Gun Safe story

[devildog4329]

So I recently moved to Eastern WV and while moving in last Sunday had a couple people come up to the house. They said they wanted to introduce themselves and that they leased 75 acres behind my place for hunting. "Nice people." They also Asked if I was interested in getting in on their lease. "Which I am" but anyways they then tell me that while scouting there area they found a gun safe in the woods! It had the bottom cut out with a sawz-all. They told me they called the police and they came to check everything out.

So I stated that I had a handgun and will defend my property and they agreed. Iam just not sure wether they were trying to scope my place or actually being decent people. I also did not mention anything about my other rifles and pistols or my safe. I have not brought the safe to my house yet but plan it and am wondering how I can protect my Weapons.

I plan on getting a home security system. I have motion lights on all 4 corners of the house. I also plan on bolting the safe to the concrete floor in the basement. Any other ideas you have to help protect my safe/house would be appreciated.

 

[zombienerd]

A very large, very loud dog.

100db exterior audible alarm triggered by any window or door opening if you haven't put in the code. (100db should make it very painful to stay in the area)

Timers on lights and televisions to randomly turn them on and off when you're not home.

Just a few ideas.

 

[CCWB]

um, don't post too much info incase the folks are members or viewers of this site.
sounds like ur on the right path, maybe getting a security system installed before you move in the safe and guns

 

[Starship1st]

Good idea, get all three a dog, security system and good safe.

 

[Ala Dan]

Agreed- on the "Land-Sharks"

large, loud, and aggressive type dogs runn'in loose on YOUR
property will help deter potential thieves, burgulars, bums, and other
two and four legged critters~!

 

[Guns and more]

aggressive type dogs runn'in loose on YOUR
property will help deter potential thieves, burgulars, bums, and other
two and four legged critters

And may get you a lawsuit when your aggressive dog bites the neighbor's kids when it gets out. (as they always do.)

 

[luigi]

So I stated that I had a handgun and will defend my property and they agreed. Iam just not sure wether they were trying to scope my place or actually being decent people.

I would have given that much information to a stranger

 

[Claude Clay]

a phone call to the police--to verify the details
of the story about the safe in the woods.
or better yet, stop by and introduce yourself;
and ask some questions.

if what they say holds water, perhaps you found
a place to hunt and some partners
--find out if they own a sawz-all

 

[iiibdsiil]

How'd they know it was a Sawsall? That was never released to the media! Sorry too much Law and Order and NCIS for me.

I'm betting in your neck of the woods a lot of people are going to have gun safes. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just keep it quiet.

 

[HunterBear71]

I don't believe a sawzall could cut into a decent gun safe. Being no expert, I would like to be corrected if I am wrong. The tool I would choose would be a cutting torch.

 

[Mike J]

Depending on the quality of the safe HunterBear it is possible. Most of what people refer to as gunsafes are Residential Storage Containers according to some experts on here. But if it's 1/8" thick sheet metal or thinner I could get through it with a sawsall given enough time without interruption. I have never broken into a gunsafe but I have worked 20 years in the sheet metal industry. There are other things that would be quicker but it could be done.

 

[HunterBear71]

Thanks for that information, Mike. We use pneumatic steel nibblers in the steel plant for anything under about .100 gauge. Anything thicker, we just cut it with a torch.

 

[Mike J]

I ain't saying it'd be the best tool for the job. I have walked in on jobsites to find where someone had hooked their hoses & gauges to our bottles & cut the fronts out of where the lock went in the gangbox with a torch. It seems like it's always worse downtown.

 

[sledhead76]

+1 on the dog. And it doesn't have to be aggressive, then you're always worrying about your or someone elses kids getting bit. There's plenty of breeds out there that make great family pets, but have that sixth sense to know when something isn't right or someone doesn't belong. There's no substitute for a well bred, well trained dog.

 

[PA Dave]

Anecdotal support for the dog...my parents lived in a nice suburban neighborhood, and it the course of 2 years, every single house on the block that didn't have a dog was burglarized...and not one house with a dog was hit. Not a scientific study, but compelling. It didn't even matter if it was German Shepherd or a Beagle.

 

[MinnMooney]

Cutting torches?

What's with all of the cutting torches?! Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't it burn or horribly damage the contents? I've never tried a cutting torch to get into a container with valuable items inside.

