How important are the lugs on a Safe/RSC?

[circuitspore]

Okay, so I'm totally new to RSC's and safes. Been reading up for a while, and I'm pretty sure I'm even more confused than when I started. There is a ton of great info on THR, but it's a bit overwhelming.

My budget is roughly $1000, plus or minus a bit depending on my wallet's mood once I finally write the check. Based on what I've read, I think that puts me in the higher end RSC's.

Almost everything I've read puts a lot of emphasis on steel thickness and what is or is not considered a 'safe'.

So where do the lugs come in? How important are they? How important are live vs. dead lugs on the hinge side? How important are active lugs on the top vs bottom? Do the # of lugs make a difference past a certain count?

Many thanks, and I apologize if this has been covered before. If so, my search-fu is not strong today.

 

[a1abdj]

In the interest of full disclosure, $1,000 will put you into a low to low/mid level RSC. High end RSCs can still cost upwards of $15,000, even though you're not getting much security for the money. If you know what you're looking for, $2,000 to $5,000 can get you something decent.

So where do the lugs come in? How important are they? How important are live vs. dead lugs on the hinge side? How important are active lugs on the top vs bottom? Do the # of lugs make a difference past a certain count?

The number of bolts is important depending on the thickness of the door. The thicker the steel in the door, the less it will flex, the less important a large number of bolts are. The thinner the steel in the door, the more it will flex, the more important the number of bolts are.

Dead bolts are better than live bolts in the sense that it is fewer moving parts to give you problems down the road. From a security standpoint, both are equal in performance.

The top and bottom bolts come in with the discussion above regarding the thickness of the steel in the door.

Most gun safes have more bolts than they need, larger than they need to be, and in places they don't need to be. They look good, add cost to the safe, but don't have much to do with the security you're getting.

 

[circuitspore]

Thanks for the info. I guess when I said "higher end RSC" I should have clarified that as meaning "higher end of the RSC's masquerading as gun safes in the big box and chain sports stores". The prices I was seeing on those ranged from $400-$1200 depending on size and brand.

One more question for the safe experts - is there any difference between the same model of RSC when sold by local mom-and-pop dealer vs. a big box retailer? Specifically, the Centurion/Liberty 23 gun cabinets?

I know it may come across as a dumb question to some folks, but I do know of other (ie. non-firearm) markets where the 'same' product can have varying construction quality depending on the assumed level of product knowledge in the targeted demographic.

 

[CB900F]

Circuit;

Anymore, with the quality being sacrificed to generate sales, what the bolts lock up behind is at least as important as the number of bolts themselves. Many RSC's no longer use a plate frame mated to the body sheet metal. Nowadays, many examples can be found that merely form the gauge sheet metal of the body to form a surface behind which the bolt extend when the unit is locked. Bent sheet metal provides a poor substitute for a plate steel frame. Go to YouTube & access the video "Security On Sale", the door of the unit is popped in well under 2 minutes. I'm pretty sure that the unit that got popped had no plate frame. Yeah, the unit was flopped on it's back, but all that did was allow the video to be done in 4 minutes or so instead of 12, maybe, if the unit remained upright.

900F

 

[Skylerbone]

Given your budget (better than many casual owners) you might start with a list of priorities first to help determine your particular needs. Are you most concerned with fire or theft? Will you be storing other items or strictly firearms? Will the size you're looking at allow for a few years growth when your great uncle leaves you his estate?

It's always better to buy once and cry once than repeating the exercise. I've been tempted by the low and high end boxes before but ultimately found my primary concern to be keeping curious hands off and keeping amatures out. The average home invasion lasts just a few minutes, not long enough to bother (at least on a first visit) with a box. My insurance will compensate for everything inside in case of fire or theft. I just don't want my firearms in the hands of criminals for lack of protecting them.