Hi, I am looking to but a gun safe and was wondering where the better places to look in terms of price was.  I don't need one of the laquered painted safes, I would rather spend the money for the larger models.  Also, which brands do you like?  Thanks

O boy.... you just opened a big can of worms.here is my opinion buy all the safe you can if you have 2 guns you will out grow a 24 gun safe before you know it...shop around I found the largest treadlock(out of biz now) dealer was just 40 mile from home and they discounted the safes alot..that was my first one
wal-mart was sellin the cannon line(they only stock them around x-mas) so I waited till then to have my pic.. that was the second one
Sams club keeps one sittin in the floor...
check your local yellow pages....dont try to move it yourself(BUT DONT TELL EVERYONE YOU GOT IT)and get a golden rod for it they are worth it.

I bought a Frontier safe from a distributor in Ft. Wayne Indiana.  Don't know if they are still around or not, but it's a great safe.  Heavier gage steel & more/bigger lugs than the comparable (price-wise) Browning model, came fully carpeted, with fire proofing, and a peg-board on the inside of the door.  Painted black, S&G lock...and it was the least expensive out of the bunch (Liberty, Ft. Knox, Browning).

--Otter

Mr Stryker,

I see that you live in Texas.  You may want to consider contacting Liberty Safes of Texas.  Allen Gibson is the owner and he's pretty honest.  They run specials all the time and you can frequently find him at the DFW area gun shows.  They have a shop in Irving and in Garland; the Irving number is 972 272 9788.  

I got a Liberty 25 which was a limited edition.  It has the electronic cypher lock and is finished in grey granite.  I like the look of the gloss black, but they show every freakin' fingerprint on the planet and you'd better like dust because it will show every dust molecule that comes near it, so I went with the granite finish.  I'm glad I did.

Got a zero interest loan and a $75 rebate on it as well.  They brought it to our home and set it up.  

The comment about once you get a gunsafe you will find the inexplicable need to fill it is dead on truth!  Plan accordingly!

In my opinion Allen and the folks at Liberty are top notch and will treat you right.

Mike Sigman

 

Go to the "yellow pages" and look under "safes".  There is an excellent chance that you will be able to find an old cabinet safe that will keep 12 rifles safe from thieves and fire, but plan to install your own gunracks after you remove the shelves and files.  

They generally run less than two rifles ($1,000) and are an excellent buy.

Expect to pay an extra couple of hundred dollars to have professional safe movers deliver the safe, and roll it into your garage.

Also, if it's an older safe, have the lock mechanism overhauled.  That's another $50 or so, but well worth it.

Varmitgun is right:  You will outgrow that safe!

There is so much stuff to put in there: coin collection, silverware, cameras, passport, you name it.  When you have a safe, there is no point in leaving valuables out.

read the next post....accidentally posted twice

I'm no expert when it comes to safes, but I have a very large American Eagle safe that I bought at Academy and I love it.  I don't know that I've ever heard of a bad safe, but I'm sure some are better than others.

The American Security safes are probably a "Best Buy" when it comes to a really good safe.  When you decide to buy a safe, buy the biggest one you can.  When they say that a safe is rated for sa/24/30 guns, they are talking about shotguns and un-scoped rifles.  A scoped gun will take up the space of two, and an AR will take up the space of three standard long guns.  You will run out of room quicker than you think.

Just to join the choir, you can't buy one too large.

Of course, if and when AWB goes away then the value of preban mags will come down from the stratosphere and I may not feel compelled to keep so many in my safe.

But even then,  you still need a big safe.  I used to fool myself and say, "Well, after I buy this one, that will be the last one."  I forgot how many guns ago that was....

I was impressed with the value of Champion safes.  You might want to include them for consideration.

I work at Gander, and have seen lots of different safes. We just started carrying the Safari line (it's a sub-line of Cannon safes I think), and I think I will be buying 2. They seem very nice for the money. I was going to get 1 big Browning (widebody series), but for that price I can buy almost 3 Safaries with digital locks, and end up with alot more safe room, and have it be easier to move if need be. Just my .02

A question for those of you with digital keypads (as opposed to dial combination locks):

Is there a mechanical back-up in case of battery failure, fire, flood/hurricane, electrical short-circuit, etc?

Not trying to hijack, just curious. I'll be looking for a safe in a year or so myself. I like the idea of quick access (via keypad), but I want to be sure that I can open the safe if/when SHTF.  A safe full of weapons won't do me any good if I can't open the door.

that is a great question...Sentry has one that has the digital keypad...but if something goes wrong(you pop the cover off) and use a large key sort of a cross between a pop box and a safe deposit box key.....

