Low priced beginner safe

[wtburnette]

A buddy of mine was lucky enough to get a nice gun safe on sale at Wally World for $299, but it's now back up to $500. Anyone know of any good deals on gun safes for a beginner? I want something decent, not the cheap, thin walled locker style crap I've seen sold cheaply. I'd prefer not to spend any more than $300. Heck, for $500 I could buy another handgun...lol!

The one my buddy got was this one from Cannon:
Stack-On Gun Safe - Walmart.com

I think that is the size I'd prefer to start with. I only have two handguns and a shotgun at this point, but have gotten the bug badly and expect to have at least one more handgun and an AR soon. Who knows what the next year will bring?

EDIT: now that I look at the linked safe, that might not be the same one. I know the one he got was now priced at $500, but it was tall enough for long guns as well as pistols and the review says the one I linked isn't. I dunno, but either way I'd prefer something similar with shelves for ammo and handguns and room for at least 4 - 5 long guns as well.

 

[Rollerman]

I'm not a big "Black Friday" fan, but there were some pretty good deals back then.
Keep watching the adds, or maybe check with the gun stores.
Or you can wait & catch a deal on "Black Friday" 2014?
They may have access to a scratch & dent safe that would but you into a better quality safe for a little less money.

 

[jagee]

I'm not a big "Black Friday" fan, but there were some pretty good deals back then.
Keep watching the adds, or maybe check with the gun stores.
Or you can wait & catch a deal on "Black Friday" 2014?
They may have access to a scratch & dent safe that would but you into a better quality safe for a little less money.

Scratch and dent is a good option...or floor model. Some places (Gander Mtn is the only one I know of, but I'm sure there are others) will knock off a few bucks if there is a dent or something on a safe. This in no way affects the usability of it, but some of the guys want a show piece safe and wont buy the dented stuff. Ask around at the shops and see what you can come up with.

 

[PGRChaplain]

Thanks for being a responsible gun owner! Check on Craigslist and post a Wanted add. Post in the Wanted section in the INGO Classifieds. Check places like Rural King and Tractor Supply, they might have some Christmas leftovers. Good Luck on your Hunt!

 

[Leo]

Not trying to give you any grief, but even if you consider yourself a "beginner", the bad guys that may try to get your firearms will apply themselves equally to ripping you off as they would a more "experienced" collector. I had a friend buy a small 10 gun "beginner" safe. When his house got robbed, there was no sign of them breaking into his safe, the whole safe was gone!

 

[the1kidd03]

Not trying to give you any grief, but even if you consider yourself a "beginner", the bad guys that may try to get your firearms will apply themselves equally to ripping you off as they would a more "experienced" collector. I had a friend buy a small 10 gun "beginner" safe. When his house got robbed, there was no sign of them breaking into his safe, the whole safe was gone!

This is an example of why I created this post a while back.

OP, see if this helps any.

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...2410-considerations-purchasing-gun-safes.html

FWIW, I would suggest your best bang for the buck would be to check out the safes at Tractor Supply Company. They runs sales/specials on them relatively often and can get a pretty good one for the price. The bigger names don't really compete in terms of pricing and if you follow the suggestions in the thread above, those safes will still serve as well as any.

I can't say that I've seen anything that I would actually categorize as a "safe" instead of a locker or cabinet for the $300 range.

 

[wtburnette]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What about the safe I linked to, would that be a reasonable deal for the price? I'll check out the other suggestions, but was wondering.

 

[the1kidd03]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What about the safe I linked to, would that be a reasonable deal for the price? I'll check out the other suggestions, but was wondering.

For the $500 price tag, I would wait for a sale on one at TSC. If you can get this at $300, then it would be worth it I supposed. Just be sure to secure it wherever you do put it.

 

[88GT]

You'll be buying that $500 gun AGAIN if you use a crappy safe. Buy the biggest and best that you can afford. Skimp on the safe and you will regret it if something happens. If nothing happens, you can tell me for the rest of my natural born life what a loser I was for making you "waste" your money on a safe you didn't need.

