1st safe

[paulL01]

Just thought Id ask which safe y'all would recommend.
I've got 3 rifles. 2 FN Herstals & a Savage MKII.
Thx for bearin with me fellas. The safe business is new to me.
I'd sure appreciate any suggestions. I'm not lookin for anything
super fancy- although if I could afford one I certainly would.
Ya know what I mean though Im sure. Thx again men

 

[cega]

Re: 1st safe

First suggestion is whatever safe you think is going to be big enough probably won't be. Everyone I know, self included, gets the first one too small and ends up buying bigger down the road.

Also - I have yet to buy a safe that could hold anything close to the number of guns that they claim. Might be my stuff with large optics or something but I honestly don't know how they come up with the capacity figures they do.

I have a Liberty Fat Boy Jr and it works well for me.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Excellent. Thank you.
I was thinking it was a buy once cry once kinda deal.
And, thats cool. I only wanna do this one time if I can help it.
I'll be sure snd check the Fat boy iut.out

 

[O_W]

Re: 1st safe

CEGA speaks the truth. I have a 31 gun liberty and it barely holds 24 with scopes etc. they are packed in like jenga.

if you have the room buy the biggest and tallest(this is more important than you would think)you can manage.

 

[oldfatguy]

Re: 1st safe

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Good advice. Get the biggest safe you can possibly afford.

OFG

 

[SilentStalkr]

Re: 1st safe

I want to add one correction to the above mentioned quote, "Get the biggest, most protected safe you can possibly afford." if it is a low quality safe that is easily broken into or that has thin sheet metal among other things then it is not worth having. It must be able to do its job and hold all of your goodies. if you just need something to hold your goodies then you can get a storage locker much cheaper. I am in the same boat as you but plan on getting a safe within the next 6 months to a year.

 

[cega]

Re: 1st safe

Last I saw Lowes (yes THAT Lowes as in the Home Improvement place) had a pretty good price on the Fat Boy Jr.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_141134-1028...safe&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=gun+safe&facetInfo=

In my case they had it ready to deliver faster than I had the spot in my house ready for it. Take a look online since I doubt your local place would have one.

 

[LanceS4803]

Re: 1st safe

Buying a safe:
- Pick out the biggest safe you think you will EVER need. Then, buy the next larger size.
- Don't move it yourself. It is worth it to have someone else move it for you. Brken bones and broken friendships aren't worth it. These guys have the specialized lifts and such to safely and quickly move a large safe.

Also, check out this video on build quality:
Gun safes

 

[VTSEAL]

Re: 1st safe

the people that label the # of guns that will 'fit' in a safe are the same morons that label coffee pots as "12 cup" and it only gets you 4...

 

[LanceS4803]

Re: 1st safe

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: VTSEAL</div><div class="ubbcode-body">the people that label the # of guns that will 'fit' in a safe are the same morons that label coffee pots as "12 cup" and it only gets you 4... </div></div>

So true!!
Scoped rifles, vintage rifles with straight bolt handles, extra long rifles/shotguns, all take up more room. I could cram a safe with dozens of non-scoped lever actions and 10/22s.

 

[mdavlee]

Re: 1st safe

I've got a fat boy Jr and I think I should have went bigger. We originally had planned on a smaller one than that but went ahead and got the next size up. Go check out mahoneys as they have lots in stock and more in their storage building.

 

[den42]

Re: 1st safe

just a thought, i bought a liberty revere about 2 months ago, i only have 4 rifles and 2 handguns.. figured it would be plenty..(stupid me) did not count on the wife wanting to put here camera equipment and extras in there and now i really dont think i could fit a box of ammo in there if i had too.. as so many and (wish men) above had said get the biggest safe that you can brother!!! just my 2 cents

 

[mdavlee]

Re: 1st safe

My wife put family silver and then documents and some other stuff and now I wish mine was the fatboy that's 60" wide.

 

[hmhoshino]

Re: 1st safe

I got a Patriot Safe and it is a 39 gun with a 1880 2 hour fire rating. It came with a lot of upgrades, that you didn't have to pay extra for. Like LED lighting and a built in alarm system to name a few. If you have ever been in the military, you can get a discount. Another thing I like that other safes didn't have, is that it requires key and key pad code to unlock the safe. And it requires two keys to override and unlock the safe. Best of all I like the quality of the safe.

