Do I need a gun safe?

[war veteran]

Safes are great, but any good thief can still take your safe. Don't think that you just throw the guns in the safe, and thats it. If your going out of town, I would consider finding a very responsible family member to watch them or something.

Even if its bolted, a thief can take it. A safe is more important for those with children or roomates.

If you really want to hide your guns, try pulling up some carpet/tile somewhere in the house and make a REAL stash spot with a lock on it. Somewhere in the walls or ceiling will work also. gotta be sneaky.

[ptroxx]

IN my opinion unless you have a home that can accommodate a huge safe, your better off trying to effectively hide your stuff. Home invasions are common these days so whats to prevent someone from MAKING you open your $3000 safe? Most people live in residential apartments so having a secure safe is pretty unrealistic. Besides theres nothing that says "hey I have guns in my place" than the neighbors watching you drag a gym locker into your place. Im just saying

My 40cal that sits next to me.. first person that comes thru my door gets 1 and the next one thru gets the other one and so on.. I always have one close to me in the house.

[Ron-Solo]

As a retired law enforcement officer, I offer this advice. What you do with it is your choosing, but this information is my opinion, based on 32.5 years responding to crimes, investigating them, and when things go right, solving them.

1. A safe will not protect you from a home invasion type crime where you are home.

2. Hiding your guns will not protect them from the most common type of burglar: young kids or drug addicts.

3. A safe will protect them from the most common type of burglar: young kids and drug addicts. They don't possess the expertise needed to breach a good safe. This covers 99.9% of residential burglaries.

4. A "professional" burglar like you might see on tv might possess the needed skills, but they are a very rare breed, and they are usually not looking to do residential burglaries. There just usually isn't enough money involved.

5. If you can't take ALL of your guns with your ALL of the time, you need a safe to secure them when you are not at home. The crooks know all of the hiding spots.

6. The majority of true "home invasion" robberies have some connection to drug activity or businesses where people keep a lot of valuables with them. Jewelry store owners are the most common.

7. When you are at home, feel free to keep a few guns loaded and accessible based on the size and layout of your home. Everything else should be kept secured. There is no need to have every gun you own (unless you only own a couple) out and ready to rock. Having 20+ long guns and 20+ handguns out at one time is silly, unless the Zombie Apocolypse has begun and they are scratching on the door.

8. Be familiar with those you decide to keep out, keep them safe from little fingers, and always follow safe handling procedures.

9. Back up your safe with good locks on your doors, and a decent alarm system that includes a monitoring system. How many times does an alarm ring and people just ignore it and go about their business?

10. Most important, keep it to a close knit group of who knows about your guns.

11. If you can, insure your collection.

12. Keep a list of all the serial numbers and a description of each of your guns in a safe and secure location. I keep a spreadsheet on my computer and email it to myself, so I can access a copy anywhere I can get email access.

13. Dogs, even little yippy ankle biters deter burglars and make noise.

Some of these things can get expensive, but balance that with the value of your collection.

Enjoy your collections and if you keep them safe, you can enjoy them with your grandkids in the years to come.

[myk]

^^^^That post should be a sticky concerning safes and safe gun storage.

On a personal note, I'm going to feel silly with some gi-normous safe in my apartment with just 4 firearms in it, but I still think it's the best way to go. That, and a silent arm and good insurance is a trio you can't beat...

[.40Cal]

#1- Get a safe
#2- Refer to rule #1

Get a safe - it's worth it just to feel more certain that your firearms are safe in your absence.

Everyone in the Favor of buying a Safe, MUST check THIS OUT - http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...light=GUN+SAFE I'm not saying don't buy it; just DON'T Expect a Safe to Save your guns, etc... I'm debating the same issue, and now looking for other alternatives....

[ptroxx]

Everyone in the Favor of buying a Safe, MUST check THIS OUT - http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...light=GUN+SAFE I'm not saying don't buy it; just DON'T Expect a Safe to Save your guns, etc... I'm debating the same issue, and now looking for other alternatives....

we have already seen this in here... the owner did his part and had them in a safe if they want them they will get them no matter what they are in.

[Ron-Solo]

Everyone in the Favor of buying a Safe, MUST check THIS OUT - http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...light=GUN+SAFE I'm not saying don't buy it; just DON'T Expect a Safe to Save your guns, etc... I'm debating the same issue, and now looking for other alternatives....

That is the .1% I was talking about. A good alarm monitored by a reputable company, with a prompt LE response would have saved those guns.

[myk]

Exactly. Punks or addicts looking to score will have enough trouble trying to get into your place, let alone figure out how crack a decent safe. Chances are they'll grab your Playstation, Xbox or whatever and leave. People seem to forget that a safe isn't a guarantee, rather it's TIME, in that the better the safe, the longer it takes for a thief to break through; NOTHING is impenetrable, not even a bank vault-just watch Heat or Dark Knight, lol...

[perpetual otter]

This thread should have ended with the first few posts.

Get a safe...