namedpipes
NES Member
Jebus how many guns do you own? What's in the hangers? Inventory so you can find the one gun you need?
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Harbor Freight Gun Safe?
- Thread starter Gually
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namedpipes
NES Member
It's that why my damned sawzall runs in reverse when I run it on the generator? Fuuuuuu
When it happened in Natick, it was 6 guys and hey carried it out the front door of the house to a pickup. Safe was found a month or so later with the top cut off.
Nothing is 100%, cabinet or safe it's just a delaying tactic. If you live in a rural area and the house is empty all day, that's enough time to defeat the best safe, so the goal isn't to stop a determined pro, you've already lost that fight, instead it's to get the casual opportunist to move on. Something that will resist the tools at hand for 20 minutes will work as good as any. For extra protection leave $500 on top of the safe with a note that says "take this and go, and there will be no problems", but make sure there are lots of cameras focused there so there will be some chance of catching the thief. You'll probably get a good pic with him smiling to post on the internet. But your guns and other belongings will still be there.
It satisfies MA safe storage laws. Don't keep all guns in the same safe. Use several safes for a large collection or get some of the guns off premises. Make thing as difficult as possible, whether from a burglar or a police seizure. After all, this is MA with a recently elected anti gun governor and and anti gun AG. Plan accordingly.
OK, let's go really low budget. Got this safe at a garage sale a couple of years ago. Completely nonfunctional lock. Paid $50 for it. Completely dismantled and gutted it. Removed some rust and applied two coats of black Rustoleum paint. Used poplar wood to construct a new interior. Probably cost me $150 in total supplies at Home Depot. Here is the result of $200 cash and some hard work.
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babygorilla
NES Member
TBH, I went the security cabinet route, in a hard to access location, Bolted to a slab and wall, with small hardened pistol safes throughout house for easy access. With a great home camera security system inside and out. Also a good alerting dog. All insured. Layered protection.
A GOOD fire safe cost too damn much, too heavy to relocate if need be, and really if things burn, they burn. None of my stuff is antiques and are all easily replaced. And a cheap gun safe is just as easy to get into as a security cabinet for a determined thief. SO why pay more since I am just tryin g to keep the crackheads and kids out and abide by a silly law?
A GOOD fire safe cost too damn much, too heavy to relocate if need be, and really if things burn, they burn. None of my stuff is antiques and are all easily replaced. And a cheap gun safe is just as easy to get into as a security cabinet for a determined thief. SO why pay more since I am just tryin g to keep the crackheads and kids out and abide by a silly law?
EJFudd
NES Member
I think the piss-poor way that both HF and TSC presents their safe specs is fooling you. If the HF safe were 0.15" thick steel all around (not just the door), it would weigh a whole lot more than 179 lbs. As it stands, the smaller TSC safe actually weighs more than the HF safe.
Truth.
EJFudd
NES Member
This is still my idea of the best "cheap Chinese" gun safe for the money:
That said, it was a lot better when it cost even less.![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
That said, it was a lot better when it cost even less.
EJFudd
NES Member
Lots of truth to think about here. Funny how cordless lithium-ion battery grinders have forced us to change the way we think about gun safes and how much protection we're really buying.
Coda
NES Member
I have a Homak safe (really a gun locker) that I keep some guns in. It serves it's purpose well.
But most of my guns are so well hidden that even sometimes I have a hard time finding them, never mind kids, thieves, or LEO's.
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Just keep one thing in mind.
Burglars can get your safe out of your house exactly as easily as you got it in. They can carry it out to another place, and open it at their leisure. Your safe has to be “mounted” in such a way that someone has to work hard for hours to get it out of the building. Lag bolting it to a wooden stud wall is kind of a joke.
Unless you sink that safe in a concrete floor or wall, you’re not much safer than having a Chinese box.
The Chinese box is useful to keep kids or family members from having an accident.
Burglars can get your safe out of your house exactly as easily as you got it in. They can carry it out to another place, and open it at their leisure. Your safe has to be “mounted” in such a way that someone has to work hard for hours to get it out of the building. Lag bolting it to a wooden stud wall is kind of a joke.
Unless you sink that safe in a concrete floor or wall, you’re not much safer than having a Chinese box.
The Chinese box is useful to keep kids or family members from having an accident.
While I understand and somewhat agree with your overall point…
It is going to take some serious junkie meth strength to carry loaded safes out of my basement.
And that's why I go with some sacrificial cash, the meth head takes it and leaves, happy and thinking he scored, and leaving all my other stuff alone. Then I let the cameras do the work, can't have someone walking around thinking my house is an easy score.
Noreaster13
NES Member
tuna
NES Member
What's the point of the safe? If it's to be legal, then go for your Harbor Freight. If you have a desire to use the safe to keep valuables secure, then get something of better quality. I used the security cabinets when I lived in MA. But I hate the idea of gunsafes, so I cheaped out to kinda meet compliance.
Once I moved to NH, I Karma'd one and kept one to keep unused guns together, the rest are stored behind doors around the house.
Once I moved to NH, I Karma'd one and kept one to keep unused guns together, the rest are stored behind doors around the house.
EJFudd
NES Member
Riddle me this Batman: What costs a small fortune to buy... then costs even more to transport... 'cause it weighs a ton... is awkward to locate/move... can't be easily hidden... locks you out occasionally... can be breached in 10-15 minutes tops... still isn't as good as having sufficient insurance... and SCREAMS I own lots of ga... ga... ga... gunz to anyone (friend or foe) who spots it?
Answer: A premium big-ass gun safe!!!
