Originally Posted By: RhondaHonda
Any safe you buy under $10,000 can be broken into with a gas powered chop saw in minutes so keep that in mind.
You have to keep this all in perspective. Otherwise you can easily get carried away to the point of ridiculousness. Who realistically is going to spend $10K on a gun safe? I know of no one. And who runs around breaking into middle class suburban homes with gas powered chop saws, or Acetylene torches? Or even these 8 foot long, 40 pound railroad bars, you see these guys using in the demonstration videos. Where they bust into a gun safe conveniently laying on it's side in 30 seconds.
The fact is nationwide insurance statistics show over 80% of home break in's are done by neighborhood kids under the age of 16. Most are in the house for less than 2 minutes. "Smash & Grab" type hits looking for cash, jewelry, cameras, along with other easily fenced items. "Pros" aren't going to bother with these homes, because they'll hit upper class areas. The penalty is the same for breaking into a $2 million dollar home, as it is a $200,000.00 one. Which will be the better score? Another thing is to keep your mouth shut to your neighbors about what you have. People talk too much, and when they do it greatly increases your chances for an unwanted visitor. I've lived in my house for 20 years, and none of my neighbors know I have guns.
You are better off making your home looked occupied, even when it isn't. Leave lights on. Have your home look the same when you are home, or when you're not. At night when you leave, leave a TV on. Anyone approaching the door will see the picture pattern, and hear it as well. Or else leave a radio playing. When you go on vacation put lights and radios on timers. Remember, the object is to send them to someone else's house, so yours doesn't get broken into. Most police who investigate these type of things on a daily basis, will tell you that will have more desirable results, than spending a fortune trying to turn your home into a Federal Reserve Bank.