Gun Safe

[Legionnaire]

Lots of good advice here on safes. I have a good one and it was way more expensive than what you are proposing. Don't skimp if you really want/need a safe.

That said, if your primary purpose is to keep the kids away from your guns, there are other solutions. Before I bought my safe, I built a closet in my basement study for the purpose. While it looked like any other closet, it was lined with 3/4-inch plywood screwed to the studs, sheetrock over the plywood. The door, which swung outward, was a solid core hung with heavy duty hardware. The door latch plate was secured into the studs with 3 or 4 inch screws. On the hinge side, I had several lag bolts screwed into the edge of the door, the heads of which fit into steel sockets in the frame secured to the studs supporting the door frame with 3 or 4 inch screws; these would prevent the door from being removed if the hinge pins were driven out. Other than the self-locking (keyed) door knob, it looked like any other closet door when closed. Open, it had racks for long guns and a couple of shelves for gear.

No, it wouldn't defeat a determined attack, but it was plenty for keeping out curious kids or visitors, and even smash and grab opportunists. It had lots more space than a small safe, and because it just looked like a closet, it didn't attract attention.

 

[Audie Murphy]

My safe holds seven long arms, and five hand guns. I could store more long arms but, I have sooooooo much .22, 9mm, and .45 Long Colt that I have no more room. It took three us getting it down in my man cave. Ain't NO WAY that safe is going anywhere.By the way. We set it on a wood pallet. In case of a water heater going out.

 

[boom boom]

Almost all safes can be accessed through brute force if the thief takes enough time. Cutting torches, grinders, etc. even pulling a safe through a wall with a chain have been used or what has happened to jewelers is that they take you or a loved one hostage and make you open the safe. hdwhit above has the best balanced approach where you treat the whole problem but he did leave out one thing.

OPSEC--don't talk about firearm collections nor other valuables that you have. Limit that information to those that need to know--eg those you would trust with your life. While that may affect your bragging rights at the range, only having a couple of firearms at the time at the range is also advisable. While the person that you talk to may be alright, you do not know necessarily about the drugged out inlaw or the gambler that can sell our use your information to some pretty bad people. As Ben said, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Children, if you have them, should be taught to protect privacy of the family by not talking or posting on social media about certain things such as firearm possession, vacations, jewelry, house layout, etc.

Social media is a whole nother kettle of fish and has substantial risks if adequate precautions for privacy are not followed-e.g. limiting access to need to know.

OPSEC includes vetting the people, especially service, repair or cleaning people or casual acquaintances you let in the house and where they can access. Some have been know to act as informants for burglars or do it themselves. Firearms nor signs of them (magazines, posters, etc.) should not be readily apparent.

 

[John Joseph]

I'd check out a local safe dealer for trade ins if price is a consideration. People often outgrow gun safes and trade them in so you may find a better quality used safe for less than a poor quality new safe.

 

[George P]

A good locksmith who sells safes would be a great place to look for a used safe from someone upgrading.

 

[Siscowet]

Construct your security in layers.

Make your house harder to get into by improving the locks and hinges on exterior doors and make sure they are installed with long screws.

Get a monitored alarm system. This will not only protect your guns, but your other valuables as well.

Contact your insurance company and see if you can add a rider to cover your guns to your homeowner's policy. It may be surprisingly affordable. A $3,000 rider covering my server farm costs less than $10 a year. My gun "collection" is so small that my homeowner's insurance covers it without a rider.

If you can replace most or all your guns with a check from the insurance company and a trip to the gun store, then get enough of a safe to keep kids and casual thieves away from your guns.

If you have rare guns or irreplaceable guns then you'll need to decide how much you are willing to spend to protect them.

This is sound advice. I will just add lag bolt your safe to a concrete floor. It is amazing how easy it is to move even a heavy safe. The idea of a safe is to prevent access until the alarm is responded to. Given all night, most safes can be broken into. So get a good alarm system as well.

 

[bassjam]

This is sound advice. I will just add lag bolt your safe to a concrete floor. It is amazing how easy it is to move even a heavy safe. The idea of a safe is to prevent access until the alarm is responded to. Given all night, most safes can be broken into. So get a good alarm system as well.

That's a good point. If you watch the video's of guys busting into gun safes with pry bars they almost always tip the safe over so they can get more leverage. And when I bolted my 900lb safe to the floor I was amazed how easy it was to tip up by myself and place it where I needed it.