Get a Safe.

[oldafsp]

When we were remodeling the house a few years ago, we had two very large walk in closets in the master bedroom.

One of these I converted into my "arms room"

Several friends and I spent the better part of two weeks lining the inside with 1/4 in sheet steel plates in the walls,floor and ceiling.Then covered with fire rated drywall. Found a fire rated steel door at a salvage yard, brand new. Insulated with fire proof insulation, all the electrical is armored cable and fire resistant.

The 2 large gun safes are bolted through the steel floor and the nuts welded.

The security system is biometric. My wife,myself and our youngest son are the only ones who can open it. There is a backup bio pad hidden in another part of the house.

We occasionally store guns for friends going on vacation or whatnot.

If someone wants my stuff, they are gonna be there awhile.

Was it worth it? Sure. The total cost was about that of a very large Canon safe.

Cheap security? Buy a couple of IR game camera's with big SD cards. Hide them. They record in a continuious loop. Great for ID'ing the thieves. Or tresspassers. Three in the house and one in the garage along with two outside.

I replace the batteries twice a year and they are hard wired to power supplies for daily use.

Not paranoid, just protecting what I have.

 

[BuckeyeChuck]

... guns are highly regulated and kept from criminals...

Well, they are highly regulated anyway.

I agree that gun owner possession and use of a safe is part of responsible gun ownership. However, I don't think for a single moment that universal theft deterrence would materially alter the number of guns possessed by criminals.

... Why do you think you are not charged sales tax when you buy one.

Maybe sales tax is not charged for a gun safe where you live. In Franklin County, Ohio I paid 6.75% sales tax on mine. Added about $50 to its price.

The Liberty Centurion 30 is a fairly large safe and at around $900 retail (including sales tax) represents a low $/volume figure. Since $900 is not an insignificant amount of money for most people, there exists a drive to buy something much cheaper, which should mean "smaller". But the $/volume doesn't scale down for theft-resistant, fire-resistant safes. Even a small safe having such qualities may still be $400, which is still a significant sum of money. I can understand why people choose not to purchase such a device when it costs as much as their gun, or an annual supply of ammunition. Those people instead should focus on ways to secure their guns with a minimum of expenditure, remembering that the goal is not to make the guns theft-proof, but simply to deter a thief sufficiently that something else gets stolen.

This implies a judgement call on the part of the gun owner. For example, I am not allowed to carry a concealed handgun into my client's office; therefore, it stays in my car. I purchased an under-seat lockbox which is secured to the vehicle by a cable that wraps around the seat frame and terminates inside the lockbox such that it cannot be unwrapped without unlocking the box. In Car Gun Lockers To what degree will this deter a theft should some low-life scum sucker decide to burgle my car? Only some. It will not stop theft of my handgun by a properly-equipped, determined thief. Does this make me irresponsible for leaving my gun in my car? That's somebody else's opinion, and I leave it to them to decide for themselves, but my obvious position is "no" since (a) I have secured the firearm in a lockbox and (b) theft of my firearm is itself a crime in which I am the victim, not an irresponsible perpetrator.

 

[DesertFox]

Gun safes are like hard drives - no matter how large, I'm gonna fill it up and need a bigger one!

 

[9c1 lover]

Hey buckeye, as for the crimanals already having them, you are correct, a safe will not lower that number but it will help to not increase it.

As far as the safe not having sales tax, I did not post that brother, I paid tax on mine.

Don't know how you got my name above that quote, but it had me do a double take..LOL.

 

[gregintenn]

My car and tv and computer are notused to rob and kill people, and further wittle away our rights to own firearms if stolen. Very bad comparison.

Sure they could be. Any good burgler needs a getaway car; one with tags not traceable to him would be all the better. As for the computer; ever hear of identity theft? Most anything can be used for criminal activity with just a touch of imagination.

I have two safes, an will shortly be shopping for #3. I don't think it's a bad idea, I just didn't appreciate the tone of your post, frankly.

 

[9c1 lover]

Sure they could be. Any good burgler needs a getaway car; one with tags not traceable to him would be all the better. As for the computer; ever hear of identity theft? Most anything can be used for criminal activity with just a touch of imagination.

I have two safes, an will shortly be shopping for #3. I don't think it's a bad idea, I just didn't appreciate the tone of your post, frankly.

America's great, ain't it?

You don't like my tone, that's fine, I don't like people helping erode my rights further by being irresponsible with an already fragile "right" to own guns.

 

[Kanewpadle]

While we're at it, if you haven't taken the time to document your guns, you should be slapped upside the head.

Record model and serial numbers. Include accessories too. Pictures work great.

 

[9c1 lover]

While we're at it, if you haven't taken the time to document your guns, you should be slapped upside the head.

Record model and serial numbers. Include accessories too. Pictures work great.

Yep! Great addition.

 

[m1gunner]

It has already been mentioned, but is worth saying again:

All any safe can do is buy you time. Even bank vaults can be broken into if the perps have enough time to work on it.

Without giving instructions on safe cracking, nothing listed so far can or would survive a 2 hour assault by 2 or 3 determined thieves.

Security goes way past a safe. Things like glass exterior doors, and accesses to the rear of the house by vehicle, especially if hidden from the street, are big security holes.

Safes do stop many smash and grab druggies, but team home invasions are the rising event in Ga, safes are not the number one deterrent for these robberies.