Question: I am thinking of getting a gun safe and have narrowed my search down to a
Browning or an Amsec BF series. Height 60" Width 24 or 30" and depth either 22
or 21". Both safes would be fireproof and I am leaning toward the mechanical lock?
Any opinions on these brands? Also, has anyone here changed the combination
themselves on a mechanical lock with a change key? Is it difficult ? What about
american security safe?
Answer:Actually, a pro will not even mess with a good safe. They want to get in and
out ASAP, which is why they grab as much as they can and leave. If a thief
is determined enough and has the proper tools, they can get into anything
given the right amount of time. Safes are given a Technical Rating, which
involves a technician in a lab with all the equipment needed to get into a
safe. The "T" rating is assigned by how many hours it takes the tech to
crack the safe. I have an Amsec safe that has a T8 rating. No residential
burglar is going to stay in a house all night to break into a safe, unless
the owner is away or dead and the house is remote enough not to draw
attention to his activities. The hinges are the weak spot in any safe, so I
recommend that the original poster get one with the highest T rating he can
afford, with internal hinges. Browning does not manufacture
safes....American Security does. A Browning safe just has the logo and
paintjob on it. I love my AmSec, it's top quality that you can feel when you
turn the dial. I also have it bolted into the slab from inside the safe so
the only way someone's going to get it is to drive a truck into the house
(fairly noisy), break out the slab it's bolted into, and put it into a
getaway truck with a crane (or eight to ten guys). There's no way to
absolutely secure anything in this world unless you're going to sit guard
over it 24/7, but a good quality safe will slow 'em down plenty or deter
them altogether.
