Guy has gun safe broken into

Unfortunately there is too much information in the public domain on how to defeat security fixtures such as locks, safes, and cameras and none of them are difficult.
 
I've mentioned this in prior posts...

We went to a warehouse in Dallas to pick up a safe for my inlaws... they wanted a light duty document safe, so we ordered a 'gun' safe with all shelves. Anyway, the saleman let us wander around the back warehouse... and I was surprised to see rows of breeched safes, including commercial safes. When I asked him about it, he explained most burglars don't go through the doors... they go through the side... easy work with an angle grinder, a torch, or a Sawzall. It is a balance of theft resistance and portability. They could make them out of harder metal, but then they would be so heavy they wouldn't be able to move them into position, aside from the costs as well.

My dad always said 'locks only keep the honest people out...' and he was right. A determined... and properly equipped... thief will always be able to breech a safe.
 
@Charlie98 yup, a cordless 20v angle grinder and a single cutoff wheel is enough to cut the whole side off a safe. The steel there is probably not much more than 14g steel. A cutoff wheel would slice right through that.
 
A safe just doesn’t really do much If somebody really wants what is in it, If the bad guy holds a gun to your spouses or kids head and says “open it or I kill them”, i would think that just about anyone would open the safe.
 
4v50 Gary said:
We had a locksmith member in the safe industry, who used to comment frequently on buying a unit to meet your needs. Haven't seen him around.
Click to expand...
There's a member on The SmithandWesson Forum who is a retired locksmith. He talks about the downfalls of RSCs frequently.
 
shafter said:
Unfortunately there is too much information in the public domain on how to defeat security fixtures such as locks, safes, and cameras and none of them are difficult.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but gun safes (RSCs) really aren't rocket science. It's a big sheet metal box. Anybody with the slightest mechanical ability can be in one of those in five minutes.

A Youtube video might teach someone to open something without damage. A locksmith or a homeowner is interested in getting into a safe causing as little damage as possible. Thieves don't care about damage. Basic hand tools or an angle grinder will open them like a tin can.

It doesn't hurt to have a gun safe. Might slow down a teenager with a screwdriver. But if an adult is breaking in you need insurance.
 
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Frulk said:
RCS?
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Residential security container.

This is the actual rating and what they're based on. Five minutes with hand tools.

www.ul.com

Residential Security Container Standard Revised

Residential Security Containers (RSC) serve many purposes. Some are used to store important papers or valuable jewelry, but for many people, they are used to store and secure guns. RSCs…
www.ul.com www.ul.com

More of an explanation. It's an explanation by someone selling their product, but it is an explanation.

www.secureitgunstorage.com

Do You Need a Gun Safe or RSC | SecureIt Gun Storage

The SecureIt® team breaks down disceptions and misconceptions surrounding today's gun safes and answers if you need a gun safe or RSC.
www.secureitgunstorage.com www.secureitgunstorage.com
 
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babaylan said:
If you can afford to have $100K worth of things to protect, then you can afford to secure them better than in a single gun safe. Very few safes (or their mounts) can resist a determined attack for long, and are designed only to keep out children, the curious, and the nosy.

At the very least, you could have more than one safe, and at least one of them ought to be embedded in reinforced concrete and concealed. Ideally, pour the concrete yourself, so no one knows you have it. If you have to hire construction workers to do it, then somebody is going to know. Then you can have a sacrificial safe where you keep only the things that would need to be accessed regularly, like your EDC pistol and ammo, and a few valuables to hopefully make the thieves think they've got everything and will stop searching at that point. At least that way, you don't lose everything at once.

There's a reason why I avoid talking about specifics even in enthusiast forums like this one. Anyone with half a personality online can pretty easily have their online identity connected to their RL identity, without even anyone breaking into your accounts.
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and insurance.
 
Stupid is as stupid does, putting 100k in valuables in a flat box gun safe., one of the weakest safes there is made.
 
Jimfern said:
and insurance.
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Insurance is great for the financial loss, but not for having just released an entire arsenal into the wilds of the black market. Although we cannot be responsible for people who choose to break the law, I'll say again that if you can afford to invest that much money in firearms, you have a responsibility to invest in better security.
 
babaylan said:
Insurance is great for the financial loss, but not for having just released an entire arsenal into the wilds of the black market. Although we cannot be responsible for people who choose to break the law, I'll say again that if you can afford to invest that much money in firearms, you have a responsibility to invest in better security.
Click to expand...
I agree with one caveat.

I'm willing to accept my responsibility but I don't want the government setting the standard for what constitutes sufficient security.
 
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Only a moron would try to get into a safe through the door! The door is designed to be the strongest part of a safe, and also is always many times thicker than any of the walls or top of a safe. Since the criminal had an angle grinder and cutoff disc with him he could have quickly cut a rectangle shaped hole in the side of the safe and not even done 4 cuts! 3 cuts and then just bend the side open like a soup can. The sides of even good gun safes are 10 gauge at most, where doors are 1/4" or thicker.
Anyone who depends on just a gun safe to protect guns and valuables is kidding themselves. Given enough time even a stupid thief gets into a safe, so you need to reduce the time, or even stop them from getting to the safe. A home alarm system, and security cameras will allow the owner to call police before the crook has enough time to even start working on the safe.
I have safes, an alarm system, and security cameras that send me live video of anyone moving around outside my home. Between this and my safes I feel I'm doing as much as possible to thwart criminals.
 
safes are best when only filled with distractions and relatively cheap positive reinforcements
 
Decided a long time ago it's not a gun safe, it's a gun locker. Calling it a "residential security container" sounds 'wordy' to me - some salesman made that up somewhere.

Tuck it into a deep dark corner that visitors don't see, don't tell the neighbors or friends you have one. Mine is stashed in the back of a basement storeroom.

Cameras, alarms, a hungry dog all sound good too.

Deputy sheriff lives next door, vehicle parked in the driveway when he's home. Think that helps 🤓
 
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