Anyone have a Great gun safe story ?

September 02, 2017, 01:57 PM

you know, where you came home from a week in Coralville, and found your whole house ransacked, but they did not get the contents of your gun safe?
or
how you found all kinds of tools and scratch marks on your safe, but they did not defeat the safe.

September 02, 2017, 02:19 PM

Snapping Twig

We came home to the front door laying inside our porch and the house ransacked.

All kinds of marks indicating they tried to get into the safe, but no joy.

They stole jewelry not in the safe and my hi cap mags that were not in the safe.

Installed a monitored alarm, got a really big doberman-sheppard and started wearing a .357 when I was home. Cops told us that now that the BG's knew we had guns, hot entry was a possibility.

Never happened, but we were prepared.

September 02, 2017, 03:15 PM

Ronin1069

quote:
Cops told us that now that the BG's knew we had guns, hot entry was a possibility.

Man, had not really thought about that. And they'd have to do it when they knew YOU were home.

September 02, 2017, 03:18 PM

Fredward

Came home once to find the garage door kicked in and scratches all over the safe, and all over the two interior doors. I'd set it up with to steel interior doors, but hadn't replaced the exterior yet. I painted the interior doors and spray-painted the scratches on my safe (amsec crackle finish.)

September 02, 2017, 06:35 PM

signewt

I had discovered a 'gun safe' could also be considered some form of 'replicating accumulator'.....

on one memorable occasion I had a small but very specific unusual if not downright rare, a mule-ear side-by-side double barrel 22LR derringer.

Not of great value, more a conversation piece than anything, it disappeared. I searched high & low for it. Multiple search patterns. Multiple new places. Multiple repetitive etc.

After about a year I began to suspect it was actually gone.

Eventually I was looking to rearrange shelf space for More Room for Newer Things.....

I discovered the pistol, which had fallen off the back of a shelf and wedged in the very small crack behind the shelf & rear wall. I had looked & searched that entire area before multiple times never finding it.

September 03, 2017, 09:47 AM

Haveme1or2

I've been thinking about a safe. But the fear of making it easy for the thieves to "know" where they all are (I bundled then all for you) keeps me just thinking. I'm over insured and only one has emotional value.

September 03, 2017, 11:49 AM

chongosuerte

quote:
Originally posted by Haveme1or2:
I've been thinking about a safe. But the fear of making it easy for the thieves to "know" where they all are (I bundled then all for you) keeps me just thinking. I'm over insured and only one has emotional value.

The safe is likely less than your insurance deductible. I'd go for it.

Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones

September 03, 2017, 11:56 AM

a1abdj

I have never seen a gun safe survive a real burglary attempt. I have seen several resist the weak attempts of amateurs that break into homes. Since that group is responsible for the vast majority of residential burglaries, a gun safe is still a great thing to have.

September 03, 2017, 12:14 PM

H&K-Guy

$600 safes open just like $2000 safes. A grinding/cutoff wheel around the top of the safe exposes the safes contents to the thief. I've seen the cheap safes cut this way in 20 minutes using just one cutoff wheel. The more expensive ones take a little longer, but are defeated nearly as easy.

I agree with the statements above, safes are for child safety, amateurs, and smash and grab thieves, but not for real burglars.

The last safe I bought was delivered to my home by two guys with a truck. They explained how to get into that safe in minutes. They knew where the emergency key was going to be kept. They knew how to use the combination reset button. They knew more about the safe than anyone should. That really put things into perspective for me.

The secret to securing a safe has less to do with the safe and more to do with placement (stealth), anchoring (lessens maneuvering with tools), loss of access to tools (no available power), and time (publicly resistant via noise).

Never forget, any $6000 safe can be opened with a simple 9mm handgun.

H&K-Guy

September 03, 2017, 05:23 PM

radioman

quote:
Originally posted by H&K-Guy:

Never forget, any $6000 safe can be opened with a simple 9mm handgun.

I have a rare fear of larger safes. I will never ever own a safe that I can fit into, or more specifically, be forced into.

for this reason, I own several smaller safes.

Does anyone else share this fear?

September 03, 2017, 05:25 PM

H&K-Guy

I have two safes I could fit neatly into. I have the same morbid fear. They creep me out a little.

Because of that, you just ain't gonna' get me to open those safes. You're just not. Go ahead and shoot me if you want.

