Need a safe, have Q

[barronj]

I need a safe that can hold 6 long guns plus some pistols and ammo.

I would like something I can grow a bit with. Nothing immediate planned, but the 4 fire arms I just acquired weren't planned (death in family).

What's should I be looking for, or steer clear of?

[LANTIRN]

Cannon is decent for the money. Liberty is supposed to be good but I think are pricy. Stay away from stackon. I prefer dial over electronic, though mine are both electronic. I am worried about circuit board failure. 6 guns plus ammo, get an 18 gun safe at minimum. Seems like overkill, but trust me on that on. I have two cannons, for what it is worth.

[loc712]

Safe

Get One witha UL rated lock be it mechanical or electronic,and UL security and at least. 30 min fire.

Oh yeah no StackOn,no Sentry
Amsec,Liberty,Cannon,Champion,browning Prosteel

Amsec and Liberty, Fort Knox,Browning Prosteel have excellent customer service.

[CJ]

So you both criticize and recommend liberty and amsec?

Your list is a little confusing. I have a Champion trophy 50, and I've been very happy with it.

[FATHERFORD]

I've said it time and time again... If you aren't going to spend the money on a decent safe with good fire protection...buy a lock for a closet as it will give about the same protection.

[ceyko]

I need a safe that can hold 6 long guns plus some pistols and ammo.

I would like something I can grow a bit with. Nothing immediate planned, but the 4 fire arms I just acquired weren't planned (death in family).

What's should I be looking for, or steer clear of?

What is your budget? That will more or less dictate what you can acquire.

FATHERFORD is right, others are right...etc.

In the end you get what you pay for and there are a lot of opinions. i.e. I don't have budget for a Graffunder safe. I have my own experiences, others have theirs and then we all have opinions.

You'll need to research safes heavily and make your own choice. A short list of what to look into is...

-Dial (Elec vs manual)

-Hinges

-Safe construction (IMHO, 75% of the 3K and under safes are very similar when it comes down to it. Sometimes a 1K safe with a fancy paint job and extra chrome costs 3K...etc)

-Where to buy - Safe dealer vs chain stores vs Sams/Costco

-Go look at 1-3K safes vs a Graffunder level safe and compare the costs

-Base weight of the various safes - to me this shows something. Some large cheap safes weight 500lbs, some weigh 1000lbs.

-Read up on their fireproof ratings, do research on how good vs bad ones perform and how they warranty/compensate for failures.

[GrayStangGT]

I've said it time and time again... If you aren't going to spend the money on a decent safe with good fire protection...buy a lock for a closet as it will give about the same protection.

While I agree a good safe is worth the money, I personally had a friend to where his cheap cannon saved his guns during a break in. I doubt a locked closet would have.

[BlackGT]

While I agree a good safe is worth the money, I personally had a friend to where his cheap cannon saved his guns during a break in. I doubt a locked closet would have.

But a reinforced closet might have. That's what I did in my house. Reinforced the closet, solid core doors and a big lock. Cost well less than a safe, but will it stop a determined thief, no, but neither will a $3k safe...

I have plans to further reinforce it to make it more of a challenge for any thief, and it looks better than a big ass safe sitting in the corner taking up floor space...

[ELVIS]

While I agree a good safe is worth the money, I personally had a friend to where his cheap cannon saved his guns during a break in. I doubt a locked closet would have.

well you know...... there is 100% exactly the same chance of a home break in as there is a house fire! haha.

god bless.

[likeitfast55]

Locks and safes are a deterrent and they are for honest people. If a real thief wanted what was in your safe.....he would have it. (not talking about neighbor-hood thugs and amateurs)

[black2002ls]

While I agree a good safe is worth the money, I personally had a friend to where his cheap cannon saved his guns during a break in. I doubt a locked closet would have.

I have commented on these rediculous comments several times. Fatherford and his mega budget shits on every safe thread created. Lets face it, unless you have life criminals and safe crackers stalking your house because you are regularly hauling your arsenal too and from the car on a regular basis out in the open flaunting your firepower, you don't necessarily need to spend $150k on a safe (sarcasm). Most of us, if we ever experience a break in, it is going to be a random smash and grab. So don't put your safe next to your plasma cutter/sawsall/air grinder/destruction tools, make sure it is located properly, and bolted to the floor. This isn't going to protect your stack on safe you spent $100 on, but it will help increase the effectiveness of your safe. Put it in a corner, limit access to the sides/ability to break the door off of its hinges.

Putting them in a locked closet, even if reinforced, is MUCH less effective. We see back doors with reinforced jambs busted upen regularly. A few quick swings with a sledge and most will give way, if they don't just pop the hinge pins. Done properly, it will hold up, but typically proper means $$$.

I spent $550 on a winchester at Tractor supply on black Friday. It got good reviews, good experience with warranty on the electronic lock, 30 min at 1200 degree rating. It isn't the safest thing of course, by some standards I didn't spend 10k on a safe, so there is a chance that if I get broken into, the door is going to shit itself in fear, fall off of the hinges, and give way to all of my firearms and valuables without a fight...

[FATHERFORD]

Locks and safes are a deterrent and they are for honest people. If a real thief wanted what was in your safe.....he would have it. (not talking about neighbor-hood thugs and amateurs)

bingo...

