Sentry safes? Im curious how long?

[chetrogers]

I have 350 bucks to buy a safe and it looks like that sentry safe is the best that i can get.Im curious how long it would take somebody to get into it that didnt know much about safes.If somebody was to break into my house I have a feeling it would be the "crackhead type" Or "teenager type".

 

[RED-DOG 40]

C-4 about the size of a quater.....about 15 seconds.... ...

...

 

[CB900F]

Chet;

The likelyhood of one of those types having C-4 is pretty low. But, I'm a locksmith & sell safes for a living. It doesn't take explosives to open one up in pretty short order. I'm not going to put out on the internet how to do it, but I will say that it's not hard to pick up the info in a good reform school, county jail, or other institution of lower learning.

For the casual smash & grab thief, you're probably OK. If he's got 20 min & some knowledge, your stuff is gone. If there's two of them with a freight dolly & your Sentry isn't bolted down, wave goodbye.

One of your best methods is going to be to hide or disguise it.

900F

 

[Blue Line]

Also remember that you probably have some tools in the garage to use to at least try and open it. Watch what tools are left readily accesiable. Everything is an attempt to delay the BG. Take enough of his time away and he'll move on to something else. Give him all day and he may get in. Bolt it down or keep it somewhere its not easy to haul out.
Alarms, safe's, dogs etc they all delay and add another layer to your security.

 

[chetrogers]

Thanks for the replys i was going to go this morning and still mite go tonight.But i dont want somethign that somebody is just gonna be able to get into.I have a dog in my house when im gone but to think of it they could get in and just get in my room and close the door and the dog wouldnt be able to do anything..I really dont see myself saving up anymore money for a while for a real safe.I just dont want to waste money on something.But i suppose its better then homak stuff.Thanks for the info and keep any comments comming if there are any more.

 

[burbanite]

Was privy to a demonstration video on this subject only yesterday. A 150 pound man can get the door open in less than 20 seconds with two simple tools.

There are, of course, other factors. The best piece of advice I can give based on that is buy the thickest walled safe you can find.

 

[444]

What does it use for a lock ?



Any safe can be defeated, that is a given. With enough time and the right equipment, bank vaults have been opened. The best you can hope for is to protect yourself against common thugs. It also helps to be realistic about how much time, how much noise, how much strange activity around your house, how much equipment etc is needed to defeat your safe or locker. On a real simple safe or locker the lock would be the first thing I would attack. Some people have a locker with a pad lock on it. You can cut through any commonly available pad lock in seconds with a pair of bolt cutters. I have also seen some real simple locks that could be defeated by slipping a hacksaw blade in between the door and the locker wall. You could also easily use a pry bar to break the lock. Once you get into the lower end safes with a dial lock and the multiple hardened steel bars, the safe walls become a lot more attractive but are going to require making a lot of noise and having a lot bigger tools to breach.

 

[larry_minn]

Was privy to a demonstration video on this subject only yesterday. A 150 pound man can get the door open in less than 20 seconds with two simple tools.

There are, of course, other factors. The best piece of advice I can give based on that is buy the thickest walled safe you can find.

WOW 20 seconds? I looked at basic tools I would want for attempt and can't figure that one. (jet axe?) The only ones I come up with would damage stuff inside and require lots of room.

 

[chetrogers]

20 seconds..man im not sure about this.maybe i should just hold off till i can get a better safe then the Sentry safe..Only thing is it would be a few months from now

 

[rich2u]

The old saying that the locks on the door are to keep out the honest guy is true. If there determined to get at something...

 

[Beav]

The problem is that a better safe (security wise RSC vs TL) is gonna cost you quite a bit more than that $300 Sentry safe.

 

[chetrogers]

Is there a safe that is 600 dollars that is twice as good as a sentry?..Im thinking of holing off till i get more money even though it will be a long time from now.

 

[Patent Works]

Another safe question:

Have any of the survival/preparedness folks ever considered that those (incredibly handy) pushbutton keypad safes are vulnerable to EMP? It would be a bummer not to be able to get at your guns for the apocalypse, after all.

Shield the keypad in a metal box for a Faraday Cage?

 

[NavajoNPaleFace]

EMP???????????????

 

[Mr. Clark]

EMP???????????????

ElectroMagnetic Pulse.

It fries electronic equipment.

Don't most keypad safes have key backups? I wouldn't buy one that didn't.

 

[sturmruger]

Chet I am in kind of the same boat that you are in. I have been looking for a inexpensive safe that will still protect my gun collection. I have seen allot of differant safes and the best deal I have found so far is a Winchester safe at Sams Club. It is 61X24X30 and weighs 625 lbs. They are asking $699. I think I will have enough saved up in another 3 weeks.



EDIT

I found a safe that is the same size at Fleet Farm. It is a Cannon safe which is good because it has a much better warranty then the Winchester. In fact anything that goes wrong with the safe is covered by a on site repair technician. The big upside is it is only $639. $60 cheaper then Sammies.

 

[Carlos]

Cool, I'm going to be needing one of those as soon as I can afford it.

For now, I'm using a Homack, Chet. It's better than nothing, and the Sentry is sure better than that.

I got mine bolted into beams with 6" carriage bolts (old building) and bolted to the concrete floor. There' s an alarm system for the house, and I keep most valuables inside locked up, including my tools.

I'm also very thankful I have some good, caring neighbors. We watch out for each other.