products, contact Chris or one of his team members at 800-932-9518, email info@gun-racks.com, or go to www.gun-racks.com - to look at the heritage Safes line, go to www.www.heritagesafe.com. Or better yet, simply click on the banners below (or on the Gunblast.com home page) to go directly to their websites and order systems.

And, who knows, your wife may be very appreciative of your new organizational skills.

A well-outfitted gun room with Heritage and Campbell products. Shown is a Heritage Gunblast.com Limited Edition T3060 safe in Ivory, 2 12-gun Campbell pistol racks and one 6-gun pistol rack on the top shelf, a Campbell 16-gun pistol rack on top of the safe, and a corner magnetic rack and 17-gun rotary magnetic rack from Campbell Industries.

Two Campbell Industries 12-gun pistol racks fit perfectly inside the top shelf of a Heritage Tradition "Gunblast Limited Edition" T3060 safe. These pistol racks should be a "must have" with any safe order.

Campbell Industries 12-gun pistol rack.

Campbell Industries 16-gun pistol rack.

Storage space for 18 pistols plus 24 long guns make the Heritage/Gunblast Limited edition safe and the Campbell pistol racks a great combination for any home of the firearms enthusiast. Shown are two 12-gun Campbell pistol racks and a 6-gun pistol rack on the top shelf of a T3060 Heritage Gunblast Limited Edition safe. Your gun collection is well organized, safe from fire and intruder, and ready for action when needed.

Got something to say about this article? Want to agree (or disagree) with it? Click the following link to go to the GUNBlast Feedback Page.

Independence from Gun Clutter

UPDATE!