And there is real no standard in "fire" ratings. 30 minutes in a 1450 degree fire? 1200 degrees? At what temp inside? 250? 325? Where at? Top? bottom? Did they ramp the outside temp up to 1450 degrees in 30 minutes? Or instantly at 1200?

Chinese 14 gauge? or American 12gauge? Fire seals on the doors? Does it seal tight or will smoke get in real easy?

What size bolts? How many? That thick 3" door really only has 1/16 total steel and full of drywall. Are the bolts reinforced? BOLT THE SAFE DOWN!

A GOOD home alarm system, that is actually armed, and a locked closet, will keep most all smash and grabs from getting your firearms. Buying a good high quality safe with a high fire rating(research) will be your best investment.

I really need to upgrade my safes, but I'm half tempted to build a safe room itself.

[ceyko]

I really need to upgrade my safes, but I'm half tempted to build a safe room itself.

That was my thought with the cost of a really good safe. Granted a decent sized safe room with any rigidity (thinking double as storm/tornado room) is going to be way more than most safes that can be moved - but it's worth it around here.

[FATHERFORD]

I have commented on these rediculous comments several times. Fatherford and his mega budget shits on every safe thread created. Lets face it, unless you have life criminals and safe crackers stalking your house because you are regularly hauling your arsenal too and from the car on a regular basis out in the open flaunting your firepower, you don't necessarily need to spend $150k on a safe (sarcasm). Most of us, if we ever experience a break in, it is going to be a random smash and grab. So don't put your safe next to your plasma cutter/sawsall/air grinder/destruction tools, make sure it is located properly, and bolted to the floor. This isn't going to protect your stack on safe you spent $100 on, but it will help increase the effectiveness of your safe. Put it in a corner, limit access to the sides/ability to break the door off of its hinges.

Putting them in a locked closet, even if reinforced, is MUCH less effective. We see back doors with reinforced jambs busted upen regularly. A few quick swings with a sledge and most will give way, if they don't just pop the hinge pins. Done properly, it will hold up, but typically proper means $$$.

I spent $550 on a winchester at Tractor supply on black Friday. It got good reviews, good experience with warranty on the electronic lock, 30 min at 1200 degree rating. It isn't the safest thing of course, by some standards I didn't spend 10k on a safe, so there is a chance that if I get broken into, the door is going to shit itself in fear, fall off of the hinges, and give way to all of my firearms and valuables without a fight...

Winchester safes are jokes. A walmart black and decker drill and saw set can break into one of those in just a few minutes. Their fire rating is a joke also. They ramp up the fire to 1200 degrees at the 30 minute mark, start out at room temp. They also measure the temp inside at the very bottom of the safe. No smoke protection.

One "budget" semi automatic pistol is worth as much or more then a $550 safe. I'm assuming that anyone that buys a safe, has more then one gun. Some that maybe is not worth much money, but has a lot of sentimental value. I also know a lot of people keep money, jewelry, important documents, etc. A typical 12 gun safe, with all guns total investment of $500 is $6000 in value... Start adding glass, ammo, guns worth more then $500 etc. you can easily have $10k plus in a safe in just guns alone...

Is all that worth more then $550? Is that a gamble you think is worth taking? Some people it is. To me it's not.

[black2002ls]

Winchester safes are jokes. A walmart black and decker drill and saw set can break into one of those in just a few minutes. Their fire rating is a joke also. They ramp up the fire to 1200 degrees at the 30 minute mark, start out at room temp. They also measure the temp inside at the very bottom of the safe. No smoke protection.

One "budget" semi automatic pistol is worth as much or more then a $550 safe. I'm assuming that anyone that buys a safe, has more then one gun. Some that maybe is not worth much money, but has a lot of sentimental value. I also know a lot of people keep money, jewelry, important documents, etc. A typical 12 gun safe, with all guns total investment of $500 is $6000 in value... Start adding glass, ammo, guns worth more then $500 etc. you can easily have $10k plus in a safe in just guns alone...

Is all that worth more then $550? Is that a gamble you think is worth taking? Some people it is. To me it's not.

I had the mindset I was going to spend 2k on a safe. Then I realized one day, that having them in a closet, with the equivalent of two sheets of paper for skins, in a house built 20 years ago, wasn't protecting jack shit. So, my options were to continue storing them in the closet until I had the $$$ for one of these fancy safes that would take a professional safe cracker to get into would that be 6 months, 12-24 months, who knows. Or, pick up something that fits my budget, my space, and adds some security? Which, for a lot of people, that is what it comes down to. We aren't all multi millionairs who can just stroll down and plop a bag of hundreds on the table, waive our hand around and say, "give me the best you have!" I did some research, a lot of the features of this safe are better than others available in the price range, bigger bolts, more bolts, bolts on all 4 sides of the door. Where I located it, it will take some work to get into it. Not much room to pry it open, almost enclosed. Sure, if they bring their sledge they can bust through the brick, tie on to it, and rip the safe and the bolts out of the slab.

I would rather gamble with something people consider a sub par safe than a door that can be punched through by an 8 year old and offers some kind, even minimal, of fire protection.

In reality, that is where most people are going to go. So, instead of shitting on the threads with the whole, forget your petty budget, if you aren't ready to drop 6 figures on a safe, it is pointless BS. Give some constructive feedback, not the typical elitist dribble.