![[thumbsup]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/044.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
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Riddle me this Batman: What costs a small fortune to buy... then costs even more to transport... 'cause it weighs a ton... is awkward to locate/move... can't be easily hidden... locks you out occasionally... can be breached in 10-15 minutes tops... still isn't as good as having sufficient insurance... and SCREAMS I own lots of ga... ga... ga... gunz to anyone (friend or foe) who spots it?
Answer: A premium big-ass gun safe!!!
Some guy in Lowell literally built a fortified bunker to keep his large gun collection in. One day, some criminals managed to break in and steal most of the guns. When the cops responded, they admired the vault and described it as "very secure". A few days later
the police chief in Lowell revoked the guy's LTC, confiscated his few remaining guns and summonsed him to court for improper storage. So, essentially, he got screwed over twice. You do the best that you can with what you can afford.
Coda
NES Member
There has got to be more to this story..........
EJFudd
NES Member
This will help explain a lot...
Two sentenced in theft of stored Lowell firearms
LOWELL– Two Lowell men pleaded guilty Monday to numerous charges involving the theft of 19 firearms from a vault in a Lowell home in January, according to the Middlesex District Attorney̵…
www.lowellsun.com
I'm watching this thread with interest. I've been waiting for black Friday to try to find a decent deal on a safe. It's purpose is really just to deter children, opportunistic smash and grab thieves, and placate my wife.
Coda
NES Member
Well there IS more to this story and that certainly does explain a lot.....This will help explain a lot...
Two sentenced in theft of stored Lowell firearms
LOWELL– Two Lowell men pleaded guilty Monday to numerous charges involving the theft of 19 firearms from a vault in a Lowell home in January, according to the Middlesex District Attorney̵…
Sokolowski, 57, of Harvard, is charged in Lowell District Court with manufacturing/storing explosives in his former home. While investigating the theft, police seized 25 items including black powder, smokeless powder, shells and thousands of primers. Police said storage of such explosive material is illegal without a permit issued by the state Fire Marshal’s Office.
The improper storage was for items that were illegal without a permit from the fire marshal, which he did not have. NOT improper storage of his guns in his "secure bunker".
EJFudd
NES Member
A couple more facts: One of the two thieves was a former tenant of Mr. Sokolowski who knew about the guns in the basement bunker and also knew that Mr. Sokolowski had moved out... leaving the thieves all the time in the world to break open the bunker door and steal the guns.
That's what pissed off the Lowell cops so much: The idea that the guns were left there unguarded after the owner had moved out... fully known to the shady dude who then set the theft in motion.
The cops couldn't charge Mr. Sokolowski just for leaving the guns unguarded, so they had the fire department charge him with not having a permit for his reloading supplies. It was a total shit move by the cops, but they were pissed.
When they can't get you one way, they figure out a way to get you another way.
Coda
NES Member
So there is even more to the story.A couple more facts: One of the two thieves was a former tenant of Mr. Sokolowski who knew about the guns in the basement bunker and also knew that Mr. Sokolowski had moved out... leaving the thieves all the time in the world to break open the bunker door and steal the guns.
That's what pissed off the Lowell cops so much: The idea that the guns were left there unguarded after the owner had moved out... fully known to the shady dude who then set the theft in motion.
The cops couldn't charge Mr. Sokolowski just for leaving the guns unguarded, so they had the fire department charge him with not having a permit for his reloading supplies. It was a total shit move by the cops, but they were pissed.
When they can't get you one way, they figure out a way to get you another way.
Not only was he building bombs, but he left the guns "unattended" which may of not been illegal but pissed off the cops.
But my point is that if the guy wasn't building bombs and was still living in the house and the guns were stolen from from a secure location they would have had nothing on the guy.
It's the bomb building thing that did him in. I am sure the cops were as pissed about that as they were about the guns left in a house that nobody was living in.
But you are 100% correct, once you piss off the cops with your guns they will figure some way to get you.
I HIGHLY doubt he was building bombs. The cops see smokeless powder so they assume it means he’s building bombs because they’re dumb AFSo there is even more to the story.
Not only was he building bombs, but he left the guns "unattended" which may of not been illegal but pissed off the cops.
But my point is that if the guy wasn't building bombs and was still living in the house and the guns were stolen from from a secure location they would have had nothing on the guy.
It's the bomb building thing that did him in. I am sure the cops were as pissed about that as they were about the guns left in a house that nobody was living in.
But you are 100% correct, once you piss off the cops with your guns they will figure some way to get you.
EJFudd
NES Member
Yeah, no actual bombs... just over the "no permit required" limit with his reloading supplies.So there is even more to the story.
Not only was he building bombs, but he left the guns "unattended" which may of not been illegal but pissed off the cops.
But my point is that if the guy wasn't building bombs and was still living in the house and the guns were stolen from from a secure location they would have had nothing on the guy.
It's the bomb building thing that did him in. I am sure the cops were as pissed about that as they were about the guns left in a house that nobody was living in.
But you are 100% correct, once you piss off the cops with your guns they will figure some way to get you.
In other words, total BS. But the cops viewed his actions as sloppy (at a minimum), perhaps negligent and contributing to the theft.
So they needed an excuse to pull his LTC... so they called the fire department.
Coda
NES Member
We don't know what those "25 items" are, it is easy to assume he was reloading as well as it is easy to assume he was building explosive devices.
Either way it seems like this guy went off the rails and drew unwanted attention to himself. There was a lot more going on here than whether or not his guns were secure.
The HF black friday price this year on the 10 gun safe is $320. In years past it was $300.
Black Friday, outside of TV's this year is pretty awful. Walmart isn't even advertising tire sales this year, they have been for years.
Black Friday, outside of TV's this year is pretty awful. Walmart isn't even advertising tire sales this year, they have been for years.
