![]() Gun Safe Buyer's Guide - Gun Safe Reviews Guy. Gun Safe Frequently Asked Questions. For your convenience, here are quick rapid- fire answers to the most- asked questions. I want to buy a gun safe. What do I need to know? The majority of gun safes don’t offer very much protection considering how much they cost. Most are not a good use of your money. Why do you say that most gun safes are a waste of money? Burglars pried this gun safe open with these screwdrivers. Today’s gun safes pretend to be safes but are not. Gun owners buy them expecting burglary protection for their valuables. Unfortunately, most gun safes can be opened in a couple minutes with common tools. My article on theft protection explains these statements in detail. The same goes for fire protection. There is a standard independent fire rating for fire safes. Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or key. Think shimming a padlock is hard? Think again. Check out our step-by-step guide to opening single and double-lock padlocks with a coke or soda pop can. How to Open a Combination Lock. A combination lock is useful for your school locker, gym locker, bike, or anything else that you'd like to keep safely stowed. Once. Unfortunately, virtually no fireproof gun safe can meet it. So instead, manufacturers basically make up their own fire ratings. It is useless to compare gun safe fire ratings from different companies. Click here for my explanation of fire ratings. Many people think any gun safe is better than nothing. Unfortunately, in many ways this is not true. I just want to keep my guns away from the kids and smash- and- grab burglars. What do you recommend? For just locking up your guns, there are many options. Most are cheaper and often more reliable than a gun safe: Buy a job site toolbox instead. When you compare a gun safe to a tool box with the same thickness steel, a tool box will cost about half as much, be more secure, and attract less attention. It can also be used for other purposes if you buy a gun safe later. Reinforce a closet or pantry into a closet gun safe/vault. It can also function as your reloading or tool room. Build a hidden gun safe or buy one. Something as simple as a locking horizontal file cabinet from a used office furniture store can make a great cheap gun safe. There are many more suggestions in 1. Money- Saving Ways to Protect Your Guns. Are there any gun safes that aren’t a waste of money? There are about half a dozen models at different price levels which give you great bang for your buck. Click here for recommendations. How much do decent gun safes cost? If you have time to wait for a bargain, a used gun safe or true safe can usually be found for less than $1,0. You can move a lighter (under 5. If you don’t have time to wait for a used one or want a new gun safe, here are some ranges: Minimal protection starts at around $9. American- made models start at around $1,2. These will have a UL Residential Security Container (RSC) rating. That means it was independently tested to take one burglar working alone with basic hand tools about 5 minutes to break into it. Two burglars with real pry bars or an ax will get inside within a couple minutes. Power tools will be even quicker. If installed properly in a good location, that time could stretch to over an hour. Shipping and installation will run another 1. For a gun safe that can’t be easily defeated with pry bars, axes, or other brute force methods, you’re looking at $1,4. These offer great protection from all non- power tools. A burglar with power tools will still get inside in minutes to hours, depending on installation and location. Due to the weight of these guys, they cost more to move. Add 1. 0 to 5. 0% for shipping and installation. A true safe will be needed to defeat power tools. True safes large enough for guns will run you $2,0. These monsters can weigh into the tons, so add another 2. I can’t afford the protection I want. What can I do? There’s plenty you can do to increase the protection of an inexpensive gun safe: See 1. Money- Saving Ways to Protect Your Guns for more ideas. A guy at my hunting club has an old gun safe he’s selling. How can I tell if it’s any good? For step by step recommendations about every part of a gun safe that matters, see What to Look For in a Gun Safe. What kind of gun safe combination lock is better, a mechanical dial or electronic keypad? Both have benefits and disadvantages. See the detailed comparison of Mechanical Dial and Electronic Keypad Combination Locks. It’s part of the Gun Safe Locks section which also covers recommended brands and ratings. Where should I buy a gun safe? For cheap gun safes, pick the one you want and buy it through your local gun shop or gun safe dealer. You can also buy them online of course. Many of the best gun safes for the money are only sold factory- direct to keep costs low. To buy these you’ll have to call the factory. Some brands are also sold through safe dealers or online. For true safes and gun safes, buy from a safe technician or safe dealer. They should be members of Safe & Vault Technicians Association (SAVTA) and/or National Safeman’s Organization (NSO). SAVTA/NSO safesmiths modify, install, service, and break into true safes for a living so they know security. They are also likely to have some used commercial safes for sale that would work for guns. Because safe techs install very heavy commercial safes professionally, they are also discrete and less likely to damage your home. The factory- direct gun safe manufacturers usually use these companies for local installation and service of their products. Some of these safe experts have contributed to gun forums for years. I don’t have room for a big square gun safe. Is there anything else I can get? There are a wide variety of options. Some include