ever had your gun safe broken into?

[omgb]

I bought a Cannon at Cosco/Sams. It was right around $600 for a 14 gun safe. It was actually a 16 gun safe but so far, 14 is all it will hold and that's taking into account four of the guns are youth models. Any way, I bolted it to the garage floor after building cupboards on either side and above it. It's covered by a hanging tarp so that it is not readily seen if the garage door is open. It weighted over 600 lbs empty. Add to that the lag bolts holding it to the slab and it will take some gorilla to move that puppy. I opted for the electronic touch pad. It's easier than a spinning combo and about equally safe as far as I can see. I delivered it myself in my Ranger. I suspect that the max load of a standard Ranger King cab has got to be around 1200 lbs in the bed. That safe sure made the ride smooth!

The wife gave me grief for spending so much on something so "useless". That is until we had some trouble with a live-in relative and put all of the knives and guns under lock down. If dip wad wants to do harm to self now, it ain't gonna be with something I bought for good times. Imagine, the wife now sees the merit in all of this safe business!.

R J Talley

[McLintock]

imashooter2,
Thanks for making me think and go check the safe, I've had it since the early 90's and never thought about the locking bolts going on both sides, but they do; 3 per side. That'll ease my consternation somewhat. Much harder and noiser to get into now.
McLintock

[fourarmed]

I would also recommend looking at the Zanotti. It comes in 6 pieces that you put together with heavy pins. Much easier to move than a monolithic safe, and you can put it through a door that it can't go out of.

[snowtigger]

MGySgt,
Better re-think about the crack heads, the burglery ring broken up here was doing it mainly to keep their meth supplys up.
And imashooter2, the Browning does have exterior hinges, but they are a pin enclosed by casings welded to the safe body and door, split in the middle. One small cut on both hinges at the juncture point and they'd be in. My normal metal cut off saw goes through a 1/2" bolt or piece of bar stock in about 20-30 seconds; scares the hell out of me.
McLintock

Don't worry too much about those exposed hinges. My Browning has eighteen locking bolts, each 1 3/16" in diamater. Take a look at the hinge side of the door when it is open. I am sure it can be cut, but it will take a while.
If a pro wants in, he will get in.

[Ken O]

I bought my safe many years ago. The advice I got from the forums then was if you are looking for a safe with fire protection, make sure it uses real fire proofing, which is ceramic fiber (Kaowool) the stuff that is used in boilers, steel mills, and refinerys etc.
There are some well know brands that are using just plain cheap drywall, and charging hundreds of dollars more.
There are many safes out there useing Kowool at the same price, I found many when I shoped around.
I bought a Sportsman, I dont know if they are even still around, so do your research and you will find what you want.

[Gussy]

I'm no safe expert, but after looking over the various safe literature, I think I can be inside any of them in under 30 min. with no damage to the contents. They will not be reusable!!!

Many years back, I was deer hunting in the CA mountains. As I walked through a steep draw, below an old logging road, something odd caught my eye. On close inspection, it was a small office safe (probably 2'X3') minus the door. It had been there a long time!!
Gus

[Willbird]

Actually I have talked to a couple C3 dealers that somehow got locked out of their safes, amaturs may try to go in thru the door, these guys cut the whole top off in less than an hour with a sawzall with a metal blade, WAY less than an hour. After inside and reset the combo they neatly welded the "top hat" back on that they had cut off.

Bill

[eka]

There's more to it than just defeating the engineering of the safe. The safe has to be so they can't take it with them. If they take it with them, obviously they can take their time without fear of being caught and use more effective tools to attack it. If they have to defeat it at your house that is another thing. It's not in a burglars plan to spend more than a few minutes in your house. Time is not their friend and they know it. The longer their there the greater their chance of getting caught. And BTW, burglars are more scared of being confronted by armed homeowners than cops. Most know that cops are trained to show restraint if they surrender. A mad and excited homeowner may be a crap shoot. The burglar is limited by what he can carry easily with him, so he doesn't have access to industrial quality power tools etc. And most know it's not worth taking the chance of getting caught working on a safe when they can go to lots of other houses that are unlocked with valuables unsecured everywhere. I worked a case one time where a safe was unlocked and just closed. The burglar didn't even turn the handle to check to see if it would open. He just beat the total crap out of it to no avail. I occasionally run across a small business safe that has been drilled and the bolt punched. Normally these guys have worked somewhere and had an opportunity to figure out how these type safes are made. They can then just measure, drill, and punch. These safes are not the most sophisticated in the world. A high end gun safe with fourteen one inch stainless bolts would be another story given the time constraints the burglar is under. The day of the safe cracker has pretty much faded into history and modern safes are much much better. However, now and then you find an exception to the rule and come across a professional job. If that is the case it's just bad luck. A good safe will protect you against 99% of all the burglars out there.

