What a loaded topic...

 

I have never owned a safe. But that time to own one has seem to come around the corner, finally. I have done research on the topic over the years and have come to realize what the safe industry is. With the vastly different ranges in safe design, its hard to choose what a person really needs...

 

As part of my homeowner defense plan, securing my arms, my priceless possessions and sensitive information, i need to understand what's adequate. 

 

I have seen gun lockers, safes, vaults, hiding spots, etc. Ranging from cheap to high dollar. Merchants that specialize in safes willing to sell you a safe that you could only put a few firearms in for thousands of dollars. 

 

Where is that equilibrium where i can get a safe that actually will do the job its advertised but not also wipe me clean financially?

 

I have seen many manufacturers that design the same basic safe. With that comes certain ratings. I almost feel that something is better than nothing. Call me a bad steward, but my firearms sit in the open at my house. I think this has always been a huge risk of them being stolen if i were ever to have a thief in the house. 

 

I know what design flaws come in most safes, but should one really be that concerned about a more skilled safe cracker? Some safes can just outright be carried away. 

 

I have given thought to putting the safe in the shop so it can be bolted to the floor. I Have also thought about getting a safe small enough that i could gut any upright freezer and put it over it so its concealed. 

 

Anyways i think I've begun rambling, who owns a safe, or has experiences with thieves attempting a forced entry?

 

I would like input from those with knowledge on the matter. 

I purchased my safe about 15 years ago. and the only regret is not spending a little more and buying a bigger one. You will realize that the advertised gun capacity and what they really hold are different, say a safe that’s claims to hold 21 guns is going to actually hold about half that if they are outfitted with scopes, slings and clips. If you don’t want to cram your guns in and have to move 5 just to get to one I would not hesitate to go larger. Spending a thousand on a decent size safe is not out of the norm. 

Going to a sorting goods store or even a lot of farm and ranch stores have them on display so you can open them and see what works for you. As far as electronic or manual dial I really do t know which is better but I have an electronic key pad that has not givin me any trouble and if it did I still have access with a key,

I basically purchased one just to the fact that I had young kids at the time in the house so it was much a no brainer. And I really needed to consolidate everything in one cabinet. 

I never did bolt mine down, I figure at 500 plus pounds that thing isn’t going no where. At least not without a lot of help 

I've had one for almost 10 years.  I am at the point where I need a second.  At the time I bought the biggest that I could afford and I am at capacity.  I have a manual dial, I wish I had something easier for my wife to remember.  She doesn't get into it often and wouldn't be able to if she had to get a gun out.  I've looked at some of those monster safes and I would prefer 2 of the safes that I have vs 1 giant one.  Mine weighs 550lb.  3-4 guys can move it.  It fits through standard doors, up/down stairs.  I can't imagine moving some of those huge safes!!!  If you are never going to move houses that may not be an issue, but I don't plan to be in my current home for the rest of my life.  In the next couple of years I will have to buy another safe as my oldest boy has now accumulated a few guns of his own.

I've got a medium size safe with electronic key pad and it's bolted to the concrete floor, see steeling ATMs.  It's full to the point where I have to move 5 to get to one but I'm done buying any more firearms so I'm not getting another safe. 

I like the electronic key pad.  It is easy to change the combination if need be.  I put a fresh 9 volt battery in it once every 2 years or it won't open. 

I spent hours on this subject more last night. I found a few noteworthy things to mention:

 

 

https://www.sturdysafe.com/pages/how-sturdy-safes-are-built

 

These two places put safes into perspective for me. Now to just afford them. The sturdy safe company intro model can get spendy and the one i would want from them is going to be a couple thousand. But it'll only hold less than a dozen firearms...

i have a few, the best built and my personal favorite is a Liberty, it's very nice, and has the longest fire rating. it's behind a fake wall.

and i have another will my high dollar items in it that has it's own water line to it from the main so in case of fire it floods when inside temp reaches a set point, (that i can't remember right now). it's also behind a fake wall elsewhere.

and i have a third in plane view with some 22's and a few small hand guns in it, more a decoy really.

my first was a small one, then i had to buy another 5 years later, and another 10 years after that. so if you only want to buy one, get a bigun.

Don't get one of these.  

 

"One of Amazon's top-selling electronic gun safes contains a critical vulnerability that allows it to be opened by virtually anyone, even when they don't know the password".

 

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/12/top-selling-handgun-safe-can-be-remotely-opened-in-seconds-no-pin-needed/

 

I just helped my brother move a gun to his house. Empty it weighed maybe 175 pounds. He had a pair of safe dollies. Once they were on the safe you could roll it anywhere. We rolled across the carpet to get it out of where it was with very little effort. Getting it on and off his half ton Chevy was easy even with his bad knee. After that experience I think I would bolt mine down. I knowmthermis big difference between 175 and 500 pounds, but the ease he and I did this surprised me. Also my brother had a bad knee at the time. He had knee replacement surgery 6 weeks later. Not from them safe moving, the surgery was already scheduled.

you can move a safe with golf balls or marbles. Just need to rock it enough to get some under it, also concrete stakes work well. 

42 minutes ago, Killer223 said:

you can move a safe with golf balls or marbles. Just need to rock it enough to get some under it, also concrete stakes work well. 

with the dolleys you did not have to keep moving pins or golf balls to move it. Strap them on and run is all we had to do. Just my 2 cents worth.

I always thought any safe or lock was for good people and kids, anyone having balls to break in will probably do what they need unless it's some punk kids they may give up after few minutes. All cheap safes use drywall for fire protection and majority are from China, drywall they use has some chemical in it, it will rot your guns away. That's why I just got a locking cabinet, keeps it safe from kids, if something else happen to it insurance will take care of it, but I don't really have anything valuable in it anyway. It's light but can be bolted down. Electronic looks I just don't trust especially on a small pistol safe, if someone had a jammer it simply won't open when you need it and are you going to keep a key handy as back up right next to it. So in my opinion if you buy a safe spend few thousand and get a known well built one, or do what I did. 

Just remember with tools available these days, I can cut 1" steel with  cutoff disk on grinder pretty easy.

I have had my guns in a safe for A LOT of years and I haven't see any of them begin to rot.  I don't know if it has dry wall as fire protection in it, but that is the first I've hear of that claim.

Gypsum is main ingredient of drywall. We have used for fire protection on fire walls all my life and you will find it in safes used for the same purpose. Back early 2000's a lot of drywal boards that were imported from China contained something that emitted sulfide gasses and was bad for people and any metals it came in contact with, such as wiring, plumbing pipes and such. A lot of folks had to gut their new houses because of it. I know it got banned for import after it came to light. Google it, there is alot of info about it.

I like this guys presentation, but it also frustrates me that after bashing safes, they go a step lower than their competitors and just make gun lockers.