in- wall and hidden couch and bed gun safes. See the Gun Safe Buyer’s Guide below. What about the small quick- access handgun safes? Most electronic units are unreliable and/or unsafe. Many can be opened with paperclips or bumping them, often without any permanent damage. My small gun safe article includes videos for proof, as well as better options for small- gun safes. Another article covers biometric gun safes. Biometric handgun safes have many of the issues of electronic keypad handgun safes, and then some more. Commercially Available Gun Safe Buyer’s Guide. The products below are organized from most secure to least secure. For most of these products, the term “safe” is used very loosely. They are all included here for reference. If you’d like to jump ahead, use one of the links below. There are hundreds of different options for locking up guns. Not all options will work for your situation. For example, small diversion or hidden gun safes get most of their security from being inconspicuous. If they are discovered by a thief, they are easy to get into. They might still fit into your layered security strategy. Safe Room and Vault Products. Graffunder Vault Door. The king of gun protection isn’t a gun safe at all, but a safe room or vault. If you can afford the expense and can keep the construction a secret, there isn’t much of a limit to the size or protection level you can achieve with a custom vault. Vault doors can be opened from the inside, so a vault room can also function as a panic room. Features such as dual mechanical dial and electronic keypad locks are typical on high end vault doors, which can be configured to require only one or both locks to open the door. Expect a vault door to cost almost as much as a whole safe, and then you still have to build the vault. Also time consuming steps may be required. For example, the vault opening may need to be completed to take precise measurements before the custom vault door can be ordered. You can improvise and save money by building your own gun vault or making a closet gun safe. Back to the Top. Gun- Sized Commercial Safe Products. Most true safes are too small for long guns, with the exception of jewelry store safes. A few manufacturers including Graffunder, American Security (AMSEC), Brown, etc. make true safes large enough for long guns. These safes are expensive brand new (much cheaper used) and very heavy but offer the best protection. True safes come with and without fire protection. Fireproofing can add serious weight because concrete amalgamate is predominantly used for fireproofing true safes. American Security (AMSEC) HS7. UL 6. 87 TL- 1. 5 Rated Gun Safe. Because of their protection and reliability these safes are often the choice of law enforcement. Per DEA regulations, seized narcotics inside a police station can’t be stored in anything less than a TL- 1. True safes have a construction rating of B- Rate or better and provide real protection from brute force attacks. Higher rated safes will additionally provide protection from power tool attacks and may carry a UL 6. Test for Burglary- Resistant Safes rating. How to Crack a Master Combination Lock. Within the art of lock picking lies the infamous combination lock, a device immune to our tension wrenches and lock picks. While there are still many other ways to bypass a combination padlock, including the use of a shim, bolt cutters, locksmiths, or even a blowtorch, none are quite as elegant and non- destructive as old school combination cracking. A standard 4. 0 digit Master Lock has 6. This guide will aid you in reducing that absurd number to only 8. Master Lock in 1. Determine Your Model Of Master Lock: Before we spend the time required learning how to crack a combination lock, it’s important that we first determine if this method of cracking will work on your model of lock. Some Master Locks require additional or different procedures to crack as they use different combination algorithms. The model number of your Master Lock can be found on the back of the lock. If by chance your lock’s model number begins with 8. However, many people have had success cracking 8. XXX model Master Locks using this method, but there is no guarantee. Clear The Lock. The first step in picking any lock is to set a standard starting point. In the case of a Master Lock we simply clear the lock. This is accomplished by rotating the dial, at minimum, three times past the zero mark in the clockwise (right) direction. Additionally, be sure to stop the rotation at the zero mark as well. Placing Tension On The Shackle. Now that the lock has been cleared and is set at zero, our first objective, which will seem backwards, is to find the third number in our combination. Begin by applying a tense pulling force on the shackle of the padlock. A great method of doing this is to grasp the lock in one hand while using a finger to push upward on the shackle. While maintaining this upward pressure on the shackle, begin to rotate the dial slowly in the counterclockwise (left) direction. Note here that there may be chance the dial will be stuck on the zero mark while force is applied to the shackle and will not allow you to rotate it. If this is the case, release the force on the shackle and rotate the dial one or two numbers counterclockwise. Reapply the upward pressure on the shackle and once again try to rotate the dial counterclockwise. Finding The First Sticking Point. While rotating the dial of the lock in the counterclockwise direction, you will shortly come to a point where it will jam and no longer allow you to freely rotate it. The dial will be stuck in a rut between two numbers. You should be able to turn the dial slightly in the clockwise (right) direction and back again while still holding pressure on the shackle. This is our first “sticking