Sell me on a reasonable gun safe.

[csaws]

Just bought a house, and I'd like to pick up a safe sometime soon. Not just for guns, but also important paperwork, etc. Doesn't need to be 100% fireproof... we can put a smaller fireproof safe inside of it.

I'd like something that doesn't necessarily take 5 people to carry it into my basement... and also doesn't completely break the bank. I know you get what you pay for, but I'd like a great value here.

Any recommendations?

Buy bigger than needed, buy once, cry once... Johnson Safes, IIRC delivery is included in cost.

 

[zippy23]

A gun safe is the one thing that you need to spend a crazy amount of money on and get it at least twice as big as what you will store in it right now. The reason for spending more, steel costs money. You want a good safe? Thick steel. Thicker steel costs more. You need thicker steel, and make sure the door is thick as well and it doesnt just look thick, many companies make the door look like 5 inches thick when in reality its mostly space with a thin door. Get a manual lock. You will end up hating the digital locks and changing batteries, Johnson safe i think after ridiculous research and dropping about 2 G's, is the best you can get without going up to a really really high dollar safe. He has fully welded seams, most do NOT fully weld the seams, he uses good door bolts all the way around the door, most cheap safes from gander mountain department stores will leave out a couple bolts on the inside of the door thats hard to see, because these bolts are $5 a pop, and selling 1 million safes, well you get the point. Johnson will customize the interior for you, the price includes this. Jeff Johnson will also move the safe for you as well at a very reasonable price. Customer service from his is amazing, instead of calling a call center if you have issues, which i havent found a single person upset with johnson safe, and when people i know see my safe, they get pissed at what they bought. I would recommend the thicker steel, thicker steel door, manual lock. Inside i would use a dehumidifer that does not have to be plugged in, meaning a wire running out of the safe. There is a good product out there which you plug into an outlet for 8 hours once every month or so, last ten years, and costs like $30. Its called Eva Dry. i love it. You can also buy a few of those stick on push button LED lights for really cheap and there you have your lighting!! When a safe is advertised as $500 or $1000 bucks off, think about where that money coming off the product is coming from. It sure aint steel, its profit by using the thinner gauge steel. That might be the most important part.

 

[87iroc]

I splurged on a Liberty Fat Boy...64 gun. Love it...

I have seen many good looking safe's, though, in the 500-1000 range though.

Cabelas sells Liberty's under their own brand. They are cheapened up Liberty's...but still nice safe's.

 

[Gluemanz28]

i just bought 2 of these, great deal.

This is the best safe per dollar value. It has a lifetime Liberty warranty. I paid $1000 for a 28 gun Liberty Safe exclusive to Gander Mountain a year ago. It is already full and I am looking at getting another. Buy the biggest that you have room for. If it cost more than you can afford then beg borrow or steal to get the funds together. Buy once, sucker a group of buddies to help once and complain once. I am on round number two and I'm going with the 72 gun from Rural King.

 

[seedubs1]

Personally, I do not spend much on a gun safe. I get gun safes only for locking things up when I have parties, etc... and to keep idiots or smash and grab robberies at bay.

I have a fire safe for fire protection of things that wouldn't be covered or can't be replaced under my home insurance.

My theory is that even though you have a pry proof safe with a bomb proof lock, if you give me 30 minutes with my angle grinder, I'm going to be into your $3k safe. 12 gauge steel is a joke for my angle grinder...
So any thief that's hell bent on stealing my stuff when I'm out of town can get through even an expensive safe in essentially no time.

Better to hide the really important stuff where it can't be found.

 

[Ericpwp]

Most gun safes are not approved "Safes" by UL standards. They are at best Residential Security Containers.

11 Myths about Gun Safe Theft Protection - Gun Safe Reviews Guy

 

[seedubs1]

Most gun safes are not approved "Safes" by UL standards. They are at best Residential Security Containers.

11 Myths about Gun Safe Theft Protection - Gun Safe Reviews Guy

Exactly why I would not invest in a gun safe. They don't meet TL standards, and anyone with half a brain can be into them in 5 minutes or less. They're just 12 gauge sheet metal... Hell, I can have the whole front face off in 15 minutes or less with my angle grinder and a cutoff blade.

If you're really wanting a safe that prevents someone from breaking into it, you need to invest in a TL rated safe, and that's probably going to cost you more than your guns for one that's of adequate size.

If you're wanting one for fire protection and to keep the kids, visitors, or the like out, by all means, get a gun safe. But that's all it's going to be good for.

If burglary is your main concern, you're better off just getting a good insurance policy to replace them in the event of a robbery. It'll be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Cameramonkey]

While I dont have a wholesale recommendation, I do have one aspect I'll chime in with...

Personally, I avoid any with electronic locks. batteries die and electronics glitch out more often than a good precision mechanical combo lock will. And referencing the thread about EMPs and sheilding, if something crazy nasty were to happen along those lines, I really dont want to have to worry about whether the guts of my safe were shielded enough from that pulse. I want the only reason that thing doesnt open is because the thing is smashed under whats left of my house.

 

[Ericpwp]

Now companies are putting duel lock on the safes for an up-charge. One electronic for convince, and a mechanical for redundancy.

 

[87iroc]

While I dont have a wholesale recommendation, I do have one aspect I'll chime in with...

Personally, I avoid any with electronic locks. batteries die and electronics glitch out more often than a good precision mechanical combo lock will. And referencing the thread about EMPs and sheilding, if something crazy nasty were to happen along those lines, I really dont want to have to worry about whether the guts of my safe were shielded enough from that pulse. I want the only reason that thing doesnt open is because the thing is smashed under whats left of my house.

