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GUN SAFES!! please help!

R

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Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 11, 2012
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Our house in which i keep all my custom bolt action rifles just got broken into tonight! It was a smash and grab, thankfully my neighbor intercepted the "young" suspects with a shotgun and they jumped the fence and ran off. I have a gun cabinet right now but feel like i need to upgrade! What is a good safe for under $1000? I was looking at the Liberty Reserve safe.

Please respond im trying to act fast.
Roger
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Sorry to hear about that, but good on your neighbor! I bet we do not hear about the good that came from a armed citizen on the news.

I got a huge Cannon safe from Tractor Supply Company for just over 1k.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

http://www.sturdysafe.com/model2419.htm

I don't know how big of a safe you need, but a lot of people feel that for the price sturdy makes the strongest safes. They are not pretty compared to other brands, but they use 7 gauge steel which is much thicker and stronger that anything else you will find at that price point. The relatively small one in the link above is only slightly over your budget at $1200; it may be worth a look.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

In my experience anything sub $1k is only a deterrent. Experienced thiefs will be able to get into any of the cheaper "safes" given they have the time, tools, knowledge and possibly manpower depending on the previous 3 points. Don't let that stop you from getting one though because in most cases that deterrent is all you will need especially if it's just young turds. Truth be told even a cheaper "gun safe" like the liberty will get most criminals to walk away just taking the easy to get items. Just make sure any "safe" you get is bolted down as that makes it slightly harder to get into and keeps them from hauling it away like they did to one of my coworkers.

The fire rating is probably one of the most important things to look into for something on the lower end. Liberty safes are not bad and would be okay if in you're price range.

The only way to be tottally secure (well almost) is to get a real safe that is the type you'd find at a bank / jewelry store. The have better/thicker steel and concrete filled along with all the fancy fail safes in the door that make it so only a experienced safe cracker will be able to get in given they have enough time. A true safe is going to be very very expensive though.

Disclaimer: I'm just a dumb cop though and am far from a safe expert.... I just know enough about safes to get myself in trouble so consult a real expert if you need to know more.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

I would be buying the neighbor a case of his favorite cold beverage. Honestly though all a safe is good for is a deterrent. I just have my safes in a room that isn't obvious to anyone that comes in the house.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

My opinion... if you have custom actioned guns like you say, it is probably safe to say you have in upwards of atleast one gun in upwards of 3K speaking conservatively...why would you want to buy a safe for a thousand-ish to protect multiple custom guns let alone just one? As others have stated, safes from your big box stores for the most part only buy you time, and minimal time at that. I live very close to Superior Safes, and occassionally they have a promotoion day for their safes and also have competitors safes there as well... two guys with pry bars alone can get into most of those Big box stores brands in literally 2 mins. (they show us demonstrations) I ended up purchasing a Master 40 safe from Superior Safes, I would def. suggest a safe of this caliber... as others said too Sturdy would be great, Fort Knox, etc...another good indicator is overall weight, you should be buying something in atleast around the 1k LB mark
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

I gotta say as soon as I started to mass any kind of gun collection instead of buying another gun I bought a good safe I found used. It's a Browning safe with a 10ga steel door that cost me $800. Once I filled that one again instead of buying more guns I saved and bought a Liberty Fat Boy 64 with 11ga door and 1hr fire rating $1900 on sale. My point is if you have guns worth more than a safe costs It's time to put the money into protecting your investment not more guns.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

the best thing for me having a safe isn't just that it keeps my guns out of the wrong hands but i can keep ss cards,birth certificates,baby pictures,jewelry,family heirlooms etc etc
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

I have a Liberty Presidential series safe that is bolted to the floor. I agree with the others If you have expensive custom riles spend the extra $$$ and get a good heavy gauge safe with a decent fire rating.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Now, our friend in the video is a good salesman (keep that in mind) but some good info none the less. I think it comes down to how much money do you want to spend.

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Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Decide on what you want to spend and then watch Craigslist religiously. You will get so much more safe for your money.

I picked up an Amsec BF6030 in new condition for $650. It weighs just under a 1k lbs.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

I like AMSEC and Liberty safes, though I feel like you get more for your dollar with Liberty than AMSEC. If money were no object, a high end AMSEC with all the bells and whistles would be my recommendation.

However, I'd recommend you look at this as a long-term investment. Save some extra money and get one good safe that will hold you for a while. I'd recommend going to a Liberty show room and seeing what you can get with your budget. While the Liberty and AMSECs will be similar in size, you'll get more amenities with the Liberty for the same price. Just my 2 cents.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rtc111</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Our house in which i keep all my custom bolt action rifles just got broken into tonight! It was a smash and grab, thankfully my neighbor intercepted the "young" suspects with a shotgun and they jumped the fence and ran off. I have a gun cabinet right now but feel like i need to upgrade! What is a good safe for under $1000? I was looking at the Liberty Reserve safe.

Please respond im trying to act fast.
Roger </div></div>

Liberty has gone the route of adding chicom crap safes to their product line.

