Has your safe prevented a firearm theft?

[BogWalker]

Has anyone here actually had a safe prevent theft of firearms during a break in? I'm kind of curious. Please post a few details and what model safe you were using. Did the thief attempt to open the safe, and how close did he get if he did try?

Especially interested in the efficacy of those cheap security cabinets.

 

[Brandon]

If a security cabinet is all you can afford then go for it.
I bought one at the goodwill a few weeks ago for 10 bucks because it had no keys.
20 minutes with a drill both locks were drilled out and it was open. They are good for keeping little hands out of it, wouldn't use one as a safe though.

Can't comment on the rest of the question(s). Thankfully.

 

[rockhopper46038]

An RSC isn't going to keep out anyone with determination, a little mechanical aptitude and a common set of tools for more than 10-15 minutes. Some a few minutes more, some a few minutes less. That might be enough time if used in conjunction with an alarm system and a pretty quick response time. More so if it takes them 5 minutes or more to find the safe. But they will do a pretty good job keeping curious kids and opportunistic drug-addled tweakers out of them. And some do ok against a common house fire, if they are UL fire-rated. If you can hide it a security cabinet is better than nothing. If you can't hide it, a security cabinet may just be a handy carrying case for the thief.

Thankfully, like Brandon, my safes haven't been put to the test by an actually burglary attempt.

 

[xdmdude]

Im gonna watch this thread as i am interested to see everyones opinion on the safe thing. I got robbed and cleaned out at the end of the year last year and have been looking and trying to decide on weather to put down the money or not as safes get real expensive real quick.

 

[churchmouse]

If a security cabinet is all you can afford then go for it.
I bought one at the goodwill a few weeks ago for 10 bucks because it had no keys.
20 minutes with a drill both locks were drilled out and it was open. They are good for keeping little hands out of it, wouldn't use one as a safe though.

Can't comment on the rest of the question(s). Thankfully.

A cabinet like Stackon makes can be made a lot more secure than originally offered. I have 2 for ammo and yes, a smart fella might be able to breech them but it will take a lot longer than 10 minutes and a drill.....

 

[BogWalker]

I'm hoping somebody who has actually had a thief attempt to get into their safe or security cabinet could say how he went about it and if he was successful. A lot of people say those stack-ons and such are easy to get into, but I'd like to know how well that claim holds up in actual attempts.

You say you have a way to reenforce them churchmouse? Please elaborate.

 

[Brandon]

I'm guessing this would be as good as any attempt by a thief.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NZjRSdpcc

I think he could of been in quicker, I think the lock could of been drilled quicker and more quietly if one was trying to break into it as well.

I broke into mine using nothing more then an 18v cordless drill and a cheap drill bit. It had 2 locks instead of one so it took twice as long.
If I didn't care about it, a long screw driver and crow bar (or 2) would be the most obvious ways to get in.

 

[Dr.Midnight]

This is my personal opinion, but I feel that being a responsible gun owner means not only handling and operating firearms properly, but also securing and storing them the best you can. That's why a storage cabinet was never even considered for my needs. I felt that if I can afford multiple guns, then I should cough up the cash to have a quality safe to put them in.

 

[BogWalker]

It's a stand in expedient at this point. $150 for a stack-on versus $1k for a good Liberty safe. I certainly want a good safe, but in the mean time saving up for that (quite a while!) my firearms would be entirely unsecured. Not an ideal situation. I am very curious as to how well safes have worked in real burglary situations, not just the security cabinets.

 

[K_W]

Most "gun safes" are nothing more than glorified refrigerators.

Most are a single sheet of 11 to 14 gauge (about 1/12 to 1/10 inch) steel with drywall behind them and the door is a sheet wrapped around drywall. The 3 inch think door may only have 1/5 inch of actual steel except right in front of the lock. Even worse, anyone who bought a house recently has heard of the dangers of Chinese drywall and what they do to pipes in your walls... these safes are made in China with drywall from China.

Statistically, you are more likely to have a break-in than a house fire, so strength is what I look for.

