Which safe would you choose?

[kaigth]

First off, Hello everyone, after perusing your forums here for several months to educate myself I found lots of professionals and some nice people. I felt this was a good place to ask this question even though I am aware of some of your opinions regarding residential safes, weapons, etc.

Let me start by saying I am also aware that most, if not all of you would deter me from making this purchase but seeing as my budget unfortunately keeps me locked down to these types of safes.

I narrowed my purchase down to:
the Liberty Centurion CN18
and the:
Bighorn 19ECB

Though I know some of you are completely against Bighorn the key differences between the safes are:
The Liberty is U.S. Made
The Liberty has a better warranty

but the Liberty is only 14 gauge, the bighorn is 11 gauge
both have the same "so called" fire ratings (which are practically worthless)
The Liberty is $70 dollars cheaper and comes with accessories, the bighorn comes with nothing

The Bighorn also weighs 100 pounds more than the Liberty
The Liberty has 10 flat military style bars, 4 inches tall but probably only quarter inch thick, the bighorn has (5) 1 inch bolts. This concerns me, I dont know if I trust the military style bars as I do not see this often unless it is much thicker, of someone could maybe educate me on this?

last but not least the Liberty has a hole in the back for electricity where as the bighorn does not.

Aside from the Warranty, and where these safes were built which would you choose? and why? I Can't decide. (trust me when I say if I could afford a real gun safe that is where I would go but it will be many years, I need something to store stuff asap.)

Thanks for the input. :banghead:

 

[cbpagent72]

I believe that model of Liberty safe is Chinese made:

http://www.libertysafe.com/safe-centurion-20-safes-ps-20.html

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2

 

[kaigth]

Actually it's this model, but the 18 and not the 24.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_387167-1028...&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=liberty+safe&facetInfo=

It is new.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

The Liberty has 10 flat military style bars, 4 inches tall but probably only quarter inch thick, the bighorn has (5) 1 inch bolts.

Those bolts are probably 2-3" long and bolted to a piece of sheet metal angle channel that retracts all the bolts at once. Guess what bends in a pry attack? It's not the bolts. That's why Liberty adds another piece of sheet metal to the carrier bar to make it "anti-pry". They're meant to prevent the carrier bar from folding over itself like a soft-shell taco. Of course, once you realize that the anti-pry tab works by butting itself against sheetrock to make itself "unbendable" and they're just spot-welded in place...well it really doesn't do much of anything other than add more marketing jargon. The body also often gives out in addition to the boltwork on gun safe pry attacks. The body is just sheet metal, after all.

 

[kaigth]

So this means in the end either one is pretty much useless? lol

I plan on bolting it to the ground in a small-ish closet creating some but little space to pry at the door. From that message I take it if you had absolutely no choice you would pick the liberty? or do you mean the liberty maybe buys you a whopping 1 more minute of defense in terms of prying.

Thanks for the awesome reply, that is good knowledge to have

Also, whatever your response is based on what you would decide, I am not taking them literal it just gives me food for thought.

 

[Hagen442]

Safes

Liberty - Lincoln Model

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Not useless. Just that bolt size and count are generally more marketing on gun safes than actual security when the assembly these bolts are attached to are the weak point. Rest assured, most gun safes will stop your typical thief. They'll smash off your handle, smash off your dial or keypad, and try smacking the hinges. Even your el-cheapo Stack On design with a cheesy lock will keep out a typical smash-and grab. They generally aren't very bright people. None of those attacks gains entry. You only have to start worrying when the thief has a lot more time or more than two braincells to rub together.

 

[CB900F]

Kaigth;

Anything is better than nothing. Don't get too worked up over this decision, there's not a whole lot of protective difference between them. However, what I would do is make sure your homeowner's or renter's insurance covers the RSC itself. And get that in writing. Therefore, if there is a fire or an attack on it, let the insurance company pay for the repairs or replacement. I strongly doubt that you'll get a break on your rate, but make sure that the box itself is covered.

900F

 

[kaigth]

Thanks a lot you guys, it puts my mind at ease. I just needed some good advice from people who have been down this road. Most advice I was getting were from people that had no idea what they were talking about.

All in all I am just going to choose what fits best in my space, and meets my needs. Thanks.

 

[Teachu2]

I have two of the Bighorn 19ECBs sitting here in my home office. I checked out the Centurion at Lowes prior to purchasing the first Bighorn. The Bighorn had better fit and feels more substantial (I can flex the door on the Centurion bare-handed), and has a bit better fire rating(30 vs 20 minutes). My wife strongly prefers the keypad to a dial lock. It also is backed by Costco, who goes above and beyond with customer service. I liked the first well enough to buy a second. Factory warranty:
•Limited Lifetime Warranty
•Free repair or replacement in the event of an attempted or actual Burglary attack
•Free repair or replacement in the event of a Fire
What's Liberty do more than that?

That said, I just plunked down a whole lot more money for a Summit Denali 60 to replace both of them. Recent deaths in our families have left us with sentimental possessions (not big dollar value, but irreplacable) that justify higher security and fire protection and the means to purchase such protection , so I went shopping for a RSC that would give me peace of mind.

No Residential Security Container (RSC, which most gun 'safes" are really are) will stop a determined professional burglar, nor will they protect your belongings in a long, hot fire. They will buy you time - time to thwart the normal residential smash-and-grab burglar or for the fire department to respond and put out the fire. The same holds true for ANY safe, even bank vaults. More steel and more insulation buys you more time, but costs and weighs more.

Either of the units you listed will keep the average burglar out - so they would survive well over 90% of residential burglaries. Neither would withstand a determined attack with a large prybar or power tools. Neither has adequate fire protection for a major fire. Both are easily carried away if you don't bolt them down. My new one weighs 1700 lbs, and it will get bolted down, too!

 

[kaigth]

Awesome, thanks for the input teach!

Very helpful

 

[rondog]

The one that I want is a Liberty Franklin 50. I want/need one that's big and tall. My back issues kinda dictate the need for a taller safe so that I don't need to bend over. And I want the biggest capacity I can get. And the accessory panel for the inside of the door is a must, IMO!

I plan to put it in the garage, bolted to the floor, and then I'm going to build a plywood enclosure around it so it just looks like a big storage cabinet. I don't want anybody driving by when I have the garage door open to see a great big safe inside the garage. But a big redneck-looking plywood cabinet with stickers and whatever all over it isn't that noticeable.