Gun Safe Buying Tips

[MaterDei]

Can anybody give me some tips? What brands are good and what features should I be looking for? My budget will be around $2000 and I currently only have about 7 rifles and 10 handguns to store. I'd like a safe that will last me a while. I'm guessing I'll be buying 3 - 4 new guns a year. I live in the hot humid south and plan on having the safe in an air conditioned space.

Any tips?

 

[erict]

I can't give you too much advice as far as brands and such. Do a search for "RSC" and you should find plenty on that.

I CAN tell you however, to buy the biggest possible safe you can afford. I purchased a 12/24 safe 2 years ago and thought "this should be plenty" .

WRONG!!!

I had 3 guns when I purchased my safe and let's just say now that the seams are just about to bust on it. I had to remove shelfs and collapse stocks to get my AR's to fit and sometimes when I close the door I can feel it pushing a gun or two inward...lol.

Good luck.

 

[Ala Dan]

Many choices of RSC's out there~! All will guard against breaking
and entering by children, or the "smash and grab" crowd of meth or
cocaine addicts. None of them are actually SAFES~! , such as found
at banks and lending institutions. We have a couple of guys on board that
are experts in this field; so I will giveway too their expert advice~!

 

[Car Knocker]

Lots of info here: http://www.corneredcat.com/Safety/SafeStorage.htm

 

[Jim K]

All that is good advice, but the simple fact is that most of us can't afford that type of bank vault protection, and don't need it. If we tried to install a safe like that in a normal house, we would need to spend a lot of money to brace the floor or find the upstairs bedroom safe in the crawl space some day.

Sometimes, installation problems are such that we might consider a modular safe, even though they are without fire protection. In most cases a conventional heavy safe is adequate unless the burglar is a professional and has either brought or you have handy for him, a lot of equipment. I knew one safe that was cut open with the home handyman's very own plasma cutter and diamond saw, but most folks don't have those lying about.

The most common burglar is a drugged up juvenile trying to pry open the safe with a tire tool. And any of the good safes will defeat that kind of attack for a lot longer than the druggie is likely to go on trying.

Jim

 

[Colt46]

Couple of things

Safe doesn't mean burglar proof. Someone who knows you have lots of guns in a safe and wants to take them will monitor your house long enough to know when you're gone for a few hours and be able to carry whatever tools he needs to get into it. Bolt it to a concrete floor, don't tell your neighbors or friends or anybody that you have 50+ guns in your safe. Word gets around.
Yes, I agree with the above poster. Buy the biggest safe you think you will need and then go up once again in size. I bought a decent, no frills brand for twelve long guns. It is now full and I've had to store a few Milsurps at a buddy's house. A safe will never be big enough to accomodate your collection. It's some kind of law.

 

[MaterDei]

Thanks, this helps.

 

[RNB65]

Search on "gun safe" and "rsc" and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about gun safes.

 

[nbkky71]

Here's a generic piece of gun-safe buying advice.

Pick the size that best suits your current needs. Then buy the next bigger model.

You'll be amazed at how fast those things fill up, both with guns and other important things (like jewelry, important documents, etc, etc)

 

[Archie]

I just bought a nice safe.

In addition to the 'bigger than you think' advice, I suggest the following.

1. Don't bother with an 'interior' unless you are completely helpless. I ordered an 'interior' that looked good on paper. They gave me exactly what I ordered. It didn't work. Shelves were way too big, the long gun racks were too crowded and didn't have space for the butts and so forth. I ended up making my own interior, making far better use of the space.

If you can't work a circular saw and such, then get whatever appeals to you. I wasn't happy with what the factory visualized.

2. I ordered the 'carpeted interior'. I should have left it out and installed my own carpet-heavy cloth-panelling-whatever to go with my own interior racks. By the way, regular carpet is really difficult to install in a safe. The safe companies use a lighter material; I'm not really sure what it is.

3. Do something about humidity. I ordered a de-humidifier with the safe. I think it's working, but it isn't obvious. I'm not sure if I would get the factory de-humidifier or get a 'Goldenrod' and install it myself. Have the safe company drill the hole for the wire for you.

4. Lights. Even in a well-lit workshop, the interior of a safe is pretty dark. I think I'm going to get a string of white 'christmas' lights and install it in the corners and edges of the safe. The safe company I bought from will install them, but with changing the interior, I would have probably regretted getting them put in. It still needs interior lights.

5. Location: A concrete deck is best. Figure on having some small scraps of wood to wedge under corners to level the safe and keep it from rocking. Also plan where the door will open. The door is heavy; it is hinged and balanced well, so it's not hard to open and close, but you don't want to get your hand or the cat between the door and the wall. The door has mass and therefore momentum. Also, if the door runs into the furniture or wall, expect some marks. I have a wooden 'bumper' to catch the safe door.

6. Get the change key and learn how to 'set' combinations. It's easier than loading match ammo; far easier than shooting bullseye well. You want to be the one who knows the combination to your safe.

7. Safes are not designed to be opened from the inside. Keep that in mind.

 

[Yo]

Safe Buyers' Guide

Here's an extensive article on gun safes you should read:

http://www.6mmBR.com/gunsafes.html