Gun safes?

[Phaethon]

So after a recent move, I've basically got five or six milsurps without an official home. They just occupy one of the walls of my room, where I carefully spaced and leaned them up against it. Even though I have a really secure house, with lockable hurricane shutters that are generally closed, and live in a pretty good neighborhood, I feel it would be naive for me to have any sense of security when so many valuable rifles are just sitting out and about.

Maybe it's just the mentality I've come to adopt from living in the city for my entire life, but what about the rest of you? Do you guys just mount up your rifles on racks and let that be the end of it? Do you store them in a heavy safe 24/7?

I'd like to gauge some responses so that I can decide whether or not it'd be prudent for me to get a gunsafe or a locking gun-cabinet. I'm a college student with a really tight budget, and any advice is very much appreciated.

 

[browningguy]

Anything is better than just hanging them on a wall. I do keep rifles in a glass fronted gun cabinet, but they are primarily 19th c. single shots, not worth a lot and insured in any case. All my valuable rifles and pistols stay in 3 safes.

Often you can find the 14 gun Sentry for around $300, and it's a lot better than nothing. Even a sheet metal lockable container screwed to the wall will slow down the amatuers.

 

[Hardtarget]

For years my guns were in a seven gun glass door cabnet my built. My sons picked up a few...I picked up a few more...they moved out(and took their guns with them)...I picked up a few more. Then I bought a safe. Just did not like leaving them "out" where they could just walk off.

Some take the bolts out to store them in the safe. At least they're inoperable if stolen.

Mark

 

[GregC]

I recently purchased a safe from Steel Water Safes. I decided that it was crazy to have as much tied up in guns, and not have a secure place to store them. Everything was as advertised and was exactly what I ordered. You can check them out at www.steelwatergunsafes.com If you do much looking, it is pretty easy to get information overload. That is why I have been looking and doing research for the last several years, and just finally made the purchase. If you look long enough, you can find something wrong with any of the makers, you just have to decide what you can live with versus the price. Unfortunately, all my guns were lost in a tragic boating accident before the safe arrived!!!!

 

[FlyinBryan]

keep them plus other valuable in a big safe. its an older (20 years) amsec safe. if i remember correctly it is 1170lbs empty. it has 25 or so long guns and a half dozen pistols, and 6 50 cal ammo cans, as well as some ammo just in factory boxes. it wont fit all of our long guns so a few are in closets, plus my carry pistol , a carbine, and several mosin nagants are never in there.

also keep a pretty good size pre-64 coin collection in there (probably 50lbs of them),,,,,, as well as important documents like my land surveys, car titles, property deeds, birth certificates, certain court papers etc,,,,,,,

i'd feel naked without it, or even with a lesser one tbh lols.

 

[Dr. Sandman]

All that you can hope to do with any safe, or security measure, is to keep the kids out and the honest people honest. The pros will get you everytime! For the man on a tight budget, I would reccommend a cheapo locking gun cabinet (Menards around $100-200) and screw or bolt it to the wall. It will keep kids out and may help to slow down burgs, but won't help against the pros or burgs with a little time and some tools. I have 14 gun (I think) cheapo cabinet in my basement (paid about $100) that I keep some Mosins and project guns in and a nice Browning safe for my nice guns. Ever since we had kids I keep all my guns locked up. To do otherwise is dumb. They will find them. Definatly lock up everything, this can be done cheaply.

 

[ball3006]

Costco has a small Canon safe on sale for 600 bucks, delivered. It has 30 minute fire protection....chris3

 

[valnar]

There are a lot of variables in your original post; I just can't make a blanket statement and say you need to get a safe.

First, what milsups do you have? Anything over $1000?
Do a bunch of fellow students who live nearby or go to school with you know you have a gun, any gun?
Are you a mobile person? Being a college student, can I assume you are in a temporary house? If not, the rest of my post is moot.

Any safe you buy, especially anything heavier than a gun cabinet, will need to be moved again at some point. For someone who doesn't have much money to get a safe in the first place, now you have to contend with moving or paying someone to move a 600+ pound safe...possibly more than once.

No one will argue that getting a safe is a bad idea, but you need to do a cost analysis on whether it is worth it on a limited budget, and whether your risk of loss is low.

As to the answer of "Should I get a safe once I am out of college, have a job, and secure a permanent place of residence?"....um yah, that's a definite yes.

 

[jrdolall]

At the very least you can pick up a cheap safe at Wallyworld for $100 or so. It will keep kids out but could easily be opened with a crowbar. I remove the bolts when possible and keep locks on all the guns except the ones I use for SD and HD. My main concern is children. Not my children but one of their friends who may have played a bit too much Call of Duty and wants to shoot a real AR. I keep a record of every gun we own with Serial numbers and photos and I carry additional insurance for my collection. Ammo is stored in 2 drawers of a chest in a spare bedroom. None of this will stop a determined thief with plenty of time but then neither will a $3000 gun safe and a Rottweiler.

 

[mtuchris]

+1 for anything is better than nothing.
When I was a broke student my 3 housemates and I chipped in $25 each for a lockable cabinet and bolted in the back of an obscure closet. If you have roommates that own guns maybe they will be interested in chipping in.

 

[OldTex]

Anything is better than nothing. I had my nicest gun disappear out of my house years ago and the cops told me it was most likely a 'friend' who knew it was there (nothing else was touched).

My first 'safe' was just one of those lockable metal cabinets from WallyWorld or K-Mart ($100). I screwed it into into the wall studs inside a closet so someone couldn't just carry it out. It wouldn't stop a pro but it would stop the Smash & Grab thieves that make up about 90% of home burglars. That was good for several years until I got a real safe (that I've now outgrown). I still use that first cabinet to store cans of ammo, etc.

 

[MCMXI]

Do you store them in a heavy safe 24/7?

Yep!! I've owned firearms since '88 and have never had a firearm stolen. I've always had safes and dogs but bought my first "high-end" gun safes a couple of months ago. I bought a pair of safes from Sturdy Gun Safe Manufacturing and feel that they're an excellent investment. Not only will the safes reduce the likelihood of coming home to find that all of my firearms have been stolen, they'll protect the firearms and optics in the event of a fire. Keep in mind that most homeowners or rental insurance policies won't cover much beyond $2,500 in the event of theft or fire. Some companies offer more coverage but it gets expensive. Regardless, it would drive me crazy to think that some crack head is running around with my firearms.

Ultimately, responsible gun owners should do as much as possible to keep firearms out of the hands of those that shouldn't have them, so get a safe and bolt it to the wall, even if it's a sheet metal box from a sporting goods store.

 

[Jim NE]

I have a modestly priced safe that's essentially fairly thick sheet metal. (No fire protection rating.) It's secured with many large bolts to studs in the wall (in a closet). It's locked all the time in a room that's locked all the time. Since it's in the basement, I have the safe elevated 2" above the floor in case of moderate flooding.

We also live in a good neighborhood, but I NEVER tell the neighbors the extent of my gun collection. As far as they know, I just have a couple. I trust them implicitly, but you never know who they'll tell.

I keep ammo in a locked cabinet that's seperate form the safe. This is recommended.

I have three guns that I don't keep in the safe, but they're all inexpensive bolt action long guns. The bolts and mags are kept in the safe. Removing and replacing the bolts takes only seconds, and there's no way they can be fired without the bolts (Better than trigger locks, IMO.)

I'm no expert on gun safes. My gun security isn't expensive or elaborate, but I actually feel comfortable with it, given all the other factors. Don't forget, thieves and fires are only two considerations. Humdity levels and mold are other things to watch for when storing guns

 

[Phaethon]

First, what milsups do you have? Anything over $1000?

Individually no, but I have about seven rifles that altogether total somewhere around $1300. Probably $1800+ when you factor in shipping, transfer, and ammunition. All Mil-surps. Two Mosins, a VZ-24, K31, Lee-Enfield No. 4, Turkish 1903, and Polish WZ-78.

Do a bunch of fellow students who live nearby or go to school with you know you have a gun, any gun?

Nobody that I know really lives close to me, and I don't associate with my neighbors too much and wouldn't speak with them on the subject. Anytime I move a rifle it's inside a box or a bag anyway, so I figure I'm pretty careful. I also don't tell anyone I don't trust that I own rifles, and/or tell them where I live.

Are you a mobile person? Being a college student, can I assume you are in a temporary house? If not, the rest of my post is moot.

Sort of. I'm accustomed to a life of mobility and have had several places of living within the past few years. I'm nineteen though, and moved in with my brother fairly recently. I expect within the next two years I might be somewhere else.

Any safe you buy, especially anything heavier than a gun cabinet, will need to be moved again at some point. For someone who doesn't have much money to get a safe in the first place, now you have to contend with moving or paying someone to move a 600+ pound safe...possibly more than once.

No one will argue that getting a safe is a bad idea, but you need to do a cost analysis on whether it is worth it on a limited budget, and whether your risk of loss is low.

I guess my ultimate question isn't whether or not to get some sort of protection for my rifles, because I know I have to, and the idea of them all being ransacked plagues me every time I get home and walk into my room. I think I'm just debating how much protection one should really seek, especially given my limited budget, and as you pointed out, housing arrangements. Is it sufficient to get a nice locking metal cabinet and maybe leave it inside my locked closet in my room? Should I be going all out and looking for an 8-gun 300 lb safe?

There's really never no one at home for more than 3-4 hours at a time, and our backyard sits directly on a lake and so mostly precludes the possibility of moving anything heavy outside anything but the front door, which is very visible from the street.

I mean, what are people's experiences with having weapons stolen? Back when I was in Texas I recall several occasions where I'd walk into someone's house and just saw them mount rifles on racks on the wall, or inside pretty vulnerable glass cases, so I'm really not sure how paramount the issue is.

 

[valnar]

As was taught to me (and hammered in my head), multiple layers are most important. Getting a gun cabinet coupled with a home alarm system (and some very noticeable signs) may be enough for 90% of the robbers out there. Might I suggest an easily movable alarm system as well?

I've been using SimpliSafe and it works well.

 

[opsman]

Being a poor college student, I own two of them, I can understand your plight. I would at the very least get something to lock them up in and bolt it down or screw it to the wall. It will at least provide security against the smash and grab type. Once you get a place of your own, seriously consider something more substantial.

 

[lray]

i would get a safe and keep them in it. your probably not using rifles for protection in your home anyway. better to keep them out of sight

 

[Teachu2]

If you are a typical (broke) 19 yo college student, see if there is a used office furniture store nearby. Get a locking storage cabinet like this http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/534813/Sandusky-72-Steel-Storage-Cabinet-With/ and use that for now. Lag bolt it to the wall.

If that doesn't work, check with appliance repair places and get a dead upright freezer. Gut the shelves out. Drill a 3/8" hole in the bottom and string a power cord for a dehumidifier (google Golden Rod) and screw a hasp to the door. Secure with a padlock and plug in the dehumidifier. Most thieves will pass it right by...

And never, ever sell anything gun-related on Craigslist, etc. I sold some reloading equipment once, cost me 14 guns a month later....

 

[BIGGBAY90]

If you are a typical (broke) 19 yo college student, see if there is a used office furniture store nearby. Get a locking storage cabinet like this http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/534813/Sandusky-72-Steel-Storage-Cabinet-With/ and use that for now. Lag bolt it to the wall.

If that doesn't work, check with appliance repair places and get a dead upright freezer. Gut the shelves out. Drill a 3/8" hole in the bottom and string a power cord for a dehumidifier (google Golden Rod) and screw a hasp to the door. Secure with a padlock and plug in the dehumidifier. Most thieves will pass it right by...

And never, ever sell anything gun-related on Craigslist, etc. I sold some reloading equipment once, cost me 14 guns a month later....

that happened and you are recommending an upright freeze or cabinet

 

[murdoc rose]

agreed with bigbay there

 

[Teachu2]

Yes - the guns in the garage "freezer" were overlooked, as were those in the cabinet. They went after the locked closet, and got the overflow.

Any protection is better than none, and they don't steal what they don't find. Ideally, we'd all have true safes instead of RSLs, but a college student with a really tight budget may not want to spend that to protect his collection.

The best protection he can afford is what he should get. That protection is worthless if he doesn't control the information that he has guns. Concealment requires that the knowledge of his collection doesn't extend beyond his immediate family. College students talk - and if his buds know about his guns, lots of others do, too.

 

[BIGGBAY90]

QUOTE Teachu2: And never, ever sell anything gun-related on Craigslist, etc. I sold some reloading equipment once, cost me 14 guns a month later

FOURTEEN GUNS, YOUR SAFE PROBABLY WAS NOT BOLTED DOWN OR YOU HAD A CABINET--SORRY FOR YOUR LOST

 

[crkline2]

I recently purchased a safe from Steel Water Safes. I decided that it was crazy to have as much tied up in guns, and not have a secure place to store them. Everything was as advertised and was exactly what I ordered. You can check them out at www.steelwatergunsafes.com If you do much looking, it is pretty easy to get information overload. That is why I have been looking and doing research for the last several years, and just finally made the purchase. If you look long enough, you can find something wrong with any of the makers, you just have to decide what you can live with versus the price. Unfortunately, all my guns were lost in a tragic boating accident before the safe arrived!!!!

New to this forum and have not bought a gun safe before. It is indeed easy to get lost in all the information. Thanks for the Steel Water recommendation - prices are reasonable, come with free shipping, and delivery to the garage. Also for about $800 for a 22-gun capacity, I get a 1-hour fire rating.

Purchasing in a few days.

 

[EmG]

got my cannon safe at tractor supply, says its suposed to hols 36 guns but it has spaces for 48 guns, I hot an extra $100 off because it had a barly visible scratch on the side, if I remember it was $ 999 on sale for $699 I ended up paying $599 tractor supply has smaller safes for less money if you watch for there sales u can get a good deal. in my opinion cannon safes have the best guarantee out there, there safes protect from fire and water.