I did quite a bit of research on this recently and came to the conclusion that for under $1,000, it is unlikely that security, fire protection & size can be had at a comfortable level. There will be some compromise. I did not search beyond $1000.
When I did my research, my goals were in the following order.
1. Security for family & friends
2. Fire. I was going to use the safe to store guns and other valuables such as jewerly, titles, deeds, contracts, etc
3. Security from thiefs
Of course I would need a size that could fit all of this and go in my room for quick access.
My other challenge was where to put it. We are already short on closet space and there is no way my wife would allow it to go in bedroom. Our already small master closet is probably the only place.
All of my research led me to believe that a 1hr fire rating is really the minimum that can be trusted to keep items from damage in a typical house fire. For small items such as jewelry/papers, a small Sentry fire safe could be put into the larger safe. I don't think I found a gun safe with a 1hr fire rating in the under $1000 mark.
As far as security, my research led me to believe that anything that is substantial in size and above the $500 mark will probably provide equivalent security when compared to each other. More security protection would require to go beyond $1000 and maybe even much further than that. For me, this was adequite.
The best value that I found was the Winchester safe at Sam's Club for about $650.
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=399617&pCatg=6983
In the end, I decided to get a 14 gun security cabinet. I decided that there was no point in spending $700 on a safe that would not provide adequite fire protection. A security cabinet fulfills my number one goal of safety for family & friends. A security cabinet also is smaller and will fit better in my closet. The gun cabinet also provide some very basic level of security if it is fastened properly from a grab and go thief.
Dicks had a great deal on their 14 gun security cabinet ($129). Once I got it home, I had regrets on the size. I really did not need a 14 gun cabinet..... The 8 gun would have sufficed but the 14 gun was a great price. I decided that I was going to take it back and build a cabinet out of wood that could be rolled under my bed. This would provide adequite security, hide it and provide easy access.
When I was loading it up, my neighbor saw me and asked me about it. He is moving in a few days and said he has a brand new 8 gun cabinet that he would give me.
So now, I have that set in my master bedroom in a corner mostly out of view as a temporary solution until I build the under-bed cabinet.
By the way, the 8 gun cabinet is not big enough.
