Author Topic: Gun Safes??? (Read 6127 times)

Slolyfe · « **on:** Sep 24, 2011, 02:38:48 PM »

Whos got one? How big is it? What brand? What you like and don't like about it.

I've been looking for one, probably a 14 gun safe. Pictures would be awesome.

Wermz84 · « **Reply #1 on:** Sep 24, 2011, 02:39:15 PM »

In for the curiosity.

junya92toy · « **Reply #2 on:** Sep 24, 2011, 02:52:33 PM »

I picked up a 11 gun safe, american security brand. Its small, but its a safe and fire rated, got it for 320$ 5 years ago.

86bobbedtoy · « **Reply #3 on:** Sep 24, 2011, 08:02:27 PM »

been gonna buy one, but 450-700
tractor supply has nice ones at a good prices

Caboose · « **Reply #4 on:** Sep 24, 2011, 09:56:18 PM »

if u get one make sure its fire rated. You can keep guns and papers in it. Also make sure its in a hard to access area for thieves. Mine is tucked in the back corner bolted to the floor so you cant get a crow bar in to pry the door open nor can you move it w/o access to the safe.

86bobbedtoy · « **Reply #5 on:** Sep 24, 2011, 11:54:27 PM »

fire rated is a must
all our personal paperwork will also be in it,
along with centimentals that would be destroyed in a fire.
I just bought a small fire safe to keep paperwork in and my glock, its unlocked at night
on my night stand, and locked in the day, my glock has no safety so its always locked up

junya92toy · « **Reply #6 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 09:18:55 AM »

You cant open this with a pry bar, its a safe. It has I think 5 locking lugs, on the door and 3 on the hinge side. Exposed hinges but cutting them off wont open the safe.
The stack-on gun cabinet is just a sheet metal school locker style, that is not secure. Might keeps you kids out but not anyone else. Just a FWI if you were looking at them too.

Gixxer Jon · « **Reply #7 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 09:58:58 AM »

I have a liberty safe "Franklin" model. It's a 25 gun safe and fire certified for 60 mins and the door is 4 sided bolted with 5 pin sides and 3 pinned top and bottom. There was no reason to buy a 90 minute since the fire department is only 1.5 miles from my house. I love my safe. It has storage for paper work "dry compartment". It also has a 12 volt plug on the inside of the safe for what ever you want to plug in (dehumidifier, wireless hard drive, ect)
It also came with battery operated motion lights so when you open the door, the lights inside turn on.

86bobbedtoy · « **Reply #8 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 11:15:35 AM »

whatd ya pay?

Gixxer Jon · « **Reply #9 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 12:18:06 PM »

Quote from: 86bobbedtoy on Sep 25, 2011, 11:15:35 AM

whatd ya pay?

I I remember, it was like 2k out the door.

Shamb · « **Reply #10 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 12:43:12 PM »

I've got a 30 gun Champion, has lots of room and lots of different type of shelf options which I liked alot. It's a 60 min fire rating at 1400*

And it's MF'n HEAVY, weighs close to 700lbs

46&2 · « **Reply #11 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 12:45:00 PM »

I don't own one yet myself but when I was in the gun/ammo biz we sold a lot of Sentry safes and they seem to be one of the best brands on the market. They have litereally hundreds of different models from small to very large. Made in America and one of, if not the first company to manufacture fireproof safes.

A Sentry is what I plan to buy. That said, Liberty, Champion and American Security are also well reputable brands in the business.

*FFC* · « **Reply #12 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 10:48:53 PM »

My mom got hers from Tractor Supply I think - it's fire rated for something like 8 hours or something like that. Shows how well I listen when she goes on her gun rants

Gixxer Jon · « **Reply #13 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 10:52:15 PM »

Quote from: *FFC* on Sep 25, 2011, 10:48:53 PM

My mom got hers from Tractor Supply I think - it's fire rated for something like 8 hours or something like that. Shows how well I listen when she goes on her gun rants

8 Hours??? I highly doubt that.. lol i think the most they make are 120 minute rated.

*FFC* · « **Reply #14 on:** Sep 25, 2011, 11:06:33 PM »

Quote from: Gixxer Jon on Sep 25, 2011, 10:52:15 PM

8 Hours??? I highly doubt that.. lol i think the most they make are 120 minute rated.

I'll have to get the facts on that

I could swear when my stepdad told me the ratings "half a day" went through my mind.

I'll get back to ya on that

Shamb · « **Reply #15 on:** Sep 26, 2011, 09:48:49 AM »

one piece of advice, although it says "16 gun safe" doesn't mean it will hold 16 gun's... always allow yourself some fudge room for space.. especially if you have rifles with scopes.

go bigger then what you think you'll need trust me you'll find something to put in the extra space... that's given you actually have extra space.. lol..