 

[wtburnette]

So watching the sales flyers, got it

 

[Lunati]

I bought a $1200 Cannon Scout for about $675 a couple months ago. Love it.

 

[87iroc]

I bought a 400 dollar safe from Walmart and used it for 5 yrs or so. They put them on clearance right about now...or toward the end of hunting season. It was cheap, no frills, no fire protection. It sat in my garage bolted to the wall with many times its value in guns inside of it. Someone could have opened my door, hooked a strap to it, ripped it from the wall and loaded up and been gone in 10 minutes probably.

It worked and was better than putting them in the back of a closet and thats what I wanted. It will deter the average thief. I also kept a towel draped over the front of it so when the garage door was open it was not obvious what it was.

I think when you get smaller and cheaper the safes are pretty much the same....buy the best you can afford. I just upgraded to a Liberty Fatboy. I will be grumbling about the purchase for the next year, but didn't want to EVER have to buy again. This will hold 64 guns and I suspect will last me a good long time. But this is my second safe...and was definitely an investment.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Check Craigslist every day. It is ridiculous the safes you can get for cheap if you just keep looking. They won't be called gun safes, but they'll be commercial safes that are considerable more difficult to break into for the same price so long as you can stand not having a nice purpose built interior.

 

[Lunati]

In my experience people are asking a lot for their used safes in craigslist, that doesn't mean you won't find a good deal though.

 

[wtburnette]

Is Sentinel any good? I see Menards has one reasonably priced which would meet my needs fine:

Sentinel 18-Gun/Fire Convertible Electronic Lock Safe at Menards

 

[CitiusFortius]

I bought this 2 years ago for $250 on black Friday. Even this at $400 isnt terrible if you're by a store that has it.
Shop Liberty Centurion 12-Gun Black Gun Safe at Lowes.com

The word "safe" is misleading. If a bad guy knows youre going out of town for the weekend, they can slip in on Friday and use your tools to break into just about any safe out there.

if that happens, so be it. This safe will keep out neighborhood kids and the smash and grab thief. Good luck.

 

[danielson]

I wouldnt personally suggest buying much at lowes. The quality isnt any better than anyone else, and the prices are too high.

That safe wtburnette links to is supposedly better(except for the electronic lock), bigger AND half the price.

 

[Justin727]

For the $500 price tag, I would wait for a sale on one at TSC. If you can get this at $300, then it would be worth it I supposed. Just be sure to secure it wherever you do put it.

Which safe are you referring to at TSC? I bought the gray colored Winchester safe. I got it out the door for under $500. For anyone looking to purchase a gun safe on a budget IMO this is the best bang for your buck! A few of the big positives for this model IMO is the fact that it has bolts on all four sides of the door! Also, on the inside of the door there is a pannel filled with pouches for gear etc as well as slots for pistols. When I was shopping for a safe I found that most safes do NOT come with that option and that you have to purchase it seperately for 150 to 200 bucks!

After watching this video: GUN SAFES "THE TRUTH" weaponseducation - YouTube

I decided that one day I would like to own a bigger as well as better safe than my Winchester. When I do make that puchase I will use the Winchester for ammo, mags, etc and the new safe for the firearms. BUT for now the Winchester does it's job and I would bet you'd be hard pressed to find a better value at that price point.

 

[wtburnette]

Is this the one you bought?

Winchester® Gun Safe, 24 Gun Capacity - Tractor Supply Co.

 

[CitiusFortius]

I wouldnt personally suggest buying much at lowes. The quality isnt any better than anyone else, and the prices are too high.

That safe wtburnette links to is supposedly better(except for the electronic lock), bigger AND half the price.

The kicker for me was internal hinges. Saw lots of videos of people accessing safes through the hinges on the outside. Just me though.....there's really not much difference in safes in this general price range.