I am looking at the Browning Yukon Gold (YG40E) safe sold at Sportsmans Warehouse. It retails for $1599. What are your opinions on this safe. Are there better for same capacity and price?
Opinions on gun safe
- Thread starter JMGlasgow
- Start date
A lot of room in that , not a bad safe for the price. I have a liberty Lincoln series but cost me almost twice as much.
Other than having one lower gauge steel and another 1/2 hour fire rating on my liberty I don't see a heck of a lot of difference between the two.
For the price it seems pretty good.
Other than having one lower gauge steel and another 1/2 hour fire rating on my liberty I don't see a heck of a lot of difference between the two.
For the price it seems pretty good.
Not a bad safe for the price and as long as you understand the capabilities of the safe against actual criminal attack and fire protection then it may be good. If you keep it in a garage put it against an outside wall as the fire may not burn as hot compared to a centrally located safe towards the interior of the home. I grew up in Cheyenne so make sure you run a heated rod in it to keep moisture down unless you feel like recharging elements every few weeks. I have several safes and one of them is a Browning Pinnacle 65 (now called a 63 since 2014). I will give you two words of advise on that safe. 1) Make sure you purchase a safe at least one, if not two, sizes bigger than what you think you need. I have three safes and I could use another as you always find stuff to put in there. 2) the door storage is nice but it can be a little deceiving. If you put a number of rifles in the door rack, the door pockets are more or less useless as they must be empty to effectively put rifles in them. The other issue is the bottom attachment that holds rifles extends into the safe several inches so if you put rifles within 6 or so inches from the door opening, the attachment will hit them and the door won't close unless you push the rifles further from the door.
There will be several that will chime in and recommend what they call a "real" safe for 5 to 10 times what you want to pay but for general protection these are fine unless you are visited by someone with the skills, tools and tools to get in there. Bolt the safe in at least two points and if you also have a home alarm system you are just that much better off. If you want a way to increase the fire rating, line a row or two of furnace brick on the sides, back, and top (outside) and that will help keep it cooler for longer which could make a difference in saving what you have in there.
There will be several that will chime in and recommend what they call a "real" safe for 5 to 10 times what you want to pay but for general protection these are fine unless you are visited by someone with the skills, tools and tools to get in there. Bolt the safe in at least two points and if you also have a home alarm system you are just that much better off. If you want a way to increase the fire rating, line a row or two of furnace brick on the sides, back, and top (outside) and that will help keep it cooler for longer which could make a difference in saving what you have in there.
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Thats the reason I ask. I don't know much about which lock is better. Or which fire rating is a better representation of actual protection. I read the article on 6mmbr and have even more questions. So I started looking at reviews, I looked at Liberty and Cannon as well in the same price range. Liberty I know is good, but reading reviews of several lock issues, and delivery times being somewhat long. Cannon seems to be very good, but price points go up very rapidly. I can't seem to find any reviews of the Yukon Gold line of safe, it's not even on Browning's website. Looks to be a safe built for Sportsmans by Browning. I looked at one in the store, wanted warranty info, sales couldn't provide a brochure or pamphlet. I even went to Sportsmans website, no mention of a warranty or service agreement like other companies.
Too many questions, and many more the more I research.
Too many questions, and many more the more I research.
I'm pretty sure this is it right here if you read the specs on it.
Sporter - SP40, , Browning Gun Safe Product
What you might also consider is looking for used safes as people are upgrading or moving out of the area and don't want the problems of moving a safe. Look at the classifieds in Cheyenne, Laramie, or Fort Collins and you might find a better safe for a similar price.
I will chime in, I had two name brand safes, one a liberty and another an older safe similar to what you a are looking at.
I recently experienced a very bad situation. I had what I thought were good fire proof safes. Originally I was told that the door seal did not get hot enough to activate, further tests proved otherwise.
I will offer this advice, get the best you can afford, ( a very good safe is about as much as 1 very nice stick) Get bigger than you think you will use. Checkwith local locksmiths to see what they sell/service( comes in handy in a bad situation when you need in but can't get in )
If you have an area to place the safe ( garage or base meant etc wrap the thing with concrete. or at a minimum eclose all but the door and front with cement board or fire proof drywall.
PM me and I will show you pics of a 90 min safe after 42 min in a home fire. It did not fare well.
With a safe, honestly think/plan the location very well, Buy once cry once, and get one with a warranty( Liberty is building me a new one as we speak, no questions asked, can't beat the CS.)
I recently experienced a very bad situation. I had what I thought were good fire proof safes. Originally I was told that the door seal did not get hot enough to activate, further tests proved otherwise.
I will offer this advice, get the best you can afford, ( a very good safe is about as much as 1 very nice stick) Get bigger than you think you will use. Checkwith local locksmiths to see what they sell/service( comes in handy in a bad situation when you need in but can't get in )
If you have an area to place the safe ( garage or base meant etc wrap the thing with concrete. or at a minimum eclose all but the door and front with cement board or fire proof drywall.
PM me and I will show you pics of a 90 min safe after 42 min in a home fire. It did not fare well.
With a safe, honestly think/plan the location very well, Buy once cry once, and get one with a warranty( Liberty is building me a new one as we speak, no questions asked, can't beat the CS.)
I am a professional Safe Tech. Check out American Security Products. You will pay a bit more but the quality won't be beat.
When you check one out look at the plate steel thickness of the door. If its less then 1/4" you might wanna look further. Alot of the cheaper ones are only 12 gauge or even 10 gauge in some cases.
