Sell me on a reasonable gun safe.

[ArcadiaGP]

Just bought a house, and I'd like to pick up a safe sometime soon. Not just for guns, but also important paperwork, etc. Doesn't need to be 100% fireproof... we can put a smaller fireproof safe inside of it.

I'd like something that doesn't necessarily take 5 people to carry it into my basement... and also doesn't completely break the bank. I know you get what you pay for, but I'd like a great value here.

Any recommendations?

 

[indytechnerd]

How big do you need? That's the first question I'd ask. Do you have a different AR for every season? Do you have your 'shooting' guns and your 'looking at' guns? Or do you just have a couple long guns and a pistol or two that you want to square away?

 

[Mark-DuCo]

From past experience, I can say buy one bigger than you think you need.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

How big do you need? That's the first question I'd ask. Do you have a different AR for every season? Do you have your 'shooting' guns and your 'looking at' guns? Or do you just have a couple long guns and a pistol or two that you want to square away?

Pretty much the latter for now... though I feel I'd keep the AR in a more available position. I don't have a lot of long-guns, but that's liable to grow in the future.

From past experience, I can say buy one bigger than you think you need.

Right. So far just a couple handguns and a rifle I'd put in it... but I can see more in the future.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Cannon TS5926-AR Challenger Gun Safe, 24 Gun Capacity - Tractor Supply Co.

$500 Cannon, tough to beat in the value for the money category.

 

[MCgrease08]

[video=youtube_share;ltK-bDbADa8]http://youtu.be/ltK-bDbADa8[/video]

 

[nra4ever]

Call johnson safe, wait for Black Friday, or look on craigslist. Let us know what you end up with mad good luck.

 

[SteveM4A1]

Cannon TS5926-AR Challenger Gun Safe, 24 Gun Capacity - Tractor Supply Co.

$500 Cannon, tough to beat in the value for the money category.

Wow. I might have to pick me one of those up.

 

[MadMan66]

http://www.menards.com/main/safes/2...4-cu-ft-electronic-lock/p-1793402-c-19101.htm

$599 through Sunday. May be worth looking at, and 9 more cubic feet than the Cannon safe.

 

[Don]

http://www.ruralking.com/weekly-ad

First AD on the left.

 

[spankys56]

I purchased a Winchester 24 gun from tsc on sale a couple of years ago. Looks like the new ones are made a little cheaper than mine but still look like a decent safe at this price point. The laguard lock and keypad have worked every time for me. You have to look at it form the value standpoint, how much are you trying to protect.

 

[snuffy33]

I'd like something that doesn't necessarily take 5 people to carry it into my basement...

Remember that it also works the other way .

 

[Libertarian01]

To GPIA7R,

My position on gun safes has never wavered, so I'll just share with you where I am coming from and let you do some of your own homework.

If I am going to spend money on a product then I BY GOD want it to do what I am buying it to do. The more money I am going to spend, the more I want it to work to the parameters that I have predetermined.

So, if I am going to buy a backup generator for the home I want it to power exactly what I am buying to to power AND to have the staying power that I want it to. I do not want to spend $Xk and find out when I am behind the 8ball of bad luck that it really won't put out the juice for as much as I wanted or for as long as I wanted. That really @#$^%#$& me off!

That said, what do you want your gun safe to do? How long do you want it to keep criminals out? You have to be realistic and realize that. Even Fort Knox can be broken into given enough time.

I always always always recommend a safe that is tested and approved by Underwriters Laboratories. They are fair and unbiased. Any sales pitch we get from a company is being told to us by someone who has a financial interest in making money off of us. This is not bad but neither is it unbiased. FAR from it. Sales pitches from companies are very biased and very self serving. As they should be. However, as a consumer I do not care of the company wins or loses in the free market unless it is providing me with good service and a product that does what it is supposed to do. If Consumer Reports did gun safes I would say to use them, but as they don't...

Getting back to the safe, ask yourself these questions:

#1) What am I going to put in it - for real! Don't forget important family documents, grandmas jewelry, etc.
#2) What do I want to protect the contents from? JUST a smash & grab robbery? A reasonable thief? Fire? If fire, for how long?
#3) How long does the protection need to last for burglary and/or fire? Are you in the city where response will be quick, or in the sticks where you may need greater fire protection?
#4) What is your secondary security? If you are going to spend enough on a safe to be a goodun, you better have a basic home security system as well.
#5) Do I need to protect electronic media or anything plastic? If so, the temperature in a safe can get to 350 degrees very quickly, so additional media protection may be necessary.

There are others but you get the idea.

Once you have answered all of your needs, then move to finding a safe that will DO WHAT YOU NEED IT TO! Once you do that the internet is a great tool for comparative shopping!

I found that three (3) companies tend to be near the top of the research I did. In NO particular order they are:

American Secuirty
Liberty
Brown (not Browning)

Brown seemed to make a damn good safe that I believe was up to a TL60 rating but also very expensive. They were out of my price range - significantly.

Here are a few links to consider:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M
Everything you need to know about gun safes | Safe Gun Safes Blog
Sargent and Greenleaf- Mechanical Combination lock
Gun Safe Buying Tips - Buying Guide to Weapon Safes - Brown Safe Mfg.
AMSEC Safes ? Gun Safes, Security Products, Cash Management AMSEC Safes - Gun Safes
Liberty Safes - Liberty gun safes, Fatboy gun safe, office safes, specialty safes, fire safes and home safes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltK-bDbADa8

If you wind up valuing a UL rating as I do make certain that the lock alone isn't the only thing tested and approved! Some companies I have seen will tell you how great the lock is. Whoopie! If the lock is secure but the door is pried in five (5) minutes, there goes the contents.

Regards,

Doug

 

[DRob]

If your long guns are scoped, particularly bolt guns, the safe will only hold about half what they claim.

 

[atvdave]

I got this one at TSC... no complaints. They have it on sale from time to time.

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

 

[Drakkule]

http://www.ruralking.com/weekly-ad

First AD on the left.

i just bought 2 of these, great deal.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

...wait for Black Friday...

Probably not a bad idea...

Remember that it also works the other way .

True...

To GPIA7R,

My position on gun safes has never wavered, so I'll just share with you ...

Tons of great info and things to consider. Thanks for that!

 

[ftwphilly]

If possible, put it in a corner where the door swings open and closes from. This makes it more "pry-proof". Also, get good wedge anchors at your favorite DIY store. I recommend Red-Head. These two things will make it exceptionally more solid and secure. There is no carrying away 500-700 pounds like this. I don't care if they have 10 guys. They'd need some form of serious chain work attached to a dually to yank it off the foundation. I'm sure people might chime in and say otherwise but for that to be possible something seriously terrible is happening and you should have already made other decisions.

 

[planedriver]

You are getting good advise a the way around on the gun safe. The important papers you refer to though seem to be lost in the shuffle so I'll address that portion only. Short of a vault with a money safe inside there is no safe that is completely fire proof. The contents of a safe may not burst into flames but given enough exposure to fire they will be destroyed as will money from charring.

The only way to be certain of preserving paper from fire is a safety deposit box at the bank.

Assuming you have valuable documents that are irreplaceable (granddad's discharge papers from WW1, collectable autographs, unrecorded contracts, collector currency, promisory notes etc.) and you don't need instant access to put that stuff in the bank box. For "ready cash" a small floor safe in the basement that is cut into the concrete and flush mounted would work assuming your basement is dry.

 

[ws6duramax]

I bought this one a few weeks ago . Cannon Safari 48 Gun Safe ? Dunham's Sports

Nice safe for the money . I had signed up for their rewards program and got it for 629 I believe .