Will a Gun Safe Door Stop a Pistol?

I don't have my NH non-resident yet, I unload my EDC and put it in my truck safe once I cross into the free state. As soon as I cross the line back into assachusetts, it's chamber one in the pipe, re-fill the mag, mag in, safety on, and on my way. I can do it in seconds stopped at a light, usually.

I'd suggest you do it in reverse.

It would be illegal.
 
This is only meant to deter a smash and grab, not someone who came equipped for a safe.

Also it is fire rated at 1400 degrees for 60 minutes for my hard drives and DVR.

In that case all you need is a 150lb dog like mine. NO one is ever going to walk in to my house without an invite. If they do the leftovers will leave in a "doggie bag"...
 
In that case all you need is a 150lb dog like mine. NO one is ever going to walk in to my house without an invite. If they do the leftovers will leave in a "doggie bag"...

If someone is going to enter my house and is willing to do me harm, they aren't likely to be squeamish about killing my dog at the door. I love dogs but I don't consider them viable defense for someone who I need to worry about. Just a deterrent for kids who've had poor parenting.
 
I have been searching for the last half hour for equations to check this out. I think I am making some assumptions that don't work out so well, but here is some info for reference.


To punch a .45 hole in .1" thick mild steel it would take approximately 8400 lbs on a press punch.

Increase it to .25" thick and it is 17,600lbs approximately.
 
Once I get a better gun cabinet, I could donate the old 'safe' for the "NES safe shoot"...

If you want to have reasonable protection, from rounds, with that 'safe' then you'll probably want to augment it with more steel. By the time you're done, you could be close to spending the same amount as getting a safe that could stop some rounds.

I figure I would use my 'safe' as cover (door closed) if I was in a HD situation. Hopefully, the couple layers of drywall, and steel (with voids) will do enough to prevent the rounds from fully penetrating. It has a decent chance of stopping pistol rounds, but I doubt it would do well against decent rifle ammo (real rifle ammo, not 22LR).
 
Old vault door at my work may do the trick.
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Another vote for picking up a sheet of 12ga and testing yourself. Maybe see if a metal shop will give you some scrap 12ga.
 
My HD guns stay handy and loaded and not in a safe... unless I'm not home. I'm thinking in terms of the random what-if, of coming home and needing to immediately access it.

Also only fools go clearing their house looking for trouble. I don't have kids to go protect. I fully intend to stay in place and have surprise on my side when the threat comes to me. No macho, "This is my house" nonsense. Plus I rent. It's not my house...

If you don't have kids, there is no reason to lock your gun in your safe while you are home.

A well hidden gun (in a quick entry box if you are in ma) is less likely to get stolen than a gun in a cheap, flimsy safe. (If its 12 ga in the door, whats the body? 14 ga? Barely thicker than aluminum foil)

Remember, when your house gets broken into, if a safe is found, it immediately becomes the focus of the bad guys attention.

A thief has 5 minutes to find your gun. A child has a lifetime. So hiding it is not a bad idea.

I'm not sure what you mean by "border of MA, NH". Does that mean MA near NH or NH near MA? If you are in NH, you defensive gun should not be locked at all as long as you don't have kids in the house. Hide it well. I used to keep a defensive gun, spare mag, and a flashlight behind a false heating register next to my bed. I had others stashed similarly around my house in other places.

Now that I have kids, I just carry all the time, even inside. My guns are either on me or in decent quality safe. (the smaller one is 1/4 steel plate in the body and 5/8 in the door)

In any discussion of safes, I keep coming back to this guy: SAFE SALE - ALL SAFES

Good guy. Great stuff, cheap.

Don
 
It's illegal for a non-resident to transport an unloaded handgun in a locked container in a vehicle in MA?

If so, I did not know that, and I apologize for the bad advice. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Its perfectly legal if they are passing through from somewhere where it is legal for them to posses it, to somewhere where it is legal for them to posses it. Google "Safe Passage FOPA" for all you need to know about this and how it needs to be cased.

For example. You live in NH and are going to CT for a pistol match. You can transport through.


I also believe there is a carve out for people attending sanctioned shooting matches in MA. So if you live in NH and are going to an IDPA match at Harvard in MA, then you are ok. (Len, Cekim, etc, can you please confirm)
 
If you don't have kids, there is no reason to lock your gun in your safe while you are home.

A well hidden gun (in a quick entry box if you are in ma) is less likely to get stolen than a gun in a cheap, flimsy safe. (If its 12 ga in the door, whats the body? 14 ga? Barely thicker than aluminum foil)

Remember, when your house gets broken into, if a safe is found, it immediately becomes the focus of the bad guys attention.

A thief has 5 minutes to find your gun. A child has a lifetime. So hiding it is not a bad idea.

I'm not sure what you mean by "border of MA, NH". Does that mean MA near NH or NH near MA? If you are in NH, you defensive gun should not be locked at all as long as you don't have kids in the house. Hide it well. I used to keep a defensive gun, spare mag, and a flashlight behind a false heating register next to my bed. I had others stashed similarly around my house in other places.

Now that I have kids, I just carry all the time, even inside. My guns are either on me or in decent quality safe. (the smaller one is 1/4 steel plate in the body and 5/8 in the door)

In any discussion of safes, I keep coming back to this guy: SAFE SALE - ALL SAFES

Good guy. Great stuff, cheap.

Don

12ga body and doors. It's a Cannon Patriot P14.