When you check one out look at the plate steel thickness of the door. If its less then 1/4" you might wanna look further. Alot of the cheaper ones are only 12 gauge or even 10 gauge in some cases.
AMSEC "quality won't be beat" depends on what you are looking for in a safe. The HS series offer better theft protection than many others but you give away fire protection in doing so. While the BF, SF, VF, and TF series offer different levels of fire protection, their highest rating is 1200 degrees for 120 minutes. Sounds like enough but these ratings are lower than some others out there. I would argue that the best AMSEC safe would be the HS series; however, if you have a good size collection, you may need to purchase more than one as the HS does not come in very large sizes most likely because of weight as the largest HS is around 4600 pounds. In my case, I am more concerned with fire protection over theft but others may have different concerns that drive them to a specific product.
Now for those that say "go big or go home" you could always get a Lacka safe TXTL 60 that withstands fire up to 8000 degrees for an hour, nitro and TNT proof and can insure contents up to 10 million for a cool 50,000 grand.
Now for those that say "go big or go home" you could always get a Lacka safe TXTL 60 that withstands fire up to 8000 degrees for an hour, nitro and TNT proof and can insure contents up to 10 million for a cool 50,000 grand.
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Yaa its TNT proof , but what about a 105mm howitzer. I mean we all know how thieves like to use howitzers to open safes.
your right hairball, you could go all out and never have enough safe.
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I have a Browning and am happy with it. No, it won't withstand a professional thief, but then again a Pro won't bother with a small time score. Bolt it to the floor and wall and your average crud won't be able to get into it. Make it hard to get to, place it where the sides will be hard to get at and you should be OK. Opt for the tried and true dial combination lock. Electronics will be more prone to problems. Do buy the NRA's firearm insurance. Best deal going and no serial numbers required. Security system and a couple of big ass dogs and that average crud will move on and select an easier house.
Danny
Danny
Fuck the brands, fuck the sales hype. I've written in depth on this, but I'll keep it short from now on.
TL-15 (or better) TL-30 is the RATING you want. Doesn't matter who made it, though AMSEC TL's are quite nice, popular and common, that number says UL tested it and it took two grown men who were equipped with appropriate tools and know how 15 or 30 minutes respectively to breech it. BTW, TL-15 is the weakest of the "real" safes. You can get better, but TL-15/30 will cut it fine for most of us and besides, the better ratings cost WAY more. TL-15/30 isn't too much of a jump from RSC though, especially if you buy used.
Anything less than this is rated as a RSC (residential security container). This encompasses most gun "safes". They're advertised as such because who'd buy a "container" when the other guy sells "safes". Fact is, I've NEVER seen a REAL safe at any outdoors store EVER. All said "safe", all had "RSC" stamped in the door next to the fire rating.
Those of you with regular gun safes have no idea how fast I could get into one of those; I guarantee you it'll be less than 15 minutes if I'm "in the ready" and I'm just one disabled guy. And I'd leave the door and locks totally intact, so get that as thick as you want, it won't matter.
For sake of your security, I'll leave out how to open them, but some of you may have some good ideas.
TL-15 (or better) TL-30 is the RATING you want. Doesn't matter who made it, though AMSEC TL's are quite nice, popular and common, that number says UL tested it and it took two grown men who were equipped with appropriate tools and know how 15 or 30 minutes respectively to breech it. BTW, TL-15 is the weakest of the "real" safes. You can get better, but TL-15/30 will cut it fine for most of us and besides, the better ratings cost WAY more. TL-15/30 isn't too much of a jump from RSC though, especially if you buy used.
Anything less than this is rated as a RSC (residential security container). This encompasses most gun "safes". They're advertised as such because who'd buy a "container" when the other guy sells "safes". Fact is, I've NEVER seen a REAL safe at any outdoors store EVER. All said "safe", all had "RSC" stamped in the door next to the fire rating.
Those of you with regular gun safes have no idea how fast I could get into one of those; I guarantee you it'll be less than 15 minutes if I'm "in the ready" and I'm just one disabled guy. And I'd leave the door and locks totally intact, so get that as thick as you want, it won't matter.
For sake of your security, I'll leave out how to open them, but some of you may have some good ideas.
I've never bought a safe with the idea it was gonna keep a thief out . Its just there to slow you down long enough for me to empty a magazine into your ass.
One note to think about safes re: fires versus theft. Most home-owners insurance policies include firearms in the "contents" coverage for fire. So, as an example, for a $400K home, the contents insured under home-owners may be $200K, and firearms are included in the coverage of all contents of the house (furniture, clothes, etc.) up to $200K (or whatever your limit is). Firearms, however, are typically excluded from theft coverage under a home owners policy or are only covered up to $5000 or so. Therefore, a separate policy or rider is typically needed to cover theft of firearms. I keep the insurance coverage in mind when buying safes. If my guns sit in a house fire for 10 mins or 60 mins no matter the fire rating of the safe, I will still want them replaced if possible. I am more interested in stopping theft, and the average crackhead breaking into your house is not going to be able to crack any of the safes listed. All that being said, I still have additional firearms theft insurance through the NRA.
Semi-off-topic: for those of you running out of room in your safe, give these a shot:
Liberty Safe and Gun Storage Solutions Rifle Rods : Cabela's
I just installed them in my safe and gained room for 3-4 more long guns.
Semi-off-topic: for those of you running out of room in your safe, give these a shot:
Liberty Safe and Gun Storage Solutions Rifle Rods : Cabela's
I just installed them in my safe and gained room for 3-4 more long guns.
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