TexasCHLforum.com

ELB wrote:...I believe your NRA membership also includes $1000 in gun insurance. You should go to their website and/or give them a call to doublecheck. You are an NRA member, right?...

That is a good point. I am an NRA member in good standing. I'll definitely ask this question. Thanks for reminding me of that.

Thanks for all the advice and sentiments guys. I really appreciate it. I went around this weekend to several shops looking at safes. I think I've found a good one at Cabelas, but I want to see if I can find it cheaper online. Also, For the shotgun, I'm going to go with a Remington 870 Tactical, and I'm going to get a Bushmaster AR-15 with a collapsible stock. I've already picked that one out. Beyond that, I'll just play it by ear. I hope to have most of those components within the next month. I have to wait on the insurance settlement before I can proceed.

Oh, and I am going to write the chief of police at Arlington and see why they would not take fingerprints.

All, I've been putting off posting this for a week, because I've been so mad that I can hardly see straight. I figure I've calmed down enough to post this without breaking forum rules. On April 3, my home was broken into between 10:30 and 11:30 am. My wife was home until then, and she left to go to the grocery store, but returned an hour later. She went to unlock the door and it was kicked in. She had sense enough to run back to the truck, lock the doors, and call 911. She then called me. I work 45 minutes away, and left immediately, staying on the phone until I got there. First of all, we live in a big city, and The police beat me by 5 minutes. This is unacceptable to me, but that's another story. As it turns out they were already gone. Well, they bypassed nearly all of our electronics, including a brand new computer (less than 1 week old). What they did take was our jewelry box, some golf clubs, and my entire gun safe (full of guns and ammo, of course), and a few other odds and ends. Now, it was not a locker, but it also was not a full size gun-safe. It was a Sentry Safe, so it was fairly low-end. Because I'm an idiot, it was not bolted to the slab. They caused a significant amount of damage to the house in the process of removing the safe. They also had our kitchen knives from our butcher block spread all over the house. I can only assume this was in case the house wasn't empty or in case they were disturbed. The police did not take any fingerprints, and that really annoyed me. I specifically asked him to do so, and he said they don't do that for residential burglaries (apparently even if several firearms were stolen).

My advice to everyone. First, bolt your safe to the floor. Do you not have a safe? Get one, then bolt it to the floor. Secondly, make sure you have photos of every gun, serial numbers, and any other documentation for the police report and insurance purposes. Thirdly, check your homeowner's insurance. I am going to take a serious hit on my insurance because of limits on firearm and jewelry coverage that I was unaware were there. This is nobody's fault but mine, but it was an expensive lesson to learn.

I just thank God that my wife and kids were not home at the time. My brain simply cannot process the outcome of that had they been there. I'm equally sorry that I was not home at the time, but that is another story.

Now, all of that aside, I am in need of some new firearms, and a safe. Can anyone provide to me a safe recommendation. My budget is pretty open on this, but I don't want to spend more than is necessary to accomplish my goals. I'd think a safe that holds 14 long guns and 10 or so handguns plus ammo and such would be more than sufficient, easily covering both my short-term goals, and leaving room for growth. Things I'm curious about include electronic or dial lock, fire resistance, brand name, and place to order from.

As for firearms, I have one handgun (which I had with me at the time, or they would have gotten that too). I want to replace my shotgun with a tactical or defensive style shotgun. I have limited experience here. As for handguns and other long guns, I know what I need there. Any help is greatly appreciated!