Protecting your guns...

R

Republicrat

New member
I'm wondering what people do to protect their guns while unattended in situations where a full size safe is impractical or unavailable.

I know of many stories where people had gun safes to keep others out but thieves stole the entire safe because it wasn't secured properly. (duh)

Still though, I know of at least one case where the thieves posed as a moving company and completed looted a home while the owners were away. They were able to completly cut out a safe that was secured to the wall.

Basically I'm wondering:

A. What do you do when you can't implement a fully-secured bolted to wall type safe (like if you rent an apartment)

B. Should more emphasis be placed on concealing the guns in an inconspicuous location rather than sticking them in a huge safe or box that screams, "there's guns in here!"

I'm primarily worried about robberies where no one is home and the thieves would have some time to clean a place out.

Any thoughts?
 
Z

zoomie

New member
Luckily I own a home so I can bolt a safe to the slab, etc. One thing you might do is remove the firing pins (or other crucial part) from all the guns and hide them. At least you would hinder a criminal's ability to use your guns against another victim. Because the truth is, with enough time, no place is safe from a thief. That's why there's insurance.
 
B

bangbangshootshoot

New member
Good point zoomie, I used to think using security screws was the way to go, but now they're readily available on the net, along with the drivers to remove them. You can do what you can afford to, but all methods of security can be breached.
"That's why there's insurance" is a great statement.
 
O

oneounceload

Moderator
Make sure your homeowner's policy covers them.....Some do not cover them at all, some only cover up to approx. $2500 - which is nothing if you have a few nice ones.....My insurance man said the cheapest policy was a good safe - his premiums would add up quickly to more than the safe.....
 
H

hoytinak

New member
Become friends with your neighbors, let each other know when you're going outta town and what not. That way you can keep an eye out for each other while you're gone.
 
P

P5 Guy

New member
Neighbors?

Hoyt, I don't want my neighbors knowing when I'm not home. They'd be doing the B&E on me.:mad:
 
A

armsmaster270

New member
My safe is close to 1800 lbs and the perp's would have to clean my garage out to get to it plus defeat the Cellular alarm system that went off as soon as they gained entry then there is the motion sensor and the district officers know what I have so response would be quick.:D
 
H

hoytinak

New member
Hoyt, I don't want my neighbors knowing when I'm not home. They'd be doing the B&E on me.
Click to expand...

Yeah I guess it does depend on where you live. I live in a VERY small town and we all look out for each other around here. Just one of the many good things about small towns.
 
P

PoorSoulInJersey

New member
That's the key to a lot of these threads: "hinder." As soon as the BG gets home, he can order new firing pins for about $15 each.

There is no prevention of anything, only delaying it enough to make it inconvenient. The person can still steal something if you give them the time. Once they steal it, if you can make it operative, so can they. The question is how often you are willing to strip your weapons and put them back together in the name of security. Plus, this only works in weapons with easily removable pins.

You can only hope that they try to use a gun with no firing pin in a gunfight... which just might make for a good Darwin award.

If the thief has time to clean the place out, then he has time to torch most gun safes (which are usually on the lighter side) or take it with him and work on it at his leisure.

Is that level of burglary, that practically requires a U-Haul truck, common in your area?
 
J

jlj676

New member
The best way is to build a safe in a wall and make it look like a normal wall, you can do wonders with mouldings.
 
R

ritepath

New member
I have my safe out in the garage but haven't bolted it down yet...plan to this summer.

Building a False wall or bottom into a cabinet/storage area works pretty good. My brother has a custom cabinet in his bathroom with a false bottom where he keeps around 30 or so guns. No one would ever suspect the area because it's always covered up with linen. Even with all the towels ect removed you'd never realize it. That's on top of his 48 gun safe that sits in the middle of the living room...:p
 
B

Ben Towe

New member
Be pretty hard to pack off my safe, big as it is, though I guess it could be done. As far as torching, I could be wrong but I'd guess that would take awhile with a quality safe.
 
R

Rich Miranda

New member
A. What do you do when you can't implement a fully-secured bolted to wall type safe (like if you rent an apartment)....Should more emphasis be placed on concealing the guns in an inconspicuous location rather than sticking them in a huge safe or box that screams, "there's guns in here!"
Click to expand...

That's what I do. I only have a few guns and they reside in two different lock boxes that will keep out kids, but not thieves. So, I put them in two different places that are hidden. A thief would have to have significant time in my home to find them. One of them, I sincerely doubt that they would find at all. They'd have to know that I was deliberately hiding something, and then look in every possible place.
 
N

Nevar

New member
Get a cheap Door and or window alarm system. Look at Radio shack.
Chain or get a MotorCycle cable and lock them thru the trigger guard or open receiver to BIG eye-bolts [ welded] screwed into a wall or floor beam.
If you fear your neighbors
MOVE.
 
C

curt.45

New member
the little old lady next door and the one across the street dont miss anything, and all I ever do is run my snow blower for them. they feed me too :D
 
R

rem870hunter

New member
mines bolted from the inside to a few wall studs and a few into the floor as well. i'm sure if someone had the time they could try to pry it up and away. me i'd use a sawzall. its not a safe,no room for one here.
 
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