cherrypointmarine
SWCA Member
I second what WardenRoss said , and I speak from experience . If someone would have told me that , I wouldn't have two safes .
Best safe for a few rifles/handguns
- Thread starter BabaBlueJay
- Start date
I, too, am a fan of the job box for keeping firearms away from curious young ones.
And I second the suggestion that if going for a traditional gun safe one should buy one rated for at *least* twice the number of guns to be stored in it.
And I second the suggestion that if going for a traditional gun safe one should buy one rated for at *least* twice the number of guns to be stored in it.
Faulkner
Well-known member
There is no such thing as a garage or gun safe that's too big.
THE PILGRIM
Well-known member
Know a local Dude who has an underground vault.
About 10x10, big old bank vault door.
About 10x10, big old bank vault door.
Tractor Supply sales a Liberty freedom safe, $900 in my area.
Should meet your current needs.
Should meet your current needs.
minconrevo
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Buy as much fire protection as you can afford. Make sure the door has the magic heat expanding seal to protect the safe contents from heat and fire gases. The gases from a fire are corrosive way out of what one might expect. The expanding seal keeps the gases out. I prefer the mechanical dial, specifically Sargent & Greenleaf, over any electronic lock. Locate your safe where Joe Crook will have a tough time working around it. For example, if too near an outside wall window, Joe has been known to hook up a log chain to the safe and yank it through the window/wall. Bolt the safe down, using its designed in bolt holes if possible. The hole in the top of the safe is a smokestack, to make your goldenrod heater work. Don't plug the hole. Tight fitting door, along with sufficient metal thickness, will slow Joe down.
Buy a liberty. They’re hard to beat for quality.
And if you think that this will be your only safe, buy a good one.
Look for dealers in your area.
Please don’t go cheap. $500 is not going to get you much. I’ve worked on and or drilled open so many that I lost count. All because of poor quality. You want nothing made in China/Taiwan. Parts are not available.
And stay far away from any safe that has a key override. Some people like this feature but they don’t realize that it’s a major weakness that’s easily exploited.
If you live close to a fire department a 30 minute fire rating is all you need.
Also, do your research. Many brands with popular brand names that were once made in the US, are now made in China.
Several years ago Costco or Sam Club sold a gun safe that had Winchester logo on the front.
They looked nice. Until they were exposed as junk.
In a publicly stunt a local safe dealer bought one of those and promptly knocked the top of the safe off with a 5 pound sledge hammer. Took less than a minute.
Choose wisely.
And if you think that this will be your only safe, buy a good one.
Look for dealers in your area.
Please don’t go cheap. $500 is not going to get you much. I’ve worked on and or drilled open so many that I lost count. All because of poor quality. You want nothing made in China/Taiwan. Parts are not available.
And stay far away from any safe that has a key override. Some people like this feature but they don’t realize that it’s a major weakness that’s easily exploited.
If you live close to a fire department a 30 minute fire rating is all you need.
Also, do your research. Many brands with popular brand names that were once made in the US, are now made in China.
Several years ago Costco or Sam Club sold a gun safe that had Winchester logo on the front.
They looked nice. Until they were exposed as junk.
In a publicly stunt a local safe dealer bought one of those and promptly knocked the top of the safe off with a 5 pound sledge hammer. Took less than a minute.
Choose wisely.
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Love my Liberty!
I recommend getting a basic 60x30. May be a little larger than you need, but you never know how many more you’ll get and you can put other valuables in it. Moreover, it’s relatively easy to move if needed and they’re not much much more than a small safes. Best bang for the buck. Look at Liberty and the like.
HOUSTON RICK
Well-known member
I Reinforce that you should get twice the size that you think you need. Not only for expansion of your gun collection including ammunition and magazines, but also to store other things that your wife may want in a safe (jewelry) and the larger ones are harder to move. Anything less than a 24 gun safe is likely a carrying box for would be thieves if unanchored. Even large safes can be quickly opened by professionals particularly once pushed over on their back. Consider drilling it into the floor/foundation and hiding it where it is nether easily seen nor moved or tipped over. If it is just to keep children out as you know, almost anything with a strong lock will work. there are folks here who work on safes and know more than me.
I make this suggestion every time this discussion comes up.
I'm not recommending a specific safe,I am recommending that you take a look on Facebook marketplace and around gun stores in your area and see if you can find a good safe used.
When I bought my current safe my wife looked on Facebook Marketplace and we found a $600 Liberty Centurion for $325.
We bought it from an Air Force officer whose PCSing to SHAFE in Belgium and didn't want to ship it.
As others have suggested, it was twice as big as we need but that was just a happy accident.
I'm not recommending a specific safe,I am recommending that you take a look on Facebook marketplace and around gun stores in your area and see if you can find a good safe used.
When I bought my current safe my wife looked on Facebook Marketplace and we found a $600 Liberty Centurion for $325.
We bought it from an Air Force officer whose PCSing to SHAFE in Belgium and didn't want to ship it.
As others have suggested, it was twice as big as we need but that was just a happy accident.
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Baltimoreed11754
Well-known member
Any safe that uses gauge to describe the thickness of the steel instead of plate should be avoided imo. If all you want is childproof then anything would work. But it will have an electric lock which can have issues. My safe is all plate steel with tumbler lock and sheetrock lined for fire protection. Bigger is better. Put it where it cannot be seen from the street or better yet in a closet so nobody even knows its there unless you tell them.