 

[mdavlee]

Re: 1st safe

A friend has a patriot safe and it was super nice. I liked that they deliver them to you also. It was more than I was planning on spending when I looked at them. Then I ended up with the fat boy jr and spent quite a bit more than I planned to start with any way.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

I'm for certain gonna have the heavy thang delivered lol... .
that, imo, is money well spent

 

[Gregch44]

Re: 1st safe

Check into Sturdy Gun Safe. Terry gives a lot of information on safes, and offers good, no nonsense products.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: 1st safe

I have three safes:
Liberty
Browning
Tredlock

The latter was my first. It is not fire proof. WIsh I had someone tell me to pay a little more for a good safe.
Liberty has a keypad. It has gone down twice. First time Liberty paid for repairs. Last time I was left holding the bag.
Browning is a big safe but doesn't seem to hold as many rifles as the Liberty.
My son has a Liberty Fat Boy. This one is my recommendation. Great safe and can be found at a decent price.
Bottom line, a safe is a forever investment so don't buy on price. And if you want it to work without fail then ket the old dial on the door.

 

[oneshotkyle]

Re: 1st safe

i have owned my champion crown 50 for about 8yrs now with absolutly no issues at all. at 1600lbs empty, 1500deg for 2hr fire rating it has more than served my needs. except for one thing. when you have a big roomy safe you tend to bring home more guns. lol. so i am now looking at double door safe options. you can never have enough room. buy the biggest you can afford.

 

[LanceS4803]

Re: 1st safe

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: shoot4fun</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Liberty has a keypad. It has gone down twice. First time Liberty paid for repairs. Last time I was left holding the bag.
</div></div>

I've had a Liberty safe with S&B electronic keypad since 1997. Even with very frequent use, I've only changed the batteries maybe 3 times.
I used to live near their factory in UT. It was interesting to see some of the safes in their warehouse that had come back after fires or attempted break ins.

 

[pdmedley]

Re: 1st safe

If you just want a safe... Sturdy
If you (wife) wants a piece of furniture... American Security

 

[PJ BAD]

Re: 1st safe

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: LanceS4803</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Buying a safe:
- Pick out the biggest safe you think you will EVER need. Then, buy the next larger size.
- Don't move it yourself. It is worth it to have someone else move it for you. Brken bones and broken friendships aren't worth it. These guys have the specialized lifts and such to safely and quickly move a large safe.

Also, check out this video on build quality:
Gun safes </div></div>

THIS is great advice!!!!

 

[Sig716]

Re: 1st safe

Look for the biggest one with the best fire rating in your budget!

 

[jimbo300]

Re: 1st safe

I have a Liberty safe also, great product. I think mine is supposed to hold 30+, but like everyone has said, actual capacity will be much less. Especially, with big rifles and big optics. Wish I had one even larger...but then I would think that I needed more guns if I had an open spot. LOL

 

[k9ghost]

Re: 1st safe

When I bought my safe I bought the biggest Fort Knox safe I could. Its 42x72 and full of everything valued to me.

 

[5hans5]

Re: 1st safe

++++1 on size, never what they claim and you'll always need more.

Got a Pentagon, but I hear great things about Liberty. Don't know your schedule but I've heard that Gander Mountain will be having the Liberty FatBoy Jr. 48 gun safe on Black Friday special in a few weeks. Rumored at $1,100 with a door panel included. Maybe you can get a good deal too.

On the mover front- yes, use them. 1,200 pounds isn't easy to move.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Thx 4 all the outstanding replies gentlemen.
I'm now gonna take the time to hijack my own thread
by way of asking why is the thread about data log books
locked? It was a great write up by Nomad and I wanted
to ask a few questions and more likely than not- place an
order. I just cant understand why it got locked.

 

[RADcustom]

Re: 1st safe

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: paulL01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thx 4 all the outstanding replies gentlemen.
I'm now gonna take the time to hijack my own thread
by way of asking why is the thread about data log books
locked? It was a great write up by Nomad and I wanted
to ask a few questions and more likely than not- place an
order. I just cant understand why it got locked. </div></div>

Send him a PM.

He may have asked them to lock it so he doesn't have to monitor it for questions.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Gotcha. Will do.
thx man.

 

[texas_vet00]

Re: 1st safe

Sturdy Safe - Had mine painted.

 

[MitchInOR]

Re: 1st safe

Sturdy Safes have 7 gauge body and 5/16 door. Just for comparison.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

A lot more choices available than I had imagined.
I'm gonna peruse all of em too......

 

[Yama Arashi]

Re: 1st safe

AMSEC BF Series

 

[Deisel]

Re: 1st safe

I will throw in a vote for Fort Knox safes. I certainly like mine. They are not cheap, but very well built.

