One large safe or multiple smaller safes?

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Armymutt

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What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of each method? Right now, I've got two small safes. The big advantage is that I keep the NFA item in one and no one has the combo to it. Unfortunately, I'm out growing both of them - one is really crowded.
 
I like multiple safes or steel cabinets. I have shooters in one, the non-shooter collection in another, and a third for locking up ammo and powders. I have a child in the house and want lots of lockable storage capacity to keep the guns and ammo secure. Just this afternoon I am installing a steel cabinet bolted to a wall to secure ammo and reloading supplies. Secure storage is a must. I think the only downside is memorizing all the combinations to the safes or managing the keys to the cabinets. But i'd far rather be doing that than managing unsecured ammo or guns.
 
Short of building an armored, lockable room in your house, you will always run out of space in your safe(s).

Keep the two you have and buy as big of a third safe as you can. You will fill it quickly enough.:)
 
I have two medium sized gun safes. Both have a little room left. If I ever fill them, I'll get a third.
 
I subscribe to the philosophy of multiple safes regardless of size. I want to make it as difficult as possible for anyone trying to steal what I've worked hard for.
 
It all depends on how much available space one has. If I had more room, I would add to what I have.

Now, I have one Winchester 800# safe rated for 24 long guns, pistols and assorted valuables... Almost filled... with twelve 1.25 inch locking bars, external hinges (of course) rated for 1400 degrees for 90 minutes. Local Fire House is seven minutes away...

No ammo stored in there, ever. For that, I have a Stack-On cabinet for ammo, loaded and unloaded magazines and supplies, accessories, etc. bolted to the wall studs from inside. Bolted on top of that is a Gunvault quick access box.

I've read that a circular saw with a carbide blade can go through the side of my safe in minutes... But it's my best defense. Open to suggestions on making it better....
 
I have both a large safe for my long guns and two multiple safes for handguns and accessories.
 
I like a small TL15 safe for suppressors, handguns, optics, rifle bolts and critical parts. Then a large good quality RSC (like an AMSEC or Sturdy Safe) for long guns without bolts and other items you can't fit in the TL15. So count me for one big safe and one small one.
 
I prefer multiple safes. The really large ones are just too hard to get into the house without professional help. I struggled enough with my two 580 lb ones.....
I also feel more than one slows down potential thieves, takes twice as long to break into two as one.
 
my 12 gun is full. i can fit another handgun or two in there, but even that's gonna be tight. i'm leaning towards a stack on lockable cabinet, where i might keep ammo and my less expensive firearms rather than a second safe, but i don't ever see myself trading or selling my current safe to buy a bigger one.
 
Two safes will buy more time in a burglary of a home.
I have two but that's because the original and smaller Amsec was bought several years ago before I knew anything about safes and my Amsec BF after doing lengthy research on gun safes.
Lower end firearms are in the older and smaller Amsec and better and more expensive guns and goods in the BF.
I could almost need a third safe...
 
Put all your eggs in one basket or put all your eggs in two baskets? One big safe for one big price or two medium safes for two medium prices? Go with two smaller safes.

You double your security protection. Lets argue a robber has enough time to break in and locate a safe, and compromise it:
  • With one big safe, your entire collection is gone.
  • The same robber breaks into your house and locates one of two smaller safes. He breaks into that safe and takes half your collection. Does the robber make the assumption you have another safe? Probably not. If the robber stumbles across another safe, does he have time to break into that one too? Probably not.
Does a robber typically have time to break into a safe, period? Probably not.

A theoretical house fire happens:
  • A house fire that isn't a complete burndown could ruin your entire collection if your safe is unfortuitously near the fire.
  • A house fire would require a complete burndown to ruin your entire collection with two safes located in different areas of the home. Your chances of having at least part of your collection survive with multiple safes is increased.
 
I have one fairly big safe because of price more than anything else. Two safes would have cost more and they likely wouldn't have been as secure. You're paying for 2 locks, door hardware, etc.. With one safe I pay for one lock etc.. I haven't filled my safe (it's a 48 gun size safe) with guns but of course it's easy to fill it with ammo. I can't get all my ammo in there. I use half the safe for guns.
 
Don't even store your ammo in your gun safe. It just takes up too much room. Use another safe or strong box - bolted, cabled and chained in place. Of course double alarmed buildings with alarms on the safes as well.

Small safes are just moved out into the truck and driven away. Happens more than strong safes are broken into.
 