I sold an American made Liberty on CL a month ago. $2200 safe for $950. Yea I got a deal on it when I bought it used so I passed it along.

If you can get over the panic and give yourself a few weeks, I suggest you contact Curt at CE Safes and have one from his CE line put together to your liking. More metal for the $$ and a plate steel door/front frame assembly, not thin sheet metal bent to resemble a door.

Fort Knox is the last great safe coming out of the Utah Safe Mafia these days. The FK and CE are very similarly made, but the CE gets you more safe for the $$.

Lastly, I have become a convert from S&G dial to S&G 6120 keypad style. This is a very well evolved locking system. One advantage with it is it can be placed different ways in the door, unlike the dial lock, so drilling is more difficult as the cracker does not know how it was installed.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

In the world of safes just as in anything else, you get what you pay for and a new gun safe for less than 1k may prevent a kid from a quick grab and dash but a determined adult can get into them in less than 2 minutes. You may be surprised at how many people spend tens of thousands on rifles and then go cheap on a safe. As you have a limited budget for a gun safe, add an alarm system to the house to reduce the likelihood of someone hanging around in the home trying to breach the safe. Bolt it down and hope for the best. As others have mentioned, look on the classifieds to find a better safe as many will end up selling when they move instead of hauling them around. One last thing, find the size of safe you think you need and then get a larger one. I have three and I still could use a little more space.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HiCapMag</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Now, our friend in the video is a good salesman (keep that in mind) but some good info none the less. I think it comes down to how much money do you want to spend.

</div></div>

Curt is actually a poor salesman - he is just telling it like it is.

This is the CE reference in my post.

Also, on plate doors and frames versus "composite", take a look at this thread and the pics. The composite doors are easy to spot - the door spreads out like an accordion and the bolts move away from the front of the door. With a plate door and plate steel frame the bolts pass through, this cannot happen.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3733988&page=8
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: _9H_Cracka</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HiCapMag</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Now, our friend in the video is a good salesman (keep that in mind) but some good info none the less. I think it comes down to how much money do you want to spend.

</div></div>

Curt is actually a poor salesman - he is just telling it like it is.

This is the CE reference in my post.

Also, on plate doors and frames versus "composite", take a look at this thread and the pics. The composite doors are easy to spot - the door spreads out like an accordion and the bolts move away from the front of the door. With a plate door and plate steel frame the bolts pass through, this cannot happen.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3733988&page=8 </div></div>

No offense intended
grin.gif

He sure has me rethinking my present situation. Time to get a bigger safe anyway. In the presnet market, for what you could spend on a POS pieces-parts homebuild AR, you could buy a damn fine safe.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Oh yeah the neighbor is getting a nice dinner out no question! and that's the sad thing, im going to write and article for the local news paper to show what armed citizens do! I like that canon safe, and i do have 2 expensive custom bolts, but because were upgrading the alarm with motion and break glass windows i just want something that is pry proof being bolted to the floor. Its also going to be in the closet so its going to be tough to get a lot of leverage on it. When i move out im going to buy a really nice safe and keep everything in there.

Keep the Ideas coming!

Id also like to see how hard it really is to pry into a sub $1000 dollar safe.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Tractor supply is where I got mine. It is a 40 plus gun cannon safe. Great price.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rtc111</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Id also like to see how hard it really is to pry into a sub $1000 dollar safe. </div></div>

Not hard. I don't know of one safe under $1000 that has a plate door. A solid plate is the only thing that is going to help resist a pry attack. Most doors on Chinese safes are going to be thin metal wrapped around drywall which will flex easily.

The next problem is those cheap safes only have a lip of body steel folded back that the bolts lock behind. It's not hard to fold it right over making it even less pry resistant.

Do yourself a favor and look I to the Sturdy safes and AMSEC BF's. They are much beefier than any other RSC on the market.

If you a absolutely can't spend the money for one then get the cheapest safe you can that offers the storage space you need because none of them are going to stop an attack from a determined burglar. Safes lined with drywall are also piss poor as far as fire is concerned, do a quick picture search on google and you'll see what I mean.

The other option is looking for something used on craigslist. Often times you can pick up TL rated jewelers safes for next to nothing, you just have to figure out how to move them. This option is by far the best bang for the buck because no RSC even begins to compare to a safe that holds a UL TL15 or TL30 rating.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

You know.. That fridge safe wasn't a bad idea. Not saying security by obscurity is the best, but I know I wouldn't bother breaking into a locked fridge...
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Zanotti Armor
Waterloo, IA

Totally BA...and you can take em apart....from the inside.
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

Rtc111, my two cents answer to your question like others have said you get what you pay for... I have a Liberty presidential and I am very pleased with the build finish and bomb proofness of it. I understand if you are on a strict budget then get the most you can for your buck, a safe is a life long investment...
 
Re: GUN SAFES!! please help!

I'd say you owe your neighbor dinner :)

+1 for Sturdy safes.
 
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