 

[Mike_in_FL]

Re: 1st safe

Any plans on moving? If so, are you going to have to move this yourself or do you have a LOT of help? IF that's the case, look into Zanotti Armor. Otherwise, like everyone says, buy BIGGER than you expect to ever need because they have a way of filling themselves.

 

[darkstar]

Re: 1st safe

Scoped rifles take up at least 2 times the space of unscoped in depth and width. Target rifles with precision iron sights will eat up 2x the space too. 26 and 28" (long barrels) will eat the space for your upper shelves. Got an old school 30"(or longer...)12ga bird gun?

Look at what you are thinking about putting in there now and think about what you may be buying in the future. Have a list in your pocket of what you got with some length measurements and have a measuring tape with you. example: If its a 20 gun, divide by 1.5 and that will be more realistic with a little wiggle room.

What ever you buy, over time it will never seem like it is big enough once you get it and start putting your "stuff" in it, so get as big a sucker as you can afford.
If you are getting safe marks when accessing your stuff, you can store them in gun socks. They are cheap insurance against damage.

Security is the first priority and then fire rating behind that imo.

Oh and make DAM sure it fits thru your front or back door AND will clear your inside room door jams or where ever it will end up.

Did I mention it will never be big enough?

Good luck,
DS

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Honestly guys, the more I think about this, the more I see it as a major investment. So, to me, buy once - cry once comes into play like never before. Now, that Ive said that Ill say this. Im gonna talk to the wife about getting a pretty big one. Which, imo be a very pretty penny and something the little wife should have some input on.
at any rate, I really appreciate all the fine help and advice ivegotten from this thread. After reading the replies and then doing my own researching Ive found out just how little I know about safes. One thing Ill do for sure is pay the extra loot to have the safe co deliver and install.
I feel that would be very much worth the extea $$
Because its gonna be a big bitch after all.

 

[tactic-als]

Re: 1st safe

I'll tell you that I was primarily interested in the Winchester safes. Started with the Ranger 31, then thought about everything I'd like to put in besides the guns, then changed my mind to get the Big Daddy, then the local safe guy told me he had a "scratch & dent" on the Ranger 45. Ended up saying what the heck and bought it. It's huge but like everyone said, scoped rifles take up way more space than what's pictured in the brochure. I could almost get everything in that I wanted to....I couldn't believe how quick it filled up. I'm not one to jam pack stuff in there, just for fact that I would want to have easy access to it. In picking my safe, at least a 1 hour fire protection was important to me. As far as the door thickness or wall thickness (gauge), the bolt diameters...I'm like really?...once you get a big safe that weighs over 750 pounds, is it really going to be constructed so that someone can easily pry the door or whatever to break into it?

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Exactly. So many more things to store than just weapons.
Thats why were considering spending a substantial amount on one.
wel said.

 

[Magstang1]

Re: 1st safe

My accountant told me that if tax returns are stored in the safe, a portion of it is tax deductible. Up to a certain dollar amount. It was a while ago. I don't remember exactly.

I looked at US manufacturers. Liberty, Fort Knox, Cannon were my main considerations.

It all boils down to how much do you want to spend. What is your price range? A few hundred, a thousand, three thousand?

Once you get past a sheet metal box with a locking door, think stack on gun cabinet, you get into the lower end "safes" or residential security containers.

I found that generally around 2 thousand you got into a good safe with good fire protection, lock, locking bolts and metal thickness.

Look at the features. Some have external hinges that allow the door to open past 90 degrees. Some have internal hinges. Some have 12 gauge bodies, some have 3/8" plate bodies. Some have locking bolts on all four sides of the door, some don't. The options are vast...

Once you get past a locking gun cabinet, and your safe is properly secured to the structure (bolted to the walls or floor) chances are that it will survive most smash and grab robery scenarios. It all depends on what options you are looking for, and how much you want to spend.

A few years ago I bought a higher end Liberty. While I'm happy with my safe, I most likely won't be buying another liberty. Their prices have gone through the roof and the quality of components in each line has been decreasing. The price of my safe has gone up at least 50% in the past few years.

If I was buying another safe right now it would be a Summit. My buddy bought one right after I got my liberty. We paid about the same amount for them, but the materials used to make his were much nicer than mine. Thicker steel, more locking bolts...

