I Am Looking For A Good Gun Safe.?

Question

Hi, I am looking for a good Gun Safe and don't know exactly what to look for. I want something that isn't easy to crack, can hold multiple guns including a pistol area, and has quick but quit access so that way if someone broke in I could get to it quietly but quickly. I also don't want a combination lock and I think all safes have this but bolts inside at the bottom of it so it can be bolted to the ground and can't be picked up and carried away. If you can link me to the product(s) you list. Thank you to all that reply.

Answer 1

I'm not going to recommend a brand. I'm going to tell you what to consider and you can do the looking.



A gun safe has to be big enough to hold your collection and any other valuables that warrant protection. It should be big enough that someone can't throw it over their shoulder and walk off with it. It should be fire rated such that it the event of a house fire, the contents of your safe are protected to a certain temperature for a certain period of time.



You must recognize that any safe can be stolen by a determined thief. Just because you bolt your safe to the wall doesn't mean the thief won't make off with the safe and the part of your wall that your safe is bolted to. It has happened.



I would avoid any safe that will open by reading your fingerprints. I don't believe they work every time, and presumably you don't have time for multiple tries. If you had a safe like that and someone wanted into your safe, they could snuff you, cut your finger off, and the safe wouldn't know the difference.



Consider price, but don't make the decision solely on cost unless you would buy a cheap, previously owned, parachute. You get what you pay for.

Answer 2

The old gun safe nightmare. All these answers are valid, depends on what you have to safe!, The insurance for your entire collection is probably a lot less than the cheapest safe you can buy, besides, it is illegal to steal guns, fed offense, most dumb criminals know this. I have an old mosler, fire proof, explosion proof, vault safe I picked up for free, and there are a lot f them on ebay, you move, mine weighs 1900 lbs, The explosion proof part I don't care about, it will slow down a crook, But,,, One thing I learned in my safe buying days, The old safe had hardened steel plates on the front, could not be peeled, could not be bent, or cut, or hammered, If you did not have a carborundum wheel on a chainsaw, you did not get in it, and even with that, it would take hours. Very few safes had hardened plates on the door, ask the safe guy if it has a hardened steel plate, when they start to stutter, say, I thought not. Anyway, bak to the new safes, most can be opened by a pro in 20 minutes, the older ones, maybe 4 hours, mine would take a pro, 8 hours, and he would die from exhaustion before he got my guns. And if he did get them, he had better have a big truck to get them out. I have built wooden safes that would be harder to crack than most new safes, they only slow down a crook. They won't stop them.

Answer 3

Here's the problem ...anyone can say their safe is great. All the websites that sell safes have customer reviews. The problem there is how do you know how good a safe is till some crook tries to break into it? The manufacturers all claim their safes are the best. Some claim theirs are built in America. In most cases that's misleading as the safe is built in China,shipped here and finished. Just about any safe made for guns can be breached fairly fast with a cutting torch or grinder with cut off wheels. I went for the best fire rating I could afford when I bought my safe. The reason being if my house catches on fire i'm screwed. I have so much ammunition that a fire department would just vacate the area and let it burn till all the ammo cooked off. I'd see if consumer reports has done any testing of safes and see their ratings. Keep in mind a good fire rated safe is very heavy(mine is over a thousand pounds) so you need a floor that can support it. All safes come with mounting holes to secure them. They also come with either combo locks or keypads.

Answer 4

I don't know your budget, but I can tell you what I learned from my search a few years ago.



1. A real safe, one w/ a UL TL15 or better rating, and about 28cubic feet (the size I wanted to buy), is heavy (2 tons+), and expensive ($7500+).

2. Most gun safes are actually UL RSC, a far cry from the security of a TL15 or better rated box.

3. Fire ratings are BS. There is no standard, and manufacturers will tell you anything.

4. Most (maybe all) have holes in the bottom. Use them and bolt it down to something permanent. Mine is lagged to the concrete floor in the basement.

5. Electronic locks, key pads or biometric finger print sensors, are available as options on many brands.

6. Any manufacturer that lists the thickness of their steel walls in gauge is selling you a RSC. Real safe walls are measured in inches, explaining why they are so GD heavy.



Despite the lower security, I went w/ a UL RSC, a Fort Knox Defender series (ca. $2500). It was a ton cheaper, and still offers enough security for me to feel comfortable. My guns are insured; I wanted to be able to show that should they be stolen and used in a crime, I took reasonable precautions to secure them to prevent a lawsuit / criminal charge against me. I also have kids, and the safe keeps curious hands out of trouble.

Answer 5

Considering these things go for $300 to $7000 you might wanna tell folks your budget.



Sounds like you want a 'Gun Cabinet' and not a gun safe. Gun Cabinets are allot cheaper than safes - made from thick sheet metal and designed to be bolted to the floor. They are much, much easier to install, especially if you are going up stairs! If you buy one allot bigger than you need - you can fireproof it by lining the inside with 1/2" sheet rock or thicker.

Answer 6

Start by looking on Craigs List. Many people buy a safe and then need a bigger one or they just do not need it anymore. Safes are hard to break so even an old one will still work well.

Answer 7

Sturdy Safes are some of the best I've seen, and without going into too much detail, let's just say I have a background in that and leave it be.



Or, you can watch the videos:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oOqDHedivQ



Other companies' safes I have personally dealt with include:

Amsec (American Security)

Hayman

Mosler

Gardall



Several of the above companies do not make gun safes. Sturdy makes gun safes, and in my opinion they are pretty damn decent. But don't just take my word for it. Look for yourself.



PS: I don't get any endorsements -- I just used to be a locksmith and safe technician trainee -- so I got to see firsthand as my mentors (the owners of the locksmith shop where I worked) worked with and dealt with safes, and the experiences I had under their watchful eye. I have actually worked on safes (while supervised) when I was younger.

Answer 8

Geez...so instead of typing that info into a search bar, you decided to look on here ? Too funny...I would have gone to a gun store and compared all the different models...or looked on the InterWEb...like most everyone else does.

Answer 9

Cabelas brand has the nicest safes, a little pricey but they are rated very high

Answer 10

heres on easy way that no one will ever even see or notice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YKmNDmKXVo



another suggestion is to go to ***** sporting goods or cabbala's they both carry good quality safe's