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Gun Safe

Iyaoyas11

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 2, 2017
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What is everyone’s standard for a gun safe? I searched, couldn’t find any topics?

What are the standards or ratings that you require?

What companies do you suggest?

Currently on the hunt for around a 48 gun safe. $2k area.

Thanks in advance.
 
What is everyone’s standard for a gun safe? I searched, couldn’t find any topics?

What are the standards or ratings that you require?

What companies do you suggest?

Currently on the hunt for around a 48 gun safe. $2k area.

Thanks in advance.
I think your already on the right track with that price point and size. Safe will last you a life time. Go liberty if you can.
 
One requirement I have is an EMP proof lock when a key pad is involved.
I love the key pad on my cannon, it has a regular dial combo in the center in case the key pad doesn't work for what ever reason.
 
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why yes , my guns are safe and I hope very happy , and well fed . hope to soon have them on the wall displayed proudly
 
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I got a Supreme Safes "untouchable" and I'm happy with it. Not on the level of something like a graffunder but definitely better than your typical liberty or box store "safe". Its 1/4" plate body, 1/2" plate door and serious mechanisms to support the bolts. I was told by the people that work on and sell them to only by a manual dial. With the electronic locks it's not if but when they will fail. No thanks. Mine weighs almost 1800 lbs empty and was a real treat getting in the house.

Attached 2 pics. My locking mechanism / bolt supports, vs what some cheap box store units look like.
 

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One thing to consider is total weight of loaded safe and your home construction. You may need to reinforce beneath your floor joists if you go real big.

I prefer multiple smaller safes over one mega safe for no real reason.
Great point but IMHO you should only put a safe on concrete with serious anchors (drop ins or better) also not in the garage.
 
One thing to consider is total weight of loaded safe and your home construction. You may need to reinforce beneath your floor joists if you go real big.

I prefer multiple smaller safes over one mega safe for no real reason.


Very true, never thought I was going to move from my first house and ended up moving 3 times. It’s such a pain (and expensive) trying to find a company that can move large items like this. Multiple smaller safes could make it easier to relocate instead of moving one that weighs 1600-1800 pds.
 
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The Champion and Superior safes are super nice... I have a few Brownings, I use to have a hard time with the idea of spending 2k+ for a safe, untill I realized the price of the contents I was putting in it, and it is not even a fraction of what is stpred in them.

Buy quality, secure it well, and consider a good camera setup with cloud storage... I have all of the above and a few German Shepherds, I am all about the layered defense.
 
Very true, never thought I was going to move from my first house and ended up moving 3 times. It’s such a pain (and expensive) trying to find a company that can move large items like this. Multiple smaller safes could make it easier to relocate instead of moving one that weighs 1600-1800 pds.
Excellent point. My safe is quite old and quite full, and I've toyed with updating it to a larger and more fireproof model. But it would cost a fortune to get the old one out of its built-for-purpose upstairs location and another fortune to put a new one in its place (where the floor is indeed reinforced to support the weight).

Rethinking....
 
Almost any "gun safe" you buy today is not classified as a safe.......they are RSC, residential security containers .........there are some that are good, and some there not.
My safe is an AMEC, which does what I need it to do.
Do some research before you buy anything............there are literally thousands of safe manufactures out there, every one claiming that what they make is the very best you can buy........

Buy the biggest, and best you can afford.........
 
I bought a browning mark iv from gunsafes.com. They have a good selection and competitive pricing and in most cases it is delivered right to your home. I had a good experience dealing with them.
Happy hunting
 
Superior Untouchable By Champion Safes. It big heavy and has the dial lock. Most box store safes will keep Methheads out but not a real thief so you need something that just takes to much time and noise to get in. I have the the Untouchable 65 and am very happy.
 
I have a Fort Knox safe and like it. Quarter inch plate steel door (plus a 7 gauge inner sheet of steel with fire retardant, etc in between. 7 gauge body all the way around with six way bolt work. It wights about a ton and is bolted to the concrete foundation.

If possible buy one of those cheap retail store “safes” and put it in a prominent location but don’t put anything valuable in it. It serves as a decoy so thieves won’t see your real safe until it’s too late (I assume you already have an alarm with 24 hour monitoring and sec response and surveillance cameras in your house)
 
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I have a Fort Knox safe and like it. Quarter inch plate steel door (plus a 7 gauge inner sheet of steel with fire retardant, etc in between. 7 gauge body all the way around with six way bolt work. It wights about a ton and is bolted to the concrete foundation.

