How to protect your rifles from being stolen

I have some hard experience when it comes to having firearms stolen. 5 years ago, I had 2 shotguns, 4 rifles, and 5 pistols in the house. I have a workshop, and on a back shelf, I had ammo stacked up: .32 colt, 12 Guage, 303 Winchester, 7mm Remington, .22 Magnum, .22 LR, etc. Somebody came in and robbed the shop... but they also noticed the ammo while casing the place. Sometime later, I left at 8 in the morning, and returned at 8:30 to find that all my long guns were gone. I miss the 1886 Winchester takedown in .303 especially. What I learned... Never put your rifle in the corner of a room... that is the first place a thief will look. Never put your ammo out to be seen. and finally, never collect valuable guns without a security plan. Now, the pistols are ok... I guess I shall concentrate on those.

sorry to hear that. hope you are looking into a sturdy safe for storage.

i use to leave my guns scattered through the house thinking i would never be burglarized but each time we would go away for the weekend or vacation i was always concerned about the "GUNS". after i got my safe i was able to enjoy our outings more without the stress of gun loss. get the best you can afford!

Bruce

A gun safe should be an upmost priority if you have more than one. Not a flimsy gun locker, a massive bolt to the floor safe. Some gun safes are modular and can be bolted together piece by piece. IF and WHEN you decide to get a safe, get one far bigger than you think you need. They fill up quick. Like DevilDog said, don't cheap out on this. Buy once, cry once, sleep tight, even on vacation!

It is my belief that your first line of defense is for everyone to think there is nothing of value here. Your second line of defense is a gun safe.

Here in Canada we have safe storage gun laws and from what you describe, You'd be facing charges. In fact a police officer had her personal car broken into and guns stolen. She is facing charges of careless storage.

Wow, careless storage? I'm not a fan of forced "responsibility". I am in favor of being responsible and doing it for the sake of being safe. The police woman didn't have her guns laid out in the yard with signs that said "free guns, steal me", they were locked away in her car. Crazy.

Happy to live in USA and not Canada.

There are many affordable safes on the market, I don't have a fire safe but wish I did now. I have a pro light browning with a standard combo lock that is a key lock and combination. If you have any antique guns or really expensive guns look on you tube and start learning about fire safes. If what you have is replaceable you don't need a fire safe but you may need insurance and the cheapest is through the NRA which I recommend to anyone that cherishes the 2nd amendment. Again try you tube and learn what could stop the average criminal from getting into it.

Just put em in a cardboard box that says "Tools for hard work at low wages" on the side.
They wont touch em.

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Originally Posted by big honkin jeep

Just put em in a cardboard box that says "Tools for hard work at low wages" on the side.
They wont touch em.

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LMAO!! that WILL keep them safe!

Bruce

my Step brother has a safe that has an electronic key pad and a turn key lock inside the dial. He used the key all the time and never locked the safe otherwise. So, one day, he did not turn the key to the lock position..came home...all the guns inside the safe were gone!

We have a real good laugh about it...

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Originally Posted by Ackleyman

my Step brother has a safe that has an electronic key pad and a turn key lock inside the dial. He used the key all the time and never locked the safe otherwise. So, one day, he did not turn the key to the lock position..came home...all the guns inside the safe were gone!

We have a real good laugh about it...

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youtube has vid of guys busting open gun safes in a few minutes,
so if you have an intruder at home wanting your guns, a safe will probably won't do much.

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Originally Posted by olddav

Happy to live in USA and not Canada.

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http://barrie.ctvnews.ca/peel-region...rrie-1.2450460 You gotta remember, Living in Canada has its advantages. Free medical, with long waits, Oil, Lots of it, and most importantly. WATER. One day wars will be fought over water. We can also buy firearms and ship them to our homes. And we are less likely to terrorist attacks although not immune to them.

When it comes to securing your firearms, a safe just buys you time. The more expensive a safe, the longer it will take for someone to get into. The safe you buy for $600 that's made in Mexico, yeah....I need about 30 seconds to jimmy it open. Won't even be tough. The $3,000 safe made in Utah will take an hour or more depending on skill level of the crook. Look for a legit piece of plate steel on the front.

I have a good friend that is a locksmith. It was disturbing how quick he got in my $1,000 gun safe. Bought a real one pretty soon after that.

It's the entire package, the main brunt of my guns are stored in my gun room in my shop. They have to get though a steel door to get into the shop, which has surveillance outside and inside with motion sensors that alert myself and my wife. Then they have to get in the gun room which is a cast concrete room that has a 4" thick steel and concrete door with hidden sliding pins in it. I spent less on my gun room, security doors and system than I would have spent on a quality safe ( less my labor). It's all about layers of security and not one component. Passive layers like hiding things go a long way also. I have a buddy that has his hidden behind a book shelf, you would never know that safe is there unless you were told about it.