Reasonable Safe Under $1,000

[sroc112]

Hi all,

Really not looking for anything sophisticated, primarily interested in child safety and theft but also want something nice to keep everything organized. I really like to have just a manual dial, but do have my eye on this one just for cost:

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/winchester-gun-safe-26-gun-ts26-45-1360473?srsltid=AfmBOooxFnnx2wlB7nZ7MSvC48lzDddx73XbhsfgqLQFt_U_7eMnz-uU7ro&gQT=1

Looking in the 26+ range.

Does anyone know of anything else that may be a better quality safe than this one?

Thanks

 

[MK20]

Where do you live?

Is it going on a wood frame floor or on solid substrate?

If you live near a big city and it is going on a solid floor, go on FB marketplace and look for old safes. Mosler, Gary, Yale, etc. It is easy to move them with a bar and pipe. Often because they are heavy folks will give them away.

I got my last double door Mosler that weighs 3500 for 300 bucks and loaded it into my truck bed myself with hand tools.

 

[MK20]

If you slap the sides and it doesn't sound like you hit solid stone, it isn't worth shit. Not even a little wobble or resonance is tolerable.

If you can find something with a TL rating you can assume it is good.

 

[MK20]

Oh, and that safe you posted,

I can break into that in 5 minutes with 2 crowbar, an axe, and a sledge. It isn't worth shit. Cheap Chinese steel and looks is all it is.

It will keep your child out, but as far as theft, don't delude yourself.

 

[sroc112]

Wood frame.

Dorchester county SC.

 

[MK20]

Here, offer 500 and get a safe or locksmith guy to reset it for 100 bucks.

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[MK20]

Another beauty.

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[MK20]

The guy who is listing the safes for 1000 is high but offer him 500 cause you have to move them and get the combos reset. Combo reset on an open door safe should be less than 200 easy.

 

[MK20]

That "rare" one is basically the same as the one I have. If the dimensions are the same, which I think they are, that is probably what a safe company would call a 70 gun safe.

 

[doubloon]

primarily interested in child safety and theft

For child safety it's fine.

For capacity I've never personally seen a safe that holds the number of guns it advertises without stacking guns on top of each other.

For theft it's "OK". It will deter the casual, unprepared thief but an angle grinder will cut open the side or back panel of most safes like a sardine can.

Most safes you find at Cabelas, Tractor Supply, etc. and most of the "big name" safes like Winchester or Liberty, etc. all have something like 12-14 gauge steel sides, maybe a few with 10 gauge and they'll all tell you about the "really thick" door but only idiots try to cut open the door.

People will all chime in with their favorite safe but when you look at the actual panel thickness specifications there is really not much difference between them.

You'd have to go with something like Sturdy or Amsec or a similar safe to get 6 gauge or 8 gauge side and back panels but this definitely isn't the under $1000 class of safe.

 

[sroc112]

For child safety it's fine.

For capacity I've never personally seen a safe that holds the number of guns it advertises without stacking guns on top of each other.

For theft it's "OK". It will deter the casual, unprepared thief but an angle grinder will cut open the side or back panel of most safes like a sardine can.

Most safes you find at Cabelas, Tractor Supply, etc. and most of the "big name" safes like Winchester or Liberty, etc. all have something like 12-14 gauge steel sides, maybe a few with 10 gauge and they'll all tell you about the "really thick" door but only idiots try to cut open the door.

People will all chime in with their favorite safe but when you look at the actual panel thickness specifications there is really not much difference between them.

You'd have to go with something like Sturdy or Amsec or a similar safe to get 6 gauge or 8 gauge side and back panels but this definitely isn't the under $1000 class of safe.

Im only really looking to hold about 8 long guns, a couple of pistols, and ammo. So I think the 26 is fine to accommodate scopes, etc.

 

[doubloon]

8 long guns, a couple of pistols

One of my safes is a Sturdy model 3224 (no fire liner) ... literally 32" w x 24" d x 60" tall, 4ga body, 3/8" door.

I found it local on Armslist for $500 and picked it up myself (~$4400 new now, ~$3200 at the time I found it). Like mk20 says there are some deals to be found out there if you shop around and aren't in a hurry.

Gun Safe | 32W x 24D x 60H | Model 3224

Gun Safe that measures 32W x 24D x 60H. Made with thick steel body and door plate. Tons of custom options available.

www.sturdysafe.com

Right now it's set up with some shelves on one side where I stack a few pistols in boxes and there is a "U" shape rack holding up 4 shotguns and 8 or 9 rifles of various caliber all the rifles are scoped or red dotted. I could squeeze a couple more in there without have to bang them together getting them in or out.

So ... 32x24 or even 24x24 or maybe even something a little smaller like a 14 gun safe will fit your current needs but not leave a lot of room for new acquisitions.

Another one of my safes is a Sentry 14 gun safe (G4211 I think) with a dial combination I got from Home Depot for $250 because it was a floor model and scratched. Doesn't have any guns in it just use it for ammo. It's a shitty safe but plenty good for child safety.

If I got rid of the shelves in the Sturdy and went all rack I might be able to get close to the advertised capacity. Fire liner consumes gun space so capacity drops.

