The truth about gun safes

[ExactlyMyPoint]

Very informative

The Truth about Gun Safes

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[aus71383]

a.k.a. advertisement for Fort Knox - I know they're good safes, but this has been posted and re-posted in the past few months.

Something to keep the kids out is necessary.
Something to protect from fire damage is nice.

If thieves are in my house smashing and hacking at my safe to get inside.....wow. I just don't see it. Maybe if I lived in a more remote area I would feel the need for a thicker safe...

Austin

[Daddydon]

The thing I got outta this vid is basically that you want steel doors on your safe, not composite. I have known people who had their safes torn open and they were thick composite doors. It is true but I didn't see it as an ad as much as I saw it as an information video

[ChrisMia]

That dealer is located near me, ad I gave him a call last week to discuss a Graffunder product that he sells. Though he conceded that nobody would ever take issue with a Gaffunder, he spent most of our conversation trying to gently steer me toward a Fort Knox instead, because (1) he could get added layers put on for me, (2) for a cheaper total price than the Graffunder.

So yeah, while the video is informative, it should also be taken with a few grains of sea salt.

[ccw9mm]

... he spent most of our conversation trying to gently steer me toward a Fort Knox instead, because (1) he could get added layers put on for me, (2) for a cheaper total price than the Graffunder.

What "layers" would these be? And, how would he put them on, after manufacture?

IMO, security-wise, the only layers that matter are: how tough the safe is to get into, to move. All the other elements are just bells and whistles, marketing hype (ie, "5in thick door!" despite only using 12ga steel, as if the padding/layers inside inhibited forced entry in the least).

[Badbullgator]

Bolt your safe to the floor and wall if possible. Put it in a place like a small closet where there is no room for someone to pry from the side. Have an alarm system. Remember safes are not just for guns. I know people who keep a couple thousand dollars worth of guns in a save and leave many thousands of other things basically unsecured.

In reality the vast majority of robbers are not carrying cutters or tools to break open a safe. They are going to take what they can get in a hurry and get out. Unless they directly target you and know you have a safe they are not going to mess with it. I have had my home broken into twice over 30 years and both time the safe was never touched. Drawers dumped, beds tossed, pretty much everything gone through but the safes were untouched.

[dling]

What "layers" would these be? And, how would he put them on, after manufacture?

It is done at the factory during the build, it is part of the safe construction not an add-on. You order the safe with the extra protection(s) that you want.

[archer51]

The common street thug isn't going to have the tools or want to spend the time messing with a safe. They want a quick grab and go to minimize their risk of being caught.

[ccw9mm]

The common street thug isn't going to have the tools or want to spend the time messing with a safe. They want a quick grab and go to minimize their risk of being caught.

Some won't. Some will. In the past year, I can recall at least a handful of news reports of safes that were snatched, to be dealt with later. No indication as to how heavy/anchored they were, but it wouldn't surprise me if many of these were acquired at the local Wal-Mart or budget sporting goods store.

Which is why it's important to have a beefy enough safe, one that's anchored to the building, and one that has sufficient features to add enough time that it becomes not worth it.

[Tzadik]

The safety of a safe is proportional to the effort a thief is willing to put into breaking into it.

[ccw9mm]

The safety of a safe is proportional to the effort a thief is willing to put into breaking into it.

Willing to put into it.

And, having time enough to do it. In this regard, layered defenses matter. Any "home" safe that's "just layin' about" is likely to be broken into if a thief has sufficient time to go after it.

Safe, strong perimeter warning (including dogs/barriers to entry), alarm (monitored), being armed when inside the home ... it all adds up.