Looking to buy a safe for handgun collection

Are you interested in fire protection at all, or solely burglary protection? Also, do you plan to keep valuables in the safe other than handguns? (I ask becaus

The old battle tank you are describing sounds like a F-rate plate safe (I'm guessing it weighs more than 500 pounds). It is, from a burglary perspective, far superior to Sturdy (which itself is a very good product IMO). Sturdy uses something like 3/16 inch plates as their standard side armor thickness (far thicker than most gun safes), great boltwork, the industry golden standard 6730 UL Group 2 lock (most gun safe makers use a far inferior G2 lock), and has a solid reputation from owners. This is a good safe of reasonable pricing that basic hand tools will not be able to easily defeat. However, a F-rate (or TL-30 if built to specs & UL tested) has resistance against powered tool attacks, and most average power tools/tooling bits found in the home arent capable of defeating that safe in any practical timeframe (if at all.)

One consideration may be the lock. Many F/TL-30 safes have high-security locks. High security locks are expensive to replace in standard configurations, and on some older models they are even more expensive if the lock type or cutout is atypical, as it may no longer be produced if the Maker is defunct and a third-party lock Maker isn't currently offering direct-fit replacements. A safe expert here could better explain this, but if the lock on the older safe may need servicing and/or replacement, it is an expense you might want to factor into the price, and the safe specifics will determine whether it would be a nominal expense or something more considerate.

From an collecting standpoint, it is always best to buy bigger than what you need since you'll probably add to the collection, or may want to store other items with the pistols. The old safe gives you more space, but you'll probably have to build your own shelving (if that's what you want). Can the old one be bolted down or does it have wheels? If you can't bolt it down, can you position it so it can't be removed except with a lot of time?

If the price is the same, and the old one is in good shape, I'd probably go vintage.

I really doubt a fire proof safe would do much. A burning house is an inferno. The remains of burned house is littered with melted metal. I have a Browning safe that is now 40 years old. The newer safes have better upholstery than a Cadillac. That is useless so far as gun protection. I look for a good door and usable space. Many used safes are a good deal.

Igyjastabay said:

Cdk8,

I did put some thought into the lock. The owner says it works perfectly. He said the door takes effort to open it is so heavy. The tag on it says UL tool Resistant. He is asking 800 and I could probably get it for 5 or 600. I don't know if that's a good deal or not on a 30 or 49 year old safe. He said there were no holes for drilling into the cement, he didn't think anyone or two or three people were capable of moving it out of a house, but I begged to differ. So you guys would go with the oldie? I am more interested in a real safe, but I have heard so many good things about Sturdy

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In that case, it is presumably a TL-15 or TL-30, as it has been built to UL standards and tested with a two-man powered attack test. Sturdy is a good product, but a TL-15/30 is in a different league as it is a high-security safe that has been independently tested. If they subjected an average RSC gun safe to the same 15/30 minute attack they do a TL-15/30, I doubt it would survive more than 15 seconds.

It will likely have a Group 1, 1r, or 2M lock. If so and it is in good shape, even better because the (more common) Group 2 lock does not have manipulation resistance where as the others do.

Do you know the brand off-hand? Especially if you can get the price down, I would go for the older high-security safe. Upon getting it, it might be worth having an expert just take a look at the internals, and they can assist you in bolting it down should you desire (just a home drill with standard high-speed steel bits versus an inch of A36 plate steel is enough to drive a person to drink.) In the process, if you like the guy/gal you meet, then you have a go-to person you can trust any time you need that type of service done.

There are some Members here that sell or have sold high-security safes and if they are local to you they may be able to assist you or refer you to someone they trust?

Dog Soldier said:

I really doubt a fire proof safe would do much. A burning house is an inferno. The remains of burned house is littered with melted metal. I have a Browning safe that is now 40 years old. The newer safes have better upholstery than a Cadillac. That is useless so far as gun protection. I look for a good door and usable space. Many used safes are a good deal.

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A quality safe designed for considerable fire protection & with a verified independent fire rating (such as the UL rating) can survive not only a full house burn down, but even more severe fires that may occur in industrial buildings.

The modern composite safe, using a poured layer of dense concrete, often in combination with steel plates, not only provides considerable fire protection, but it manages to dramatically slow the speed that the internal temperature of the safe rises when compared to an inferior method such as fireboard. (Sadly, many gun safe Makers now use the term "composite" to confuse consumers, so low end gun safes that claim to be "composite safes" are not included as most still use inferior fire proofing designs.)

A Member on this forum posted the outcome of a very common and affordable high-security safe (and an example of the modern composite design) that was subjected to relatively high heat for several times the duration of its rating and it did quite well (especially considering that I believe this is the older generation where the newer one has made certain fire improvements IIRC.) For gun owners with mid-priced or high-priced contents going into the safe, there are solid options that are affordable (especially second-hand) and can survive some of the worst fire conditions. I've seen gun safe sized versions of this safe used for as little as $2k.
https://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_46/398024_AMSEC_Amvault___Burned_In_Fire.html

I don't remember which company it was but they ran an ad showing a photo taken after a log cabin at a remote hunting spot in the mountains burned down to the ground. The only thing left was ashes - and that safe. And every gun in the safe was undamaged. Even the wood stocks survived fine. It can be done.