Posted: 2/20/2004 8:03:53 AM EDT
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I need to get a gunsafe, but I do not have a lot of cash avaliable to do so. I need some recomendations on good, low cost safes. |
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What is the primary concern, fire or theft? How many guns do you need to store? Figure the number of rifles you'll actually store to be about half of what is advertised. For example, in a 12-gun cabinet, plan on storing 6 or 7 rifles. You might get more in there, but it will get very cramped. Pick out the biggest safe you can afford and get the next one up in size. Make sure the safe can be bolted to the floor and/or wall. This is especially important for smaller, lighter safes. You can save some money by getting a dial combination instead of an electronic one. How much are you looking to spend? |
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A Homack safe from Academy, with a couple extra hinged padlocks (in addition to the coke locks) and bolted to the studs in your closet for $100 or so bucks, beats the heck outta no safe at all. I bought one many years ago while livin in apartments and although I have better now, certainly kept the rif-raf at bay. FWIW, a couple old relics or cheap 22 w/ no mag or firing pins place on a standard wall mounted gunrack, along with a cheapo samuri sword or Rambo III knife laying around makes most non-professional grab 'em and run, only to realized later they got "crap" for their trouble. Think smart, if you position your safe, or even it ya decide against a safe, in a closet w/ a door, be sure to remove the middle screw from the door facing hinges (as most closet doors have hinges on the outside) and drive a high carbon steel drill bit (biggest to fit) in it's place and tap slowly till ya get the door to close like normal. Then place a good hinge and padlock on the door (which ya can cover up with spackle or toothpaste later). The bits top and bottom will prevent someone from removing the hinges to circumvent the padlock, as the bits will hold that side of the door tightly closed. There are many tips and tricks to slicks, dummies and hides, don't be afraid to be creative.... Mike |
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I have a 14 gun Sentry. I managed to outgrow that and added a Homak 8 gun cabinet, left the handguns and "good" rifles in the Sentry and moved the milsurp stuff to the Homak The Sentry offers a hell of a lot more protection than the Homak but it's still not a "real" safe. Anybody with simple skills, tools and a bit of time can get into it. What it will do is deter a quick "hit and run" type thief. The Homak would be history with a decent pry bar and a few minutes. And you can put a lot in the Sentry. This was before I split the collection: Everything but the USP45 and the CZ 75 (bedroom guns) fit in the safe. [img]http://flymeaway.net/images/P6265183.JPG[/img] [img]http://flymeaway.net/images/PA045147%20(Small).JPG[/img] |
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A guy at work tipped me off that Walmart had Sentry gunsafes on sale for as low as $250. He said they weren't on display but stashed away in the warehouse. I was skeptical but I went to check it out anyway. In the sporting goods department at Walmart the clerk at first told me they had no gun safes in stock. Then she went to help someone else. At that point I concluded that either she was lying or the guy at work was lying. I decided to see for myself, so I just walked through the heavy plastic sheets that hang in the warehouse doors. Before I got chased out of the warehouse I did in fact confirm there was not one, but three safes present. At that point I went and found the aforementioned clerk and told her I just put my hands on one of the safes she said they didn't have. Result: I got a 10 gun Sentry for $250. Panzer Out [img]http://www.fsguns.com/images/G6211.jpg[/img] |
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I've got one of those $350 sentry safes from wal-mart. I couldn't be happier! I made myself two additional selves and now I can fit so much crap in there, it's not even funny! Suits my needs, keeps guns dry and away from oppertunists. Won't stop robert deniro though |
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Buy larger than what you need or what you THINK you will need. You will need more space! Whatever the # is for amount of guns stored, they don't account for scopes, pistol grips, cocking handles etc. Keep a light on the top of your safe. That way if there is no power, you can still get into your safe. Don't keep ammo in the safe, it is a waste of space. |