H&K-Guy

September 03, 2017, 05:30 PM

arcwelder

When I tell people not to put their gun safe in the garage, I mean it. Humidity and temperature swings are a problem, but:

We had several customers come home to a destroyed garage door, that looked like a safe had been towed through it...

Putting a safe where it's not casually visible from the street is key. Putting it somewhere not as easy to remove it is also key.

September 03, 2017, 06:00 PM

Balzé Halzé

quote:
Originally posted by H&K-Guy:

The last safe I bought was delivered to my home by two guys with a truck. They explained how to get into that safe in minutes. They knew where the emergency key was going to be kept.

H&K-Guy

A combo safe with an "emergency key" or back up key is pretty dumb. It compromises the safe's security in a big way.

~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

"Once there was only dark. If you ask me, light is winning." ~Rust Cohle

September 03, 2017, 06:03 PM

H&K-Guy

quote:
Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
quote:
Originally posted by H&K-Guy:

The last safe I bought was delivered to my home by two guys with a truck. They explained how to get into that safe in minutes. They knew where the emergency key was going to be kept.

H&K-Guy

A combo safe with an "emergency key" or back up key is pretty dumb. It compromises the safe's security in a big way.

Agreed. Now go back 10 years and tell that to me when I bought it. It's an electronic lock. You have to remove the keypad to expose the lock-work. Lot's of electronic locking safes have them. Go figure.

Ironically, the only safe place to put the keys is in the safe.

H&K-Guy

September 03, 2017, 06:08 PM

XLT

My brother and I were hauling my safe up our front steps, we were truly pushing our limits and we both knew it, when the unlocked door came open

dam near killed both of us, just lucky no one got there fingers sliced off.

September 03, 2017, 06:35 PM

Graniteguy

quote:
Originally posted by H&K-Guy:
$600 safes open just like $2000 safes. A grinding/cutoff wheel around the top of the safe exposes the safes contents to the thief. I've seen the cheap safes cut this way in 20 minutes using just one cutoff wheel. The more expensive ones take a little longer, but are defeated nearly as easy.

I agree with the statements above, safes are for child safety, amateurs, and smash and grab thieves, but not for real burglars.

The last safe I bought was delivered to my home by two guys with a truck. They explained how to get into that safe in minutes. They knew where the emergency key was going to be kept. They knew how to use the combination reset button. They knew more about the safe than anyone should. That really put things into perspective for me.

The secret to securing a safe has less to do with the safe and more to do with placement (stealth), anchoring (lessens maneuvering with tools), loss of access to tools (no available power), and time (publicly resistant via noise).

Never forget, any $6000 safe can be opened with a simple 9mm handgun.

H&K-Guy

That's why my wife doesn't have the combo !!

September 05, 2017, 08:15 PM

Aquabird

quote:
Originally posted by radioman:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by H&K-Guy:

Never forget, any $6000 safe can be opened with a simple 9mm handgun.

September 05, 2017, 08:41 PM

Lab-Kid

quote:
A grinding/cutoff wheel around the top of the safe exposes the safes contents to the thief. I've seen the cheap safes cut this way in 20 minutes using just one cutoff wheel. The more expensive ones take a little longer, but are defeated nearly as easy.

H&K-Guy

I'm confident that my 1,000 lb Liberty safe will take care of the 95%'s, the "Explosives" placard will take care of another 4% and the 30 lbs of gunpowder and blackpowder in the safe and my homeowners policy will take care of the dumbest 1%.

September 06, 2017, 08:05 AM

sjp

My mother's house in central Florida was broken into one time and they had unlimited time and tools but could never defeat it. The shop she bouggt it from had it on display i think in Apopka until they gave it back to her and she still uses it to this day but in another location.

She also was given a new safe due to the damage

September 06, 2017, 08:32 AM

lyman

quote:
Originally posted by a1abdj:
I have never seen a gun safe survive a real burglary attempt. I have seen several resist the weak attempts of amateurs that break into homes. Since that group is responsible for the vast majority of residential burglaries, a gun safe is still a great thing to have.

I've seen one, but not a gun safe,

group broke into a grocery store (I worked for the chain in another location)
managed to drag the ATM to the back room loading dock (thru the store) and literally destroyed the ATM, but never managed to get in the safe,

never thought they were that secure, but apparently they are,

one or more got cut badly during the process, there was blood everywhere,

thing is, that particular store, the customers would walk in , get cash from the atm, and then buy groceries,(vs using the card at the register,, ) so the machine was likely empty or damn close to it, (busy days we would have to fill it several times)