Best safe for a few rifles/handguns

[Ivan the Butcher]

... 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 was/am a gun enthusiast with 4 kids. My local class III dealer had hundreds of firearms in his home. I ask how he made sure to lock them away from his 4 kids? His response was: "You always try to keep thing put away, but the real safety is to "Gunproof" your kids." His version was" Make a Saloum pact with your kids. On their part, They will never touch the guns without express permission! On your part, You will stop whatever you are doing and quickly get any gun of yours they wish to see and hold!

I did this with my 4 kids. The first 3 weeks, they will drive you nuts wanting to see one gun or another or 10 at a time (I set a 5-gun limit after week 3). My kids lived by this and my grandkids are raised similarly.

I have had several people say, Their kids would never obey the rules. Then you have a greater safety problem than you realize! They could play with matches and burn you and the house to the ground. They could put chemicals in your food to see what happens! Most things aren't that extreme, but IT IS OUR RESPONSABILITY TO TEACH OUR KIDS TO FOLLOW THE RULES! With my kids, I never worried, with cousins and neighbor kids, I watched like a hawk! And even banished some from our house: MY HOUSE, MY RULES APPLIES TO EVERYONE!

The physical gun safe is no substitute for training your children!

Ivan

(The NRA has pamphlets with "Eddie the Eagle" on child gun safety for free!)

 

[ISCS Yoda]

My safe above was on a hardwood floor in my living room resting on plywood, and supported by a couple of piers directly underneath that I had built in there during a remodel because it was a small house and I knew the safe would be on display above my pier and beam foundation. I refused to drill holes in that floor. It was gorgeous, a deep forest green, and I wasn't concerned about that heavy thing being moved. And after the fire, there it was.....

My present foundation on my rebuilt house is a slab so my new safe sits on a plywood board, too. We could have drilled holes, etc., but considering that it is in an interior, locked "safe room", or big closet, depending on your point of view, it will not be easily removed without machinery.

So, there is this:

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.

That sounds like a quality gun cabinet is all that the OP needs. I have 4. Two Stack-On brand (using round/hollow keys), one Winchester brand (using a modern, complex key), and one special solid steel thing with no name and a gorgeous skeleton key.

(c) Tractor Supply

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/catalog/gun-cabinets?cm_sp=SBC-_-
Gun+Safes+Cabinets-_-Gun+Cabinets

(c) Wal-Mart

Gun Cabinets & Racks - Walmart.com

(c) Home Depot

Gun Cabinets - Gun Safes - The Home Depot

They all sell the same or similar products. Your prayers are answered.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

I sold safes at Gander Mountain for many years, and here's the advice I gave all my customers.

1. Decide where it's going and measure the space carefully.
2. The old adage "a mess will expand to fill all available space" applies to guns and gun safes. Buy the largest one space and finances allow. You will fill it.
3. Don't buy cheap. I sold many different brands, and they ALL gave us trouble except for the Liberty brand, whether sold under their own name or manufactured for other companies. Their warranty is exceptional.

 

[Golddollar]

And remember, if you leave the safes in the dark at night, they'll start to multiply. Ask me how I know.

 

[pantannojack]

An Olive Drab 50 cal ammo box adapted with a pad lock or a cross bed tool box from your PU under the bed will work in a pinch.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Certainly you will be limited by what you can spend now, but please keep in mind what many have said above: even if your collection of firearms does not double or more, you will find MANY more items that belong in your safe. Plan accordingly.

 

[pantannojack]

For the price of one rifle, I got a steel safe to keep my Nikons (now worth dirt), my pass port, my pass words, my watches and knives, many FA's and my lil black book. It's about priorities.

 

[cmansguns]

Old thread but maybe OP still looking for Stack-On cabinet

My own kids were all gun knowledgeable and trained well from childhood long before the advent of today's rules and regulations, but that did not cover the grandchildren that visit a lot and we enjoy firearms discussions and handling.

Even though all the kids are grown and gone and it is just the wife and I, we both felt better if a: guns were more secure than leaning against wall corners or in closets, and b: all ammo was stored separately from the guns and also in locked ammo boxes.

I did not feel that the second story would support and multi hundred pound safe and I couldn't move it anyway...so I looked into Stack-on gun cabinets. Very cheap (on sale at the time at Tractor Supply, about $69.00 - but many years ago), easy enough for 1 man move up the stairs and into closet, bolt to studs, holds 8 rifles/shotguns, some with scopes, has shelves if you only want handguns. Would NOT keep any thief away, simple key lock.....but PERFECT to keep kids (up to teenagers) and no one knows but my family where it is. Added benefit to me was that the house is climate controlled, my garage was not so with this cabinet in a closet, not a single speck of rust anywhere, anytime, no humidifier rod necessary.

