Inexpensive Firearm Storage?

[FL-NC]

Maybe one of those utility cabinets for the garage that they sell at Lowe's. After you get a safe, you could re-purpose it for another use. For better security, you could get a job-site tool bin available at Lowe's or Tractor supply, probably home depot too. They can be pricey, but it could also be re-purposed later. I use one for securing ammo, stored in GI ammo cans.

 

[PCFlorida]

Once took a deep closet and put a false back wall in that. Storage for @ 12 guns. Once the closet is full
it's an extra layer of security, but it's a bit of a hassle, when you want to get to the guns.

I did the same thing years ago, my house was broken into and they never found the firearms. Now I live in a secure house on 5+ acres with somewhere around 13 Rottweilers and no one bothers my beautiful wife and I

 

[crestoncowboy]

An old locking freezer I think is ideal.

Anyone who thinks a safe is secure is foolish. Where I work some guys bought a jewelry store safe for 500 hundred dollars from another guy who bought an old store. It was Unopened for at least 30 years since the owner died. The combination was lost. They were hoping for gold or jewelry so they split it and were going to pay a locksmith 100 more to drill the lock to find the combination. I told them if they were going to ruin the safe anyway to just pry it open. They said it took less than a minute to get into with a flat bar. This was a concrete and steel actual bank safe 2-3 ft square that two men could barely carry (I'm thinking it was American security but could be mistaken) . Rubberbands and paper clips were all that was inside btw.
Ive seen many videos of safes pried open, as well as breaking into my own small mesa when the dial screwed up. It's not difficult with a pry bar. If one has electricity and a few minutes I don't think any safe would be "safe". As far as protection I'd like to know some real statistics on water and fire protection. The emts friends I have, shooters themselves, say that it's dumb luck/Position of the safe in the house and starting point of the fire that determines if anything survives.

 

[SamT1]

An old locking freezer I think is ideal.

Anyone who thinks a safe is secure is foolish. Where I work some guys bought a jewelry store safe for 500 hundred dollars from another guy who bought an old store. It was Unopened for at least 30 years since the owner died. The combination was lost. They were hoping for gold or jewelry so they split it and were going to pay a locksmith 100 more to drill the lock to find the combination. I told them if they were going to ruin the safe anyway to just pry it open. They said it took less than a minute to get into with a flat bar. This was a concrete and steel actual bank safe 2-3 ft square that two men could barely carry (I'm thinking it was American security but could be mistaken) . Rubberbands and paper clips were all that was inside btw.
Ive seen many videos of safes pried open, as well as breaking into my own small mesa when the dial screwed up. It's not difficult with a pry bar. If one has electricity and a few minutes I don't think any safe would be "safe". As far as protection I'd like to know some real statistics on water and fire protection. The emts friends I have, shooters themselves, say that it's dumb luck/Position of the safe in the house and starting point of the fire that determines if anything survives.

I don’t think a simple pry bar will bust into any descent safe. Cutting torch for sure though.
I’m pretty sure though if my brother and I teamed up as thieves (both large men) we could take most any safe with us to cut open bolted down or not. I actually have moved my liberty fat boy 3 times alone, off the trailer into the house, out of the house into a trailer to move, and into another house. Going in and out of my first house I could feel the floor flexing having to pull a good bit to go over the basement rafters. Needless to say if one man can move a pretty dang big safe by himself with a simple dolly while taking care not to hurt the safe or home some thieves that don’t care could probably bust the anchors and remove it from the house loaded. I did have one hairy ride down some atv ramps out of a cattle trailer.

 

[dagger dog]

May be a cedar chest, you'll have to use gun socks .

 

[crestoncowboy]

Look up the videos on YouTube. Or stand in cabelas and watch the video they play on loop, obviously they don't try as hard to break the safe they are peddling but you will get the idea. The side of the safe will pry away from the locking bolts. I watched a research video once and Everything from liberty and cannon to high end square locking bolt safes were opened by two men with tire spoons in under 10 minutes. Most under 5. My small mesa (the smaller the safe the less flex the sides will have) only took a minute with a hammer and 3ft pry bar. And it was far more secure than either of my actual gun safes with bolts closer together and all the way around. Light steel isn't hard to bend and the sheetrock certainly don't help. The two safes ive seen pried open personally were actual money vaults, not thin large gun safes. Having seen those two fail I no longer have any faith in any gunsafe for security against anything but sticky fingers or children (or dumb adults) . I'm hoping that they would survive a fire but honestly I'm doubtful. I have a presidential series in a basement corner with concrete below and poured block on both sides. Perhaps it would survive fire but from what I've actually seen it's hit or miss on the contents condition. Fire maybe but theft from anyone determined, nope. Besides, my thermodyne is only feet away. But that's just my experience and what I've seen.

 

[hso]

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/anyone-convert-a-closet-into-a-gun-closet.812737/

Hide in plane sight options include large freezers (obviously not working), soda machines (frequently expensive collectables themselves), box bed plinths with racks, false backs to closets for just a few guns, ...