A decent safe will have at least 10 gauge walls and a 1/4 inch plate as door or inside the door. They should at a minimum have a relocker in the lock mechanism, with a separate relocker as a bonus.

Bolt count IS NOT AS IMPORTANT as steel content, but a good safe will have bolts on ALL sides of the door. (4 way bolts)

Check out the specs on some safes...

$600 Winchester... made in China, NO RELOCKER, 14 gauge all over, will keep kids out, thats it.
A $1200 Cannon safe... 14 gauge walls and spot welded 14 gauge door, pathetic.
A $1200 Liberty... 11 gauge throughout also spot welded
The $900 Chinese made "Libertys" 14 and 12 and of course spotwelded

But, a $1200 Johnson Safe... MADE IN INDIANA... 10 gauge FULLY welded body and a 1/4 solid steel door, with 7 gauge and 3/8 door upgrades available.

I spent months looking at safes... I went with a Johnson.

WHATEVER YOU GET... BOLT... IT... DOWN.

A safe that is not bolted down is just a box with all you valuables in it.

Oh and here is how secure the Stack-on cabinets are...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NZjRSdpcc

 

[churchmouse]

I'm hoping somebody who has actually had a thief attempt to get into their safe or security cabinet could say how he went about it and if he was successful. A lot of people say those stack-ons and such are easy to get into, but I'd like to know how well that claim holds up in actual attempts.

You say you have a way to reenforce them churchmouse? Please elaborate.

PM sent....

 

[rockhopper46038]

OP, for the security cabinets and RSCs the burglars easiest route is to either go directly through the side or back of the safe (if the metal gauge is thin; say 12 gauge or higher), or to pry the frame around the door for enough away from the bolts to let them slip past. This is much harder if the safe is bolted down so that it can't be tipped onto it's side or back, and even more difficult if the safe is bolted into a corner with the hinge side farthest from the wall, so that there is no room to get a crowbar onto the non-hinged (opening) edge of the door. I imagine the video posted above shows one of these containers being cracked open, but if not there are plenty of videos out there that show how it's done.

 

[nipprdog]

Im gonna watch this thread as i am interested to see everyones opinion on the safe thing. I got robbed and cleaned out at the end of the year last year and have been looking and trying to decide on weather to put down the money or not as safes get real expensive real quick.

You were cleaned out once already, and your still undecided???

Wow.

 

[Fyjimo]

If someone wanted my guns, it would take a crew to get at them and a crew to carry out the safe. It's bolted down and weighs about 700lbs empty.

 

[17 squirrel]

My metal shop was broken in about 7 years ago in Maryland by a repeat offender crackhead. He had been arrested more than once for burglary, I kept two large Browning Safes in that shop and other than some pry marks on the doors all he took was shop tools.
There was plenty of tools to cut the safes open, For whatever reason he chose not to. He was caught because I had video of him, But as far as getting anything back it was a waste of time. He got 4 years and was out in 2. Large HEAVY BOLTED DOWN safes are money well spent.

 

[Bunnykid68]

A safe that is not bolted down is just a box with all you valuables in it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_NZjRSdpcc

Yep. It is pretty amazing how fast even a decent safe can be pried apart if they can get it on it's side. Having it bolted down helps removes those leverage points.

 

[HeadlessRoland]

Went to the bank today. My only thought while transacting business was "I wonder how much that vault door would cost to have installed."

 

[churchmouse]

The stackons I mentioned are screwed to the walls and floors.
In some homes there is just no space for a good safe.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Went to the bank today. My only thought while transacting business was "I wonder how much that vault door would cost to have installed."

I know someone who has one of those for sale, I forget how many thousands of dollars he said it would cost just to get it out of his building.

 

[caulfieldian]

But, a $1200 Johnson Safe... MADE IN INDIANA... 10 gauge FULLY welded body and a 1/4 solid steel door, with 7 gauge and 3/8 door upgrades available.

I spent months looking at safes... I went with a Johnson.

Thanks for all that info in your post. I'm in the market for a good safe and the cheap ones sure seem nice but I'd rather spend extra money and have the peace of mind knowing how secure these are. AND made in Zionsville, which isn't too far away. Do they have a showroom?