If possible buy one of those cheap retail store “safes” and put it in a prominent location but don’t put anything valuable in it. It serves as a decoy so thieves won’t see your real safe until it’s too late (I assume you already have an alarm with 24 hour monitoring and sec response and surveillance cameras in your house)

I actually have a friend that has one in his den next to his reloading stuff... it isnt bolted down has a tone of gun stickers on it, has a few bricks and some metal pipe in it along with a few sandbags. His real safes are in a gun room in the basement behind in a cinder block lined room behind a stell framed security door.
 
I like it. I'm stealing that. ....the idea...

I would bolt down the decoy safe as well. This way they can’t just haul it away; it also lends more credence that valuable shit may be in there since it’s bolted. My decoy safe is bolted and has empty boxes and some old clothes in there.

Also put hidden cameras by your safes, preferably ones that look UP from the floor/lower portion of the wall. Thieves are often aware of cameras up high so wear hats, etc but never think about the hidden ones below them...
 
Buy whatever safe you like. Make sure you've got insurance to cover the theft of your firearms. And read the fine print for your homeowners policy for theft of firearms. Most offer only limited coverage for stolen firearms. I always buy excess policy like what Collectibles sells for coverage for losses above the firearm theft limit on my homeowners policy.
 
My brother in law takes the decoy safe bit to an extreme. He has a 5,000 lb safe that came out of a 19th century drug store. The door is about 6” thick. Not sure about the sides. Anyway, that is the decoy safe. It has an old .22 or the like in it. The real safe is an under-ground vault built into the house.

Would be a pity if they got by the security system and destroyed it trying to get in as it an antique from the old west. My bet is they don’t ever have the time to even make a serious attempt at getting into that thing in the first place.

I would seriously suggest research on safes before you buy anything. Like what was mentioned above anything you buy from a big store for a thousand or so is just packing/collecting everything in one place for a thief to more easily take. Also don’t believe the fire ratings. Research that too.
 
If it's only rated as a RSC (residential security container) I don't care who makes it, I can be in it in less that 5 min most likely. Being a metal worker I've realized how pitiful the protection on these are. Saw, plasma, or torch to the side and I'm in.

For 2k I'd just get the best fire rated one you can. They will all offer the same amount of protection. 14 Gauge-7 Gauge sides are common. All very easily cut into for any one with a basic understanding of cutting metals.

TL rated safes are better.

Safe room with reinforced concrete walls, ceiling, and a vault door is about your best bet for protection.

If a the if wants in bad enough he's gonna get it. Only theifs you are keeping out are the quick smash and grabs. Cheap safe with good fire rating, and locks on all sides of door are good enough. A 2k safe isn't going to keep someone out that a 1k safe wouldn't
 
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A safe is simply a means to buy time for your valuables; the better the safe, the more time you can buy. I look at it as an investment so bought the most capable safe I can afford (my next home will likely have a vault built into the structure itself).

Additionally, a safe should be only one layer of a multi-layer security and defense framework which should also include an alarm with 24/7 monitoring, visible and hidden security cameras with phone app so you can see near-real time what’s going on and, when possible, a network of observant trustworthy neighbors that keep an eye out for each other, reporting suspicious activity and persons as soon as they see it. If someone does break in, they won’t have enough time to breach a well made safe if all of the above also applies.
 
Take a look at this one, got it about 2 years ago and I’m very happy with it. I did a lot of research at that time and found it to be the best compromise I could afford. I bolted it to the slab in a spare bedroom so the back and sides are not accessible without tearing down the walls. If someone really decides to cut into it. It was a beast to move…two palette jacks, some steel plates and some steel rods to move it into it’s place from the garage (curbside delivered) into the house.

Steelwater Extreme Duty – 2 Hour Fire Rated – HD724228
 
Take a look at this one, got it about 2 years ago and I’m very happy with it. I did a lot of research at that time and found it to be the best compromise I could afford. I bolted it to the slab in a spare bedroom so the back and sides are not accessible without tearing down the walls. If someone really decides to cut into it. It was a beast to move…two palette jacks, some steel plates and some steel rods to move it into it’s place from the garage (curbside delivered) into the house.

Steelwater Extreme Duty – 2 Hour Fire Rated – HD724228
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I think it depends on your budget and what you want to achieve. I have a Remington safe that I bought on sale from Tractor Supply. I just wanted something to keeps kids and opportunity thieves out. I know it won't stop a determined thief but is better than nothing or a steel lock box. I keep my self defense weapons in separate quick access mechanical lock boxes since I don't really trust digital locks.
 
