Anyone actually had a gun safe broken into?

[c good]

Or a decent "Security Container" rated "safe" ie: Browning, Cannon, AmSec, Liberty,..... I don't want to know how someone can break into one of these. We've all read these articles and it doesn't need to be advertised any more. We've all read the horror stories of stolen firearms on this forum. Details always seem to be blurred around whether the firearms were stored in a "Safe", a "S.C" or not. I just would like to know if anyone has had one broken into and actually lost stuff from it. Not carried away.....unless it was bolted and carried away. c good

[Eljay]

And I assume you've seen the youtube videos of the lower end safes being broken into in a couple of minutes with a couple of crowbars?

[Interloper]

Ever seen a pick for an ACE or "tubular" style lock? It takes about as long to use as the key.

[c good]

And I assume you've seen the youtube videos of the lower end safes being broken into in a couple of minutes with a couple of crowbars?

not the question.

[c good]

Ever seen a pick for an ACE or "tubular" style lock? It takes about as long to use as the key.

just want to know if anyone has lost anything from a locked, bolted safe. Let's not get off topic.

[VictorFranko]

A little off topic, but my friend's house was broken into about six weeks ago.
The only thing NOT touched by the thieves was his gun safe!

[Matt@EntrepriseArms]

I know of two people who had their entire safe stolen. The thieves came prepared and simply took the whole thing. One guy had his safe bolted down, and the other guy didn't.

How they got the one that was bolted down I don't know.

[Bruce3]

my brother lived in an apartment on the third floor his neighbor just got 500 lb plus safe delivered. a couple days later his apartment was broken into and the safe was stolen (not bolted down). luckily the guy said he didn't even get a chance to put anything in it lol.

[Solidsnake87]

When it comes to safes, the SAFEST safes are hidden from view (A.K.A, hidden doors or rooms, ect...). Always bolt your safe down and ENCASE it with a timber structure or steel structure to make it harder to pry out. If a thief is determined to crack or steal a safe, time in in your favor so make the punk work hard for it. I guarantee a solid encasement job will make him re-evaluate the worth of his time to steal it or crack it. Another neat trick I heard from a forum member is to have a small-less secured safe filled with pieces of rebar and cheap dollar tree jewelry. The noise these objects make make the contents sound valuable and make the smaller (and less secured) safe more appealing. The less secured safe should take about 20-30 minutes to free up.

Also, get an alarm/security system! They notify you ASAP of a situation. Most home invasions are less than an hour in length, so a good encasement and bolt job will buy you AT LEAST that time. This gives you the opportunity to get home and see whats up.

[cudakidd]

A case here with a acquaintance of mine. the story made the news. Had a LARGE safe, they came in with a hydraulic jack and took the safe and the concrete slab it was on! They made the mistake or coming back for more. A Home invasion, the 71 year old disabled FFL dealer happened to have a Glock...one bad guy dead, one paralyzed from the waist down, the last captured and charged for the first two since it was part of a felony.

The answer is your safe is to keep out amateurs and give you peace of mind. Combine it with a monitored alarm system, security doors and dogs...and still insure for full replacement value!

[Mark in Eureka]

I had a small, cheap fire safe. When my house was robbed, they checked to see if it was locked and then left it alone. I lost a 45 acp Gold Cup, my tools, and cameras. Thankfully my next door Neighbor turned on a light and scared them away.

That when I bought my first gun safe.

[Massan]

A Home invasion, the 71 year old disabled FFL dealer happened to have a Glock...one bad guy dead, one paralyzed from the waist down, the last captured and charged for the first two since it was part of a felony.

Is it wrong that that story makes me smile?

[cudakidd]

Nope! And Norm was in a wheel chair at that! He drilled the first one dead center, got the second one and the third ducked into a side room.

[goodlookin1]

I can tell you first hand what happens when your house is broken into and they steal your safe.

Happened December 2000 or so. Our house was broken into and was done by what the authorities said "is typical of a Russian job". The entire house was overturned, beds flipped over, couches upside-down, etc. They said that Russian mobsters/thiefs usually do this because they dont trust banks, so they stash their cash in mattresses and so forth, so that's where they look for it in other people's houses. They got to the gun safe, which wasnt bolted down, dragged out the 500+ pound safe through the brand new hardwood floors (we had just re-done our kitchen with nice Birdseye Maple hardwood), all the way across the house, through the garage and into their van/truck. They stole everything else of typical street value (TV, surround sound, Laptop, Jewelry, etc).

About a week later, LEO found the safe abandoned in a known chinese/russian neighborhood with nothing but papers/documentation strewn about. 15 Guns stolen, little bit of cash gone and the interior completely gutted with nothing but the metal case and shelf tracks left. It once had been carpeted and done up real nice....nothing but a shell now. Why they took the shelves and carpet out, I will never know. They got in by opening the back with some sort of rotary metal cutting saw, and pried it open like a sardine can. They must have used some sort of hydraulic press/jack to bend that gauge steel....it was impossible to do without some specialty tool that was very strong.

Anyway, it was my dad's safe (my gun inheritance was stolen ). When we retrieved the safe, my dad had a welder cut and re-weld the back onto the safe, so it is practically as strong as it was when it was new. The safe sat in my dad's business location unused for years. Then I got into guns and asked if I could have it. I refinished the entire thing, outside and in. Spent about $100 on materials and many, many hours of labor. Had to primer and sand the safe twice to get all the gouge marks to go away. Did two coats of Rustoleum gloss black paint. Cut out some MDF shelves and designed the interior the way I wanted it, then carpeted the whole interior. Made an elevated base on the interior as well. Looks good as new. In fact, you wouldnt even be able to tell it wasnt this way from the factory....unless you saw the weld marks on the back.

My wife and I are moving into our first house next month and I am DEFINITELY bolting this thing to the ground!

EDIT: Safe was/is an American Securities.

[Kiba]

I've had two friends lose their safes. Both live in very rural areas with no nearby neighbors and very sparse traffic passing.

Friend #1 was on vacation for 2 weeks. Large Browning safe (RSC) not bolted down. They broke into his house and after pillaging everything else they dragged the safe out (not bolted down) into the backyard and cut the back open with what looked to be a fiber bladed rotary saw and "peeled" it open. All guns were stolen, the safe was left in the back yard. They must have cut slowly and taken breaks as they didn't put enough heat into it to ignite the carpeting. The cops figured they were at it for at least a couple of days based on how thoroughly they went through the house and how cautiously they opened the safe.


Friend #2 had a large Liberty safe (RSC) in his living room which was easily viewable from the front of the house if he left the curtains open (bad idea.) It was bolted down to the slab. While he was at work and the wife was at school between 12pm and 5pm thieves broke the front window out of the house, wrapped a chain to the safe, and yanked the safe right out of the front of the house. It also pulled the front windows and some of the wall out of the house. The only evidence was the badly damaged house and tire tracks on the front lawn directly in front of the living room windows. That was well over a year ago and the safe or contents have never been seen again. I'm sure it was cut open and dumped.

If they really want something and have the time they will get it one way or another. Safes buy time. The heavier and more well built it is only buys you more time against a determined thief. Hiding it from view is always a good idea (so they can't scope it out ahead of time and come prepared.) As mentioned, it's also good to have a cabinet or tight fitting enclosure around the safe. It makes it much more difficult to get any kind of tools near the safe if a tight fitting enclosure surrounds it. A good friend of mine has his safe "hidden" in an old large commercial refrigerator that was cut, welded, and modified then slid over the safe and anchored to the floor and wall behind it. If you look in the windows all you see is a fridge.