Red flag!! Amsec doesn't mention the body gauge of the BF series. Aren't they rebadged Cascade models with 11 gauge bodies?
No. These safes are built similar to the burglar rated safes, but of lighter construction.
The doors are 1/2" solid plate with a cavity behind it filled with DryLite. The body of the safe is 10 ga (1/8" sheet) on the outside, with a 16 ga inner shell. The body cavity is also filled with Drylite.
Drylite is a concrete type fill which offers both fire resistance, and additional burglary resistance.
I'm well aware that 10 ga isn't a lot of steel, but if you look at the highest lines of all of the big names (Liberty, Browning, etc...), you're looking at
3/16" steel doors with 10 ga bodies, and for a price tag of $3000 +.
The AMSECs start of half of that, for 5 times the safe. The AMSECS are built by a safe company which builds tens of thousands of safes a year, and has been in business for around 60 years. I would venture that the staff at AMSEC knows more about building safes than all of the gun safe companies combined.
a1abdj,
Have you heard any negative information about the Heritage Ultimate?
No, can't say I've heard anything negative about them. I can't find any pricing on them, but they look to be slightly heavier than the AMSEC BF series, and probably cost a lot more.
If you need a high security gun safe, AMSEC and Graffunder both make UL rated burglar resistant units. The AMSEC weighs in at almost 3,500 pounds. Graffunder also makes a number of safes using 1/2", 1", and 1 1/2" plate. Good safes, but also very expensive.
