Alternative to a gun safe?

[CapnMac]

A knock-down (made of pieces-parts, not one-piece) Hollow metal door frame well anchored into framing, and a steel entrance door can be very secure as an interior item. The steel entry doors come in all sorts of paneled options, and all of that can be painted to make it less obvious.
This will work for closets as well as basements.

Building the walls out of CMU will really "up the game" (you then anchor 5/8" metal furring strips on the "public" side of the block and run drywall over the furring--on one is the wiser).

Only thing to watch for in basements are Egress Windows.

 

[John Joseph]

Ever see a thorough burglary after the fact? With time, a talented burglar can rip a house up top to bottom. Hiding in plain sight may work for staging HD guns but not so much for unattended storage.

 

[Killer Instinct]

Have a look at Tacticalwalls.com

 

[FAS1]

Believe it or not, I do not have a safe. My area is rural and low (no) crime and I have neighbors who we share duty with watching our houses if we are gone. The reason I do not have a safe is not so much due to money but that I have read about safes causing rusting and I have seen rusted guns in safes. The humidity and closed safe might be part of the cause but some of it is the material used in the construction of the safe outgas corrosive agents which inside a closed container wreck havoc on the guns.

Is there a safe for a reasonable price made of materials that themselves do not cause corrosion/rust or for those who do not use a safe, how do you store (and hide) your guns as an alternative to a big box store safe?

Look at Sturdy Safes. If theft is more of a concern than fire protection, then just don't line it. Their lining is a ceramic wool if you are OK with that.

https://www.sturdysafe.com/products/model-3224



Take a look at AMSEC safes that use their proprietary fill for fire protection.

https://residential.amsecusa.com/product/bf6030/

 

[hso]

some of it is the material used in the construction of the safe outgas corrosive agents

That's not the reason.

 

[c1ogden]

All of these guns (and a few more) fit into 2 of these toolboxes. Loaded, the toolboxes weigh hundreds of pounds and if you need to move them around you can get wheels for them. They have the advantage of not looking like a safe and, being horizontal, they allow storage in the factory boxes, a system I use for new unfired or rarely fired guns.

 

[Varminterror]

The problem is not the safe, it's the humidity.

No, that is not true, it has been shown and demonstrated that many, if not all of the safes commonly available contain materials, the sheetrock/fire board and cheap carpet, that off gas corrosive agents that then mix with the moisture in the air to cause rust.

As a career chemical engineer, I’ll tell the others here (since this one seems incurable) that the pseudoscience this fella is selling in his other posts is false.

The only truth in his post is what I highlighted above - moisture in the air, aka, humidity, is the driver. There are worse corrosives in your expelled breath, in higher quantities, than in “off gas” from the Gypsum board used in fireproof safes.

 

[daniel craig]

Safes only cause rusting when used improperly

 

[John Joseph]

All of these guns (and a few more) fit into 2 of these toolboxes. Loaded, the toolboxes weigh hundreds of pounds and if you need to move them around you can get wheels for them. They have the advantage of not looking like a safe and, being horizontal, they allow storage in the factory boxes, a system I use for new unfired or rarely fired guns.

View attachment 937341 View attachment 937342 View attachment 937343 View attachment 937344 View attachment 937345

Tool boxes like those were used to store our M-60s in the arms room at the Army Reserve unit I was in.
IIRC we used some kind of special ABUS padlocks to lock them.
Of course the arms room it's self was a "safe" with poured reinforced concrete walls and a bank vault door so those tool boxes were only one level of security (along with the bolts being removed and stored separately.) Our M-16s were simply racked and most of those were yellow tagged.

 

[wiscoaster]

I don't have a safe. I have an entire closet. I've made it secure by installing a keyed entry deadbolt lock with plexiglass reinforcing the door panel, a security strike plate in the jamb, and installed security hinges - ie you can't remove the door just by taking the pins out of the hinges. Of course, it's not 100% - it can be broken into, but it's going to take some heavy-duty tools and more time and effort than any typical home burglar is going to want to expend.

