Home safes?

[Geronimo]

I have wanted to get a safe to protect some good for a long while.

Wondering what people have?

I was looking at Ft. Knox and Sturdy to start.... thinking $2000.00 price range. Will need to store some long guns as well.

[gregpark]

Can't recommend but can say that no safe is fire proof. Even with a high hour rating the contents will be destroyed. For the burglars I have a hidden safe plus an empty decoy safe in plain sight in the laundry room. If I ever get broken into they'll struggle with the heavy worthless dummy safe, ha ha good luck with that. I bought it at an estate sale for 20 bucks

[Geronimo]

LOL, Nice! I like the idea of a hidden or false wall.

Most safes have a short fire minute rating. Not sure how much damage is sustained within that time frame.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

LOL, Nice! I like the idea of a hidden or false wall.

Most safes have a short fire minute rating. Not sure how much damage is sustained within that time frame.

We used to have a wall safe in our old home. It fit between the studs in the wall, so was only ~4" deep, no fire protection, just sheet steel, but it would slow folks down if they found it at all. I think it was only about 15-18" tall and as wide as the distance between 2 studs and and deep. They make a tall version for rifles.

They do make deeper wall safes, but obviously, you'd have to have the depth behind the wall to be able to do that.

I have a safe that's about 300#, and a real pain in the rear to move. It's like a tiny fridge, only 18-20" tall. It holds a fair amount of stuff, but not remotely the right size for rifles.

I have heard (here on the board) that gun safes are often not great at keeping people out because they often have a weakness that can be compromised. I assume you can spend enough to fix that.

There are actually a fair number of threads on home safes and long spoon safes on the board. You may want to do a search.

[LWJ]

love the decoy!!!

[Geronimo]

Yea, funny enough I didn't even think to search... should have known pelicans have covered everything under the sun already.

[flatbutt]

If you really want a gun safe then you should buy a gun safe specifically that has space for other stuff.

[GH85Carrera]

Safes are more varied than automobiles. Talk to a safe company in your town. Often they have a used safe that came from some jewelry store or a pawn shop. Pay them to move it.

Most buglers are smash and grab, and looking for TV and electronics. The don't spend the time breaking into a safe. A true professional can get into any safe in fairly short order. That is what insurance is for.

If the safe weighs less than 1,000 pounds bolt it down, or secure the safe to the floor.

And yea, a decoy safe with piece of paper with treasure map to some secure federal building on it might be a good idea.

[fintstone]

I subscribe to the position that other than a smash-and-grab...a safe is not much protection...as most can easily be broken into:
https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/gun-safe-vs-10-saw-blade/

I like the idea (for a gun safe or other), to divide my treasures or guns among several locations and hidden (but in metal boxes that resist the smash and grab). These "fast-boxes" are lockable to keep kids out and can be bolted down in a hidden location...or repurposed to bug-oy or transport them in a vehicle. Similarly, if used for guns, if cut off from a certain portion of the house for some reason, you can go to a box elsewhere for a weapon (different floor or part of house). If a burglar finds one cache, they will probably think that is all and at least you only lose part of your stuff (searching for your stuff takes time). Of course, your system is expandable...as you add more guns/treasures.
https://www.secureitgunstorage.com/hidden-gun-safes/fast-box/

If you just want to hide weapons for quick access...and don't have the "children problem"...these hidden systems are nice:
https://www3.tacticaltraps.com/

[GH85Carrera]

A good safe will have concrete in the walls, and the concrete will have fibers of steel mixed in. It just eats up the blades. They are tough, but not real pretty, and VERY heavy and expensive.

[fintstone]

Yes, the article above discusses that.

[vash]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I have wanted to get a safe to protect some good for a long while.

Wondering what people have?

I was looking at Ft. Knox and Sturdy to start.... thinking $2000.00 price range. Will need to store some long guns as well.

my (gun)safe is a Sturdy. it is ugly..ugly in a good way. certainly not one of those shiny middle of the living room type of gunsafes. it is so solid. real insulation for fire (so i am told). mine is a smaller safe and it is heavy as F.

word to the wise..the dial. get a black dial with with numbering. i got silver dial will black numbering and it is hard to see in low light.

[Wetwork]

Had a friend who always hid his gun safe in the baby's room. Put a big purple "Barney the Dinosaur" blanket over it and built toy shelves around it.

Yes he was careful about children and firearms..just thought it would be the last place to get picked over.

I watched a home security feed of some guys cutting a hole in the wall with a chainsaw and pushing a safe into the back of a truck...so be mindful of that. Watching the feed they were gone in ten minutes. It's fairly easy to tip one over. Also look at the corners of the doors of the the safe. If it has sharp edges and room for a pry bar its pretty do-able to pry one open. Lots of vids on the net on this.-WW

ps. If it's not heavy enough, put bags of concrete in the bottom.

[stevej37]

^^^ Such a contrast as to where I live.
Doors unlocked every night.
Cars left in the drive with keys in ignition every night.
Never any worry about theft.

[Cajundaddy]

I have a hidden safe for small high value items. Not much in there right now but was useful in the past. It is pretty small at around 1 cubic foot and almost certainly fireproof.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ Such a contrast as to where I live.
Doors unlocked every night.
Cars left in the drive with keys in ignition every night.
Never any worry about theft.

I lived someplace like that. Small town (20k people) that was basically a suburb of Houston. Still, we didn't leave things like that all of the time, that was just the occasional forget to lock up kind of thing. I suspect there's no big city where you can get away with that forever. I knew a guy in a nice gated neighborhood that had his work laptop stolen out of his car in his driveway over night.

Still, it's like that until it's not. You just never know when some dirtbag will be passing through.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by masraum

Still, it's like that until it's not. You just never know when some dirtbag will be passing through.

Yeah, I am pretty sure we've had that discussion here previously. Lots of folks seem to think they live in rural utopias that thieves will never find. Sure, the odds of getting robbed/burglarized in Mayberry are lower, relative to urban/suburban areas. However, the prevalence and advancement of security measures and tech in the latter areas has pushed savvy thieves out to the sticks a lot more now (to avoid all the locked doors, cameras, alarms, etc.). There is also another component: the rise of meth and the benefits/desirability that rural locales provide for cooking it...which leads to more criminal elements living in/transiting those rural locales.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by Geronimo

I was looking at Ft. Knox and Sturdy to start.... thinking $2000.00 price range. Will need to store some long guns as well.

Can't go wrong with a Fort Knox. Or maybe a step down to a Liberty. I'd probably search for used ones on CL or local gun forums first. And I'd probably go with a manual over an "e-lock" key pad, but YMMV there.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Yeah, I am pretty sure we've had that discussion here previously. Lots of folks seem to think they live in rural utopias that thieves will never find. Sure, the odds of getting robbed/burglarized in Mayberry are lower, relative to urban/suburban areas. However, the prevalence and advancement of security measures and tech in the latter areas has pushed savvy thieves out to the sticks a lot more now (to avoid all the locked doors, cameras, alarms, etc.). There is also another component: the rise of meth and the benefits/desirability that rural locales provide for cooking it...which leads to more criminal elements living in/transiting those rural locales.

Nope...not in my area.
Lived here for over 50 years and have never seen an incidence of theft.
My house or garage is never locked...no reason to do it.
If a thief wants to steal something...go for it. The consequences are high.

[908/930]

I think the term safe is an overstatement, should be called a deterrent. Check you tube for breaking into safes, some are in with just large pry bars. A co I worked for years ago had their office safe cut into overnight, very large solid steel safe, given enough time and motivation.