Safes

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Yeah the safe is thick and has 10 2 or 4" thick steel bars(can't remember how thick) 4 on both sides and 1 on top and bottom that lock the door closed. Not bad, but like trent said it only buys time, with the right equipment and enough time someone can bust into almost any safe. I mainly got it so my daughter and my 2 brother in laws who live across the street who are 14 and 16 don't have access. It will probably pose a problem for highschool kids, so that's the main types of people I wanted to keep out.
 
Dues;
All safes / residential security containers truly do is buy you TIME.
Fact: If it can go in, it can come back out.
And there are plenty of folks out there that know how to move heavy objects FAST. Bad guys don't need to be "neat" about things; they could use a chainsaw to remove a wall in a built in closet to gain leverage, etc.
Safes are only good for delaying the inevitable.
What is also important, in conjunction with this, is that another "event" happens which starts the clock AGAINST them.
E.g. they have X minutes to get in to a safe or get it out. They have Y minutes before LEO response shows up.
X must be greater than Y.
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Yes, that's exactly true. But I'm also on a second floor apartment with neighbors in every direction, and moving anything in this building quickly is not quiet.
I painted the room last week, and couldn't tilt it in any direction to get a lever under it, without emptying it and inching it straight up.
It's not leaving this room without housewives and late-shift-workers being upset, let alone down the stairs.
I can't bolt it down, so the idea was just to make moving it aggravating and loud. Cuts down on their chances.
 
Deus Machina said:
Yes, that's exactly true. But I'm also on a second floor apartment with neighbors in every direction, and moving anything in this building quickly is not quiet.
I painted the room last week, and couldn't tilt it in any direction to get a lever under it, without emptying it and inching it straight up.
It's not leaving this room without housewives and late-shift-workers being upset, let alone down the stairs.
I can't bolt it down, so the idea was just to make moving it aggravating and loud. Cuts down on their chances.
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Yeah definitely. The two big threats on RSC (residential security containers) is sawzall and pry attacks. To get an effective pry attack going you really need to knock it on it's back and have some room on the sides. And a sawsall will be noisy as heck.

Being on the second floor your choices are limited but security and peace of mind are still important. No matter what the situation I'd always recommend someone buying a safe or RSC to keep guns in when you aren't home.

It's not only the threat of having your stuff stolen; it's the threat of coming home when they are coming out and FACING your own guns.

I went WAY too many years not having a safe and consider myself very fortunate I never had a problem.

The constant worrying when I was gone was eating at me. The thought of some meth head using MY guns in a crime was always on my conscience.

At least I've limited myself to truly sophisticated attackers now. :)
 
Fella's;

I've got two Graffunder's at present. Used to work at selling them, but I'm semi-retired now. I can still get you one if you want. Sold Trent his as a matter of fact.

900F
 
The only safe I have is for important papers, jewelry, etc.
Having the guns locked up and "unavailable" defeats the purpose of having them. Several handguns are scattered around the house (no kids) with an AK, 12 gauge SxS, and a .357 hanging on a wall rack next to the bed. Less used guns (5 long guns & 2 pistols) are in a wood & glass cabinet.
 
CB900F said:
Fella's;

I've got two Graffunder's at present. Used to work at selling them, but I'm semi-retired now. I can still get you one if you want. Sold Trent his as a matter of fact.

900F
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Yup, and I'll vouch that CB900F is 1000% upstanding and good to his word. He walked me through the whole process and made the whole experience effortless for me.

Those graffunders are a sight to behold. If you are real serious about security they are the "real deal."
 
JTHunter said:
The only safe I have is for important papers, jewelry, etc.
Having the guns locked up and "unavailable" defeats the purpose of having them. Several handguns are scattered around the house (no kids) with an AK, 12 gauge SxS, and a .357 hanging on a wall rack next to the bed. Less used guns (5 long guns & 2 pistols) are in a wood & glass cabinet.
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And you never leave the house, ever?

Like I said in an earlier post, I was lucky that day I came home to the kicked in door I wasn't facing the muzzle of my own AK-47 when I came in.

Fortunately for me, the robbers were idiot kids looking to score easy drug money, and not the least bit interested in doing even a casual search for guns (they were all in an unlocked closet).

When I leave ALL of my guns (except what I'm carrying out the door with me) are locked up; unless my wife is home, then she's got hers available; or my oldest boy is babysitting, then he's got his AR15 out.

Yes it's kind of a PITA to put the various handguns I keep around out and in and out and in... but I don't want to come home one night to find my own Glock/CZ/AR shoved in my face when I walk through the door.

(Because THAT is one SURE way of getting in to a Graffunder safe.)
 
Having the guns locked up and "unavailable" defeats the purpose of having them.
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Not trying to start an argument but I disagree. Even if I didn't have kids I would not have 4+guns scattered all over my house like that, seems a bit excessive. Do you think a gang of 15+ people are going to break in your house. All mine are locked up except what ever pistol I am carrying with a full mag and two spare mags, that is usually between 21-30rds. More than enough and if for some reason it is not I can always start to make my way to my safe once I am on my last mag.
 