Meh, no worries...just call the guy above. He can be in it in 15 minutes or less...so why worry about it.

 

[seedubs1]

Meh, no worries...just call the guy above. He can be in it in 15 minutes or less...so why worry about it.

Yup. Waste of money for a bunch of 12 gauge steel. If you think otherwise, you've never used an angle grinder or a plasma cutter. It's easy to break into any gun safe that's not TL rated.

UL ratings for the typical gun safe only test drilling with bits 1/4" in diameter or smaller, hammers under 3 lbs, etc... They don't include plasma torches, angle grinders, sledge hammers, etc... They are weak and a waste of money.

 

[stephen87]

Best idea is the Black Friday thing. My girlfriends uncle bought a safe on Black Friday for $700. If I remember right, it's a Liberty 48-gun safe. Has a plug on in the inside and everything.

 

[Libertarian01]

To All,

As much as I push avoiding non UL rated safes and will go with them above all others - just because a safe can be broken into far faster than some believe possible does NOT mean you shouldn't get one!

A safe is a part of a defense strategy that completes the maximum security of your valuables.

I don't care how fast someone can get into the safe IF the house alarm has alerted LE. No burglar is going to hang around trying to get in. Grab a gun in the closet - sure. A handful of jewelry from the jewelry box - yes. Set up the plasma torch to burn into the safe - I don't think so!

A home security system combined with a good UL rated safe is the best bang for the buck. After that, thorny bushes around the windows, a guard dog, lights at night, etc all add up to making the residence as secure as it can be. When looking at individual parts we can maximize their effectiveness. A German Shepherd will be better than a Shih Tsu. A TL60 rated safe better than a TL30. A RSC rated container better than one not rated at all.

As any security can be breached does not mean we shouldn't examine the variables that will make the thief's effort worth more than their perceived profit, and thus move on to softer targets.

Regards,

Doug

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My gun safe made it through two burglaries while I was overseas. I left it, along with my power tools and tool chests, at a buddy's house for two years while I was gone. Turns out he liked to bring bar tail home, and some were probably scouts. He got burglarized twice while I was gone. They pried open the tool chests and took all my power tools, but the gun safe was umolested. Oddly enough, the thieves apparently didn't come equipped with power tools or want to make enough noise to use them.

Anything can be broken into eventually. Its why you layer security. A minefield by itself and a wire obstacle by itself are nowhere near as good as a mine field combined with a wire obstacle. The same is true for home defense. I have an alarm system in conjunction with my safe. Feel free to spend 15 minutes prying at my safe. I'm betting LE response time will beat that 15 minutes.

 

[MCgrease08]

^^^This^^^

Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, a van full of guys rolling into a house with angle grinders and plasma torches will draw a fair bit of attention.

Of course any safe can be breached, but anybody that's going to that type of trouble would likely try and remove the safe and take it to a secondary location.

Just having a decent safe secured to the foundation of the home will keep nearly all typical thieves out.

 

[96ramair]

I have a brand new listed in the classifieds. I won it at a raffle dont really need it 400.00 you can have it..

 

[atvdave]

^^^This^^^

Unless you live out in the middle of nowhere, a van full of guys rolling into a house with angle grinders and plasma torches will draw a fair bit of attention.

Of course any safe can be breached, but anybody that's going to that type of trouble would likely try and remove the safe and take it to a secondary location.

Just having a decent safe secured to the foundation of the home will keep nearly all typical thieves out.

... is also helps keep out the curious minds. A well equipped thief will get into just about any safe, but the more time it takes them, the less likely it will happen.

 

[Paul30]

Yup. Waste of money for a bunch of 12 gauge steel. If you think otherwise, you've never used an angle grinder or a plasma cutter. It's easy to break into any gun safe that's not TL rated.

UL ratings for the typical gun safe only test drilling with bits 1/4" in diameter or smaller, hammers under 3 lbs, etc... They don't include plasma torches, angle grinders, sledge hammers, etc... They are weak and a waste of money.

I don't know, I tend to store lots of gun powder coincidentally where a person would have to grind, drill, or torch through to get in. I personally would not want to try to gain entry into a bomb awaiting a spark with spark generating equipment. I do have warning stickers on the front, warning !!! Gun Powder and other explosives inside. I don't have it in multiple languages, but I don't expect I will know what language they spoke if they are in several pieces after trying to cut into a bomb with an angle grinder. Time also is not a thief's friend after an alarm goes off. If you have a decent security system with backup equipment they will not have long enough to get into anything, and if you have it text you when it goes off, you can have your neighbor intervene if necessary. I had something stole off the property once, I told my neighbors about it so they would be on the alert for thefts in the area. When I told him not to risk his safety, he said if he seen something fishy he would approach them with his favorite rifle and ask any questions he felt appropriate. Good neighbors knowing who is not suppose to be there are a good help, one that use to be an airborne ranger is even better in my case.

I would consider how much value is going into the safe, and realize you will probably put anything of value into it that will fit. Camera's, expensive electronics, etc. Guns are expensive these days, it does not take long for a couple to add up to the value of a quality safe. I had a buddy who stored his in one of those cheap metal boxes meant to keep children out. The thief's used it to carry everything out one day. He lost a few glocks, several full capacity magazines, he had just purchased AR 15 lowers for his entire family and figured they would assemble them later. All said he probably lost about $15,000, but he got a really good deal on the cheap tin box they carried out. Get one that is heavy, bolt it to the floor, and if you have a couple safes put them side by side and bolt them all together inside the safe.