Gun Safes? opinions.....ideas.....suggestions.

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Blues Brother

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I am thinking of buying a gun safe. :confused: not sure yet.....but thinking.

my local gun shop has some Sentry brand safes. I dont know much about safes, but these seem nice.

Now, please keep in mind, I live in a very small town, kinda like Mayberry style, everyone knows everyone. there is low crime here. hte kinda town you leave your car keys in your car all night if you feel like. I have never kept my guns in a safe. but our world is changing. I am thinking of investing in a gun safe. now my guns arent worth like MAJOR dollars as in rare collectors items, but to me they are worth alot because they are heirlooms from my grandfather, and my father.

I was thinking of locking up all my guns except one shotgun to keep in my bedroom for HD, and maybe one pistol for carry/HD.

So what do you think?

What can you tell me about gun safes? Thanks in advance!
:)
 
I smell a can of worms, crawling from the top!:D

Not a S-A-F-E by any stretch, but MY Liberty Colonial Series RSC
does a pretty fair job of keeping the "smash and grab crowd", and
my grand child out. Sure, a real S-A-F-E would cost thousands
of $$$$$; but ideally these RSC's perform well is most cases. My
Liberty is 'packed out" with firearms and accessories; and I haven't
lost anything yet~! :scrutiny: :uhoh: :D
 
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Nor have I in my Timberline.

But, then, a real safe would neither fit in my house nor would my house sustain the weight.

Ash
 
well, I mean a "safe" as in those sentry type "safes" they are just a lockup deadbolt steel cabinet for guns. they can be bolted to the floor, and they weigh about 300 lbs or so. I mean, if your basic theif breaks in, they cant get your guns. sure, if some REAL heavy duty dudes break in and know what they are doing they could, but why would they want to get in a $800 safe for a few guns? dont make sense.

I realize that real safes are VERY expensive. so just clarifying.
 
Do a search using the term "RSC" and look for posts by members CB900F and a1abdj.

Sentry has some decent RSCs for the money, I own one myself.


Just remember, that with RSCs and Safes you MAY get what you pay for, but you definitely WON'T get what you DIDN'T pay for.

There is a trade off with cost and weight on one side, and fire and theft protection on the other. As one side goes up, the other does as well.


I'd like to get a better safe than I have, but weight is my biggest concern as my house is almost 200 years old.
 
yea. my bad, I should have made that more clear in my first post.

I guess "locking cabinet" would be a better way to describe them. enough to keep out the honest thiefs. ;)
 
I agree with BB that locking cabinets are ok for most cases and will keep small and otherwise unauthorized hands off of your firearms. Locks are for honest people in any case.

You can find safes that are not too expensive. Depends on what you want it to do. Just guns or more?

I purchased a Champion Safe last December in coin store for just under $1k. I just saw the same model and size in gun store for over $1,800.

I keep some of wife's real jewelry and paperwork/tax records/a little mad money in there in addition to firearms. I purchased a small fire-rated box for papers to organze them and add to the effective fire rating. Just a thought.

I recall reading an article that discussed safe location (not in workshop w/ tools for access), fire ratings, hinge location (exterior, not interior), bolt size and patterns, lock types and steel thickness. I couldn't find the link to that article, but perhaps someone else here could? All I remember was it was very informative and that the base recommendation was more than my budget! :)

Best of luck
 
well, I dont have any jewelry or valuables. and I dont keep cash in my house. I mean I keep a few hundred bucks on me and a few hundred in an emergency envelope but I operate on plastic. so I dont really have any thing to steal other than guns. well, I mean I have a TV and Stereo and stuff, but you aint gonna put that in a safe.

so mainly just for guns.
 
This page has some good basic info:
http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html

You can break them into three broad categories:
1. Cabinet- sheet metal or wood, generally <$250. Good for keeping out kids, and no more. No fire protection
2. RSC- Thicker steel, generally $400-2000. Good for smash and grab thieves, minimal or no fire protection
3. Safe- Very thick steel, very heavy, generally >$3000. Good for anyone less than a professional thief, or someone with a LOT of time to spend. Usually pretty good fire protection
 
Bigger is better. You'll never regret the purchase.
If you need another reason, think of the papers and photos you can also keep in there.
Things you can't replace.
Peace of mind while you're gone.
 
If you need another reason, think of the papers and photos you can also keep in there.
Things you can't replace.
Peace of mind while you're gone.
Click to expand...

This is my biggest peeve with gun safe manufacturers.

The majority of gun safes should not be used to protect documents or photos. The peace of mind they are selling you is actually a false sense of security.

Sentry makes some very reasonably priced units. For keeping honest people honest, it's going to be hard to beat their $300 to $400 gun safes. They offer some better brute force protection than a cabinet, and have the "safe look" which will deter many smash and grab theives.
 
