It’s a largely accepted fact that the invention of traditional firearms could not have been accomplished without Chinese research. In the 9th century, several Chinese alchemists were on the hunt for an elixir of immortality. By combining saltpeter and sulfur, these alchemists discovered that they could create a highly flammable substance. In the 11th century, the first documented recipes for gunpowder began to appear, which were used to create grenades, incendiary bombs, fire arrows and mines. By the end of the 12th century, the first “guns” were widely used, being cast-iron tubes that were packed with a gunpowder mixture as well as pieces of shrapnel. These tubes were called “Fire Lances”, and evolved from a 10th century design involving paper and bamboo tubes.
Today, guns are a subject that promotes a lot of debate, since they can be used for both self-defense and criminal purposes. Primarily, the socially acceptable use of a gun for the average person involves either a desire for self-defense, or relating to a hobby (such as long-range target shooting). However, if you have a gun in your home, you are at risk for disasters such as theft, or accidental discharge. It’s important that you keep any firearms in your home secured at all times, which can be best accomplished by purchasing a secure gun safe. There are a wide variety of gun safes available, each of which have different ratings, safety features and anti-theft safeguards. Here is a general guide to help you to purchase the best gun safe for your needs.
Bolted Gun Safe
Due to the high security of many gun safe locks, many thieves choose to simply remove the safe from a residence, and crack open the lock at their leisure. Even an extremely heavy gun safe (1000+ lbs) can be removed by rolling it out on broken broom handles, golf balls, or other items in the home. Never assume that your safe is secure simply because it has a high-security lock, or is extremely heavy! Always purchase a firearms safe that can be securely bolted to the floor.
Welded Joints
Since many thieves often bring heavy tools to crack gun safes, the integrity of the safe’s material is extremely important. Some companies attempt to make their safes as aesthetically appealing as possible, polishing down welding joints until they lose a lot of their durability. A skilled thief will be able to exploit these weaknesses with a sledgehammer or other heavy tool. Be sure that your firearms safe is constructed of a sturdy material, without any weak joints.
Heat-Resistant
A prepared thief may bring a cutting torch designed for gaining entry to high-security safes. However, by purchasing a fire-resistant gun safe, you can make it much more difficult for your safe to be breached in this method. Fire safes do tend to be a bit more expensive, though they can be essential if you have a significant investment in firearms.
Seamless Construction
As mentioned before, the main weakness in a firearms safe is often at the welded joints. There is a new type of safe that’s currently available for purchase, which is a three-piece construction. The main body of the safe will be seamless and molded, without any weldings. However, the top and bottom of the safe are still welded on, which gives this safe a total of eight welded seams (four on the top, and four on the bottom). This is more secure than safes which do not have a molded body, and have a total of 12 welded seams.
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