Forced to open Gun Safe in Home Invasion Scenario?

[JoeJinKY]

That's an impressive sign and it's sends a strong message but the only downside is that it let's potential thieves know that you have firearms in the house.

Right.

A better sign would be:

"WARNING! I'm a Biology Major with a Minor in Criminal Psychology. Trespassers will be dissected and stored in the freezer until I get hungry."

[sawchain]

If you are dealing with an intruder inside your house, you have already lost. Think about your first three lines of defense against an unwanted intruder. Are all doors and windows locked? Is it possible to communicate with some at the door without opening it? Can you see someone sneaking outside your house before they see you? Will a dog raise the alarm if they try to enter quietly?

Don't ever let someone force you to do anything in your own home. Keep a weapon at the ready when you sleep. If someone penetrates your outer defenses, shoot them until they retreat or die.

[ptoguy2002]

Loaded gun in holster attached to the side of the safe.
Not visible unless you really looked, between the wall and the safe.
No kids in the house.
Safe is oriented such that if I were forced to open it, bad guy is on opposite side.
I figure 50/50 on being toasted anyway if I open it.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Let's not overthink this...

A shotgun and pistol out of the safe for quick access.

Everything else in the safe.

You'd be amazed at how much your common sense and fine motor skills degrade under stress. Keep something close by when you are home and throw it in the safe when you leave. Any HD scheme more complicated than that is going to fall apart when you encounter a real situation.

[amd64]

If you are dealing with an intruder inside your house, you have already lost. Think about your first three lines of defense against an unwanted intruder. Are all doors and windows locked? Is it possible to communicate with some at the door without opening it? Can you see someone sneaking outside your house before they see you? Will a dog raise the alarm if they try to enter quietly?

Don't ever let someone force you to do anything in your own home. Keep a weapon at the ready when you sleep. If someone penetrates your outer defenses, shoot them until they retreat or die.

+1. Multiple layers of security that make you aware and buy you time to respond accordingly.

[sephy]

I know someone who has a refrigerator-sized safe. He cut out the back of a refrigerator box and slid it over the safe to hide it. The box itself is just up against a wall with a bunch of other junk in boxes (decorations, etc). The safe is never exposed where people can see it. I think that's pretty clever.

[UBFRAGD]

God I love my shoulder rig. That's thirty rounds of Critical Defense right where I need it---where I am. I have even slept with it but that does not go over well with The Boss.

The one thing that creeps me out about the safe is let's say I'm the victim in a successful home invasion (won't ever happen I'm a mean and paranoid summa*****), and I get locked in my own safe. Yeah that freaks me out worse than ingesting lead or steel.

I like all the ideas about alarming the safe and I too have a bunch of old computers collecting dust that should be put to work.

I got one for you calgunners. I wasn't going to make this public but what the hell. Do you live in an area with an active Shotspotter system? Put your safe on an exterior wall. Run a trip wire from the back of the safe to the exterior. Mount something inconspicuous on the wall like a j-box or phone box etc, inside the weatherproofed box is a 12gauge blank firing set-up. They are hella loud. Safe gets moved, shell gets fired, cops show up, perfect. Genius, I might add.

The safe was not the end solution I was hoping for. Yeah my collection looked COOL AS HELL sitting there and believe me when I say I would stare at it for hours. After a couple days though, I had to seperate the collection and find a secure off-premise location so if I got hit they would not get it all. Sad but necessary.

[UBFRAGD]

One more thing, where do I buy a door mat for our front door that says:
"UNWELCOME".