I barely avoided a costly mistake, today I was able to stop the delivery of a Fortress FS60E safe (the economy line of Heritage) I did buy before my vacation trip.
I knew nothing about gun safes so it seemed like a good deal...well it is basically little more than a gun cabinet, that "safe" is not even rated UL or RSC (which, by the way, are not real safes either) and the electronic lock was a joke (not UL rated as well)...it had a cheap physical key override system which basically you can defeat in less than a minute with a good drill.
There is a video on youtube of a guy that bought the same (smaller version) safe branded as Sports Afield and the cheapness is appalling.
I did a little more of research and it seems to me that the Ranger Deluxe line of Winchester are actually no frills decent RSC safes (both the shell and the lock are UL rated).....very heavy, lots of thick 1 1/4" bolts, reinforced anti-drill front plate, internal relocker, half decent shelves (thick, reinforced and carpeted particle wood), to the eye and the touch they seem way nicer than the cheap Winchester boxes you were able to buy at Costco couple of years ago
From the same dealer, for a couple of hundred more than the Winchester Ranger, I can get a huge Big Horn 7144 ELX, an 1100 lbs monster with 1 1/2" bolts, 11 gauge construction, internal relocker and reinforced anti-drill front plate....a bit nicer interiors (metal shelves) UL rated as well (shell and lock).
Any suggestion between these two?? They are at the upper limit of my budget in the dealer inventory I bought my original safe from...I cannot afford a Graffunder or a top line Fort Knox and the dealer does not carry Liberty.
I do not have the time or the inclination to hunt for a used real safe and modify it to be gun friendly.
I knew nothing about gun safes so it seemed like a good deal...well it is basically little more than a gun cabinet, that "safe" is not even rated UL or RSC (which, by the way, are not real safes either) and the electronic lock was a joke (not UL rated as well)...it had a cheap physical key override system which basically you can defeat in less than a minute with a good drill.
There is a video on youtube of a guy that bought the same (smaller version) safe branded as Sports Afield and the cheapness is appalling.
I did a little more of research and it seems to me that the Ranger Deluxe line of Winchester are actually no frills decent RSC safes (both the shell and the lock are UL rated).....very heavy, lots of thick 1 1/4" bolts, reinforced anti-drill front plate, internal relocker, half decent shelves (thick, reinforced and carpeted particle wood), to the eye and the touch they seem way nicer than the cheap Winchester boxes you were able to buy at Costco couple of years ago
From the same dealer, for a couple of hundred more than the Winchester Ranger, I can get a huge Big Horn 7144 ELX, an 1100 lbs monster with 1 1/2" bolts, 11 gauge construction, internal relocker and reinforced anti-drill front plate....a bit nicer interiors (metal shelves) UL rated as well (shell and lock).
Any suggestion between these two?? They are at the upper limit of my budget in the dealer inventory I bought my original safe from...I cannot afford a Graffunder or a top line Fort Knox and the dealer does not carry Liberty.
I do not have the time or the inclination to hunt for a used real safe and modify it to be gun friendly.
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