Still Looking For a Safe ***** COMMENT ADDED ****

[Narragansett]

I need to get a safe after having moved all my guns. I went to a Liberty store, and the delivery is 12 weeks. Need to look at plan B.

I am looking at Tractor Supply. They have Cannon, and a Liberty " Revere " model exclusive to them.

Anybody have experience with them?

Comment: Thanks to all that responded with great suggestions
I am going to go with the Zanotti. That is a slick
system, good reviews, and delivery is what I need,
Plus the system design pretty much allows one
person assembly. Very reasonable delivery charge

 

[twodog max]

I bought a Cannon at Tractor Supply years ago. I had problems with the combination but their customer service walked me through it on the phone now it is all good.
That is the sum total of my experience. It is a dial combination model.

 

[mike4sigs]

I bought a Cannon At Tractor Supply. i wish i would have held went with something else.
The Quality just is NOT there. Like the OP i was i did not want to wait for Delivery. If and or when i get a different/add another one it will more than likely be a Browning or a Liberty. and not from a Big Box store.
Not sure what size you are looking at but Consider the Fact that they are Heavy and a pain in the Back to move around and set in place

GOOD LUCK on your search

 

[Tom S.]

From what I have read online 6 or so years ago when I was in the market, the safes you find at places like Tractor Supply and chain sporting goods supplies are not very good quality, especially when it comes to fire rating. Most, if not all, use wall board for the insulation and it's often put in in pieces that leave gaps in coverage in multiple places. If you Google the topic, you'll find several video's on the topic.

I ended up with a Fort Knox. It wasn't the cheapest option out there but had high ratings for it's construction and fire rating. Additionally, they offered the option of having both an electronic key pad and mechanical dial that I wanted. The electronic key pad is very fast and so far has been 100% trouble free, but I have the dial should something ever fail. The safe weighed 1200lbs and required 4 healthy lads to carry it in my house, though there was only one step to worry about. Despite it's weight, it is anchored through the concrete floor it sits on.

There is one cardinal rule when it comes to safes: no one has ever said "I wish I bought a smaller one".

 

[Marine Corps Air]

Still Looking For A Safe

Pete,

I am still a hard-core Liberty customer!

When it comes to selecting and buying a safe, it’s similar to a home. If you don’t make the best choice, you’ll suffer and live with “buyer’s remorse” every day of the year. It would be a stretch to compare it to a marriage, but …….

As Tom mentioned, just as important is protecting everything inside!!

Cheers

Bill

 

[Rodan]

I have had a Liberty for several years, and needing a second safe decided to buy a second Liberty, despite all the recent hoopla. For the new one, I bought one of the Revere line from the local Tractor Supply. It's not as nicely finished as the top of the line Liberty models, but the construction is just as solid. It has a 60 min fire rating. It's also bronze, and my wife vetoed any black or grey safe where it's going to be placed, so I didn't have a lot of options...

Ultimately, all of these consumer 'safes' are really just enhanced security cabinets. If a professional thief gains access and has a little time, they're easily breached with modern cutting tools.

IMHO, the lower end Liberty safes at TSC and other outlets represent a decent value, though I do wish Liberty was still the family owned company they used to be. At least they're still made here.

 

[WR Moore]

While you're waiting for delivery of a quality safe-with a mechanical lock-you might look at job boxes intended for use at construction sites. Good ones are quite sturdy, bury the padlocks so all you see is the key end and if bolted down are very resistant to theft.

Good thing to have in the garage afterward for any expensive tools you've go.

I snicker when I see them on construction sites chained to something. There's these things called bolt cutters..........

 

[H Richard]

We have a fairly large LGS, that has recently expanded it's safe line. They must have 40 sitting on the floor, and all sizes. They also have a display of 4 or 5 safe doors for installation on a vault room. What got me was the prices. Even small 24" floor safes running over $5000. Larger Fort Knox 30 to 40 gun safes up over $10,000. They have quite a few up to $17,000 and beyond. I guess I hadn't realized just how high these prices have gotten.

 

[Rodan]

Reed Safe Company

Those look nice, but they're also 3-4x the price range the OP is talking about.

And they can still be breached with an angle grinder.

 

[NYlakesider]

While you're waiting for delivery of a quality safe-with a mechanical lock-you might look at job boxes intended for use at construction sites. Good ones are quite sturdy, bury the padlocks so all you see is the key end and if bolted down are very resistant to theft.

Good thing to have in the garage afterward for any expensive tools you've go.

I snicker when I see them on construction sites chained to something. There's these things called bolt cutters..........

In my over 40 years of being a construction worker (pipefitter) I have been in and out of those boxes many times. (all different styles) I have never seen a box chained to something substantial, what I have seen is chains attached to other valuable items to secure them to the box.

I concur that used at home they make decent storage for our valuable items. Course to do it right you might have a little custom inside work done to make things work easier!

