Buying a safe in the near future? You'll probably want to see this.

[Thernlund]

I don't use my safe to keep out professional criminals. My safe is to keep the kids and the smash-and-grabbers out. I fully expect that if someone want what's in there bad enough, they'll have it.

For that matter, I have TVs, laptops, and a whole host of other crap that sums up to far more value than what's in my safe. A safe is a but a teeny part of securing your valuables. I'd sooner lock all my doors and have a basic alarm with NO SAFE than I would leave them unlocked and no alarm WITH A SAFE.


-T.

 

[Defensory]

I believe just about everybody in this thread agrees on one thing---knowledgeable, determined thieves with the right tools can break into virtually any home gun safe.

The primary objective should be to make breaking into it as long and hard a process as possible.

One thing that hasn't been discussed much in this thread is overall WEIGHT of the safe, which I think is one of the most important considerations. Don't buy one of the super-cheapos that only weighs about 150 or so pounds. Even two rank amateurs can pry the bolts from the floor and carry them out the door in a jiffy.

Buy one that weighs at least 400 pounds, and preferably something about 600-650. Most burglars typically work by themselves or in pairs, and carrying a 600 lb. safe out the door is going to be a difficult task, even if there are more than two perps.

My recommendations for those who don't have a lot to spend, or don't have enough weapons to warrant buying a real expensive safe:

1. Buy the heaviest, thickest, highest quality safe you can afford.
2. Don't waste your money on expensive cosmetic features and useless options that have nothing to do with making the safe more secure.
3. Mount it in a closet or nook in your house, with the non-hinged side next to a wall.
4. Bolt it to the floor.
5. Keep quiet about it. Don't even mention it to anybody outside your immediate family. Don't go showing it off or bragging about it to friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances etc. Tell your wife and kids to do the same.
6. Buy it from a safe professional or gun dealer that has their installations done by bonded, insured installers.

 

[callo685]

That video is completely ridiciously. no one leaves a safe unbolted in the middle of a room. What would they do if the same safe was bolted to the floor in a closet or against a wall. That safe is fine if put in a logical place

 

[PTK]

no one leaves a safe unbolted in the middle of a room.

Nope, but plenty of people leave RSCs (NOT safes) unbolted. Even bolting the safe down isn't great unless you use the proper bolts and know what you're doing. Cheap bolts, even big ones, aren't too hard to shear off with the same wrecking bar used to move the safe to a more open space.

That safe is fine if put in a logical place

Have you seen what a simple wood axe can do to a safe like that? If there's any room at all to swing, it's not safe.

 

[Car Knocker]

I concur with PTK. I know more than one person whose RSC is not fastened to anything, merely depending on the weight to keep someone from hauling it off. A misplaced confidence, I might add.

 

[General Geoff]

Unless you're using the RSC as a decoy, and keep your true valuables (firearms etc) in a hidden RSC in the basement or something. Just put some bowling balls and other heavy objects in the decoy.

 

[ChickenHawk]

Sometimes it makes sense. I have a GunVault deluxe (2-gun size) handgun safe in my den. I got this so I could keep a couple of guns handy in our most frequently used room, while still having them secure from non-authorized handling. It is inside my custom made built-in cabinets which I paid way too much money to have made and installed.

I do not have it bolted to the cabinet it is in. I could do that, but if someone wanted it bad enough he could sledge my cabinets and get anyway. I'd rather he just walk off with the thing. Either way I lose the guns, but I don't have to replace and match stain on my furniture as well.

Larger safes are another story, but I just thought I'd put two cents in.

Cheers,
ChickenHawk