range.” Write down both stopping points in this rut. For example the counterclockwise (left) stopping point could be 8, while the clockwise (right) stopping point could be 6. In this example our sticking range would be 6 to 8. Next we have to find the “sticking point.” This is done by simply taking the middle number of our sticking range. In our example this would be 7. Be aware when finding your sticking range that the dial can also stop between numbers or, that is, halfway. An example of this would be when turning the dial in the counterclockwise direction to find your stopping point and it instead stops between 8 and 9. Your counterclockwise stopping point would then be 8. In addition, when you rotate the dial in the clockwise position, it stops between 6 and 7 giving you a stopping point of 6. The resulting sticking range would be 6. Finding The Second Sticking Point. Now that we have found our first sticking point, we can move on to the second sticking point. Release the upward tension on the shackle and rotate the dial counterclockwise until you are just past the higher number of you last sticking range. For example if your previous sticking range was 6 to 8, rotate the dial to 9. Next reapply the upward tension on the shackle and just as before, turn the dial in the counterclockwise direction until it once again jams. Take note of this counterclockwise stopping point and, with tension still applied, rotate the dial clockwise until it stops once more, giving you your clockwise stopping point. Once again, record the sticking range and determine the middle number to find the sticking point. Finding The Remaining Sticking Points. We now have 2 of the 1. Repeat the following steps of rotating the dial in the counterclockwise direction and finding the sticking points until you have 1. Below is an example of the sticking ranges and sticking numbers I collected while cracking my Master Lock. Cracking The Third Number. If you take a look at the sticking points you have recorded, you might notice that there are seven fractions and five whole numbers. Cross out all of the fractions leaving only the five whole numbers. In our case we are left with 0, 1. If you did the steps above correctly you will notice that all of your remaining numbers end with the same digit, except for one. This oddball is our lucky winner as it is the third number in our combination. For example, my numbers are 0, 1. All of which end with 0, with the exception of 2. The third number of my combination is therefore 2. Finding The First Number Of The Combination. Now that we have cracked the third number of our combination, we can determine the ten possibilities regarding the first number of our combination. The first step is to take the newly found third number of our combination and divide it by four. In my case, 2. Of this new resulting number, we are only concerned with remainder, or that is the decimal point. Write this number down. In my case I resulted with 6, making my remainder 3. Also note that with these locks, the remainder will always be either 0, 1, 2, or 3. Now that we have our remainder, it’s time to find our ten possibilities for the first number in our combination. Begin by adding four to the remainder and write it down. Then again add four to that result and continue adding four to each resulting number until you have a total of ten numbers. In doing this, your tenth and largest number should be a number available on the dial. One of these ten resulting numbers is the first number in our combination. In my case the remainder was 3 and as I continuously add four I result with the numbers 3. These our my ten possibilities, one of which is the first number in my combination. Be aware, if your lock is of the 8. XXX models, this set of numbers could possibly be for the second number in your combination instead of the first number. Finding The Second Number Of The Combination. To find the second number in our combination we again need to look at the remainder we used in the previous step. If your remainder was 0 or 1, then add two to it. If your remainder was 2 or 3, then subject two from it. Take this new number and add four to it. Just as we did in the previous step, continue to add four to the resultant until you again have ten resulting numbers. In my case the remainder was 3, so I would subtract 2 giving me a new number of 1. I then continuously add four to my new number giving me the following 1, 5, 9, 1. We can narrow these ten numbers down slightly more by removing any number within two of our third combination number. In this case, because my third number was 2. I can remove 2. 5 and 2. These are my eight possibilities, one of which is the second number in my combination. Once again, if your lock is of the 8. XXX models, this set of numbers could possibly be for the first number in your combination instead of the second number. Cracking The Combination. We now have all the possible first and second numbers for our combination and have for certain our third number. We have taken a possible 6. The next step is to simple hash out all the possible combinations until one works. Lets start by entering our first possible combination. In my case it would be 3 – 1 – 2. First, you must again clear the lock by rotating the dial at minimum three times in the clockwise direction. Then while continuing to rotate the dial clockwise, enter your first number. Mine is 3. Next rotate the dial counterclockwise past your second number and continue to rotate it until you land on that number again. Mine is 1, so I rotate past 1 and keep turning until I once again land on 1. Finally rotate the dial once more clockwise to your third number. In my case it was 2. It is very likely that your first combination wont work.
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