 

[Kanewpadle]

Normally, safes sold by big box stores are made in China/Taiwan. The Revere is not. It’s made in the USA.

Still high quality but not as fancy as more expensive models.

I highly doubt that they would install the safe for you. They will simply drop it in front of your house. Might be something to think about.

 

[mike4sigs]

There is one cardinal rule when it comes to safes: no one has ever said "I wish I bought a smaller one".
BINGO

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

About installation. My dad bought a huge gun safe (can't remember the brand) that was 48"W, 32"D and 84"T. Door and jamb areas were 5/16, sides, back & top were 3/16". I believe it was one ton and 2 Hour fire rated. He used the same company when he moved to a new home! They were the Piano division of a regular mover but had really good and lots of equipment. The safe, when outdoors was always secured to two anchors by come-alongs. Prevention/cure! There will be time and mileage charges either in the flat rate as open contract. Most want a pre-payment of the base price with variables to be added.

Maybe have drop shipped to your garage, and the quality movers set in place.

My personal safe is a 40 year old Browning with a dial lock. Weighs about 800 pounds. My Household movers said they didn't touch anything over 700 when I said that (BS!) I responded that the door comes off and is over 1/3 of the total. That was the only thing they used an appliance dolly on. They moved 2 4-drawer filing cabinets full of reloading equipment, without a dolly and I would have swore they weighed more than 700# each! 7 years ago I moved from the farm to a Condo 5.5 miles away and it was only $1500 for everything. The One thing I worry about with heavy items is; Are the stairs are strong enough?

Ivan

 

[Tom K]

There is one cardinal rule when it comes to safes: no one has ever said "I wish I bought a smaller one".
BINGO

Not until you get it home and find out it won't fit through the door. [emoji849]

 

[Onomea]

CraigsList has safes around here. Would need to hire someone to move and install it, of course, but bound to be cheaper than new, I would think.

 

[wood714]

There is one cardinal rule when it comes to safes: no one has ever said "I wish I bought a smaller one".
BINGO

I have 3 small safes "reinforced metal cabinets" that fit in a closet with bi fold doors. I'd love to have a massive 1000+ pound one, but don't want it sitting out for anyone to see.

Last one I bought was a tiny Liberty that's fire resistant. Their all bolted to the slab, and studs. The 2 side by side are also bolted together with 5/8's bolts. I know Sentry is cheap, but they'll keep an honest person out.

 

[moosedog]

I have two Libertys and if I ever needed another safe I would go with Liberty again. Many years with zero problems.

 

[67tempest]

Went safe shopping last weekend with my son in Indiana, was looking at a Liberty. The store owner said the wait on a Liberty could be up to six month's or more. He told me Liberty appears to be trying to eliminate the middle man and drive their distributors out of business. He said he's had Liberty safes on order with them for months and they keep delaying and postponing their delivery.

The store owner said he looked for an alternative to Liberty and he found and added Pella to his line of safes. I looked at a couple different Pella safes and I think that's what I'll end up buying.

 

[Bajadoc]

While you are shopping check out "American Security" safes. They are American made, full of steel, have good fire proofing and are at reasonable cost. After many years I am happy with mine.

 

[rct269]

The best advice I can pass along is THINK AHEAD!

A good friend, and BIG TIME collector now has 10 safes! He started out with little safes (like some of the toys I've seen here)---and ended up with MONSTER SAFES.

As for me, I have one safe, a Browning. It's for what I call my "work guns"---the long guns I shoot. I also had a MONSTER display case, so I could enjoy my collection---any time---all the time.

As for protection against bad guys, we have ADT (doors and motion detectors)---costs maybe a little over a dollar a day.

We've had exactly ONE ADT alarm to the Law in whatever------30+ years. The response time from ADT's alarm to three Sheriff's deputies on the front porch was FOUR MINUTES. That came about due to the remotes provided by ADT---acitvates/deactivates the system at the push of a button from a pretty fair distance---also has a Panic Alarm button.

My remote somehow found its way into the washing machine--where it got wet, and sent out the panic alarm to the control box down the hall---which relayed it to ADT---who relayed it to the Sheriff's Office---who relayed it to all hands---three of whom were here in FOUR MINUTES from the get-go---with shotguns at the ready!!

The deputies explained this snappy response thus: "When we get a panic alarm, we don't mess around! Hell, we don't mess around when we get any alarm."

Ralph Tremaine

Oh, and ADT sent a new remote to us---no charge.

Oh (again), you have 90 seconds to deactivate the system after entering---either beforehand with your remote from outside, or manually at the control box inside---after you've entered. If/when you forget to do so, the system cuts loose big time----an ear piercing, screeching inside, and an alert to the ADT mother ship. The screeching inside is enough to scare the pants right off you---never mind you know what it is---and why. (The bad guys don't know what you know!)