[REDTAIL]

I have a gun safe made by THREADLOK SAFE CO. who since has gone out of business, to bad I BOUGHT IT IN 1980 it holds 15 guns, and uses a electronic setting to open the safe at the time I paid apx $750.00 + shipping for it and it has served me well throught the years, if anything goes wrong with it, I have to buy another safe from the large selection of companies that sells them now because, parts are no longer available from any companies that carried THREADLOK SAFE PARTS.

[cajun shooter]

As a former police officer I've seen it all. One trick is to put the safe on short pieces of pipe and roll it out. Any safe can be had. You have to make it a little harder than the next guys so that they steal his and not yours. I have a Liberty and it's about 600lbs dry weight. Most safe companys will replace a broken into safe or one thats been in a fire. I hope that which one you buy is never tested. Take Care

[DLCTEX]

My son's safe is glued to the concrete floor with epoxy. Guard dogs and a good security system are the first lines of defense. They were burgaled within weeks of moving into their new house and insurance didn't cover it all. The insurance can find lots of loop holes to not pay for things. DALE

[pipehand]

Former safe and vault tech here("bonded safecracker"). I've seen lots of safes, both residential and commercial, that were burglarized, but all but two that were actually opened by the theives were done off-site. Bolt it down! I'd rather have a 500 pound safe redhead bolted to the concrete slab, than a 5,000 pound safe just sitting there.

[mooman76]

I bought a safe a couple years ago. Not the best but not the cheapest either. About a 500 lb Winchester safe which seems to be a generic one. Looks exactly like the Cabelas one. After installing it, I see how I could break into one in very short order.

[PatMarlin]

I've thougth about upping the fire rating buy incasing the safe with double layered gypson sheet rock and thick lumber cabinet, including a door. That very well could provide enough insulation, and it would not be obvious that it was a gunsafe.

The new plasma cuttters- oh my lord they cut, and do it with much lower heat.

[No_1]

Having a safe (almost any safe but the cheap stack-on kind) will deter some theives. Bolting it to the floor / walls will deter more theives. In this day and time of monitored security systems most theives will drive by if they see a "safe-touch" sign in the yard. I believe most theft of firearms is do to the owners big mouth bragging about what he has. The theif who comes in to steal your guns / jewelery is someone who was either told by the you or overheard one of your friends tell of the items to be had. Use good sense when handling your items. Don't just walk out in the driveway while the neighbors are outside with your favorite items under your arms. Make sure your house always looks occupied. This can be done by NOT being a creature of habit. Park the cars in different places, get a couple of those cheap timed light switchs and move them around the house and have them come on at different times. A fellow member here has a good by-line "your first / best line of defense is between your ears". Use the best weapon you have to protect your items and loved ones......


R.

[PatMarlin]

Talk about habits. Up in the woods a lot of people leave thier driveway gate open when they are home, and closed when they are gone.

I've been wanting to rig one of those solar gate openers on it cause it's truly a pain to get in and out of the truck sometimes, when your tired from a long drive.

[dromia]

I made a gun room out of a spare bedroom, worked out cheaper and better than a safe.

[imashooter2]

I made a gun room out of a spare bedroom, worked out cheaper and better than a safe.

How did you reinforce the walls?

[Ivantherussian03]

I like watching the show "To Catch a Thief" or maybe "It Takes a Thief" on And E I believe. Ex-criminals turned into tv hosts look for houses to break into and film for the show. Prior to the break in one of the hosts approaches the home owners. In return breaking in and filming their show the owners get a state of the art security system. The show is eye opening; it dispenses with peoples myths, and shows real security systems. It has given me alot of ideas, and made me think about my home security. Real security is like layers.

Check it out

[Ivantherussian03]

I believe most theft of firearms is do to the owners big mouth bragging about what he has. The theif who comes in to steal your guns / jewelery is someone who was either told by the you or overheard one of your friends tell of the items to be had. Use good sense when handling your items. Don't just walk out in the driveway while the neighbors are outside with your favorite items under your arms.


R.

Smart advise also