 

[HunterBear71]

Well, you would heat the safe up quite a bit using the torch. However, it is very unlikely you would damage anything besides the optics and possibly the stock. Maybe a sawzall is the go-to tool for criminals opening safes, I really couldn't tell you. However, I cut steel every day and would never attempt it with an electric saw.

 

[eight433]

If you bolt safes to the floor/wall/both, they will not be found in the woods. I have ordered a safe I have yet to take possession of, however I am quite sure it will stand up to the average smash and grab burglary typical of the area I live. I am thinking I will put it in a closet, which is behind the walk-through door when it is open. So in order to remove the safe, they would have to pry the bolts through the floor (not likely) and proceed to remove the walk through door to get it out of the room to have enough room to lay it on its back while they pry it open as shown in the popular U tube vids. If you take a cue from the animal kingdom, camouflage is the best first line defense (hide the safe). Diversion is next (the safe itself, or the dog) and aggression is third (you and your hand gun). I no longer have a dog, and I doubt the cats will scare anybody away, so I have thought long and hard about the grade of safe required, the price range I had to work with, the size of the space I could devote to it and the resulting purchase of the safe. I think I have it fairly well thought out. Unfortunately, my guns are some of the LEAST expensive things I own. (Self-built desktop computer, laptop computer, flat panel TV, professional Cornwell 54" tool box FULL of quality brand name tools, etc)

As I figured it, I have only about 3,000 dollars worth of firearms and accessories to protect in the safe, versus about 15000 in Items I cannot lock up

 

[2nd 41]

Conceal the safe if possible. And never talk about it.

 

[X-Rap]

Cutting torches?
What's with all of the cutting torches?! Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't it burn or horribly damage the contents? I've never tried a cutting torch to get into a container with valuable items inside.
__________________

No there are a number of ways depending on the construction and the type of cutting devise. I won't go into them here but bolt your safes down and to the walls if possible.
If somebody gets it in their truck and away from the crime site it wouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[eight433]

most fireproof safes are lined with drywall... You could torch all day long and the drywall would protect the contents. Easy peezy.

 

[ghoster]

i have been in construction 30 yr.
hope to tell ya- a good sawzall and good blades-- safe open in no time.
decent torch -- 5 min to cut 2 hinge.
partner saw with carbide blade-- 5 min cut whole safe in half.
if they want in they will get in.
dogs are the most reliable alarm out there, mine have never harmed a child and all the neighborhood kids come around plus my kids friends come over a lot.most salesmen chose not to come up but a few do and as long as they just ring the bell they will be fine, one moron decided to walk around back where the kids were and had to wait for me to come around the house to get the 200 lb mastiff to let him up. tiney just blew him over ,then stood over him nose to nose, drool and all.
talk about your ninga stare seemed real anchus to leave. he he
sounds like you got the rest covered pretty good.

 

[FROGO207]

Unless the person is a REALLY REALLY good friend all they will see is a security cabinet that is bolted down filled with an assortment of old crowbars (single shot shotguns) and non functioning stuff. My good Iron is "At my brothers house with the mean dogs". The dog, alarms, and let the local PD know you have A firearm is good advice. No specifics. Keep a record of pictures and serial # at a safe alternate location in case they are stolen or burned etc. I would also do that with other items of value. Think CD disk to another family member and seal it for them to limit access.

 

[fireman 9731]

A gun safe in the woods?

It would be almost impossible to get it there without a decent truck... Then a generator to run your saw (I highly doubt it could be done with a battery job), Things just don't add up...

If I had to bet on what happened... I'd say that somebody had some cheap StackOn gun cabinet, The owner lost the key or combination to it, So he gets it open somehow to get his guns out, then decides to make a deer feeder or moonshine still out of whats left of it and thats how it ended up in the woods.

Would anybody in their right mind haul a safe into the woods to break into it? Or even dump one in the woods that they had broken into? I sure don't think so...

Now... maybe if somebody buried a safe full of guns in the woods and somebody happened upon it... Thats another story...

 

[X-Rap]

Would anybody in their right mind haul a safe into the woods to break into it? Or even dump one in the woods that they had broken into? I sure don't think so...

What else would you do with it when you were done breaking into it? Seems perfectly feasible that someone cut it open then hauled it off to remote woods and threw it out. I'd throw it off a bridge myself.