It's developed into a monster..help

[fatfreddiescat]

I decided to get back into the 'swing' while there was still time. I bought a handgun (a fine Sig P226) and that was that. But I soon discovered that it was a smidge heavy for easy conceal. So I bought an EMP. Whatta DREAM! My wife, who was always around guns when she was a kid (Alaska, Washington...a lot of hunting and shooting in the 50's-60's...ya know~the 'good ol' days) decided that SHE, of course, wanted a handgun to shoot at the range, etc. also. So, enter a S&W model 60 .357, which spanked her arthritic hands, so after going through a few others, she finally ended up with two other revolvers. Then, I found a deal on a new mouse gun (Sig P232) and couldn't pass it up. I have seen the comment many times that a handgun is NOT home protection, but merely a tool to help to to get to your home defense, the 12 GA! So, now thats a contemplation.

Got all that? Now the dilemma!!! I'm thinkin that I need a gun safe. A safe big enough to hold a shotgun ( and maybe 3-4 other long guns, as well as some shelves for all of the 'gear' that goes with range shooting 5 handguns, including ammo, etc. Inherent to that question, is where the hell do you suggest I PLACE this safe? In the closet in the bedroom? I keep a large cal pistol in my nightstand when I'm home, and in a small pistol safe when I'm gone. Can I get into a gunsafe in a timely fashion if I heard intruders? If I'm going to get a shotgun, it wouldn't do much good locked in the garage, in a safe?!

Where do YOU keep your safe? I don't want to have to walk outside to get to the garage carrying a shotgun several times a week.

Should I just blow off the safe? I don't want to walk into my home someday and be held up (or worse) with my own gun! Ultimately, I think a safe would be a nice way to organize all of my stuff, instead of using two small locking bolted down pistol safes. AND, it would be a place to keep all of my extras, like ammo, holsters, loaders, etc. I'm just kinda stuck as to where to put the thing-in the closet, or the garage, and just continue to keep my cannon in the nightstand.

Does ANYONE understand this babble???

 

[ccsniper]

everyone here understands your babble, we all know how it goes, "well I got this one for home defense, and this one to keep that one company, and this one for my wife and well she needs a backup, oh and I need a shotgun for the home. Ah well I also need a shotgun for the truck, maybe a rifle too... " and so on and so forth. I think the pistol is the best home defense weapon because it is a heckofalot easier to maneuver a pistol in a house than a long gun. that being said, my safe is in my room in the corner bolted to the floor. it takes about 20 or so seconds for me to get mine open and grab a gun. thats alot of time for bad guys to find my room so again, I stick with a pistol for inside use.

 

[Lou McGopher]

Pretty sure this topic is well-covered on here.

Basically, gun safes are good for protecting your guns from pre-teenagers, and burglars who don't plan on spending more than 5 minutes in your house.

And the "good" safes are likely to be more expensive than your gun collection.

Aside from that, a quick search on here should turn up all sorts of recommendations.



I keep a shotgun on a rack on my bedroom wall, and a pistol on my nightstand by my bed.
Everything else I just keep in the closet. I don't worry about anyone else in the home messing with them, and anyone who breaks in when someone isn't home is going to have plenty of time to defeat any safe I can afford.

 

[fatfreddiescat]

thanks for the empathy

so, from what I see so far, a safe is/isn't needed, but is a matter of personal choice. And the comment about 'defeat' any safe I can afford....I was looking at a $900 AmSec. Are they worth talking about? Do they make the top 10? They seem pretty low-cost, but that isn't ALWAYS bad. However, they DID produce the Versa Vault, which I think pretty much sucks, unless you hang them vertically, so they pop open. To mount them flat, or lay them on a flat surface, and expect them to silently open quickly is tantamount to hiding and waiting for the tooth fairy. Not saying it doesn't happen, for you who believe, but just saying you MIGHT wait a long, long time! lol

 

[Lou McGopher]

A $900 safe might cut it... if it's big enough to hold only one gun, and set in a concrete floor.

The "good" safes start in the neighborhood of $5000, and weigh over 1000lbs. And even then, they may not stand up to a burglar with some power tools and 30 minutes of time to work on it. Cheaper than that and they can be defeated by crowbars, sledgehammers, and someone with a dolly. The best thing about many of these safes is that they can do a fair job of protecting your stuff from fire.

Getting one of those cheap Stack-On cabinets to keep out the kids may not be such a bad idea, though.

Safe Ratings

 

[oneounceload]

Since you live in CA, where ANY remote thing is used for a lawsuit, I would get a good safe.....IF your guns ever get stolen, and you can show you did due diligence, then it might have a mitigating factor. And they will discourage the teen punks who try a smash and grab approach

 

[mnrivrat]

The majority of burglaries are likely done by folks who are not prepared to defeat even a cheaper end safe. Many are there to quickly grab what they can to sell in the back alley for today's fix. (yes - there are exceptions)

My take is that a safe is always worth having, and one need not spend thousands. The smaller and cheaper ones however should be bolted down.

 

[LightningMan]

Some good reply's here, but before I had a gun safe I used to hide the good stuff and leave laying around a few low cost (non-working) firearms that a blind crook could find. Mainly the idea was to satisfy the smash & grab type of crook, but it wouldn't stop someone whom knew what I had. LM