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Read an interesting article written by a safe professional and our gun safes are really not what we might think they are, but only a momentary obstacle.
It appears that those really thick pins that lock the door, are very short and not connected to a large gear system inside. Actually they're connected to very thin metal rods that make up the tracking system. Therefore very easily opened in about 10 minutes by an amateur with a couple pry bars. Those large pins are actually only as long as what we see sticking out the door.
The safe professional states that safes basically fail because the safe body and the door body is too thin. It appears most modern gun safes are built with thinner 14-gauge steel, when it really needs to be a minimum of 10-gauge steel, much heavier and nearly impossible to pry open. Of course a thief with metal cutting equipment, saws and torches, is going to get into any of them.
His next complaint is about the cheap China built digital locks on the units. He states locksmiths make a lot of money opening them. He recommends changing these cheap digital locks to locks from S&G or KaGard. I know I had to have a locksmith open a safe, once. Its not cheap!
His next complaint is about fire protection. He states that only a safe with an UL Class 350 rating, is actually fireproof, but such safes are not available for retail. He states that paper will ignite at 451° and if the inside temp reaches that, all papers within the safe will ignite, including money. Wood stocks are finished with petroleum-based stains and oils, which are very likely to burn, become compromised and be permanently disfigured. Plastic or other stocks will simply melt.
His only recommendation for fire proofing paperwork inside a safe, is to put all those items in another small fire proof box, then put them into the gun safe.
Just an FYI...........
It appears that those really thick pins that lock the door, are very short and not connected to a large gear system inside. Actually they're connected to very thin metal rods that make up the tracking system. Therefore very easily opened in about 10 minutes by an amateur with a couple pry bars. Those large pins are actually only as long as what we see sticking out the door.
The safe professional states that safes basically fail because the safe body and the door body is too thin. It appears most modern gun safes are built with thinner 14-gauge steel, when it really needs to be a minimum of 10-gauge steel, much heavier and nearly impossible to pry open. Of course a thief with metal cutting equipment, saws and torches, is going to get into any of them.
His next complaint is about the cheap China built digital locks on the units. He states locksmiths make a lot of money opening them. He recommends changing these cheap digital locks to locks from S&G or KaGard. I know I had to have a locksmith open a safe, once. Its not cheap!
His next complaint is about fire protection. He states that only a safe with an UL Class 350 rating, is actually fireproof, but such safes are not available for retail. He states that paper will ignite at 451° and if the inside temp reaches that, all papers within the safe will ignite, including money. Wood stocks are finished with petroleum-based stains and oils, which are very likely to burn, become compromised and be permanently disfigured. Plastic or other stocks will simply melt.
His only recommendation for fire proofing paperwork inside a safe, is to put all those items in another small fire proof box, then put them into the gun safe.
Just an FYI...........