SGT ROCK 11B
Well-known member
Bigger is better because the wife will want to put her jewelry in and important documents and Passports.
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If you truly want superb protection from theft, fire and water, do not buy a "gun safe"! Instead, go to a safe dealer and buy yourself a used jewelry safe. Jewelry safes are stronger, have better locks, heavier, thicker and carry better burglar ratings because they are just better safes in general. Of course you will have to customize the inside but that is not very difficult if you are handy with a power saw and some basic tools. When you are done, you will have a much better and stronger safe than a "gun safe".
If you are still wanting to buy a designated "gun safe" and don't want to take the above route, then buy the best quality and size gun safe you can afford. As other's have stated above, collections do seem to grow! A safe can also be used for other items, so never think you are buying too much safe - it will become small quickly- lol.
IMHO a mechanical combination lock is the way to go. Electronic locks are more hassle than they are worth and can create problems. Many have electronic versions but I personally prefer mechanical S&G locks. I have read here about issues with electronic locks - not for me.
No matter what you wind up getting, there is one rule that is golden!! Bolt the safe to the floor in all 4 corners!! That doubles the security of any safe! If a burglar can not rock the safe over on its back to pry it, that makes it much much harder to pry open. Lighter safes will also be prevented from being carted away to be opened later. If at all possible, place the safe in a large, lockable and central alarmed closet and "hide it" by covering it up with clothing or something. IMO no safe should be "displayed". That is just advertising to prying eyes.
If you are on a tight budget and are restricted to buying what I refer to being a glorified "gym locker", then bolting it to the floor and hiding it as best as possible inside a lockable closet would be essential. I would also suggest not placing a gun safe in a garage - unless you have absolutely, positively no other choice.
If you are still wanting to buy a designated "gun safe" and don't want to take the above route, then buy the best quality and size gun safe you can afford. As other's have stated above, collections do seem to grow! A safe can also be used for other items, so never think you are buying too much safe - it will become small quickly- lol.
IMHO a mechanical combination lock is the way to go. Electronic locks are more hassle than they are worth and can create problems. Many have electronic versions but I personally prefer mechanical S&G locks. I have read here about issues with electronic locks - not for me.
No matter what you wind up getting, there is one rule that is golden!! Bolt the safe to the floor in all 4 corners!! That doubles the security of any safe! If a burglar can not rock the safe over on its back to pry it, that makes it much much harder to pry open. Lighter safes will also be prevented from being carted away to be opened later. If at all possible, place the safe in a large, lockable and central alarmed closet and "hide it" by covering it up with clothing or something. IMO no safe should be "displayed". That is just advertising to prying eyes.
If you are on a tight budget and are restricted to buying what I refer to being a glorified "gym locker", then bolting it to the floor and hiding it as best as possible inside a lockable closet would be essential. I would also suggest not placing a gun safe in a garage - unless you have absolutely, positively no other choice.
Hair Trigger
US Veteran
I got the one below for about $650. It's 24" wide x 18" deep and 59" high. It has a 2 hour fire rating and the book says it will hold something like 15 long guns. The electronic combination is a non-volatile memory (combination isn't lost if the battery dies). It has a top shelf and the lower, notched shelf has a "half shelf" that covers half of the notches for long guns, giving more shelf space. You can easily add more shelves for things other than firearms and with the fire rating can use it for important papers as well, or jewelry, anything you want to keep locked up. As for rust prevention, unless you buy a safe with some sort of humidity control (add $$$ to the price), they won't keep guns from rusting. You can buy small disposable closet dehumidifiers which I use and they last four or five months in my Southeastern humid summer environment. Mine was easily moved into place with a set of standard hand trucks and can be bolted to a wall or the floor. Fully loaded mine probably weighs 450 pounds. and I cannot move it by myself. I don't have it bolted down, mine is as far from an exit in the house as it can go and I have a good security system.
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hyena
Well-known member
In 2011 the local Menards big box home improvement store advertised they had a load of Safari gun safes for $399. I called to make sure they still had them, and was told they still had 62 of them, but come right now because there was a small line of pickup trucks in the yard buying them. So I did. I don't recall the claimed fire resistance rating. I'm thinking 30 minutes. It's roughly 29 inches wide and 5 feet tall, and I bolted it to the concrete floor in my basement at all four corners. I am under no illusion it is a high quality safe, but I would buy it again. I do believe I am done buying guns. Been thinking I want to start going the other direction and reducing the number I have. At the very least, sell one to buy another to hold even.
MetalMan
Well-known member
In case you are curious how well a quality safe works after an intense fire I'll show you:
Water and foam that leaked into the safe caused more of the mess than the fire itself. No guns were lost, no jewelry was lost, and no valuable papers were lost. I did dispose of some guns that were stained and hurt me to look at but they were still shooters.
Water and foam that leaked into the safe caused more of the mess than the fire itself. No guns were lost, no jewelry was lost, and no valuable papers were lost. I did dispose of some guns that were stained and hurt me to look at but they were still shooters.
Long ago, possibly on another, now defunct board, a fireman brought up a point. If your safe is in a basement, it shouldn't be on the floor. The pictures immediately above show why. If you have a fire, your basement is going to fill up with water. I'm not real sure how you're supposed to get your safe up on an 18-24 inch block, but it seems like a good idea.
OP
Children are the reason I am getting a safe so this is critical. I'm less worried about a thief or fire and more worried about simply keeping them out of them while away from the house. I have my revolver with me all day but the long guns will be in there.
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