BLACKDOG · « **Reply #16 on:** Oct 14, 2011, 06:01:54 PM »

Bighorn Safe, made by Rhino Safes.

Costco has good safes for decent prices, and you can catch them onsale from time to time.

Mine is actually a 26 gun safe, fire rated for 30 min@ 1200 degrees. I'm very happy with it, It has 3 pins which are either 3/4" or 7/8" IIRC on either side of the door. Lots of options come with it as far as adjusting the shelves and so forth. The one thing I wasnt thrilled about is that some of the door pockets are sewn on, so you cant adjust them. However, they are all soft cloth, so if you do have many handguns, it would be easy to install a handgun rack on the face.

Remember, even with a fire rating, that doesn't mean the inside of the safe isn't heating up. You'll want to have additional protection for your paperwork.

I've seen safes opened up by homeowners thinking that their belongings are good after a fire, only to find some of their important documents nothing more than illegible scorched paper, their photos no longer depictable, etc.

Slolyfe · « **Reply #17 on:** Nov 02, 2011, 10:07:12 PM »

Awesome! Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up ordering one through costco. Its a BIGHORN 19ECB, 200 bucks off and it got a lot of good reviews. Now I just gotta wait for delivery. I only have 7 guns so plenty of room to grow.

I'll post pictures when it shows up!

Cheesemaker · « **Reply #18 on:** Nov 03, 2011, 07:47:56 AM »

I got the cheapo Homak. The main reason is to keep the kiddo's out of it. It would take whoever at least an hour to pry into mine, but remember, thieves aren't gonna hang around. They are gonna grab what they can in 15 minutes or less.
And like BD said, yeah they might be fire rated, but everything paper inside is still toast. I've even seen the wood stocks on guns crack and split from the heat, and synthetic stocks melt. That's why you have homeowners insurance.

83yota · « **Reply #19 on:** Nov 03, 2011, 11:41:55 AM »

homeowner insurance is great but what do I do with my g-pa's 410 that i got when he passed that they dont make anymore and no one will apraise it for me? just saying

Slolyfe · « **Reply #20 on:** Nov 03, 2011, 04:27:28 PM »

Quote from: 83yota on Nov 03, 2011, 11:41:55 AM

homeowner insurance is great but what do I do with my g-pa's 410 that i got when he passed that they dont make anymore and no one will apraise it for me? just saying

Both are true. My buddy is going through the same thing right now.

I dont have any non-replaceable guns. The safe is going in my garage where there is plenty of stuff to grab worth way more than my guns. More for peace of mind with the children around and my girlfriend.

46&2 · « **Reply #21 on:** Nov 03, 2011, 07:54:18 PM »

Quote from: 83yota on Nov 03, 2011, 11:41:55 AM

homeowner insurance is great but what do I do with my g-pa's 410 that i got when he passed that they dont make anymore and no one will apraise it for me? just saying

Burry it in the backyard?

yoshaleng · « **Reply #22 on:** Nov 03, 2011, 09:31:56 PM »

Quote from: Gixxer Jon on Sep 25, 2011, 09:58:58 AM

I have a liberty safe "Franklin" model. It's a 25 gun safe and fire certified for 60 mins and the door is 4 sided bolted with 5 pin sides and 3 pinned top and bottom. There was no reason to buy a 90 minute since the fire department is only 1.5 miles from my house. I love my safe. It has storage for paper work "dry compartment". It also has a 12 volt plug on the inside of the safe for what ever you want to plug in (dehumidifier, wireless hard drive, ect)
It also came with battery operated motion lights so when you open the door, the lights inside turn on.

man that's a nice looking safe! I fit all my guns and my spare toyota parts too!

Cheesemaker · « **Reply #23 on:** Nov 04, 2011, 07:49:32 AM »

Quote from: 83yota on Nov 03, 2011, 11:41:55 AM

homeowner insurance is great but what do I do with my g-pa's 410 that i got when he passed that they dont make anymore and no one will apraise it for me? just saying

Well, you could do like my buddy had done. He had a safe built, and installed in the corner of his garage while the house was being built. The safe alone, is like 10' x 10', and the room it is in is triple sheetrocked, and with a sprinkler system built in. His pockets are deep, very deep. And the guns he owns are one of a kind, and very collectible. That's where I keep my Winchester model 61, that's worth $1200. All my other guns are replaceable. There are a couple that have more sentimental value than anything.

BLACKDOG · « **Reply #24 on:** Dec 29, 2011, 09:23:35 PM »

If you are going to have more valuable or sensitive articles in your safe, you can further protect from potential heat damage by taking into consideration where you place the safe. If you put it in the corner of the garage, on a concrete floor, and keep an open space around it, it'll stay cooler than say, if you had it in a closet with a bunch of stored boxes, clothes, and other combustibles around and on top of it. Of course, on the flip side, the garage is probably going to produce more heat in a fire simply due to what is usually stored in a garage (oil, gas, tires, etc.)

