Unless I am missing something someplace, I did not see that the Sturdy safes have any UL rating. The Amsec BF safes have the RSC rating from UL.
The UL RSC rating is pretty worthless. Graffunders, Browns, etc. don't bother with UL RSC ratings either, and I don't think anyone would argue with the statement that the burglary protection of either of those products blows away any of the common name brand RSCs.
Lebowski is correct. The RSC rating doesn't really mean anything from a security standpoint. There are plenty of unrated safes out there that would put most of your RSCs to shame.
Well, I agree to a certain extent. Most of the RSC rated safes seem to me to be built better than most of the non rated imported safes. With the rating at least you know that it met some sort of minimum standard. The two brands that you mention do seem, at least to me, to far exceed the RSC standard. When we are talking about the lower levels of safes though, I think the RSC rating is a useful guideline.
You're close, but it comes down to a pretty basic feature. The RSC rating is only for a period of 5 minutes using light duty tools (hammer and a big screwdriver). Most safes using steel 12 gauge or heavier, and UL listed mechanical or electronic locks with relockers would pass this test if submitted.
So long as your safe is 12 gauge or heavier and has the UL listed locks, then it shouldn't matter if it has the RSC rating or not. It would also not matter if the safe was Chinese, Korean, Mexican, or US built.
The less expensive gun safes that you see tend to use direct entry locks with no relockers. These types of safes are very easy to manipulate, and also easy to break into by attacking the lock. Most safes using direct entry locks would not pass the RSC test.
Yes, but how much would that 1.5" plate steel safe weigh?
A lot.
I wasn't making the case that you should build gun safes that heavy, but it is a matter of deciding where you draw the line. 12 gauge gun safes are very common, but 10 gauge is better. 3/16" is better than 10 gauge. 1/4" is better than 3/16". Where do you stop?
If you look at older gun safes you will notice that a lot of them were built much heavier than their modern day cousins. It wasn't uncommon to see a lot of 1/4" plate on gun safes built in the 1980's. They stopped building them like this once they decided to add gypsum board for insulation. They were too heavy to have both the thick steel and the insulation.
Truthfully, I would be more apt to suggest a 1/4" plate uninsulated gun safe to a customer if they were available. Gypsum is such a poor insulator, that you would be just as well off going without and gaining the extra security from the heavier plate.
If you needed fire protection for non-gun items, you could buy a smaller fire rated safe for those items. Most people buy a gun safe as a general purpose safe, and for the most part, they are not.
Gun safes should be for guns. If you have photos, jewelry, documents, and other items, they should be stored in a safe specifically designed for those purposes.