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My defensive guns are always available to me without the need of stashing guns. My kids are grown and gone, but family and friends with kids can stop by anytime and I don't need to un-stash my guns. Most guns are in my safe. My HD gun is in a quick access safe at my bedside and if I have taken off my ECD for the day, I still am pocket carrying as I do everyday regardless if one is on my hip.

Makes life simpler for me, and I reduce the risk of someone who shouldn't getting their hands on one of my guns. That includes the cleaning service. Scares the crap out of those ladies when they find a gun while cleaning under a bed and they say it happens all the time. They like my handgun safe :D
 
I started out with a lockable cabinet, and when I out grew it, I purchased a Winchester safe. Now my lockable cabinet stores ammo, gun sleeves, holsters and range bags.
 
zerobarrier said:
Not trying to start an argument but I disagree. Even if I didn't have kids I would not have 4+guns scattered all over my house like that, seems a bit excessive. Do you think a gang of 15+ people are going to break in your house. All mine are locked up except what ever pistol I am carrying with a full mag and two spare mags, that is usually between 21-30rds. More than enough and if for some reason it is not I can always start to make my way to my safe once I am on my last mag.
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I understand where you and the other guy are coming from on this.

Before I go on, I'll stress (again) that unattended firearms should be locked up (or otherwise secured from casual theft, e.g. very well hidden). Doing so is part of being a responsible gun owner; unauthorized people should never gain access to your firearms. Period.

This being said, when you ARE home, in order to be able to defend your home, you need to be able to reach and access a firearm *before* an intruder could get to you if they suddenly kicked in the door. Where to place firearms, and how many to keep for self defense, depends on the following:

* How far you are from the nearest entry point, compared to how far you are from the nearest ready to use firearm.

(If the intruder is closer to you, than you are to a gun, or will come in BETWEEN you and a gun, the gun will do you no good whatsoever.)

I live in a *5* level house (split level, 3 on one side, 2 floors on the other), with each floor having a potential ingress point for an intruder. Depending on where I'm at and what I'm doing I need (at minimum) 5 firearms unless I'm carrying all the time, which is uncomfortable and inconvenient when I'm home.

Otherwise the only thing between me and a bad guy that busts in will be a flight of stairs (or four), instead of having a firearm ready to use.

* Whether you carry on your person (and when).

(I don't know of anyone who sleeps with a gun ON them, but nearby? Every night, I have one next to me. If your main access to the house is on floor 1, and your bedroom is on floor 2, and your guns are in the basement, guess what? Guns won't do you any good if someone breaks in at night. Same with showers. Reloading. "Being intimate", and other common "I'm disarmed" moments.)

* "Do you think a gang of 15+ people are going to break in your house."

No, but a neighbor of mine was recently hit by *5* armed gang members at 3 AM. They were there SPECIFICALLY after the firearms. Fortunately no one got hurt but the house was emptied of firearms and they got away clean. (Amazing how fast a safe opens up when the daughter has a gun to her head.)

Consider this also - are YOU good enough to win if it is 5 on one odds? I don't think I am, and I'm pretty damn good.

Worth considering also is not only where you KEEP firearms but what TYPE of firearms they are.

After that neighbor was robbed I ditched all of the revolvers - they are relegated to the safe - and switched up to standard capacity 9mm in the strategically placed positions (kitchen, reloading room, etc. Places I wouldn't otherwise have ready access to a gun on a 5 level house.)

Also make sure family is trained on how to respond (barricade, etc). Because the weakest point of your home security, safe, and all, is whether or not Little Sally has a gun pointed at her head. Any father with a daughter knows the next words out of his mouth will be the combination to the safe.
 
I have had one for 40 years, almost as soon as I got my first permit and my first apartment that I owned. I put one in. Even between houses I had one in a rental unit. Just pistols, I really should get one for my rifles but I lock them in a closet. and have an alarm, so it's not really a big deal.
The next one will be larger, it is bolted into the cement foundation.
 
The safe is finally together and in it's semi permenant location. Although mine is nothing teh big safes pictured I agree with Trent that if it protects my values from fire and or theft long enough for either the police or fire to arrive it will be worth the cost. Thanks for your opinions and for sharing some great pictures. This makes me wonder why it took me so long to get back into shooting.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend

Thank you to all of you who help keep us free and safe.
 
Congratulations and now rest easier. :)

Sounds like it will suit your needs and that is all it needs to do.

You too, have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Ron
 
Where I live is a semi-rural, suburb on a dead-end cluster of 4 streets (only 1 way in or out) and we have only had 2 burglaries in the last 5 years. There is a strip of woods behind my house with a small farm on the other side.