 

[FL-NC]

I live in Fl, so humidity is definitely a thing. I use liberal amounts of generic motor oil on the exterior metal surfaces of my guns, so rust isn't a problem. As far as an alternative to a safe, There is always those metal job boxes they sell at Lowes and tractor supply. Sometimes you can find them used on craigslist and similar sites. If I was going to use one for gun storage, I would line the bottom and sides with foam, and fashion some sort of layered internal rack so the guns aren't laying on top of each other.

 

[George P]

All of these guns (and a few more) fit into 2 of these toolboxes. Loaded, the toolboxes weigh hundreds of pounds and if you need to move them around you can get wheels for them. They have the advantage of not looking like a safe and, being horizontal, they allow storage in the factory boxes, a system I use for new unfired or rarely fired guns.

View attachment 937341 View attachment 937342 View attachment 937343 View attachment 937344 View attachment 937345

Thieves also look for expensive tools to steal, and those tool boxes scream STEAL ME! besides, a simple pallet jack or possibly a handtruck can easily remove them from your garage

 

[George P]

I live in Fl, so humidity is definitely a thing. I use liberal amounts of generic motor oil on the exterior metal surfaces of my guns, so rust isn't a problem. As far as an alternative to a safe, There is always those metal job boxes they sell at Lowes and tractor supply. Sometimes you can find them used on craigslist and similar sites. If I was going to use one for gun storage, I would line the bottom and sides with foam, and fashion some sort of layered internal rack so the guns aren't laying on top of each other.

Foam holds moisture - that would be a no-go. I live just East of you in north central Florida. A safe, kept indoors, golden rod and a a few boxes of desiccant work wonders. My guns are also stored in silicone socks for rust and ding prevention.

 

[hso]

constructed not using drywall

Safes are available that don't use drywall.

 

[George P]

I’ve always been intrigued by the “hide in plain sight” safes, like refrigerators, pop machines, old school lockers and such. Not much in the way of fire protection, but tons of stealth.

A friend of mine hid his safe in his garage behind a commercial steel door that had signs reading "DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE" in English and Spanish with the symbols. Inside his safe was bolted to the floor and three walls and had steel angle iron around the edges which was also bolted to the walls.. He did have some solar panels on his roof, so if anyone asked he said it was related to that.

 

[mjsdwash]

the corrosion issue was caused by Chinese sheetrock that was imported when US maker couldn't meet demand. This made its way into US made safes, and obviously the far more common Chinese made safes. The problem is pretty much remedied, and has been for years.
Second, common rusting is caused by poor air circulation, temperature swings, and most of all the
"I don't know why you complain about gun oil costing so much, a $7 bottle of remoil will last 10 years" attitude.
Oil your guns enough once every few years, or run a goldenrod and you won't have issues. Our humidity averages %86 and I don't have rust. I do have occasional mold issues on stocks, because I control rust not humidity. I don't have a great solution for the mold, other than alcohol, vinegar, and wax.
As for alternatives, a freezer with a good padlock, and chain wrapped. Thats about as secure as a cheap safe, much less interesting, chaper. The ideal way is the old stand ups with the heavy lock... no one wonders why its chained up, because they were very dangerous. Otherwise, a kid-height keep out sign ma be worth it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall

 

[alsaqr]

Oil your guns enough once every few years, or run a goldenrod and you won't have issues.

This^^^^

Too many people over think firearms storage. Most firearms get rusted because they were not properly attended to prior to storage. My firearms went untouched by human hands for 2-3 years while i worked overseas. Never found rust on any gun.

Steel surfaces of firearms must be protected with a good oil: i use Militec1. The bores are also protected by Militec1. i don't do desiccant. My safes have goldenrods installed.

 

[c1ogden]

Thieves also look for expensive tools to steal, and those tool boxes scream STEAL ME! besides, a simple pallet jack or possibly a handtruck can easily remove them from your garage

True. I should have warned people about that. Mine are in my basement. so they are pretty safe there.