OK Gus got us thinking about gun safes

ehunter · 10-31-2007, 12:31 PM

so has any one had some try to break into on of the 150 gun cabinets? I know that is better than nothing and my budget will not allow me to buy a fire proof 1000 dollar safe. I am thinking of more like 400? I was just curious how safe are the cheaper safes from a crooks stand point will they just avoid them or can they be broke into in 10 min or will it take longer?

Boatdog · 10-31-2007, 12:39 PM

I would think that a determined thief with a power outlet nearby and a couple power tools (even onsite ones) could be in one in a couple minutes. The sidewalls on the more 'cost effective' units are pretty thin.

Never had anyone break in since I bought mine. 650 pounds of pure happiness and bliss.

ommedia · 10-31-2007, 01:57 PM

My neighbor a few years back, different neighborhood, had a breakin. His safe was on concrete in the garage, not bolted down. It was a Sentry Stacker I think.. All they did was knock it over. Maybe hoping the thing would break?

They stole a lot of other things...but didnt' try to haul it off. I remember helping him put it in and it was quite light compared to mine. But, if you had an angle on mine and it wasn't bolted down, you could probably tip it over too.

Dedicated thieves with a game plan and a lot of time can get away with a lot...with my big safe, they'll have to crawl under the house to undo the bolts or cut it out of the floor. No way they are getting into it without drawing a lot of attention (noise).

If you have jewelry, software, data backups, important papers, photos, etc that you don't wont misplaced...bigger is better. And like I mentioned in the earlier threads, my safe is a write off for my business.

Long ago are the days, in my life anyway, of hiding them under beds, in closets, or hidden crawl spaces.

ehunter · 10-31-2007, 02:29 PM

Thanks that is what I was wondering I am going to bolt it into the concrete in my garage depending on what I buy. I was wondering if they could use a crow bar to pry the sheaper ones apart?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ommedia

My neighbor a few years back, different neighborhood, had a breakin. His safe was on concrete in the garage, not bolted down. It was a Sentry Stacker I think.. All they did was knock it over. Maybe hoping the thing would break?

They stole a lot of other things...but didnt' try to haul it off. I remember helping him put it in and it was quite light compared to mine. But, if you had an angle on mine and it wasn't bolted down, you could probably tip it over too.

Dedicated thieves with a game plan and a lot of time can get away with a lot...with my big safe, they'll have to crawl under the house to undo the bolts or cut it out of the floor. No way they are getting into it without drawing a lot of attention (noise).

If you have jewelry, software, data backups, important papers, photos, etc that you don't wont misplaced...bigger is better. And like I mentioned in the earlier threads, my safe is a write off for my business.

Long ago are the days, in my life anyway, of hiding them under beds, in closets, or hidden crawl spaces.

sprigkiller09 · 10-31-2007, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehunter

Thanks that is what I was wondering I am going to bolt it into the concrete in my garage depending on what I buy. I was wondering if they could use a crow bar to pry the sheaper ones apart?

Just make sure it can lock in more than one area. The ones with only one locking mechanism can be pryed open. The others however cannot be as easily. It took power tools to get mine open when the key broke off.....long story and a sore subject.....

Gus Orviston · 10-31-2007, 03:50 PM

I don't think it is one of those things ******** or your common house theif is going to spend time with breaking into. Kind of like the ford truck door locks.. not until millions are sold and somebody figures out the easy trick does it become a target.

.Since we all don't have the same safe, and the entry into them would challenging, AND you hope they don't know you got one to start with, in short they aren't coming with their lunch and a plan to get your guns.

