Greetings, All,

I'm in the market for a new safe. My old Cannon is still doing a fine job, but is not fire resistant, and we would like to add another safe that is. I've checked out the market for my price range, which at this time, is not that high, and found two safes that seem reasonable.

One is the Centurion, by Liberty. Found it at Lowe's, and the asking price is $727. 19 cubic feet (13.6 of which is usable, after the interior is added; four, 1" active lock bolts; 30 minute @ 1,200° fire rating; lifetime warranty against break-in or fire; S&G mechanical combo lock; 445LBS.

The second one seems to offer quite a bit of "bang for the buck", and I found it at Costco, for $499.99 (sounds very much like a $500 safe, to me, but call me crazy....!) It's a Winchester gun safe, made by Granite Security, at their factory in China; 30 minute @ 1,400° fire rating (two layers of fire sheeting in the top, sides, and bottom, three layers in the door); "24" gun safe, which is a tad larger than the Centurion (though I know that these types of numbers are totally misleading); Palusal door seal; 10 - 1.25" 3-way, active locking bolts; electronic, UL-listed, "LP" lock; 3- spoke vault-type handle; limited lifetime warranty against break-in and fire; 420LBS.

For the money, it seems to me that the Winchester safe has a lot going for it. I know that it's not in the same league as the "Big Boys", but I have neither the money, nor the room, for such a monster that most of us might "want" to have, and need to make a compromise that is better than my old Cannon, but not as costly as the higher end products.

Do any of you have either of these two safes? If so, I would very much appreciate your thoughts, comments, and recommendations. I am leaning towards the Winchester, mainly for the many features that are offered, and the better fire protection. The price, for what you get, seems hard to beat, even though I know that, with more money to spend, I could have a much nicer safe. Thanks for any help you can send my way. Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc