Hollon Safes
I did extensive research on gun safes and determined the Hollon RG 45 was the best safe for me, especially for the price. I considered some high end used safes as well, but they provided no better protection, had no better features, cost more, were more hassle and expensive to move, and had no warranty. I installed mine in the corner of the garage and built a closet around it to hide it and make it that much more secure. It is bolted to the concrete floor.
Here is what my analysis determined:
1) A determined thief will break into any safe given enough time so the idea is to slow them down as much as possible so that it's not practical for them to break in.
2) Get a safe that's difficult to remove from the house which means heavy and bolted down.
3) On any decent gun safe the door is the strongest link and almost pry proof. That's why the relockers, multiple large bolts, extra plates on the doors, etc. The lock mechanism pretty much cannot be opened by anyone except a locksmith with a tool such as an auto dialer that takes days to determine the combination by trial and error.
4) The weakest links are the sides and back where a torch, grinding tool, or ax can be used to cut the safe open.
5) Unless one lives in a rural area with minimal fire protection the fire department should douse a fire before the 45 minute to 1.5 hour fire rating on the safe is exceeded (depending upon the safe one buys). The coolest place in a consuming house fire is an outside wall so if you are concerned about fire protection putting a safe there is your best bet. In the last few years much of the competitive improvements in safes have been in fire protection.
6) Digital keypads are ok if you want fast access to your safe, but they are the most problem prone component. I figure if I need to pull a weapon out of my safe for home protection I haven't thought through emergency situations ahead of time and am best leaving the weapon in the safe. If my gun isn't at hand it does me no good.
Hollon safe strong points:
1) The most metal of any safe more than twice it's price - 3 gauge door and 8 gauge body.
2) Ten 1.5 inch locking bolts
3) Over 1000 lbs
4) 1 hour fire rating
5) Nice look and finish
6) Well designed and flexible interior shelves and storage including standard door pockets
7) Very competitive price
Hollon safe weak points:
1) No standard interior wiring or lighting. Hole in back for running your own wire.
2) Limited warranty except for lifetime on fire
3) No day key on mechanical lock
4) One choice of color
I would rather buy American, but when the day is done I buy what's best for my wallet. The Koreans make pretty decent stuff, unlike the Chinese. At least the Koreans are allies and make pretty good ammo such as PMC.
The safe company added wiring, LED lights, a humidifier, plus replaced the mechanical combination with a Liberty that has the day key on it, as well as gave me their 5 year warranty. They included this in an already discounted price. That gave me everything I wanted in a safe and I paid about $1,000 less than the next safe I considered (the comparably sized Liberty Franklin). The Liberty had a nicer door pocket system and lifetime warranty on theft but it's metal was much thinner.
There are many good gun safes out there, but for a full size (6' tall) 45 gun safe with excellent theft and fire protection the Hollon RG 45 definitely gives you the most for your money.
