Gun safe?

[stitchclimber]

How many of you guys keep your guns in a safe? For the longest time I thought guns safes were for stuffy collectors, but as my collection has grown I realize that I desperately need a safe. I feel kinda guilty not having one.

So how many of you guys owns safes? What are some good brands?

I'm defiantly on a budget cause I like my guns and ammo budget to go to, well, guns and ammo.

[AKHunter]

I have a Cannon safe, fire rated 33 gun size. 850lbs empty. Nice safe and no complaints about it. Probably the best safe for the $ . At least it was when I bought this one.

[madcratebuilder]

I bought my 24 gun safe back in 74', gone from full to near empty and back to full a few times as my life situations has changed. It saved my collection from being stolen twice. It's time to buy a second one. I see some screaming deals for used ones on Craig's list all the time.

[trapfreek]

I've got a cheepei Stack-on from Dicks Sporting goods and need another one. Mostly because my wife has procured part of the safe for important papers, jewelry, etc.

[billy]

i live in a old mobile home and weight is an issue.
i have a slide out truck bed tool box i have converted into a safe.
it has a footprint of 4' x 5' and is 8 " tall.
it weighs 375lbs. empty.
i also have a metal gun cabinet that wouldn't keep a determined thief out for long.

[HARDERTR]

TOO many houses are getting broken into nowadays. If someone breaks in, and wants my guns....he'll need a crane to get the safe full of guns out.

I bought a Winchester 24 gun safe from Walmart for about $550 2 or 3 years ago. I really like the push button lock over the standard tumbler. It's heavy as hell, and looks nice to boot.

The only down side....it's only a 24 gun. I left it at my grandmothers with all of my guns before I deployed. I didn't realize until I started filling it that my wife just may be PARTIALLY right. She always tell me I "have a problem" when it comes to buying guns. The safe is triple stacked...and the door barely closes. It has a large shelf in the top that holds most of my pistols as well (over 20).

I feel comfortable knowing my guns are in that safe. It was a 3 man job with a good dolly getting that safe in place, and that was EMPTY. I can't imagine moving it as it stands now.

There are a lot of good safes out there in the $600-$700 range finally. Like I said, I personally like the pushbutton keypad over the tumbler. Most are fire resistant, and and they will ALL at least slow somebody down when they break into your house.

[damage855]

I have a 12 gun safe bolted to my basement floor it is not going any where with out alot of work plus I have it wired to my alarm so it will set of the alarm the secound it is removed or opened without the right code. need a bigger one though running out of room... LOL

[sell33]

Yeah i am in the same situation stitch, i need one bad. My dad has always had guns as have me and my brothers, and none of us ever had a safe. We could use a very large one to share. I ofter wonder what a thief would do in our house. There are about 20 guns sitting in a rack in the corner of our living room he woudl have a hayday...not to mention if he made it upstairs....

[lefty o]

i have 2 safes, and need a third but dont have room for it. i dont mind leaving mosins and other clunkers out, but my good guns will not be easy to steal.

[SgtKnuckles]

~My Safe~I picked mine up~Store will put it in your Pick-up Truck or Trailer~I got a rented a Hand-truck from U-Haul for $10.00 for the day to move and place in my house...

Order at the Store~Pick-up at store~or arrange delivery from store to home...
It takes 2 men and a Moving Hand-Truck to put this 500 pound safe in place...

Cannon TS6030 E-Lock Safe~60 H x 30 W x 24D~$699.99
Tractor Supply Company - Cannon TS6030 E-Lock Safe

[Ron AKA]

One pretty much has to have one in Canada, not to protect from $$ loss, but more to protect yourself from criminal liability if someone steals them. They are required to be registered of course, so if they turn up at a crime scene -- guess where the police go next? For this reason they are popular items at any kind of sporting goods store here. Even Costco carries them from time to time. Look for one which will be easy to lag bolt to a concrete floor or at least screw to the 2x4 walls from the inside.

Ron

[GlennM]

As the economy slides south, a dramatic rise in crime should always be anticipated. Those who don't have will simply take what they need, including your guns. Lost 31 of'em to a theft in 1978 where they tore down a false wall in my home. Now it's a 60 cubic foot Champion with S&G lock, 4 relockers weighing in at around 1 ton loaded.

There are some good videos about buying a safe on the net (one is below) -- including choosing the one that's right for you. Be careful buying the psychological comfort of the cheaper safes -- as one of the videos will show, a pry bar & 2 guys can be in it within 2 minutes.

[stitchclimber]

Interesting video.

[cremley]

a police officer told me to get a safe with a digital lock so that you can change the code that was set from the manufacturer. you also don't have to worry about losing a key. He told me to change it because when the feds break into your house they can just call up the manufacturer for the combination. you should also get one that bolts to the wall and possibly the floor. I don't have one yet but I am looking too.