I looked at what my insurance company would replace in the event of loss (fire and theft) and was disgusted to discover that they'd only cover $2,500. I then looked at a number of other insurance options and soon realized that I could buy a quality safe every year for considerably less than a year's insurance premium. By quality safe I mean something like a Sturdy Safe such as this one.

http://www.sturdysafe.com/model3627.htm

I'd rather have three or four of these.
 
a local guy had a vault and a basic "safe" inside, when he got hit they took what was in the vault but didn't get into the "safe" so maybe a box inside a box is smart or at least multiple safes?
 
Two smaller safes. I'm thinking of the size difference between 2 regular refrigerator sized safes and that is twice as big.

1. Doubles the time and effort needed to break into them.
2. Allows you to put them in different locations, easier to conceal, and spreads the weight in your house.
3. Easier to move and maneuver in your home. A gigantic safe is simply extremely hard to move through tight corners, narrow doors, etc.
4. Benefits of a big safe are nowhere near the benefits of two smaller ones.


I think insurance is still a good idea to cover loss in the event of a fire or theft.
 
Benefits of a big safe are nowhere near the benefits of two smaller ones.
Click to expand...

I don't believe that at all. For one thing the small safes I see are generally not built as sturdy as the bigger safes. Of course any safe can be broken into but as others have said, it's easy to move small safes around the house alright. You move them right out the door and onto a truck too and down the road you go where you can open them at your leisure. It is much harder to move a big safe. That's a good thing IMO. Small safes are much easier to just take the whole safe. And easier to conceal? If your safe holds more than a pistol or two it's big enough to be found unless you have secret passages in your house with hidden door latches that make your fireplace spin around to let you in.
 
I say buy what you need (or want), whatever your needs/wants may be.

I have an old Protectall safe I got for free many years ago while I was in the Navy. A next door neighbor was a SeaBee and was part of the cleaning out and demolition of an old building. This safe was open, door was locked, and was going to be tossed. He was told if he wanted it he could have it. He took it home, removed the back off the door and opened up the tumbler box to figure out what the combination was and then offered it to me if I wanted it. I took it and still have it to this day, bugger is a concrete filled monstrosity about 2 feet square and 3 feet tall. Quite a challenge to load up the ramp into a rental truck by oneself, lemme tell you!

I have lots of important papers and such packed into it and personally I don't see any need to dispose of it whenever I may get another safe.

Like guns, I don't believe there is a need to find the "wondersafe" that fits the bill for everything. It certainly makes sense to me to have more than one safe if it's convenient. One for important papers and such and one for long guns and handguns, for example.

Some day I'll buy a gun safe...and when I do, I'll very likely have two. Not because I'll necessarily need two for all my guns, but because I'll likely have one very good one for the guns and one of the cheaper, lesser quality ones as a "sacrificial anode" safe...one any criminals are more than welcome to find and waste their time stealing or opening for the much less valuable contents I'll have in it.

:):)
 
Cee Zee said:
Of course any safe can be broken into but as others have said, it's easy to move small safes around the house alright. You move them right out the door and onto a truck too and down the road you go where you can open them at your leisure.
Click to expand...

That is why the should be bolted to the floor and the wall.
 
If I had to take 40 people somewhere, I'd be faced with choosing a single bus or multiple smaller vehicles. Details of the event would drive the decision. It's pretty much the same with the OP's question.

I have one safe which easily holds all my guns and associated accessories with space for several more. It's so large I had to remove door frame moldings to get it into the room. It sits unbolted on carpet; that way, attempts to pry it open would result in simply spinning it around. It is situated (with other pieces in the room) such that thieves would not be able to lay it on its back to pry it open--there's just no room.

I like having one big safe because all the guns are in one very secure place. Plus, I've spent money for just one lock set and mechanism rather than multiple sets.
 
I would tend to say on big safe. I am not talking steel box here...a real for sure safe. I have a friend who was burglarized and they just stole the safe (don't know the size or weight). It would seem that smaller containers would be easier to move.

Another friend has a pretty big safe (almost as big as the one in the Mayberry bank but not quite). It is down an almost spiral staircase in a basement with no walkout and nothing but small windows, none big enough suitable for egress (he lives in the country with no codes). It is a real for sure safe that is waterproof, fireproof, etc. The safe company sent 4 men to install it. I don't think anybody is going to carry it off.
 
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