I have no affiliation with summit, but I recommend them without hesitation.

http://www.summitsafes.com/

 

[Str8shootr1]

Re: 1st safe

Great advice to go bigger than what you think you need. One brand I have not seen mentioned is Heritage Safes, I own the biggest safe they offer, 56"w x 72"h x 28"d, still contemplate getting another. As far as I know this is one of the biggest out there, I believe the Liberty Fat Boy is 42"w. I am nothing but satisfied and thrilled with my safe. They have many options and were great to work with.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Wow. Thx Magstang1. And Stra8shooter
I've been thinkin around 3 grand.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

The Summit safes are really something else it seems.
I would imagine they are a pretty penny as well.
Which is cool imo. Quality work commands good pay.
I really like reading the "about us"........

 

[Magstang1]

Re: 1st safe

If you are looking to spend that kind of money then this decision will be fairly easy.

Measure the path the safe will follow through your home when being delivered.

Figure out what the largest safe is that you can fit through all the doorways and what not.

Find an appropriately sized safe and move up through the models until you find one that meets your budget.

Don't forget to budget for delivery. You are most likely looking at a minimum of 1,000lbs. Don't even bother trying this yourself.

I believe the Summit I saw was a Denali. Very nice.

This website has pricing. http://ablesafe.com/images/2011_ABLE_SUMMIT_WEB.pdf

I would expect to knock of a few hundred from those advertised prices.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

That's funny. The very damn one I had my eye on was the Denali.

 

[Magstang1]

Re: 1st safe

If I buy another one, it will most likely be a Denali. I don't think I can recommend it any more than that.

Do some research. The manufacturers do have gimmicks though.

Some say composite thickness. What exactly is that composite comprised of?

Fire ratings are another gray area. Lets say 90 minutes at 1200 degrees. But did the time start when the fire started, or when the test temperature was reached?

I finally concluded that the specs were so manipulated that it was nearly impossible to make an accurate comparison.

I found one I liked, with the features I felt were important, and waited for a deal.

The only thing I can say without a doubt is that dollar for dollar, Summit is a better buy than Liberty.

I also appreciate that they don't mince words about what materials are in the safe you are buying.

 

[paulL01]

Re: 1st safe

Yeah man, I believe it will certainly be the Denali.
As to when, I/we buy, I'm not certain. After the new years for sure.
But, like I say, I really enjoyed reading the "about us" heading
on thier internet site. Very informative........
I really appreciate that link!

 

[GunMax]

Re: 1st safe

When in doubt go for a bigger safe you can always put more then just guns in the safe. I got mine from Sun Welding and it has been working great for me. They have good prices and excellent products.

 

[Cesiumsponge]

Re: 1st safe

I absolutely, completely disagree with the idea of buying bigger than you need. Logistically, and security-wise you're better off buying a second safe if you outgrow your current one.

Reasoning?

Split your eggs in two baskets. Double the burglar's working time to access the same quantity of assets and more than halve your risk if the burglar is only aware of one safe. In fact, you could purchase two different levels of protection and use one for more valuable goods and one for less valuable goods and allocate the storage of your collection accordingly.

All gun safe safes are going to be roughly the same, no matter what a salesman tells you. They come up with BS marketing jargon, throw in locking bolts, slick videos, glossy paint, and bonus lighting but they're all just variations on sheet metal boxes with most using sheetrock for "fire insulation", not plate steel or composites (AMSEC's BF and HS series, Graffunder, Brown, and a couple other lesser-known companies being exceptions).

Also one must realize the fire ratings are worthless. Every gun safe company uses a different "independant lab" to obtain their fire ratings so one company might claim 2hrs@1500 and another claims 1.5hrs @ 1750. It's like shopping for mattresses between chain stores. You can't make direct comparisons when everyone uses a different test. The only standardized fire rating standard is Underwriter's Laboratories and no gun safes carry a UL fire rating.

If you're putting irreplaceable photographs and critical documents, or memory storage devices into your gun safe, you've bought yourself a false sense of security. Safes have specific design functions. It's why a burglary safe or fire safe exists. The gun safe industry tries to convince you their safe is good for safely storing all sorts of goods, from photos and electronics to heirlooms guns. It's outright phony advertising. Buy yourself a small document fire "safe" or media "safe" (the ones with the flimsy key locks) like a Sentry or Fireking and place that inside your gun safe. The only containers that can guarantee photos and electronic media survive are UL 125 or UL 150 media safes which keep internal temperatures under 125F and 150F respectively.

 

[JC PAINT WORKZ]

Re: 1st safe

I just bought the liberty fatboy 64 and so far so good!!!