Gun Safe

[Lemmitt]

I wasn't sure where to post this, but if I'm in the wrong place please move it.

I am a young professional that hasn't married or settled into a place that I feel like buying or staying for a long time. I have begun to acquire more and more weapons and I have outgrown my current safe accommodations. What is a safe that is quality, large enough to store 10- 14 long guns, cost effective, and not going to take a crane to move if I need to move in the next year? I am completely in the dark on what makes a safe "quality" and a better value. Thus far in life it's just been an eye test from me.

 

[RLC]

I recently bought one from gunsafes.com. Big selection with lots of specs for you to compare. Moving is always a hassle. I just left my old Liberty Safe behind when I moved to a new house. I wanted larger one anyway. The delivery service was great.

 

[BE Mike]

Ft. Knox is top quality, as are many other big names. I think more "smaller" size safes are better than one large one for many reasons.

 

[goldtrigger]

I have a 14 gun Stack On safe. Got it from Rural King.
I'm happy with it, but didn't do much comparison shopping, so those who have more experience with safes may have more insight.

 

[Spike_351]

I'm in the same situation, I just went ahead and bought a liberty fatboy Jr. Of course when I decided to buy a house of find a permanent career were I must move it is going to be a complete nightmare to do so, since I currently rent I can't bolt it to the floor yet, luckily given the layout of the neighborhood and my house, along with the weight of the safe I believe it is almost impossible to move without 3 or 4 guys and a lot of attention from neighbors.

 

[Libertarian01]

To Lemmitt (et alia),

When I went to buy a gun safe I wanted to make certain that the money I was spending would not be wasted. Thus, I wanted to know that the safe I was buying would really do the job and not just make me feel good.

Your highest risk is fire so make certain that whatever safe you buy has good fire protection. At least 1,200 degrees for an hour. Once you buy the safe do not forget that in a fire the internal temperature may still reach 350 degrees farenheit, so no plastic or anything that will melt on and ruin your guns.

To make certain the safe is truly going to work I always recommend geting one that is Underwriters Laboratories rated. Everything you see from the sales brochures and online from the safe company is 100% pure propoganda. They have an agenda to sell their product. There is nothing wrong with this but it doesn't mean that what they are promising is the complete truth. With a UL rated safe you know they have tested it without caring whether or not the product sells. They are making certain that it will do the job to the extent promised.

The heavier the safe the better. Having twenty (20) guns in a 300# safe means the burglars just need to carry out one (1) 350# box and open it at their home in their leisure time. It is best if it is bolted to the floor. Do not forget that criminals will NOT CARE about the mess they make or the destruction to your property. What you may think of as hard to do can be done very quickly without much muss or fuss by three (3) guys with a sledgehammer to your door or furniture.

General wisdom says to buy a safe larger than your current needs. Your collection is more likely than not to grow and as such your needs will grow. Even if you don't get many more guns you will get other documents, jewelry and nonfirearms items that you will want in the safe.

Keep in mind that the safe is only a single step in reducing the probability of loss. The best UL rated safes that most people can afford are TL30, which means it kept UL engineers out for at least 30 minutes, and those are darned expensive. A home security system as an added layer will help reduce your chance of loss from both fire and crime.

My final thought is that if you want true protection this is not an expense to go the cheap route on. You want quality! This is where I believe many people spend little money to "feel safe" instead of good money to "BE safe." This of course doesn't mean you cannot find a good deal on INGO or Craigslist from someone who is getting rid of an old, excellent safe at a fair price so they can upgrade. But if you go to Wallyworld for a gun safe be prepared for Wallyworld quality.

Good luck on your search!

Regards,

Doug

 

[zippy23]

If you want quality you are going to pay for it. Steel is steel, and if you want thicker steel it will cost you. Look at the fire rating. Talk to Jeff Johnson, he makes safes in zionsville and sponsors ingo. The thicker the body and door = better quality. Most mass safe manufacturers use drywall as their fire lining and do not fully weld all the seams, they may use less bolts on the door to save money. People get the electronic locks because they are quick, but a lot of them go back a year or two later and want it changed out with a regular dial lock because of batteries and just being a pain. Youtube has a few really good videos on safe quality and price. I shopped around a ton, i was like you, didnt wanna pay a ton, i will move in a little over a year, but honestly a safe is extremely important, not only for guns. My advice is pay the money for a really really good safe, make it the last one you will buy, buy on with enough room to fill it only 1/2 full with everything you have because later on in life you will have way more stuff to put in it. Pay a moving service or a few buddies a couple bucks and a case of beer to help move it. Its like guns, yeah we dont wanna spend a ton, but when you spend the money on a great quality gun, you trust it, you love it and its well worth it. I love my Johnson(safe that is) and am really glad i spent the extra money on a quality safe.