This is also Illinois where carry is frowned upon! I don't normally carry in my house, hence the reason for secreting them within arm's reach in those areas I frequent most. (I have answered the door after dark with gun in hand on a couple of occassions.) ;) Only the three guns on the wallrack are openly displayed and unsecured. The glass-fronted cabinet is locked but, being glass, no real deterrent. :scrutiny:

Yes, I do leave the house but being "involuntarily retired", it is not only infrequent but at irregular intervals.

Three or four neighbors and I keep other neighbors apprised of happenings in the neighborhood via a phone list we maintain. Not exactly a "neighborhood watch" but if something happens, we let the people on the list know about it. :D
 
JTHunter said:

This is also Illinois where carry is frowned upon! I don't normally carry in my house, hence the reason for secreting them within arm's reach in those areas I frequent most. (I have answered the door after dark with gun in hand on a couple of occassions.) ;)
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I live in rural Tazewell county. Our doorbell went off at midnight once - answered the door with a 357 in one hand with my Irish Wolfhound standing next to me.

Was a Sheriff's deputy. He saw the gun in my hand, and smiled, then saw the gigantic dog poke his nose through the door, and took three steps backwards. :)

He asked if Trent was home.

I said "big Trent, or Little Trent?"

"I guess Little Trent?"

He was across the street at the neighbors - cops wanted him due to some complaints about doing burnouts in town :fire::fire::fire:

So I walked across the street to the neighbors with the Sheriff's deputy, 357 magnum still in hand.

He never said ONE word about it. Although he did stay behind and to my left by a few paces. :)

(Note: this was BEFORE the 7th circuit decision when concealed carry was still just a pipe dream.)
 
I have your basic Liberty mid-range safe (Fatboy Jr.). The main thing a person should worry about these days is what happens to you if it's too easy to steal your guns and someone dies because a bunch of kids broke in through a window and took your guns off a wall rack (like we used when I was a kid when you didn't have to worry much about stuff being stolen). In this lawsuit happy country you could end up being culpable for the wrongful death of some rival gang banger. They find new ways to pin things on lawful gun owners all the time and I don't want to be the poster boy for being "responsible" about owning guns. With the vast majority of my guns locked up in a RSC the courts will likely consider I did my part to keep them from being stolen too easily. The key word about being a "responsible" gun owner is obviously "responsible". I can see it happening that we will be held "responsible" for what happens with guns that are easily stolen. Yes I keep my guns available for SD. I really should lock up the ones I don't take with me when I'm gone. I think I'll start doing that now that I think of it. I just hope I can find room in the safe.
 
I have a Browning, Fortress Security, and recently purchased a Sturdy. Over time you tend to buy more secure safes. The Sturdy is 4 ga with a 7ga additional welded plate on both sides. I know that there are lots of opinions, but I decided to go for steel. Any safe can be breached, so you are really buying delay time to allow reinforcements to arrive. Bolting it down and making walls and back hard to get to is a must.
 
I've owned safes since right after my first burglary. :fire:

I started out with a Sun Welding safe. Still have it, relegated to powder and ammo. Resides in my workshop, where the cutting tools also live.

I later moved up to a OXBOW, which is actually a rebranded Cannon. Added two Bighorn 19ECBs when Costco had them on sale. The Bighorns moved on to two of my sons when I bought the Summit Denali 60, which is a high-end RSC. I also have a Barska biometric which will hold a couple long guns and a couple pistols. Haven't decided where to put it in the new house.

The Oxbow and the Denali are mounted side by side and bolted to the concrete slab in our home office. House is protected with a monitored security system, backed up by dogs and nosy neighbors who are home all day. My new workshop is an outbuilding, and is just finishing construction. It will have it's own alarm system with sirens, internally barred windows, and is visible from the main road. Might put the Barska out there for a varmint rifle.
I will probably pick up one of those Cannon tall RSCs for the shop - to store the plasma, torches, grinders, and metal saws in!
 
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Yes, I have several safes. Lately (last decade or so) I have been buying Fort Knox. They seem fine but I will probably upgrade on the next house. Several of mine are now "built in" so they are staying with this house.
 
My first was a Treadlock, don't even know if they are still in business. All the others are Liberties of various sizes and grades. The Liberties all have some level of fire protection but I think the Treadlock is a stronger safe.
It was pointed out that the easiest way to gain entrance to a secure gun safe/rsc is to have the owner or other family member with a gun at their head.
I think that is a consideration worth contemplating.
Aside from those of very light gauge steel most will give a thief pause if they are fastened down or in quarters that seriously limits their ability to lay them down or get superior leverage against the door and frame.
A gas powered chop saw is probably the biggest threat, I've often contemplated having signs made for the fronts stating that Black Powder was stored within.
 
X-rap said:
I've often contemplated having signs made for the fronts stating that Black Powder was stored within.
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No need to have them made, some safe manufacturers even include them with their safes - Sturdy Safe being one. But do you really think a crook is going to heed such a warning?
 
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