[roadie]

Ok, that video is stupid and completely unrealistic. First how many of you who have a safe keep it in the middle of a room, with lots of space around it...like say in the middle of the living room or garage? Second, do any of you keep your safe lying down flat? Anyone who has less than half a brain keeps their safe in a tight spot like a closet or at the least in the corner of a room so that there is no room for any sort of leverage, as well even the biggest idiot knows enough to bolt the safe to the wall and floor. Any decent safe will have 5 locking bolts, 1 top and bottom and 3 on the door face, so just prying it open is not as easy as they made it look, you can see at the end of the vid that where the 3 locking bolts were on the main body of the safe there was no missing metal like there should be if the bolts had bent the body to pass by, this safe was probably rigged to hove only 1 or more of the bolts in place. Aside of the fact that they had all that room to work with and gain leverage, plus a 5ft pry bar that many burglars carry with them at all times. And, if you have an alarm, now you add a painful noise and the threat of someone coming to the mix. So, I'm sure it's not that easy to get into a safe that's installed properly.

Now if you have only a gun cabinet, those are easy to get into...but even a low end safe can be made extra secure by a a simple modification. Drill 2 holes into each side of the safe near the front, attach two 1/4" steel plates 8" long and 2" wide with a 3/8" hole in the end to each side of the safe. Then get anther steel plate the length of your safe and and 4" wide with holes on each side to accommodate the side plates...when you will be away from home, place the long front plate through the 2 side plates and pad lock each side....this adds an added measure of protection, making it that much more difficult to gain entry to your safe. Takes a little work, but it's worth it. If it's all still taken, oh well, it's only material things and as long as you and yours is ok then let the insurance people pay for new toys.

oh, and for those of you who keep your safe in the middle of a room not bolted down...what's yer address?

[squirrelbaster]

yo forgot one more factor, me shooting at them as they try to pry it open!

[Mooseman684]

There is nothing Theftproof to a sufficiently talented thief !!!

[stitchclimber]

agreed. I'm wanting more of a deterrent. I have children and guest over on a regular basis, and the thugs that live in my neighborhood would be more of the smash and grab type. That's why a gun cabinet won't work for me.

[GlockMeister]

I found a good safe on eBay a few years back, believe it or not. I asked the guy what he'd charge if I bought 2, as my brother wanted one also, and he gave us a good price and included freight. It was only to the driveway, but none the less, a good deal for us.
My main reason, was to prevent my kids from having access, protecting my investments, keeping them secure from theft if someone were to break in while we were gone. Also, FWIW, I bought a small Brinks safe to keep most of my ammo in. That way, no one can say I'm not responsible that's for dam sure.

Mines rated @ 1300 degrees for 40 minutes. Holds both handguns and rifles. Depending on how you configure the shelves, it holds like 12-15 rifles and 10-20 handguns.

I hate to tell anyone to spend money on eBay, them anti-flipping gunners, but you got to go where you'll save the most, get the best deal and have many to choose from.

If you go local, you WILL NOT get a good deal. Plus, the delivery and set-up (put it where you want) isn't cheap.

If I took a guess, I think I/we paid $2100-$2500.00 for both? Can't really remember. Been a while. Definitely got my moneys worth. To me anyhow. The guy was great to deal with and they came in 3 days after payment. Freight company was good as well. The guy didn't have to, but he had a pellet jack and helped me put them into the garage, about 30-40' from the street. Trust me, you rarely find a trucker that goes beyond the driveway if that's what the BOL calls for. lol No dissin' the truckers intended by that comment.

This is close to what I have and a decent safe. The only thing that pretty much makes them fire proof, is the fireproof drywall in them. lol Check out these few here.
Gun Safe Home Floor Fire High Gloss-Burgundy HFG5930BG - eBay (item 360048116662 end time May-07-08 11:03:25 PDT)

GS5930H Diamond Back 1hr Fire 22 Gun Safe Free Shipping - eBay (item 110249412805 end time May-09-08 2016 PDT)

In the end, it's all going to depend on how much you have and/or want to spend?

Look at it this way, most children won't get into one and as far as thieves, most don;t know you have a safe and unless they carry with them everything to get into a safe, they won't be prepared. And it may be able to be done, but it isn't easy. And when was the last time you heard the words in the news, " safe cracker was arrested this evening"? lmao Or, there's a "safe cracker loose in the suburbs of ?" lmao

Yes, they can get broken into, but I'd much rather have one then not anymore. I'm just waiting for it to fall through the floor. lmao. I'm quite shocked it hasn't yet...

[meatloaf]

Do yall think building a frame around your safe. With fire rated dry wall around it would make a non fire proof safe, fire proof? I would build the frame with metal studs with double layer dry wall (fire rated). The only thing I cant figure out is the best way to make a door for the frame that would be fire resistant. Basicly Im going to make what will look like a storage closet anyways, and after reading the postings started to think about the poor fire rating of my cheap safe. I figure two layers of fire sheild should add on about three hours of life to the safes low 30 min ability.

My original idea was to build what would look like a utility closet to hide my safe, its along the lines of out of sight out of mind. A theif wont come looking for a safe if he doesnt think one exsists, and if he cant find it then its the best safe ever, Right?