ETA: check with lock and safe businesses in the area for a used safe, they come up from time to time when people return them or somebody dies and the heirs don't want them

 

[powdahound76]

I will advocate for a used safe (always a bargain shopper).

I got a new to me safe for 1/4 of retail by shopping CL and had the woman scour marketplace.

1100 lbs, heavy steel.
used some cool machinery dollies to move it. Like paino dollies, but hydraulic. Rented them for like $40.
Was super easy.

I have less than 1/2 the guns mine says it can hold and its overflowing.

 

[mi650]

Im only really looking to hold about 8 long guns, a couple of pistols, and ammo. So I think the 26 is fine to accommodate scopes, etc.

That kind of thinking is how I ended up with 6 safes!!

 

[Camelfilter]

Depending upon your space, a job box may work.

Not great for easy access tho, have to stack. Pretty decent for volume & preventing casual theft / kiddo access.

Couple with layered security (alarm system) / dogs etc.

Used such in several rentals, where bolting down a safe wasn't an option..+simpli safe security system.

 

[ironman56]

I have that exact safe, there's no way you can get more than 12 long guns in there , I use mine inside my house to store pcp airguns , it's fairly easy to move if you have a small trailer a dolly and a Freind to help , like others have said a professional thief will be in and out in 5 minutes, but it will keep the casual neighborhood teenage thieves out , I live in a area that isn't prone to thievery and have two safes for my powder burning guns in a locked room inside a shop next to the house with cameras and alarms on all corners ,and I'm retired so home most of the time ,if I lived in a large city I'd invest in way better safes .

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I just picked up one of the 48 gun Winchesters this weekend for $630 after all discounts. It’s a cheap Chinese safe but isn’t terrible. It has a securam keypad on it (although it’s their low end model) which is far better than the ones that come on the other Winchester models and have lots of complaints. I know people who have had them fail and Winchester is pretty much non existent as far as CS. This keypad is also compatible with others so upgrading it is possible unlike the no name that comes on the other Winchester safes.

It will keep honest people honest and keep your typical smash n grab thief out which is the most common type of break in anyway. I just needed some extra room and didn’t want to deal with another big heavy safe that I’ll have to move in a year so it purpose served. I also live in an HOA neighborhood surrounded by nosey neighbors and if someone even got into the house they’d have to deal with 4 large dogs who are very protective over their home.

It will probably hold 26 long guns or close to it as long as it’s a mix of scoped rifles and non scoped. If you’ve got a bunch of long range rifles you’re probably looking at 15 or so max. The layout is pretty good actually, it seems like it was designed by someone who has actually put rifles in a safe before unlike most. One side also has the rifle sticks.

 

[hlee]

Donald Sutherland, Marky Mark, and Charlize Theron are not part of my threat matrix. Any big box store RSC will keep the kids and the opportunists out.

 

[Downtown]

An RSC will keep out anyone who doesn't expect a gunsafe and didn't bring an angle grinder, unless you own one and left it handy. Helps if you install it somewhere that the sides and back aren't easily reached. Sturdy is probably the best of the RSCs. Anything without a TL rating is not a safe.

 

[MK20]

But when good, bigger Moslers or TL rated safes are available for cheaper, why would someone buy some chinesium safe?

 

[rdinak]

Big fan of antique safes as cost effective. Second best idea. By a used coke machine. Gut it and leave the lights working. They can hold a lot of guns and go unnoticed.

 

[doubloon]

But when good, bigger Moslers or TL rated safes are available for cheaper, why would someone buy some chinesium safe?

I think that Mosler safe you posted from facebook is an old "tamper" rated safe, obsolete rating I think, not the same as a burglary rating. Ratings have changed over time.

You can find one here that has been completely refurbished as a 30 gun safe and has no security rating at all.

Mosler 30 Gun Double Door Gun Safe

This Mosler High Security commercial safe has been completely refurbished with new paint, new lock and a fully customizable gun interior. The double door gives great access to all of the safes…

www.boswellsafeandvault.com

Other than that I'd say most people aren't looking for another project or fixer-upper or they're married and the wife won't let anything that fugly in the house.

 

[MK20]

It's still infinitely better that the shit winchester safe. Also, if it is ugly, buy 40 dollars of oil based black paint and put a sticker that your wife likes on it.

 

[doubloon]

infinitely better

From the plate on the inside of the door it has a "Mercantile Safe Policy B" rating which is a insurance company rating not based on any tests, this is pretty much the lowest rating on the scale, below RSC.

I'm not arguing about how much better or worse it might be than a Liberty, just passing on information trying to answer your original question of why someone might not be jumping at the opportunity to own one.

Either way it's plenty good for keeping kids and casual sticky fingers out.

https://centerpointsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/A-Safe-Ratings.pdf

B-Rate Safes (Also U.L. RSC, Residential SecurityContainer):B-Rate is a catch all safe industry rating for essentially any box with a lock on it.The safe industry had an unwritten standard of ¼ inch body, ½ inch door. Today,many safe companies use 1/8" steel in the body. Some will make both 1/8" and1/4" steel bodies. The 1/4" costs more. As steel prices (and shipping costs)increased manufacturers tried many things to reduce their costs. No tests aregiven to provide this rating. When buying a B-rate safe, look at things such aslock work, hard plates, and relockers.