Minimum cost gun safe

[sevesteen]

I'd like a gun safe, but know almost nothing about them. I want to spend as little as I can, but still get a reasonably theft-resistant safe. I don't care much about fire. I'd like space for 15 or so handguns, probably won't exceed a total of 5 rifles or shotguns. I plan to bolt it to floor and wall at minimum, and if there's a significant advantage would be willing to build it into a wall.

Locally I've seen mostly Stack-on and Liberty. The Stack on key-lock cabinets appear to be a bit less than I want, the combination lock uninsulated safes appear to be just about right, and Liberty safes are more than I want to spend or deal with moving. Is there a reason I should avoid the Stack-on? Is there anything else I should know?

 

[Moondoggie]

My local Sam's has safes for $581. Plenty for your stated needs and fire resistant to boot. About 400#, so they're not too difficult to move. Holes in the bottom to facilitate bolting to/through a floor.

I bought mine there 6 yrs ago and never regretted it for a second.

 

[redneckdan]

try and find a eletronic controls switch gear cabinet. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some have holes cut for gages but these can be welded up. These cabinets are sealed. Use one of those gonzo master locks for security. Some shops give these away when they remove equiment.

 

[skeeter1]

You might want to check into these:

http://www.stack-on.com/securityplus/gun_safes/index.html

I've got one of the smaller ones, 8-rifle, but I was able to take it upstairs piece-by-piece, and bolt it together once it was there. Including shipping (UPS charges $10 extra heavy items), it was about $100. It's not fire-proof, but I figure if the house catches on fire, I've probably got more important things to worry about.

 

[Deanimator]

I looked at Sentry and Stack-On and passed on the Stack-On.

I live in an apartment and had both size and weight constraints. Apart from not having enough shelf space for a similar number of handguns, the Sentry has worked well for me.

Additional shelves are VERY expensive. I put in two more of my own. What I did was measure the existing shelf and go to Home Despot. They had no pre-made shelves of the right size, but one of the guys in the lumber department found me a couple of pieces of that plywood made from the random shapes. He cut it to fit and instead of $45/shelf, I payed less than $5 for TWO shelves. I then found some of that non-stick tool shelf cushion stuff with the holes in it. I went home, cut the cushion to fit and stapled it to the shelves.

I bought a 14 gun safe. I'm thinking about buying another smaller 10 gun safe just for long guns, since I have so many fewer than handguns. I'll move the long guns out of the 14 gun safe to make room for more handguns and if necessary, a homemade shelf system for them.

 

[a1abdj]

I've got access to 10 gauge, firelined gun safes starting at less than $400 (not counting shipping).