Gun safes: opinions and advice needed…

[Beemerguy53]

Good afternoon and Happy New Year to y'all…

For the first time in many years, I'm shopping for a new gun safe. I have had two Liberty safes for many years, and have been very pleased with them, but I am totally out of the loop on the state-of-the-art in safes these days, especially when it comes to the different brands and models.

This new safe will be inside a newly-constructed single-family home, which is protected by a sprinkler system, in a suburban development. The safe will have a Goldenrod installed, and an electronic lock. It will be a medium-sized unit.

Thanks for your opinions and recommendations…

 

[mike4sigs]

Have you started the House yet?
Maybe do a vault room with a good safe door.?
And if that is not an option, did you like your Liberty safes? if so i would start my research there

 

[Rustyt1953]

Paging Kanewpadle!

 

[Tom S.]

I love my electronic lock BUT... I also have the dial to use as a back-up should something go wrong with the keypad. Outside of that, look at fire ratings and buy the largest safe you can afford. When was the last time you heard someone say: "I wish I'd bought a smaller safe"?

 

[paplinker]

If I recall correctly on liberty safes you cannot take the door off.

For me that could be a problem.

 

[Golddollar]

As a card carrying Luddite I stand behind using dial locks as opposed to electronic locks. All of my safes are Champions. This one is the biggest I have.

 

[Bugkiller99]

I have not purchased a safe lately. But I had an experience with a safe company this week, so perhaps that will help.

I have been having problems with the electronic lock on my safe consuming batteries at an alarming fast rate. I called the safe manufacturer, they advised I needed to replace the lock. Though the lock was out of warranty, they replaced it no charge. It will be here next week, local locksmith will be installing it. They said they had noted that the lock my safe had was going bad after ten years, and they are now using another brand of lock.

The company?

Same one you have. Liberty.

Oh, by the way, after I expressed misgivings about replacing it with another electronic lock, they are sending me a mechanical lock.

 

[CalifEd]

I too am looking for a new, bigger safe.
Leaning toward a Liberty as I am satisfied with the one I have now except for the lock.

My new one will be a mechanical lock, I have spent too much time replacing batteries before I can get inside.

Also, I expect there will be many, many stories, good, bad and horror, about safes coming out of the LA fires.

 

[Wyo]

I bought a Liberty about four years ago. It had the electronic keypad. I've had no problems with it but I've never trusted it either. Every time I used it I felt like it was going to quit on me. So I bought a rotary mechanical lock from Fleabay and changed it out myself. I'm not at all mechanically inclined, but this turned out to be no big deal and I feel much better about the new lock. The safe itself is a good one and, if you already have a Liberty and like it, I'd say just stick with them. IMHO, though, I would get one with the rotary lock.

 

[Kanewpadle]

There are many safe manufacturers that offer great products. But it's the service after the sale that is equally important.

I stay away from a few well known brands because of their lack of service which was shocking to say the least.

I would also recommend a vault door if this is your last home. But think ahead. If it's not well designed, you're wasting your money.

Otherwise, stick with Liberty.

 

[Smoke]

All I have to add to this is the same thing I say every time this discussion comes up.

Look around your area and see if there are any listings for a used safe.

We got a $600 Liberty used for $325

 

[Beemerguy53]

Have you started the House yet?
Maybe do a vault room with a good safe door.?
And if that is not an option, did you like your Liberty safes? if so i would start my research there

Well…this isn't going to be my house. My son and daughter-in-law are having it built, and they will live in it for no more than 4 to 5 years at most, before his job takes him to his next assignment. The safe will be my gift to them.

I like my Liberty safes very much, but that brand has changed a lot since I bought mine. For example, they no longer use the same type of electronic lock, and they now use rectangular instead of round locking bars to secure the door. Plus there are so many different manufacturers now…hence my query.

 

[Beemerguy53]

I too am looking for a new, bigger safe.
Leaning toward a Liberty as I am satisfied with the one I have now except for the lock.

My new one will be a mechanical lock, I have spent too much time replacing batteries before I can get inside…

Both of my Liberty safes have the Sargent & Greenleaf electronic locks, powered by two 9-volt batteries. I just change them annually when we turn our clocks back in the fall. I know those locks are vulnerable to an EMP attack, but I think the likelihood of that is about the same as the likelihood of my flying to Mars…

 

[AJ]

This is in my friends house. The door weighs over 1000 pounds. The vault is six feet wide and 17 feet long. A bit more than most need.

 

[Roofuss]

I have had a Liberty Fatboy safe for 9 years now, and other than one battery change, never had an issue. Years ago, I had a Fort Knox with a mechanical dial, and never cared for it, and sold it.

 

[Bucher33]

Can't go wrong with a Liberty safe. I prefer the old mechanical combination lock. Get as big as you can. And at least 1 hour fire protection. I bought a 1776 64 gun model but added lighting and a dehumidifier. Great safe.

 

[mike4sigs]

This is in my friends house. The door weighs over 1000 pounds. The vault is six feet wide and 17 feet long. A bit more than most need.

What is the thickness of the walls?
and what is the ceiling made of ?

 

[Skeet 028]

Beemer...I used to sell safes and used 'em too. My last one back east was the largest Browning Gold...but I got them wholesale. Here in Wyoming I have 2 Liberty safes. The one in the garage has sn electronic lock...I would recommend a manual combination lock. As far as the safes I have they are dccent but not the "best". A gun safe installed correctly will keep the average crook out unless they have a fair amount of time. The downstairs vault ic 11 x 33 ft. Poured concrete . The door took a while to get mounted...HEAVY. The concrete was thick and HARD...tough to drill. It has a combination lock.The ranch belonged to a LDS family and the room was for their years worth of food storage...and needs more light...I'll leave that to the next folks who own the place. We looked at another place here..1000 acres and the beautiful house had an actual walk in bank vault. The thought to find a good used one is good. I found the mojive biggest Liberty at a yard sale. Locked and no combination. they had the serial stamped in the back. I didn't want it but a friend didI bought it and told him tu bring 5 men and a boy to move it...cause I wasn't helping. and told him anything in it was mine I paid 90 dollars no combinantion They came and got itI got in touch with the company...they ent me the combination. There were 7 22mags and a broken Maarlin M-60 in it. ew3s

 

[MetalMan]

I've had this Liberty safe with S&G mechanical lock going on 15 years now.

So, very limited experience in this area but very happy with mine.

 

[JMD999]

Have you started the House yet?
Maybe do a vault room with a good safe door.?
And if that is not an option, did you like your Liberty safes? if so i would start my research there

Good advice.
Remember if you have access to the sides or back of a residential security cabinet (what we call a safe). You can cut it open in 10 minutes with a 4" battery power angle grinder.