What do you have for a gun safe?

I'm planning on looking into one myself soon. the boys are getting big enough that keeping the pistol on the top shelf of the closest won't be enough for much longer. I'm looking into a Fort Knox safe. They have been the most recommended from all the gun guys I've talked to.
Just for shits and giggles, here is a video of someone dropping one of their safes through the roof of a house, twice, burning the house down around the safe, and then shooting the hell out of it. That seems like it should be strong enough to stand up to twin boys.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5-qrYcEdKg

 

AMSEC BF6030






REQUIRED:

-Bolts on BOTH sides of door, not just on one side. Otherwise you can cut off the hinges and remove the door.
- 10 Gauge Steel body or thicker. Any thinner and you can claw through it with an axe.
- A thick door. A thin door and you risk someone prying it open.
- A good lock--Sargent & Greenleaf is the industry standard dial-lock.

Nice but not necessary:

- Fireproofing. Most safes use sheetrock/drywall which releases steam when heated. Not very effective. Ceramic of concrete insulation is better. If you want it to be fireproof, you need palusol as a feature so it seals the door when heated.
- Plate-Steel door. Resists prying.
- External hinges. Internal hinges only open to about 90 degrees.
- Heavy weight: avoids someone just coming in with a hand-truck and carting your guns away.
- I *really* like my electronic lock--it's very very easy to open and close. However, electronic locks are not as reliable as the S&G dial, so that's a risk you take for convenience.

Keep in mind that most "gun safes" are actually Residential Security Containers ("RSC"), that will take an experienced thief less than 5 minutes to open. You're best off layering defenses--home alarm/safe/big dog.

The big dog $10,000 plate steel ones are rated as TL15 or TL30, depending on how long it takes to gain entry (15 = 15 minutes, 30 = 30 min etc.).

Expect to spend around $2,000 for a good safe. Also better if you have it professionally moved and installed.

Read more here:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html

Good link full of information.

 

... But be realistic about the level of protection you are actually getting.

I agree that 2,000 dollars is more or less the sweet spot on price for most people as you will usually get a safe that is strong enough to prevent your average thief from getting your stuff. It is certainly enough to prevent your children from gaining access because even if they *could* hack through daddy's expensive safe with an axe, they probably know the will get caught.

Beyond that, IMHO, you are wasting your money unless you are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a safe and to put it in a specially built location.... You can buy a 5,000 dollar gun-safe with 10 gauge steel, a quarter inch thick door, a thousand relockers and a really, really fancy lock and it wouldn't slow down an educated burgler a bit:

If that expensive safe is sitting in the same room as your power tools you might as well leave it unlocked... at least the safe wouldn't get messed up that way.

There are a lot of tools that, given enough time, will open up a safe, but the simplest and most common one is the hand-held rotary saw. Even with a wood-blade the saw will cut through the 10 gauge steel on the side of the safe relatively easily and quickly. With a masonry blade it will only take about a minute to cut a large rectangular hole into your safe.

If the people robbing your house were specifically targeting your safe they would (unless they are too dumb to live) bring some tools that would allow even faster access.

Since you only have three guns to protect Go for something between a thousand and two thousand dollars... You won't get a safe that 'can't be cracked' but you will get something that will prevent people with crowbars, kids, and opportunists from getting your firearms.

 

Buying a gun safe for three guns is a waste of money. You're better off building a blind shelf above a closet door and using cable locks. You could also create a hidden gun rack between the studs in a wall in a random room. Think secret agent DIY home improvement stuff. Instead of that cutesy tile mirror shelf nook in the hallway for the wife, you're building a covert rifle locker. Cover it with a shitty movie poster and it'll go totally unnoticed.

A useful gun safe is expensive, a huge target and offers minimal protection against determined thieves. Smash and grab types will ignore it as long as they can't bust it open with a crowbar or carry it out on a hand truck. A fire resistant safe offers a little piece of mind but be realistic about how long it takes for the fire department to respond in your area, especially if you live in the sticks. I avoid electronic locks because they're one more thing to fail. Home defense guns shouldn't be in the safe; I don't know why so many silly people think they'll run to their safe at 3 AM in the dark in their boxers.

