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Most "security" is only an illusion.

Iain wrote:Before you consider a 'Master' key safe, try Google and look at all the videos and helpful hints for the local miscreants to get in to them in under 30 seconds using just a piece of aluminium cut from a soft drink tin.

There's a lot of information readily available on how to bypass nearly all 'Master' products with very little effort and time.

Just a thought

I've seen a couple of those videos and I was grateful as I've got one of the Master key safes that I'd lost, but found when I moved house but had forgot the combination. I tried several times, and for hours at a time but still could not get the metal strip method to work. The safes on the videos (that I saw at least) seemed to have significantly more loose dials than mine though.

dromia wrote:Most "security" is only an illusion.

Absolutely. I have a combo lock 'hotel safe' type thing for ammo and cabinet keys. It's enough to frustrate and delay the thief and prevent casual access, but I'm certain a pro could be into it in the blink of an eye.

I rely on grumpy toddlers as my first line of defence.

Rockhopper wrote:Those push button key safes often have a couple of weaknesses, one is that with regular use the buttons pick up wear and marks which show which ones are being used most often, the second is that it usually doesn't matter which order you enter the numbers to get it to open.

Those were other points made by my local shop, they had a range of rated "safes" with digital locks that allowed you to choose a number of between 6-16 digits to open it effectively giving an endless number of possible permutations.
Nothing is totally secure, you just pay extra to make things harder to open. For most of us we require protection from opportunity theft rather than being targeted by professional thieves. I was advised that a "safe" with a £3000 cash rating was as far as any normal user needed to go. Properly installed it would defeat any casual thief.

I use a cheap push button one as there is no requirement to lock up keys, It just another 'time' issue to gaining access to my guns.

I use a 4 cylinder masterkey safe in a hidden position, it keeps curious hands off it and allows me to not worry about where I hid my keys, as to security of them, last year after my father in law died suddenly we were faced with a spare set of keys in a safe that no one knew the combo to, I tried the youtube methods to no avail, a disc cutter sorted the problem out though

Thanks everyone, that's given me lots to think about. My local lock shop doesn't stock push button safes for the reasons given above but recommended the Master combination safes.

Anyway, given all the above do you think it's necessary to hide the safe?

Racalman wrote: Anyway, given all the above do you think it's necessary to hide the safe?

At the very least, don't make it's location too obvious. Disguised maybe if not hidden....

As above and/or difficult to access for anything other than opening it with the code. I have one that is in a location that makes attacking it or trying to bump/pick it virtually impossible

OK thanks all. I will visit my local security shop this weekend and see what they've got.