Also, under fire conditions, you'll find that much of the heat is actually in the smoke (part of the reason we've had it hammered into our heads since we could walk to crawl on the floor). If you have a home with higher ceilings, or at least in part of the home, the articles inside are going to suffer less damage as long as they don't have direct flame impingement.

regardless of where you put your safe, just remember, your stuff is a lot safer from theives or fire in the safe then it does virtually anywhere else.

86bobbedtoy · « **Reply #25 on:** May 19, 2012, 10:20:22 AM »

just bought a Winchester 30" from tractor supply for under 650 OTD usually 699 plus tax(750otd)
They are having a special $100 off unti'll July

great safe, but the silver isnt my color so it went hammered black

http://www.tractorsupply.com/-1043297?cm_re=20120514-_-CNTR_1-_-Prod_Reg_Price_1043297

Slolyfe · « **Reply #26 on:** May 19, 2012, 01:35:22 PM »

Nice! I ended up picking this one up off Costco.com. Think it was like 650 delivered.

Xarcre · « **Reply #27 on:** Aug 06, 2018, 07:36:31 AM »

I believe in safes. Too bad I got so many rifles I had to rent a valt somewhere safe so I could empty my safe and start filling it again. Trouble is can only get into the vault in daytime hours. But can keep what I think I may need still in the safes.
There are really three types of safes.

The first is the old type of steel box safe. It locks up your valuables but is not fire rated or water proof.
Mostly these are older safes that you can see have no liner in them.
The upside is they are cheeper than the others. They are usually pretty massive. They are usually pretty heavy.
The downside is they are harder to move because of the size and weight. They have no protection as far as fire or water goes. Any papers or combustables in them will probably start on fire and burn anything in the safe. Also a lot of them have pretty complicated combinations. This is not good if you lose it. And most have no company to fall back on for repairs or cracking combos if you do forget it.

The second is fire rated. These will have the walls lined with something. Ususally some type of concrete. With a cover over it. The walls soak up humidity from the air and as they are exposed to high heat it releases this humidity into the safe to keep papers and other combustables from singeing and catching fire. Different safes have different amounts of liners and so have different fire ratings. These are the most common now as well.
The upside of these are they will keep your vaulables safe from most takers. They are good looking as far as safes go. They come in all sizes to fit a wide variety of needs. The interiors are usually changeable or come in a variety of configurations that allow storage of more than just guns. And a lot of places sell them.
The downsides are they are not waterproof. They can be moved easier than you think. They are not totaly unbreakable. A really determind safe cracker can get in them. They tend to have high humidiy in them so you need to dehumidify them to keep rust away.

The third is the newest version and it is almost always fire rated and is water proof. Water proof safes or under bed gun safes like for example MonstweVAult https://secretstorages.com/best-under-bed-gun-safes/ are just that. If your safe is in a fire and you tell the fire department where in the house it is they can direct a hose on that spot and save your safe. If not waterproof you run the risk of everything in your safe being ruined. Or if your safe is in a basement and your sewer backs up or your house is flooded or in a hurricane or tornato and flooded or in a fire where the basement is flooded or many other sceanarios. A water and fire proof safe is the best bet to keep everything secure.
On the down side you are adding a lot more $$$$$$ to the cost of your safe for a water proof safe.

There is also the dial verses the electronic keypad debate. Personally I think the kiss method is better. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid.
You will have a lot less problems with a dial then you will with a keypad. I will leave that debate to others to yell about whats best.
I do like the fact that some of my dials also have a lock on them. You cannot even move the dial without the key. But you can open the safe and just lock it with only the key. This is great if you are moving a lot of items in and out of your safe and want to just key lock it without having to re dial it every time. Then when your done you just spin the dial and lock it up again.

Add to your safe a good dog or dogs. A good security system. And useing common sense like lights with timers and radios that turn on and off at times and your loaded shotgun and you are keeping your investments the best you can. As been said nothing is fool proof. If someone is determined enough they will get into a safe eventually. However most people dont have hugely expensive firearms in their safes. Most criminals dont have the knowledge needeed to break a safe. Most criminals want something a lot lighter than a bunch of old guns to carry. So the chances of someone stealing your firearms out of a good safe are really pretty slim.

These are the most common found today.

jimbo74 · « **Reply #28 on:** Aug 06, 2018, 10:50:07 AM »

I have a stack on cabinet. for the people that live in those areas where wildfires are, the whole thing is toast anyways..... the fire is going to last a lot longer than a 2 hour fire rating....

300k · « **Reply #29 on:** Aug 06, 2018, 11:01:54 AM »

agree with Jimbo. Seems like the safes don't even last through normal house fire conditions.

Slolyfe [OP]

Slolyfe [OP]

Slolyfe [OP]