Again....no fire rating....no fancy lock system....not burglar proof at all...but perfect lowest cost...child proof gun storage in my opinion.

Bababluejay.....let us know what you finally decided from back in July. Pics are good too from your "kiddie-safe" decision. Others may have the same questions, concerns, thoughts.

 

[BabaBlueJay]

My own kids were all gun knowledgeable and trained well from childhood long before the advent of today's rules and regulations, but that did not cover the grandchildren that visit a lot and we enjoy firearms discussions and handling.

Even though all the kids are grown and gone and it is just the wife and I, we both felt better if a: guns were more secure than leaning against wall corners or in closets, and b: all ammo was stored separately from the guns and also in locked ammo boxes.

I did not feel that the second story would support and multi hundred pound safe and I couldn't move it anyway...so I looked into Stack-on gun cabinets. Very cheap (on sale at the time at Tractor Supply, about $69.00 - but many years ago), easy enough for 1 man move up the stairs and into closet, bolt to studs, holds 8 rifles/shotguns, some with scopes, has shelves if you only want handguns. Would NOT keep any thief away, simple key lock.....but PERFECT to keep kids (up to teenagers) and no one knows but my family where it is. Added benefit to me was that the house is climate controlled, my garage was not so with this cabinet in a closet, not a single speck of rust anywhere, anytime, no humidifier rod necessary.

Again....no fire rating....no fancy lock system....not burglar proof at all...but perfect lowest cost...child proof gun storage in my opinion.

Bababluejay.....let us know what you finally decided from back in July. Pics are good too from your "kiddie-safe" decision. Others may have the same questions, concerns, thoughts.

I think this is the right one for me. I think my brother is buying me one for Christmas. If not, I think this is the right cost for the right protection. If they crowbar this, cut the cable locks, and hammer the pad locks off my pelican where the ammo is, I am not sure how much more secure I'd be with a safe. I think this would be enough of a barrier

 

[Golddollar]

For the price of one rifle, I got a steel safe to keep my Nikons (now worth dirt), my pass port, my pass words, my watches and knives, many FA's and my lil black book. It's about priorities.

That was my thought exactly when I bought my first bona fide safe. And the gun involved put fire protection almost at the top of my reason to upgrade to a safe as opposed to a locking cabinet.

One day I was visiting my now deceased father in Ohio. I was getting ready to leave to come home when Pop said, "You're into this cowboy shooting. Take the Trapdoor Springfield home with you." So I took it home and have it to this very day.

When I got home, I considered the odds of various types of casualty damage. Rightly or wrongly, I considered a fire would be more likely than a burglary. I mentally played out the scenario of a fire and came to the conclusion that if that Trapdoor Springfield was destroyed in a fire, sure, with money I could buy another Trapdoor Springfield rifle, but it wouldn't be the one my dad gave me. That was the clincher for me to get the safe.

 

[6518John]

There is no such thing as a garage or gun safe that's too big.

Tractor either!

 

[ladder13]

Even more important than size, to me, is the location of the safe and home security. My house has an alarm system with hardwired, and wireless dialers.
We just took down our wireless cameras and replaced them with a wired commercial quality system.
We live in a community that gets Fire response from two municipal departments and Police and EMS from three.
And then there's the neighbor across the street, a retired DC detective.
It will take awhile just to find the safe.
We feel very confident when going on long trips.

 

[TIMETRIPPER]

I bought a Liberty Centurion at Lowes 10+ years ago. It was on sale at around $350. Has a combo lock and is fire rated. 18" deep x 21" wide x 60" high. Presently I have 14 rifles stored in it and there are two shelves for handguns. The safe is kept in a locked closet. I figure if I need more room I can always buy another small safe though a similar sized one now sells for double the price.
Big safes are a real bear to move. I've been to auctions and have seen some monsters sell for next to nothing simply because their removal from the premise was too daunting.

John

 

[ken158]

The "best" gun safe is the one where as the lock cannot be easily defeated. Combination or digital - no key laying around that can be found / used.

 

[Smoke]

For the price of one rifle, I got a steel safe to keep my Nikons (now worth dirt),

Are you sure about that? Apparently there is quite a market for vintage cameras now