 

[jmorris]

I don’t think a simple pry bar will bust into any descent safe. Cutting torch for sure though.

Locks and safes keep honest and idiots out.

A decent locksmith can get into most any gun safe with a call to ascertain the correct spot to drill and a carbide drill bit.

A pry bar also can get into a lot of them but it’s easier to get in through the sides or back.



Also worth noting where you put them and how they are mounted makes a big difference too.

Bolt either of the above to the floor and put them in an area narrow/deep enough so you can’t swing a pry bar and they have to knock out walls in order to open them at that point. Assuming they are not smart and have a mag drill and carbide tooling.

 

[Styx]

Yea I seen YouTube videos were expensive safes were broke into within 5 minutes with a Harbor Freight angle grinder. They just cut through the sides of the safe... I'm mostly getting a safe for mild protection against fire. I do think they give people a false sense of security...

 

[Dibbs]

The criminal's enemy is time. If you make it difficult, complicated, or very time consuming,
they are generally going to seek greener pastures. It doesn't have to be a 30,000$$ safe.
If they have to go through 3 locked doors, 3 flights of stairs, 3 dogs, or 3 hours of trouble,
they will look elsewhere.

 

[jaguarxk120]

What you need is a hidden room for storage. If they can't find it!

 

[Riomouse911]

The criminal's enemy is time. If you make it difficult, complicated, or very time consuming,
they are generally going to seek greener pastures. It doesn't have to be a 30,000$$ safe.
If they have to go through 3 locked doors, 3 flights of stairs, 3 dogs, or 3 hours of trouble,
they will look elsewhere.

Indeed, I taught that same mentality in neighborhood watch classes for years. If you harden up your house enough with lighting, alarms, security doors, proper landscaping, video system, etc. a crook will usually go elsewhere for an easier hit.

It's dog-eat-dog thinking; but if my neighbor doesn't think enough about his security situation to make his house more difficult to get into than mine then his place gets the hit.

And yes, a 9 dollar angle grinder and a cutting wheel will slice through the sides of just about any safe with ease. I put mine under an overhang and have heavy shelving units to either side of it in my garage, but I know with enough time and effort it'll be ripped open by a determined crook or two if I'm not home. I'm just hoping my alarm is ringing as soon as they enter to get them to rush through their search and skedaddle.

Stay safe!

 

[jaguarxk120]

I remember reading a post where the BG's used a Sawzall to cut a rear corner of a expensive safe.
They slid the contents out very quickly. Yes it takes time to cut into a safe, but I guess
they had the time!

 

[George P]

A pry bar also can get into a lot of them but it’s easier to get in through the sides or back.

Or the bottom. A lot of the cheaper safes can be broken into with a sledge hammer hitting the top corner weld just right and then pried open.

 

[BlueHeelerFl]

Sadly if they have the time criminals can get into most safes. They don't even need to bring any tools, most of us have enough tools at home to make the job easier

 

[Elkins45]

Can you weld?

 

[jmr40]

Some of these through all the trigger guards and around something sturdy.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ft&sprefix=cable+lo,aps,528&crid=HDYYEB2SGESV

 

[George P]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/590186306/hidden-gun-storage-entertainment-center

 

[George P]

https://www.dutchcrafters.com/Amish-Hidden-Gun-Cabinet-with-Optional-Doors/p/47880

 

[George P]

 

[hso]

fire protection isnt going to be found in most gun safes since it is an expensive proposition.

 

[hdwhit]

.308 Norma wrote:
IMO, Stack-on cabinets get a bad rap - especially on these internet message forums. I think Stack-on cabinets are exactly as Alte Shule wrote - "Stack-on gun cabinets are OK." They are reasonably secure depending on how much "security" you need, they are not large of heavy, they are "easily accessible," and they are relatively inexpensive.

I don't know how many "attacks" they have had to endure at my farm, but the fact a former tenant left the front door unlocked combined with the tool marks on the surface of my Stack-On cabinet's surface certainly suggests at least one or more person(s) tried to access it. And failed.

I'm certainly not suggesting that a cheap container will resist attacks by determined, well-equipped criminals, but it can be all that is required to resist common burglars looking to score an easy firearm.

 

[FAS1]

A light duty storage cabinet helps to keep your kids out, but does little in security for theft. They are just too flimsy to even hold up to a moderate pry attack. I think the best you can do is buy as much time as possible so the thief moves on to your TV of something easy to get. A cabinet does not accomplish that.

This is from a customer:
"Wanted to let you know that a few weeks ago we had a burglary and the dude found the FAS1 by my bed and it appears he tried to pry it open and failed. He got away with plenty of stuff, and the Stack On security cabinet didn't keep him from some of my long guns... but he didn't get my pistols, thanks in part to your product."

 

[c1ogden]

I searched ArmsList but didn't think about Craigslist.

I tried to send you pics of my setup but the system said I can't start a conversation with you and I'm not sure how to post pics here.