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Posted: 4/25/2007 3:56:39 PM EDT
| I know this is the AR discussion area, couldnt find better posting place. I am seeking advice on purchasing a new gun safe. I want something between a 36 and 48 gun capacity in size. Looked at Browning, Stack-on, and Sentry. Color and finish is not important, flat black would be OK. price is important, under a grand if possible. Want fire protection and reasonable steel thickness, 1/4" or 3/8". Also, how have you guys secured these when placing in garage? |
| I'm in the same boat. I have 9 long guns and soon to be 11. My problem is that I live in coastal South Carolina where humidity is really high. I don't want to put a safe in the garage, and the only place to put it will be upstairs in the room over the garage. I would opt for one safe unless you are flush with cash and have the space for several safes. |
| look at Fortress safes, they have a 1 hr fire rating, internal hinges(a good thing),the steel is 1/8 inch with 1/4 inch door plate and overall I think are one of the best values for the price you pay. And if like you said color is not important they have a braun finish and that knocks off some money. If you are looking to stay under a grand you may have a problem finding a SAFE to hold that many guns unless you can find a used one. I hope this helps and good luck with the hunt. |
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I saw this link on this site the other day. I'd like to get this one. www.pentagonsafes.com/_general-gun-safes.html |
+1 I bought a Champion after looking at several safes. They just seemed better built & the interior seemed like a higher quality, and the price was right. I love mine w/ the electronic keypad. |
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Safes tend to be part of that Barbi doll complex when it comes to guns. Right now, I have two, one for guns, one for ammo, and when I have more money that isn't being used for anything, I will probably get more. One item of 'security' that one might want to keep in mind is that a big safe is rather hard to keep hidden, stop others from knowing it is there, and therefore, lets others know that one really has something to protect......and steal. I know that ideally, we probably all want some kind of armory like MiB, Arnold in Commando, or Matt Helm. At least I dream about such things. But then there is reality and while things are a bit cramped, they are decently hidden as well. -------------------------------------------- (After watching Matt Helm get armed for a mission from his secret weapons cache. "Who did the interior decoration for this place? Smith & Wesson?"--female agent "Cowboy", (w,stte), "The Silencers") |
| Sams club, Winchester safe made by granite safe Co. It holds twenty something long guns. Cost $581.00 it weighs around 575lbs. Really give It alot of thought of getting two safes instead of one large. It will cost you as much as the safe to hire safe movers, not moving men or a couple of your buddies. I hired a moving company to move the safe into my basement lets just say it made it down but not before they lost control on the steps pinning the guy below through the wall! It takes skill and a specfic dolly to get the job done . Especially if its going up or down stairs. Also if you get one with the hinges exposed the door will open all the way making acess to the interior alot easier. Good Luck |
| I bought a liberty lincoln 25, and there is no way that you will get 25 long guns in it. Especially if you have optics on a lot of stuff. Railed handguards take up a little more room. I don't plan on having more than 10 long guns ever, so I am hoping they will all fit. |
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LIBERTY= CRAP I bought a liberty 1.5 yrs ago, it had an electronic lock (a $200 upgrade) the lock failed in 6 months. took liberty 2 weeks to get a smith to my house, liberty supplied him with the WRONG DRILL POINTS. he made swish cheese out of my door. WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN 1 HOLE WAS 4. than liberty sent the incorrect lock to replace mine, waited another 3 weeks. smith came back, and the hardened plates liberty refused to replace even though they supplied the wrong drill points. liberty never supplied any steel plugs for the door holes, never supplied matching paint. FUCK LIBERTY SAFE COMPANY AND I HOPE THEY READ THIS. BARRY |
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Any safe is better than none. The safe market is like any other. There are great manufacturers, and not so great ones. I have a Cannon brand who's in the low end of the market. It has a 30 minute fire rating and an electronic lock, worth every penny. I would love to have a bigger and better one, but this one serves my needs and will deter 95% of the smash and grab thieves in the world.
With 4-sided lugs, the hinges serve no purpose in how secure it locks, but external hinges serve as a decoy for a novice thief as he will waste time attacking them, and even if he completely removes them, the door is still locked. |
Except in the event of EMP 
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If you leave a belt-fed Browning outside the safe, I can only imagine what is considered valuable enough to warrant protection in the safe.  Either that or you have one hell of a home defense strategy. 
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What about something somewhat less secure, that's also much less expensive than a gun safe... 80/20 rule here..... I want to stop more casual, opportunistic thieves, not necessarily pros. My insurance agent tells me that the vast majority of gun thefts in FL are smash-and-grab jobs done mostly by punks who heard someone "has guns". I also don't care so much about fire. I have sprinklers in the garage and my insurance has very good fire coverage even for guns. Theft is another story... Does anyone know a dealer of old jewelry-type safes like you may see in a pawn shop? I can always gut/rebuild the inside to my needs. I can't justify dropping a grand+ on a "real" gun safe right now, but half that may be doable. I have about 30 rifles and like a dozen pistols. |
| I've been extemely happy / my Heritage. It has all the quality features you should look for in a safe: 4-side locking oblts, TL (tool) & UL (fire) rating. Plus, it's backed by a lifetime warranty. Good pricing also. I bought the 'Tradition' model in the largest size they make. As is often stated, go larger than you think you'll need. The only downside to a large safe is moving it, since you need real equipment & manpower to do it right, which means hiring out. But, that's only an issue if you move frequently. |
| IMO it is best to get one that you think is to big, i have seen friends buy a smaller one and then inheret or start buying guns and then they are pissed the safe is not big enough. I know a guy who had his house robbed they took his smaller safe but could not get his big one because it was to heavy. Be sure to bolt it to the floor and wall. I was waiting to help a friend get his new safe, the guys that built it showed up lowered it down with there hydraulic tailgate had a peice of decking or could use steel to get it to inside the door and this is what blew my mind they had put golf balls under it and they said where do you want it it would turn easy if the golf balls were about to come out they just added more when they let it down they used a pry bar. yes this was a tile floor, but they said they do it in on carpet to. Oh and the safe weighed 850 lbs. |
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i have a patriot and i love it. the lock is awsome. i got it delivered to my door in less than a week. you cant beat the warrenty . they fix it on your property. non of this ship it back to us bull. very well built fit and finish is outstanding. like you said great fire rating. i say go for it .i did and have no regrets.
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Anybody ever see A&E's "It takes a thief"? There was a cop and a forensic tech husband and wife, he had an AR, and few handguns in what looked like a Stack-on gun cabinet, not a safe. He had a couple of lag screws into the wall, a couple of kicks and the "thiefs" were carrying the whole thing out of the house. My .02 is to get as big and heavy safe as reasonable for your location, then like mine I put it tight in the corner of the basement, lead anchors with steel plates into the basement slab. Then load it down with guns and ammo and they will bust a nut before the drag it out of my house, doubtful they could even get it to budge from it location. |
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