If you become a gun hoarder and end up with several dozen collectibles (our boy Remy), then you need to consider a safe to protect your investment. Until then, take good digital insurance pictures of your rifles (SNs and all) and look at a way of securing them that is more ninja and less Fort Knox.

 

So you're saying that my strategy of sticking them in the basement ceiling between the joists above the suspended ceiling when I'm not using them is a good idea?

 

Especially if you wrap them in shitty Wal-Mart rugs.

 

Well, unless you know you aren't going to stop at just 3. Then it's planning ahead.

 

I also feel I should add my standard two cents' worth and mention that any safe is useless if it can be lifted without a crane and isn't bolted to the floor. Lag bolts with the nuts inside the safe and thrust bearings between the washers through the subfloor and another 2x6 between the joists if it's a wood floor, bolts into anchors if it's on concrete.

 

What kind of criminal masterminds are we talking about here, again? I spent two years of college studying Ye Olde Common Dirtbag and I can almost certainly assure you that if it weighs more than fifty pounds and isn't a flat screen TeeVee, they're not taking it unless they're really into whatever it is. The typical routine is pretty simple: living room/home office for the electronics, bedrooms for the pillowcases to loot the jewelry box and closet and GTFO. That said, your advice about anchoring is completely sound and should be followed by anybody serious about actual physical security. Only a really determined mofo would try to crack an 800 pound safe that is bolted to the floor. Expert thieves? Safe crackers? A rare breed.

Funny side story: I got assigned a chase down on case where this dude broke into his neighbor's house in the middle of the day to steal his guns. Guy was pretty ballsy. And very stupid. Anyway, guy chucked a lawn ornament through the rear sliding glass (subtle), goes to the upstairs hallway and smashes the wood-and-glass gun cabinet with a pry bar. While looting the gun cabinet, he cuts the shit out of his hand and proceeds to bleed all over the upstairs hallway and staircase. After slathering his DNA on the floors and walls, he bandages himself up with an entire bed sheet and loads maybe a dozen rifles and pistols into a wheeled garbage can he finds in the garage. He then opens the garage door and wheels the garbage can down the street back to his house. Pure genius, no? That is the typical gun thief: local dirtbag who knows where someone keeps their easily accessible guns.

Another important thing is to consider a flood situation if you have your safe secured in a basement or live in an area where floods occur. Something as simple as an 8" lip can save you from having to buy brand new wood stocks. The best desiccant package in the world can't stop buckets of water.

 

For many gun-safe related thefts, the entire gun safe is stolen.

It is typically easier to load up the entire safe than to break into it on-site. I'm not saying it's common, but it does happen:

FAYETTE COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The Fayette County Sheriff's Office and National Park Service are investigating the theft of a gun safe from the Layland area and asking the public for their help.
According to Sheriff Steve Kessler, someone broke into a residence in the Layland/Lawton area between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday March 16.
The individual(s) stole a large black or gray gun safe, approximately six feet tall by four feet wide.

With that in mind, if you are going to spend 2,000 dollars on a gun-safe and then put several thousand dollars worth of firearms inside, it makes a lot of sense to invest in a couple of $2 bolts to prevent the whole shebang from getting stolen.

Of course, that doesn't guarantee anything either, but it's a cheap premium for a lot of additional insurance.

 

I'm just saying that if you aren't likely to be targeted for theft of guns, hiding them is sufficient. If you have enough guns that hiding them isn't practical or you might be targeted for theft, there's no middle ground, you have to go overboard. If some jackass breaks in and sees a safe he can't get into and is ambitious enough to try, assume he's coming back with a buddy or two and a jackhammer.

 

Tim Taylor approves this message.

 

I'm noticing a pattern here. What's up with the mid-'90s Bob Villa TeeVee show thing?

 

Currently watching all of the 8 seasons of Home Improvement together with my fiancée whenever I have free time, and rediscovering a lost love. Tim Allen is fucking hilarious.