Garage.. I don't think I want my guns so close to my power tools though

, I once locked my self out of my house but was in the garage. I didn't waste any time getting the power tools out and going throught the door

.

gus

scottishsetter · 10-31-2007, 04:25 PM

If you can bolt it to the floor AND a concrete wall;;; use short sleeves of pipe(or better heat treat em,red hot, dunk in water)OVER the bolt shafts so a sawsall is much harder to cut bolt shafts with. Mine would take me two days to get into even with power tools.(time for a trip to Home Depott for blades).Bad Luck

ehunter · 10-31-2007, 04:29 PM

Thanks guys for the input and gus a good topic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottishsetter

If you can bolt it to the floor AND a concrete wall;;; use short sleeves of pipe(or better heat treat em,red hot, dunk in water)OVER the bolt shafts so a sawsall is much harder to cut bolt shafts with. Mine would take me two days to get into even with power tools.(time for a trip to Home Depott for blades).Bad Luck

Irish Pennant · 10-31-2007, 04:42 PM

I have 2 of the Bi-Mart safes, one is for reloading supplies and the other is to keep kids from having easy access. They both have a couple hundred pounds of added weight and they are bolted together. Bolted together the safes will not fit through the doorway.

baltz526 · 10-31-2007, 05:35 PM

you buy one and i'll show you how easy a $150 safe is to get into. of course it will make a nice planter afterwards. the big safes just add time to the process. if your neighbours hear a chainsaw engine running will they call the sherriff.

JoshTDOR · 10-31-2007, 10:00 PM

I actually am ready to buy one now. Of all things, I though I would search the archives for any info... and here you are.

All I have to figure out is which one to buy. I have managed to live the bachelor life for 28 years

, but will have the girlfriend and her three year old son moving in soon.

So, which one to buy? I was looking at the Cannon 28 gun for $1000 from Costco online (free delivery!)

I may need bigger though (planning for future)

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

beardbuster · 10-31-2007, 10:16 PM

I have a 24 gun Browning safe that in my opinion is worth the money. If you shop around you can get a good deal. I paid full price but I know guys who have gotten great deals from retailers who did not want to put it back on the floor after the customer was not satisfied with the color, scratches etc. Check around, look on craigslist. there are deals out there and a good safe is a must. We keep all of our important paperwork, birth certificates and such in there. It holds plenty of firearms for me too.

sliverpicker · 11-01-2007, 04:57 AM

I've had a safe for 20 years or so. It has room for 15 rifles with shelves on the other half(30 rifles without the shelves). My brothers, cousins, and I went together and bought a truck load. They were delivered to one location and we each picked them and brought it home. Two guys with a hand truck to get them in and placed if I remember. It cost around $500 back then, and they're just a plain Jane dull gray, not that fancy showroom paint job you see on the new ones.

ajfishfinder · 11-01-2007, 08:56 AM

Salt Lake City is a meca for quality gun safe manufactures, I stopped in at 3 of them when I was there a couple of weeks ago. One place had a video of 2 guys breaking into different safes. The cheap sheet metal BiMart type could be opened in 30 seconds without even breaking a sweat!!!:shocked: They even worked over a very heavy big dollar safe and had it open enough to reach inside in under 2 minutes. Then it showed them trying to get into a real quality unit. After 5 minutes and lots of heavy breathing they pretty much threw in the towel. The key thing that kept them out was the number of door bolts and the recessed door with internal hindges and a gap to small to pound a pry bar into. They had a few other tricks that opened my eyes to vulnerable spots but but I will not post them because there is no sense in giving the bad guys more info than they need. Some of the video of safes in fires is also pretty impressive. They had one where the entire house including the chiminy was leveled but the safe was still standing. They had the actual safe on the showroom floor and the inside still looked like new.

Bottom line is spend the money on something you will have for many generations not just a couple of years. Think of it as an investment. Mine is 20 years old and I am confident that I could sell it today for double what I paid for it. Heck you can't even say that about a mobile home that will take 20 years to pay off.

It only took mine about 15 years before stuff began spilling out. They multiply so fast it really is an amazing thing.

So like mentioned before get the largest you can possibly afford. If everything goes as planned my 2nd should be here within a couple of weeks to help relieve the swelling for another 15-20 years.:smile:

Gus Orviston · 11-01-2007, 02:05 PM

They call that advertising. Ulikely somebody coming into your house is prepared for the brand of safe you got..

My suggestion is do something, if you have limited money, go for the Bimart safe. Your kids and their friends aren't paid thugs on the video, and if they are you got other problems.

gus

gottafish · 11-01-2007, 02:56 PM

My wife got me a cheap one about 17 years ago because of the kids. Its a k-mart job but it has served me very well and we had a break in. they pried on the door but gave up.