Hello all,
I don't post often, I can usually find the answers here on the board but need some help with a gun safe purchase.  I am aware of the limitations of most gun safes, protect from a smash and grab brake in and keep the kids out.   Basicly i have narrowed down to a Browning silver series (holds 26 w/dpx) and Patriot "protector" 24 gun.  But after doing so reading last night on the web
a few people in the safe professsion say all RSC are about the same so get the cheapest  one you can  that has the featues you want.  Is there any truth to this, becasue a local
store has a Stack On  Total defence for like $700.00  I dont want to drop 1,700- 1,800 bucks if the stack on will be as secure as the other two I mentioned.  There is now doubt the others look much nicer, but in the end they are doing the same job,  Thanks for your help.

No RSC is going to be as good as a true safe, but there are definate differences in the quality and reliablity of RSCs.  They range from 14guage to 7 guage, solid welded to skip welded, no fire rating to 2.5 hr rating, no relocker to multiple relockers, cheap electric locks to quality locks that will last multiple lifetimes, hardened anti-drill plates or not, and on and on.  It's all dependant on what you feel you need and what you want to spend.

There are certainly safes with an RSC rating that are better than others. With a safe, you always get what you pay for. The more you spend, the better the safe will be.

Thnaks for the replys.  Do you think the Browing silver series and the Patriot are equal safes or is one better than the other. The pretty much have what I am looking for as far as capasity, but I cannot find much info on the lock that Patriot uses, The browing has a S&G group 2.

Any RSC is a sheet metal cabinet. Don't think of it as a safe.

That being said, the thicker the steel on the body the better. Continuous welds are better. Personally I think relockers and the like are sort of silly on something I can cut the entire side out of in 30 minutes.

So focus on the basics. A real RSC UL rating. Thick body steel all around, solid welds, robust and simple locking linkages. Don't fall for the 41 chrome bolts and shiny paint.

Strongly disagree.  30 minutes is a whole lot longer than just hitting the handle with a sledge hammer and opening the door.  You want a relocker.

You can buy good safes that are RSC rated, and I wouldn't consider 3/16" or 1/4"  thick steel to be sheet metal either.

He is right about relockers, you can simply pound the lock off the door of a safe without one in less than a minute and open the safe.

There is no such thing as a real RSC UL rating. Any of the UL security ratings are a joke when your not dealing with TL ratings. Meaning that a $700 safe can carry the same rsc rating as a $2200 safe, but the more expensive safe will take a lot longer to get into.

I researched a week ago what you are now doing. I looked into both the companies you mentioned and decided that Sturdy safes are the best "safes" in that price range. I didn't get the fire lining because I couldn't afford it, but where I live the chance of burgalary are higher than a fire, so I made my decision on that.

Just be sure to check out sturdy safe. Pros: Very thick steel, american made, all that you need nothin you don't type company.

Just for the record, "sheet metal" is traditionally under 1/8" thick.  At 1/8" and above it's common to start calling it plate.

And just for the record, 1/8" equals 11 guage steel.  

Research, research and more research - compare to Sturdy and make a solid decision for your requirements.

Yes I like my Sturdy and I have no regrets.  Try to find one in your area, you'll be amazed at the differences when compared to a safe made off shore.

It doesn't much matter to a cutting wheel. Really. Take a 7.5" grinder and try it out. Nothing special. Something you can buy at Home Depot all day.

1/4" is getting decent but really how many RSC's are made of 1/4" through the whole body?

Also, on the relocker thing, in the last 15 years I've hacked open quite a few mid-low-end safes mostly from estate settlements (where they don't care about saving the safe and don't want to pay a real locksmith). I've never been able to pound one open using the handle. The handle has always either sheared clean off, slipped on a clutch-type setup, or some other linkage inside has broken and jammed. Not to say that it can't happen, I've just never seen it.  Maybe on the super-low-end stuff like Sentry's?

11gauge= .119".......... thinner than 1/8" steel.

The relocker is on the lock, not on the handle. So you pound the lock into the safe and just turn the handle on safes without a relocker to open them. Beating on the handle will not get you much of anywhere on most of the current safes out there.