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If you just want a basic vault, grizzly industrial has some on sale right now. For Houston, tractor supply tends to be worth a peek. I just sale the thing w the house and get a new one. It’s 1% at most. It’s like having a shed in the back yard, may be the only thing that the man gets as his when he buys it and sweetens the deal.
 
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I went with their largest model..... https://www.sturdysafe.com/

They actually use plate steel for the entire safe, not folded over sheet metal like my dads Liberty. It was pricey, but I wanted something that would withstand a burglary attempt and ensure my collection remained safe.
 
On a totally serious note... if you have made a large investment in many firearms, think about a small vault door and a reinforced concrete room with concrete roof and floor (from a couple square feet to 10x10) wired with electrical for dehumidifier.
 
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I've had a Liberty Centurion 30 for 11 years and have been very happy with it. We recently moved and the 550 lb safes wasn't too hard to move. We had a moving company move a few items including the safe, a safe this size didn't cost us a premium to move. A larger one definitely would have. Add another safe if you run out if room or use the limited room in safe as a way to help control arsenal size. :)
 
AMSEC BF7240. It's bomb proof.......

No safe is bomb proof. Even if they can't move it, if they have time they'll cut into it to get to the contents. And I've never seen a safe or it's contents that survived an extensive house fire.
 
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No safe is bomb proof. Even if they can't move it, if they have time they'll cut into it to get to the contents. And I've never seen a safe or it's contents that survived an extensive house fire.
1/2” steel plate door, 7 gauge sides, and 12 gauge liner with insulation that gums up a grinder. They’d need to be there for a LONG time with expensive tools to get into an AmSec BF7240..
 
I respectfully disagree. Safe loaded with guns and other things, plus bolted to floor would be very difficult IMHO.
Yep, a couple Redhead drop in anchors into concrete would make it just about impossible to get up. Forklifts can’t pry those things out.
 
I respectfully disagree. Safe loaded with guns and other things, plus bolted to floor would be very difficult IMHO.

My apologies Sir, I must have overlooked somewhere that the safe was bolted to a concrete floor. Mine certainly is but not everyone has this option.
If the OP has a concrete floor than your suggestion will work for him.
 
1/2” steel plate door, 7 gauge sides, and 12 gauge liner with insulation that gums up a grinder. They’d need to be there for a LONG time with expensive tools to get into an AmSec BF7240..

The BF is a very nice RSC, but a fire axe with a pick would make short work of penetrating that BF series safe. Milwaukee makes a M18 battery powered metal saw that will get through most “safes”.

 
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When i looked at safes I made sure to get one with both the door and sides made from plate steel and double welded in the corners. As the guys from West Coast Safes said any safe can be broken into it just come down to how much time and what tools are needed. When they delivered it they leveled and bolted all 4 corners in the concrete. It weighs about 2200 lbs and has 22 active bolts.
 
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I love my modular Zanotti Armor safe, they offer discounts to mil and le. At least they used too. if looking for a used one be sure to check out Facebook marketplace, I've seen screaming deals on really nice safes from guys moving and not willing to take their safes with them. I have insurance with Collectibles Insurance should anything happen. Oh yeah get the good old fashioned dial combo lock. The electronic shit will fail.
 
I love my modular Zanotti Armor safe, they offer discounts to mil and le. At least they used too. if looking for a used one be sure to check out Facebook marketplace, I've seen screaming deals on really nice safes from guys moving and not willing to take their safes with them. I have insurance with Collectibles Insurance should anything happen. Oh yeah get the good old fashioned dial combo lock. The electronic shit will fail.

I have one of the Zanotti Armor Z2 6’ safes I used to have upstairs in my old house, I’ll be putting it up for sale soon as I got a Sturdy when I moved. I was amazed how tight they are made, they feel as solid as a welded safe when assembled. Mine has toolbox style drawers in the bottom which isn’t offered anymore, those are great for suppressors and pistols.

I also recommend an alarm, I had Simplisafe for a long time, now I’m using the ring system as the monitoring is fixed at $100 per year.
 
I like my Summit. I recently looked at upgrading to another Summit but their prices have increased substantially.
I also recommend insurance like Collectibles. I had the NRA one for a while and after comparing prices it was a no brainer. Homeowners insurance don't really cover much on firearms.
 
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I have a valuable property policy through USAA for firearms, camera gear, my wife’s engagement ring, but it’s on the expensive side. I want to look around and see what other companies charge.