How to Choose the Right Gun Safe

When you buy a gun, you need to buy a gun safe as well. Period. And its not just for safety reasons.

Most safes on the market today will do a good job of protecting your guns from curious children. What all of them wont do well is protect your guns from burglars. Many criminals get their hands on weapons by breaking into the homes of known gun owners and stealing them.

When protecting your guns from theft, all safes are not created equal. Heres what to look for when youre buying a gun safe.

Make sure it can be bolted down. The most important thing a burglar needs in order to crack a safe is time. And they wont get that in your house. Thats why most burglars will physically remove the entire, unopened gun safe to a more secure place, where they have unlimited time to get it open. Even very heavy gun safes can be movedmany burglars bring dollies with them just in case. Thats why its crucial to avoid buying a gun safe that cant be bolted to the floorpreferably a cement floor.

Look for an alarm. Some safes come with automatic alarms that go off the moment someone tries to break into your safe. If your gun safe is bolted down and the thieves decide to take a crack at it in your home, the alarm will put a great deal of pressure on them to get done in a hurry. It could put them off stealing it altogether.

Make sure the housing for the lock is protected. Some burglars will try to drill into your lock in order to get it open. Some safe manufacturers create ingenious ways to keep that drill from hitting the interior housing for the lock. One way involves two thick metal plates with a layer of ball bearings between. When a drill hits the ball bearing layer, it cant move forwardtheres no friction. The ball bearings often break off the drill bit as well. Other manufacturers design other ways, such as angled plates to deflect the drill bit away from the lock house.

Look for a relocker. This is a device that will cause the lock to close again if it is broken open. It wont protect the contents of the safe forever, but it is very effective in making the break-in process more complicatedwhich is a definite deterrent for burglars.

Look for as few welded seams as possible. Amateur thieves will try to break through your lock to get to your guns. But the real pros know that your safes weakest points are where the metal has been welded together. To stop burglars from attacking your seams first, look for a safe that has as few exposed seams as possible.

Thicker is betterand not just on the door. Look for a safe with a good metal thicknessno thinner than 10-guageall around. Many safe manufacturers will produce safes with thick doors but thin bodies. A safe cracker with any skill will know which safes are vulnerable in the bodyand will bypass the door to go in through the side or roof of the safe. Make sure your sides, top and bottom are just as thick and strong as your safes door.

Hinges should be on the inside. Exposed hinges are another point of attack for anyone trying to break into your safe. If your hinges can be damaged or removed, the door can be broken into. Many safe manufacturers will advertise super-strong hinges, but no matter how strong a set of hinges are, theyre better off if the thieves cant get to them.

Look for a warranty. Only buy from a safe manufacturer that has confidence in its product. The best warranties will replace or repair your safe for free if it is damaged by a break-in attemptalthough many will ask that you ship it back with a police report.

The bottom line is that you cant have too much safe. Buy a safe that will accommodate your gun collection as it grows. Most importantly, dont think cheap when it comes to the safe thats supposed to protect your valuablesbecause youll get what you pay for. You cant expect a 50.00 safe to do a good job protecting 10,000 worth of firearmsbuy a safe that does justice to your collection. If you do, your guns should stay safe and secure.

Anthony Neary is director of http://www.thesafeshop.co.uk an online retailer of safes, gun safes and fire proof cabinets. For more information on gun safes and a range of security products visit http://www.thesafeshop.co.uk/Categories/gun_safes/.Herminia Blog9476
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