Gun Safe Vendors

[TGO David]

Just trying to make the point that the folks reading this thread are not under secured with a run of the mill safe.

Of course the converse of this argument could be true also: That people who have convinced themselves that a $400 safe provides even $400 worth of protection have their heads in the sand.

If a thief casually pops open a $400 safe and makes off with even $200 worth of guns before the police can arrive... what have you accomplished?

[Guest flyfishtn]

safe house...haven't been yet how are their prices? if ya don't mind me asking how much did they get you set up for?

Prices are competitive and you get 1000% more customer service both from a delivery and set up standpoint and safe knowledge when making a decision between models. As well, there are customization aspects to the safe that you can get through them and not at the big boxes.

[I_Like_Pie]

If a thief casually pops open a $400 safe and makes off with even $200 worth of guns before the police can arrive... what have you accomplished?

1...they didn't get everything that you own and only got $200 worth of your stuff. Thus proving that the time barrier that $400 purchased was partially effective. The $1500 difference could have been spent on a better safe, but $500 could have also been spent for a better security system.

2...that someone knew that you had guns and knows that you have more. Even with a top dollar safe that warded off a thief successfully there will be many, many sleepless nights where you think that they will be coming back for the rest.

That is the problem with theft. Someone has violated your personal space. In most cases the items stolen does not hurt as much as the total loss of personal security. Again...Security is more than just the safe. The common thinking of every customer that walks into the Safe House is that "I can buy a really good safe and things will be OK/secure" The truth is that there is typically too much focus on the safe when total security is much more than that.

[av88tor]

Hey Pie,

A couple of comments on your last few posts,

First off I give my customers a little more credit than you seem to do when it comes to the expectations of what a safe will do and what it won't do. My focus when someone comes into my showroom is to educate them on the different features of the brands that I carry and what security levels they provide. One size or security level doesn't fit everyone.

Next comment: If you read some of my previous post you might have noticed that I say " security should be a layered approach and should not rely on one thing" a safe should really be your last line of defense against a thief.

Next comment:A $400 safe will meet those needs for the average TN gunowner. Proper insurance and an alarm system will take care of the rest.

Hum, a $400 safe, that would be more like a thin metal box than a safe, and it could be popped open with a screw driver, so I would have to raise the BS flag:bs: on that one. As for insurance replacing your gun that your father thought you to shoot with or the coin collection that took you years to accumulate or what ever else you have that you don't want a thief to get their dirty little hands on......... As for alarms, ever think that by cutting the phone line the call to the alarm company never gets out? or if the main breaker to your house is turn off at your outside electrical box, no alarm?

Next comment: The truth is that the average schmuck has a couple of H&R break actions, a rifle, a pistol or two, and maybe an old .22 that grandpa killed pigs with at the slaughterhouse. I'll be willing to bet that this would even fit the profile of the average member here at TGO.

Here you go again slamming everyone, I would say the vast majority of my customers have more than that to protect and most if not all of my customers are putting far more than guns in their safes. That brings up another point on the cost of guns, I was in a local gun shop the other day and I would say that the "average" gun was in the $400 dollar range, with most above that price, so if you just had three or four you are will with in the range to spend more than $400 on a metal box to protect your investment. One other thing about the $400 dollar safe anology, is that the fire rating on a cheap safe is usually as good as the safe.

In closing , the crowd cheers ! I think what you are really saying when you say "the best is for those who simply do not know better" is that we as mindless Walmart drones should just buy what ever piece of junk that the big box stores import from some far away country and be happy about the "low price" we paid. When in reality we just wasted our money on a low quality product that will have to be replaced because of poor quality. What ever happened to buying a quality product that is built to last ?

One of my favorite quotes is " The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after a cheap price is forgotten".

Peace

[Electric B]

I am guilty of buying a cheap safe. It is junk, can't return it so I am dealing with it. However I live about one mile from a Fire Dept, so I feel that I have a good chance that they could put out any fires quickly.

The more I look at what safe I would like to have the more money it cost. I mean I really do not have five or six thousand dollars to purchase a top od the line safe.

Plus if it is delivered to my home and trucked in, why could it not be trucked out by a well prepaired thief ???

If you can't see it you will not take it. If you really look around your home you will be amazed with all the neat hidding places for you valuables you can find.

IMO I would rather have a well hidden stash, than everything piled into a cheap safe for a exerienced theif to focus his attention on any possibility gain access to quicker than you would think. Thus making the safe a "One- Stop -Shop".

[DavidCBaker]

The only thing that concerns me about a "well hidden stash" is that little kids are really curious, and they tend to find places you didn't even know existed...especially when playing hide and seek.

[I_Like_Pie]

av88tor - You justly give your customers a little more credit because once they take the effort to walk through your door they have done their homework, they generally are on the higher end of the market with respect to security needs, and they already know what they want and are gauging if you can provide that for them.

As for the comment about the irreplacibility of sentiment...You sell safes. I sell insurance. This is something that we will never see eye to eye on.

As far as "slamming everyone" and their gun collections "again"...this is not my opinion. This is material fact. The average person...materially up to the 95th percentile does not have more than 12 guns in their home. You state the YOUR customers have more to protect than that...they are NOT even close to the majority of the TN general public, and arguably not in the interest of many of the members here.

think what you are really saying when you say "the best is for those who simply do not know better" is that we as mindless Walmart drones

No...if you think that you are totally missing the point.

My argument is that a $400 safe that is secured properly and not broadcast out to world of its presence will thwart theft acceptably, keep children out of your firearms, and provide assurance to an insurance provider that additional benefit to cover a real loss is justified.

Your argument, which is mentioned to every customer that asks. (I know...I have been there) is that a person is wasting their time with some cheap, crappy safe that is purchased at any number of other retailers. Simply not true for above stated reasons.