I'm VERY pleased with my safe from Sturdy. Google them. They have a great product. I believe their url is www.sturdysafe.com. They offer no-frills but heavy duty, with commerical locks and real fireproofing insulation (the cheap ones use fire resistant drywall/gypsum).

Another piece of advice, please take this to heart - buy the biggest and best safe you can afford and also fit in your home. If you are like most people you will quickly grow into it and probably outgrow it. I've already outgrown mine and mine is as big as a refrigerator!

I store my guns, hard drives, photos, important documents, laptop, and other valuables inside - you will never be at a loss for storing things.

Others may say that the safe isn't designed for documents, pictures, etc. Well, it's better than nothing and you can always double up by putting a smaller safe inside a bigger one.
 
I can't offer you any advice on safes other than to think about how many guns you might own in 10/20 years. Factor that into your purchase plan as well. At the time my then boyfriend didn't think I'd have as many rifles as him hence all of our rifles do not fit in the safe.
 
Quote:
If you need another reason, think of the papers and photos you can also keep in there.
Things you can't replace.
Peace of mind while you're gone.

This is my biggest peeve with gun safe manufacturers.
The majority of gun safes should not be used to protect documents or photos. The peace of mind they are selling you is actually a false sense of security.
Click to expand...
Every time safe questions come up there's always some post saying nothing but the finest will actually qualify as a safe. True, but we can't afford that. So I think something is better than nothing. In case of fire, my safe with a 1250 deg rating for 1 hr. is better than keeping important papers in a wooden desk drawer.
I'm not going to buy the $4k safe but I may get the $1500 one. Get a small fire resistant box and put it in the "safe" if you want. If my house is blown over in a tornado or hurricane, I'll put my faith in my 800# safe bolted down.
 
Every time safe questions come up there's always some post saying nothing but the finest will actually qualify as a safe. True, but we can't afford that. So I think something is better than nothing. In case of fire, my safe with a 1250 deg rating for 1 hr. is better than keeping important papers in a wooden desk drawer.
I'm not going to buy the $4k safe but I may get the $1500 one.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that you need the finest. I'm saying that you should use the proper tool for the job.

You can buy real fire rated safes starting in the $100 range that will provide far superior protection than your $1,500 gun safe will.

Different safes are designed to do different things. Gun safes are designed to hold guns. Leave the documents, gold bars, video tapes, cash, in the units designed for those uses.

The simple truth is this. The vast majority of gun safes are not burglary resistant, and they are barely fire resistant. If you are relying on your gun safe to provide these protections, you are in for a major disappointment if your safe is ever subject to a fire or brute force attack.

You also don't need to spend $4,000 on a real safe. I have a used Mosler Lug door that weighs around 3,000 pounds, and has a 30 minute tool and torch rating for sale for $500.

What is important is that you do your homework before placing yourself at risk.
 
I have a Cannon-American Eagle safe and it weighs about 550 lbs empty and has a 1 hr fire rating. Seems to be a nice safe for the price about $600 at Academy,Cabela's wants about $1000 for the same safe.
If a man makes it, a thief can break into it, So nothing is completely safe but it would make them work for it and most common thieves don't want to work.
 
Hey Blues Brother, the common ordinary thief doesn't know what is in the safe, and if he has the time and inclemations, he'll bust into it.
Short story; My granddad had an old safe in his business during WW2. Got kicked in and knocked combination lock off, and tore safe up,but didn't get it. Had they gotten in, I'm sure they would've loved the Red Man chewing tobacco, that was all that was in the safe.
 
Every time safe questions come up there's always some post saying nothing but the finest will actually qualify as a safe. True, but we can't afford that.
Click to expand...

You can get a used *real* safe for less then the price of the more expensive new RSC's.

Go to the yellow pages are look up your local "Lock and Safe" guys. Call around and ask if they deal in used safes. Then its just a matter of continuing to check back until they have something that meets your needs. Used inventory changes frequently so you may not get one at the first place you try or the first day you look, but check more then one place and keep calling and you'll find something.
 
I have three safes in our home. One, is a 4 hour firesafe for really important documents and money that I want my wife and I to be able to access anytime, the second a flip open pistol safe in the cabinet near our bed and the third is a Cannon that I bought from the Costco website for about $700 delivered. (less than the value of one gun, by my guess).

Now the gun safe is in our basement. It took 3 strong men to move it down there, so I am confident that it will survive a random home burglary. Everything else is bolted into the house and would have to be really worked on to be either opened or carried away. . .

I have less than $1200 total invested in safes. . . Peace of mind, Priceless.
 
Buy one that is bigger than you need...

It's amazing how fast they fill up. I'm also a fan of the big, heavy ones. I have a Browning "Bronze Series" that was delivered to the house for right around $1K. Like RobNDenver, it took me and two hefty friends all of our might to get it down into my basement, with some scary moments along the way (and that was with it being empty). If a thief can get that thing out of the house, they deserve it! They wouldn't have time, however, as I also have a good home security system.
 
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