Armory Sponsor
Posted: 9/12/2009 11:31:13 AM EDT
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Here's the deal. I have a smallish sheet metal "gunsafe" that is little more than a locking box - not exactly high security. My collection has outgrown that box and I'm thinking about a second one. Before you say I'm nuts and I should get a 800# safe - I'm in a very rural area. No neighbors. Police response is roughly 20 minutes (based on response time to my neighbors, when someone opened fire on them) If someone breaks into my home, they could sit here all damn day and spend 8 hours forcing open a RSC. Oxy/Acet torch in my shed, so if a thief rummaged a bit, no RSC would surive more than 10 minutes.... I am thinking that even the most basic locked steel cabinet will discourage the casual thief / punk / smash-n-grab. If anyone wants to defeat the safe, they can, but that would take a criminal with a little more determination. So, I'm thinking another basic metal box type safe, probably welded to my first one to make something that will not fit out the door. Am I nuts ? |
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What about fire protection? Sheet metal box has none.
If your collection has outgrown your curent RSC, you should be able to afford something a little better. Spend a grand and get a upscale RSC that is big enough to fit your guns, has some fire protection and a better locking mechanism. Use the old RSC for ammo and gear. |
| I'm in a similar rural situation, fire dept 15 mins away and sheriff deputy's average response time is 26 mins (could be more, could be less), but I still went with an RSC with 70 min fire protection. There are decent ones to be had for $1000 or so. If you can buy from Costco, they have a 31 cubic foot Bighorn safe with 10 gauge steel on sale for $999.99. It needs to look intimidating even for the smash and grabbers, otherwise if they can pick it up they'll just haul it home and work on it at their leisure. You should also consider an alarm system and dogs that bark, rather than put all your faith in a safe, because like you said, enough time and the right tools, no safe is truly safe. |
| i was in the same boat as you. bit the bullet on a real gun safe. if you have a torch i am guessing you also have some sort of hammer and pry bar/nail puller if the pecker heads did not bring their own to get in your house. to get the torch set and burned into the safe would be more like 25+. smash and grab thieves will be in a three locking point steel gun cab (stack on style) in under two min. fire rating is also a plus for the safe. the safe i chose is in a thread here. |
Another vote for getting a "gun safe" (ie. RSC). My guess is that most thieves want to get out fast regardless. With a sheet metal container, they could just pick up your box and throw it in the back of a truck. With a decent "gun safe" that is bolted down, they probably won't take the extra time to get at it. Get something that will be too much of a "pain in the butt" to try and get out of your house quickly (ie. something with some weight to it). Don't make it easy for the bastards that are ripping you off. 
J |
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