I don't lock my guns when I'm home to be clear. My guns are left loaded and available, and I don't believe in safeties. Trust me, I take advantage of what NH has to offer. I also carry on me at all times even at home (only time I don't is when I have to go to MA). I live in NH, on the boarder of MA. The safe is just for my HD shotgun when I leave, and for my home surveillance DVR (and my pistol when I'm going to MA).

I don't expect to have to access it when something is already happening. I'm only asking the question so I know one way or another. I like to know what all my things are capable of, and what they're not.
 
It sounds like you've thought things through.

But what I'm saying may run counter to conventional wisdom. All I'm asking is that you think outside the box. No pun intended. I'd suggest that even your shotgun is better hidden than in a 12ga safe.

I know someone with one of these: OVERHEAD VAULT II Test on Vimeo

Overhead vault does not appear to still be in business, but its an easy concept to copy. His is installed right next to his furnace and is covered in duct insulation to match all the other ducts running overhead. His best guns are in this unit.

About 10 ft away is his safe with all his daily use guns.

The items hidden are not protected against fire. But remember, most homeowners policys strict limits on firearms coverage (typically $2000) usually applies only to THEFT. Most HO policies protect firearms to the full contents limits of the policies with respect to things like fire, flood, etc.

Don
 
It sounds like you've thought things through.

But what I'm saying may run counter to conventional wisdom. All I'm asking is that you think outside the box. No pun intended. I'd suggest that even your shotgun is better hidden than in a 12ga safe.

I know someone with one of these: OVERHEAD VAULT II Test on Vimeo

Overhead vault does not appear to still be in business, but its an easy concept to copy. His is installed right next to his furnace and is covered in duct insulation to match all the other ducts running overhead. His best guns are in this unit.

About 10 ft away is his safe with all his daily use guns.

The items hidden are not protected against fire. But remember, most homeowners policys strict limits on firearms coverage (typically $2000) usually applies only to THEFT. Most HO policies protect firearms to the full contents limits of the policies with respect to things like fire, flood, etc.

Don

I'm actually covered to $10k under my renters insurance, before I need a separate policy for the guns. USAA [smile]. I agree in theory about hiding rather than locking. There's a thread on here with a guy that makes a stunning bookshelf with a ton of well-hidden space. With more money and more space in a future home, I intend to have some guns hidden and the rest in a safe that I will devote $10k+ to, rather than a measly $900. I live in an 850sqft house in a lower end neighborhood. Not a bad neighborhood. Just not a target for the type that I would categorize as skilled thieves. This safe is mostly meant to give me peace of mind against a smash and grab.

Also I intent to extend my surveillance coverage to a camera in the closet where the safe will be. The system sends an alert to my phone if motion is detected so I just need it to deter until police and/or I arrive. That's the theory anyway. With my extremely limited space (which is actually shared with one roommate, plus my girlfriend) I don't have many options for hiding places at the moment. Nor to I have the budget for any more protection that surveillance+12ga safe will afford me.

In a perfect world I'd have a spacious house with a few hidden guns around the house, concealed into furniture, plus a vault room anchored to the foundation. Alas I'll be saving for a while before that's a reality.

EDIT: Also worth pointing out that something fireproof is necessary for my electronics, so I needed something like this regardless. I originally entered into this on a $600 budget and came up to $900 because I wanted to be sure what I bought wasn't entirely pointless for my needs.
 
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To address the original question, the only correct answer is "it depends." It depends on the type of steel - there are a huge variety of steels. Yours is probably mild, adn at the low end for resistance to penetration. It depends a lot on the type of bullet. At one end of the spectrum are frangibles, which are designed to disintegrate on impact, so those certainly won't penetrate 12 gauge steel, and at the other for pistols it's probably FMJ with hollow points somewhere in the middle. It also depends a lot on the angle to the surface that the bullet strikes the metal. Straight on, a.k.a., normal to the plane you'll have the most chance of penetrating, and as you approach shallower angles from that the chance of penetration drops off precipitously. And, it depends on how powerful the round is: how much energy it imparts as it strikes. A high velocity .22LF might penetrate normal to the plane at close range, a 9mm FMJ at 45º probably won't, are my guesses. As a barricade it's probably the best thing in your house, though, assuming it has some fire-proofing gypsum board in it.
 
To address the original question, the only correct answer is "it depends."...

Thanks for the direct answer. I'd imagine a pistol caliber hit at 45 degrees or more, from straight on, would not penetrate. I'm getting the feeling that higher energy FMJ pistol rounds would likely get through if fired straight on. I also agree that it's probably the best protection in the house regardless. I'm hardly setting it up with it in mind as cover.
 
The OP was talking about using a safe door for cover. I thought most mid-level safes in the $900-$1500 range have thick, heavy steel doors? I know mine does. The steel is about an inch thick, and probably weighs more than the whole safe. I seriously doubt a pistol round would penetrate it.
 
If your $1000 safe's door appears to be an inch thick, its sheet metal wrapped around sheetrock. You have the dreaded "composite door.

There is no safe made in the last 50 years with a 1" thick steel door that sells new for $1000.
Also, a 5 ft tall safe with a 1" thick steel door, the door itself will weigh 600 to 800 lbs.

Unless your safe is made by someone like Meilink, Brown, Grafunder, or someone like that its probably sheetrock wrapped in sheetmetal.

I'm not saying that no $1000 safes have plate doors. But they are more in the 3/8 inch range.
 
If my safe wasn't bolted down, and was empty, opening the door past about 60 degrees will cause the safe to tumble forward. (very dangerous!) The body is 10 ga, so it's no lightweight, as well.
 
12 gauge is not thick. I have not doubt most rounds would pass through it. Household above ground oil tanks are made from 12 gauge...go shoot the one in your basement.
 
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