Those two videos illustrate determined thieves who know exactly what they are doing in a perfect environment. As if any thief casually rummaging though your house can use the pull top from a can of vienna sausages to tear the door off and get your guns.

Thieves are opportunists...even this is too much work for most.

[Guest JHatmaker]

Hatmaker,

Don't get all bent out of shape when someone says that your safe can be pried open easily. Under the right circumstances all of the lower end gun safes on the market can be opened like a tin can. I have been in the gun safe / safe business for the past 16 years and have seen all types of safes opened by just about every possible method. It would shock you if you knew how easy it is to pop open a "good" gun safe. I just replaced 4 safes in the past month that had been opened by "dumb" criminals, that just so happen to disable alarm systems, get passed dogs and nosiy neighbors. While I don't know what brand safe you have, I will say that it is better than nothing, but don't get a false sense of security just because you have it bolted down and up against a wall or in a closet.

Never got bent out of shape, mainly b/c I still don't think the gun cabinet I have could be pried open easily. I'm sure it could be in a controlled situation, with proper tools, with no alarm going off, no police on the way, and no nervous criminal rushing before he gets caught.

Like I said, one day I'll get a nice fireproof safe, but for now, my sense of security isn't false (at least in my opinion )

(on a side note, even us naysayers do appreciate, and take to heart your advice, and thank you for supporting this forum as a vendor)

[hipower]

Just a word of caution when looking for and buying a safe. Don't go crazy on buying the biggest/largest out there, but get one a little bigger than you think you need. You will find they fill very quickly with guns, ammo, cameras, jewelry, etc. I know some of the pricing will scare you and make you second-guess yourself, but I know from experience you can't go wrong with a bigger safe, where a too small safe will haunt you. I suggest one with good door fit for keeping humidity levels controlable by golden rods or one of several dessicant types. Some safes are already wired with plugs and lights; that's very handy, but you can do it yourself.

[av88tor]

Pie,

We all have our opinions about things, the thing I offer my customers is the knowledge that over 16 years of selling and servicing gun safes gives me. I have seen numerous safes popped open with different pry bars and long handled screw drivers. I have also seen them cut open with jigsaws, saws alls, and hand grinders. So I will disagree "again" with your post about a $400 safe being a good investment to protect your valuables.

Peace

MB

[Guest ScottD]

Just wanted to mention, most alarms have a cellular module you can get for them (some come standard), so if the outside phone line is cut, the alarm still makes the call.

Also all alarms that I have ever seen have a battery backup to keep the system powered in the event of a commercial power loss. Killing the outside breaker doesn't stop alarms from working.

Just thought I would through in those two little tidbits of information.

[I_Like_Pie]

Pie,

We all have our opinions about things, the thing I offer my customers is the knowledge that over 16 years of selling and servicing gun safes gives me. I have seen numerous safes popped open with different pry bars and long handled screw drivers. I have also seen them cut open with jigsaws, saws alls, and hand grinders. So I will disagree "again" with your post about a $400 safe being a good investment to protect your valuables.

Peace

MB

Lol...here is one for $350 right down the road. Will it be enough?

CLICK HERE

Seriously...You guys have the ability to move it...might be worth checking out. That price you cant go wrong. Clean it up and resale it for a wee bit of profit.

[av88tor]

Lol...here is one for $350 right down the road. Will it be enough?

Wouldn't need a pry bar for that one its already open..........

[~Emily~]

...So I will disagree "again" with your post about a $400 safe being a good investment to protect your valuables.

av88tor, would you say that it is better than nothing?

[av88tor]

If the lock and bolt work are in good shape, yes it is better than nothing.

[mac12]

About 2 years ago I bought a safe at Gander Mountain. It listed for 899 or 999, anyway, I did their credit card thing and got 100 off. I was there a couple of weeks ago and they have really improved the safes. They have more and bigger locking bolts and thicker steel. There was one model that was made of 7 gauge steel. It was expensive, but so nice. I wished that I had waited and gotten one of the better ones now. I had to pick a size that would go through a closet door. I should have bolted it to the slab, but didn't.

[eapking]

Question: how do you keep a thief from just carrying it off? Particularly the small box models.

[Chucktshoes]

Question: how do you keep a thief from just carrying it off? Particularly the small box models.

Shoot him?

[DavidCBaker]

Question: how do you keep a thief from just carrying it off? Particularly the small box models.

For me the answer was my welder.

[eapking]

Shoot him?

Ha - good one. I walked right into that one. Seriously though, I'm talking one of those smaller cube style things you might fit a few handguns in. I've looked at the backs and see nothing to tie a chain or something into. Welding does sound like the only option.

[av88tor]

You probably can bolt it down through the bottom of the safe, if it doesn't have predrilled holes just get a good drill and bit and drill a few holes in the bottom.

MB

[threeshot]

You probably can bolt it down through the bottom of the safe, if it doesn't have predrilled holes just get a good drill and bit and drill a few holes in the bottom.

MB

Are these special bolts that prevent you from using common hand tools to remove the bolts?

[Guest jos2f]

I think the concept is that you bolt it from the bottom on the inside, so that they can't carry it off and open it at their own place. they'd have to open it to cut the bolts, but at that point they could just take whats inside.

[I_Like_Pie]

Are these special bolts that prevent you from using common hand tools to remove the bolts?

Uhhh...no.

If you sandwich the floor with the safe and a piece of steel plate (under the floor) you can use any hardened, round head lag screw as they are tightened by a threaded nut that will be in the safe....the other side will be round and will not move short of going under the house and grinding it off with a ceramic wheel.

[eapking]

Good ideas. Thx.