Gun Safe

[SunDevil]

Sports Authority has safes and they are going out of business. I was there yesterday and they guy told me they were going to increase their sale discounts starting today for the weekend

[lancetkenyon]

I picked up a new Browning Pro-steel safe this weekend. 772# and "40 gun capacity". I thought I made a mistake after I got it to the house and realized it was about 1/2" too big to fit in the door......took off the door and the door stop and it slid right through.

[AZkiller]

Nice! The Browning is the best built safe you can buy.

[Camofreak]

Where'd you buy her from?

[lancetkenyon]

Sportsman's Warehouse. I had a coupon for 10% off any purchase over $1000, so it made it a no brainer.

[azsugarbear]

From my years of research on safes, I have come to understand that most of the safes sold by retailers (store front shops) today are simply not that secure. They look great and seem to serve their purpose - until someone actually breaks into them. And that is a little too late to gain insight into the safe you thought was 'safe'. It isn't so much about prying the door (although that will work on the less expensive models), as it is about the steel on the sides of the safe. This is where most mfg's skimp to save on material costs. A fireman's ax can usually get through these thin side walls in a matter of minutes. That is why most safe mfg's don't publish the thickness of their steel walls. 10 gauge is considered by most good builders to be an absolute minimum thickness for side walls and backs. Retailers sell what the public wants - or is willing to spend. The really good safes have a limited audience - and as such, are not big sellers.

 

If you have access to police and law enforcement lock-up areas, you won't see many of the common safe names. One that I kept seeing and hearing about were these:

 

https://www.sturdysafe.com/

 

Take a look at their website and you will learn a lot about what makes a gun safe truly "safe". I'm sure there are many other such mfg's out there with similar product. I don't own one - yet. I do plan on upgrading in the near future. I currently have an older AMSEC that was made with the thicker walls and back. They discontinued the model because it simply did not sell as well as their other safes that had thinner walls, but prettier paint with fancy decals and an electric lock.

 

Don't be fooled by weight alone. Lots of mfg's will add heavier materials to make a safe weigh more, but the weight is probably not steel and not placed in the right locations. Regardless of the safe you buy, you can double the effective deterrence it has by bolting it to the concrete floor with thick lag bolts and sleeves. You can make your safe fireproof by simply building a wall that wraps around your safe and then covering the wall with 3-4 layers of sheetrock.

[lancetkenyon]

ANY safe can be broken into. A safe is truly a deterrent for the smash and grab type of burglaries. If someone wants in, the WILL get it. They just buy time for a response or make the thief make a decision if what is in it is worth the effort and time added to the chance of getting caught. Same as a lock on a front door. If someone want in, a window is usually right next to it. If we try to eliminate all threats of burglary, we would be spending $1 million on a security system, armed guards, dogs, etc.

 

That is why I also carry an extra rider on my insurance to cover my guns.

[PRDATR]

If you want to get an opinion and what safes are the most secure call Interstate Lock and Safe and ask for Seth. Been around for a long time and the top safe guy in the state, maybe the west.

[Zeke-BE]

ANY safe can be broken into. A safe is truly a deterrent for the smash and grab type of burglaries. If someone wants in, the WILL get it. They just buy time for a response or make the thief make a decision if what is in it is worth the effort and time added to the chance of getting caught. Same as a lock on a front door. If someone want in, a window is usually right next to it. If we try to eliminate all threats of burglary, we would be spending $1 million on a security system, armed guards, dogs, etc.

That is why I also carry an extra rider on my insurance to cover my guns.

Exactly !!!! Most thief's break in during the day and they are not set up to steel a 300-600 lb safe or going to risk smacking it with an ax, crowbar and make lots of noise. Almost all thief's are amateurs and won't know how to break in. If someone picked it and got inside......... Well he was going to get that anyways

[PRDATR]

I went into the Safe Store today and kicked the tires on a few models. I really like the Liberty Tactical 24 even though it isn't exactly what I was looking for in the interior it is more than I need capacity wise.

[lancetkenyon]

Take how many long guns you think you will ever own, and DOUBLE it. A 50 rifle safe realistically only holds 20-25 rifles unless you don't care about tjem and absolutely cram them in. And then you lose shelf space so the binos, LRF, spotter, GPS, etc. Won't fit in there. Mine is a "50 gun", and I am not even close to that number but they are comfortable in there, with room for about 4-6 more.

[metau]

Been comptemplating getting one myself. From what I've read I think I'd be better off just buying a metal box with a simple lock to keep kids out or building an entire room for what it would cost to get a true safe. I've definitely enjoyed reading this thread though.