Buying a gun safe is a VERY good idea. It protects guns from thieves and keeps them away from children.

Now to the thorny issue - fire protection.

Read the fine print. Gun safes are designed to prevent paper from burning (Fahrenheit 451) for 20-60 minutes. To do this they keep the temperature below 350 degrees. Read about this at Liberty safes. They are one of the best on the market.

[url]http://www.libertysafe.com/homesecurity.lasso?page=4[/url]

Now for the problem area. The typical gun safe with fire protection is a steel case lined with a drywall like material. During a fire, the steel will heat quickly to match the temperature of the air surrounding the safe (1200-1700 degrees). The drywall like material will slowly deteriorate. The moisture created by this deterioration will heat to about 350 degrees. This vapor will actually prevent the inside temperature from going higher until the drywall like material is gone. With a temperature of below 350 degrees, paper inside the safe will not burn.

Think about this process for a minute. What would your guns look like after 20 minutes of 350 degree steam cooking them? My guess is that they would be useless.

Some will say that buying the gun safe without fire protection is the smarter way to go. They are lighter and cheaper. Others will respectfully disagree saying some protection is better than no protection. It is hard to decide who is right.

Liberty gives you the option of no fire protection with most of their models. Thus the choice is yours.

Of course, if you have the money, the smartest thing to do is to buy a cement safe. These models run about $10,000 installed. Then you would have real fire protection for your guns.

I bought the Liberty safe without fire protection for the weight savings. I move about every three years and weight is important to me.

Philip

PS

I found this link after posting. Read the final paragraph about gypsum releasing vapor to cool the interior of the safe.

[url]http://www.championsafe.com/pages/fire/know_fire.html[/url]

Will 35o degree vapor damage firearms?

I second the Champion safes. I bought a [url=http://www.championsafe.com/]Champion CH-35[/url] and think it's great!. I really like the granite finish. NO FINGERPRINTS!

Have a Liberty here---cheap peace of mind.

I have the CH-50 in granite.  No fingerprints, and you don't have to worry as much about scratches, either.  Seems that just about every gun safe I see that has a high gloss finish has some scratches on it.  Mine might have some too, but you just can't see them (maybe you could if you inspected the safe) like you can on the gloss paint/clear coat.

2nd the vote for talking to Liberty Safes of Texas.  I shopped hard, and couldn't beat the deal I got from them on my second safe.

Can't go wrong with either Champion, Liberty or Cannon.  All very nice safes for the money, although I got a great deal on my Champion Crown 40.  Really nice safe, and I got it after christmas for a big discount as it was the old model.  Am going to upgrade to an electronic lock soon though....

IF YOU ARE JUST LOOKING FOR AN INEXPENSIVE HOME SAFE TO KEEPS THE HONEST FOLK OUT LOOK UP HOMAK SAFES ON LINE.  PRETTY GOOD DEALS ON A FAIR HOME RIFLE SAFE.

I would stay away from the Homaks.  You might just as well not have a safe when you are using one of those because it advertises where the goods are.  With a pry bar, a moderately strong thief can open one in 30 seconds.  

I would say that the least amount of safe a responsible gun owner should have is one of the $500 Sentry safes.  They don't have fire protection, but are the best Sentry sells and will withstand a hell of alot more abuse than a Homak.  However, if you have $1,000 and plan on spending half on a new gun and half on a Sentry, be responsible and spend the whole thing on a Champion/Liberty/AMSEC safe.  They are worth the little bit extra.

safes are not something to scimp on.

and as said b\4 buy more than you need.
it's a sound investment anyway.

I,personally like the liberty's and fort knoxes
not cheap,but as the old saying goes
"you get what you pay for"

just my $.02

clown

I will second the notion that safes will not hold what they are advertised to with specialty firearms. Mine is packed with military-style weapons, many with scopes, and I cannot achieve HALF the number of firearms the safe manufacturer claims I can fit into their safe.

DEFINITELY GO LARGER THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED!!!

Re Keypad locks:
If the battery fails it can be replaced from the outside.  IF the keypad is destroyed, it can be replaced if the connector is still present, or if the wire can be reached with banana clips.  After the you are talking forced entry.

Re fire liners:
212 degree steam shouldn't hurt the guns, other than prehaps the stock.  What is important is to open the safe and remove the guns ASAP before they start rusting.  The steam will condense on the guns and interior as the safe cools.