 

[USMC-FF]

X2 on Johnson Safes. Jeff is a great guy to deal with. Might have to wait a little bit due to backorders. But the quality of his safes are "second to none"!

 

[12many]

I bought a 24 gun "Field & Stream" at Dicks (it was way before SH so please don't pile on me) and my son and I picked it up in his Ford Ranger. We were able to move it into place easily with a rented appliance 2-wheeler from uhaul ($12-$20). According to them it weighed around 450# which seemed about right. I'm not saying to go to Dicks, but one in that range might be a good one for your needs. just sayin'

 

[comanche]

make sure you store your gunpowder in the safe so when the thieves use a torch to cut the door off you'll be able to locate it by following the 'sound'..hehe

 

[looney2ns]

Hard to beat: Liberty Safe - America's #1 Safe Manufacturer of Gun Safes, Fire Safes, Home Safes and More!

NOTE: that by going to this site, you may trigger IRS scrutiny because of the name Liberty.

 

[BE Mike]

I have an electronic lock and haven't had any problems with it in the 6 years I've had it. The safe is a Ft. Knox and the electronic lock is made by Sargent and Greenleaf. Both the safe and lock have a lifetime warranty. Cheap electronic locks will fail.

 

[Lemmitt]

I feel like I will want to get something nice, but the ones like ft Knox are thousands....I seem to be leaning toward the liberty. They seem to be quality and at a better price point

 

[Libertarian01]

I feel like I will want to get something nice, but the ones like ft Knox are thousands....I seem to be leaning toward the liberty. They seem to be quality and at a better price point

To Lemmitt,

Liberty is UL tested and a good quality safe.

American Security is UL tested and a good quality safe.

I'll give you a few links to review and help you consider your options.

You have gone this long without a safe. If I were you I would save my money for a good safe and pay cash for quality.

http://www.brownsafe.com/categories/faq/SBG_Gun_Safes.html

http://www.recguns.com/Sources/XIIIB1b.html

http://www.amsecusa.com/ChoosingSafe/FireRating.aspx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltK-bDbADa8

For the record I bought an American Security safe. However, all of the safes mentioned above seem to be of good quality and tested externally. The guy in the last video pushes the Fort Knox and has some good concepts I agree with.

When I made my final decision on buying a safe I contacted both Liberty and AmSec by Email with a question. AmSec answered my question. Liberty never responded. Their lack of customer service in that one event may have cost them a sale. I don't know that I would have gone with them, but by their failure to communicate it guaranteed that it wouldn't be with them. I am a demanding sometimes...

Happy Hunting.

Regards,

Doug

 

[Lemmitt]

Thank you all for the wisdom and knowledge

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

I picked up this one at Menard's for $440:

Sentinel 14-Gun 7.6 cu. ft. Fire Resistant Safe with Electronic Lock

 

[Smokeeater]

I have a patriot safe and love it.

 

[John Galt]

I can't say enough greta things about Johnson safes. I met with Jeff a few years ago at the 1500 and told him what I was looking for; a slightly overbuilt yet smaller size safe. He built it to my exact specs and delivered it and set it up. I couldn't be happier and he will be the first person I call for my next safe!

 

[Sonney]

Tractor supply sells Winchester it is a good safe for the money good for fire for 30 min. at 1400 degrees. I think they sell for around 700 wt is 500 pounds. 24 guns.

Sonney

 

[gdunn]

I have an electronic lock and haven't had any problems with it in the 6 years I've had it. The safe is a Ft. Knox and the electronic lock is made by Sargent and Greenleaf. Both the safe and lock have a lifetime warranty. Cheap electronic locks will fail.

I do factory warranty repair work for most major safe manufacturers and Sargent & Greenleaf, all electronic locks have a higher failure rate then mechanical locks. Not just cheap ones. This is why the US DOD requires class five armory safes to be equiped with mechanical locks. The time for a failure isn't when you are trying to hand out weapons during an attack.