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Posted: 12/6/2011 3:54:20 AM EDT
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I have been safe shopping for a little over a year. I have been in the market for a few years, timing and funds just haven't worked out. My wife and I looked at all the safes on display at SHOT last year but then I was deployed. She mentioned a couple weeks ago that I really need to buy a new safe as she is having a hard time with the current one being too full.
I want to keep the price under $5,000 and it must be available in a High Gloss finish. I want this safe to be able to look good in any room I put it in. As I am active duty there is a chance that I move every couple of years so I never know where the safe is going to end up. These are the ones that I have been looking at: American Security BF7250 (this is the one we were leaning towards at SHOT and I would have bought the display if I had a way to get it home) National Security magnum 50 Cannon Commander 54 Superior Safe Supreme 55 Summit Safe Denali 65 I am the first to admit that I don't know it all and don't know everything that I am looking for. I don't want to get the AMSEC just because the salesman was better than the rest at explaining his features. Any help/advice you can give is appreciated. I redeploy in a little bit and will be buying a safe as soon as I know where my next duty assignment is. |
| I have seen a Summit and AMSEC and they are both nice and you could not go wrong with either, but my personal choice would be the Summit. Really nice looking and quality for the $$$. The Fort Knox safes are great, but, for that money, you may be able to step up to a higher rated safe (B-rated), but our experts will need to jump in on Identifying if that is possible and what manufacturers are out there... |
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Is it possible for you to get somehwere to take a look at all these? What are your options as far as being able to go and see the different ones your interested in?
Do you feel like you have a high security threat? Do you want to focus more on fire protection? What are some of the features you feel like you need from the safe? |
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Quoted:
Is it possible for you to get somehwere to take a lok at all these? What are your options as far as being able to go and see the different ones your interested in? Do you feel like you have a high security threat? Do you want to focus more on fire protection? What are some of the features you feel like you need from the safe? Not likely that I will be able to get somewhere to see them all. I think I saw all of them at SHOT (except for the Summit). I am not in a high crime area right now but my current safe (hand me down) is an OLD one made back in the 70s with no fire protection. It is a good heavy safe (I think Security Products, made in TX) but I am completely out of room. I need something that will allow me to continue to store my addiction safely until I can retire from the Army and build a Vault room. Fire protection is required. If there was a showroom somewhere between Savannah, GA and Dallas, TX that I could look at I could probably swing that (I have to do that drive twice in the next 45 days once I get home). I am also still undecided if I am going to SHOT again this year. |
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Have you thought about getting two smaller safes? I would think it'd be easier to relocate two 900lb safes than a 2000lb monster.
ETA: I'd look at Brown (B or C rated) and the Sturdy HS Series (little pricey) in your price range if you want one big safe: Brown B-COM 7228 w/ Deluxe Finish Upgrade AMSEC |
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Have you thought about getting two smaller safes? I would think it'd be easier to relocate two 900lb safes than a 2000lb monster. ETA: I'd look at Brown (B or C rated) and the Sturdy HS Series (little pricey) in your price range if you want one big safe: Brown B-COM 7228 w/ Deluxe Finish Upgrade AMSEC I have thought about 2 smaller safes but space can sometimes be an issue when you don't know where you are going to live next. I would consider the HS or Brown but the wieght would kill me for my moves. I guess I need to hit a couple stores and look at them again in person. |
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Have you thought about getting two smaller safes? I would think it'd be easier to relocate two 900lb safes than a 2000lb monster. ETA: I'd look at Brown (B or C rated) and the Sturdy HS Series (little pricey) in your price range if you want one big safe: Brown B-COM 7228 w/ Deluxe Finish Upgrade AMSEC I have thought about 2 smaller safes but space can sometimes be an issue when you don't know where you are going to live next. I would consider the HS or Brown but the wieght would kill me for my moves. I guess I need to hit a couple stores and look at them again in person. Wouldn't it be easier to find space for 2 smaller safes versus 1 big one? After all they wouldn't have to be next to each other. Finding space, other then a basement, for one big safe can be difficult. Also are these safes just for firearms or for other high value things as well? If thats the case you could also get two different types of safes, one for firearms and one more appropriate for important papers and jewelry (used TL-30.) Also I know your situation is a little different but I didn't worry about the looks of my safes because I believe that it really shouldn't by seen (or known about) by anyone but those that need to use it (with the exception of a couple of close friends/relatives...) |
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You might want to consider Liberty. Picked up a Liberty Safe Fat Boy and loving it. Here is my review.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQtf2cZKETQ/Tt6jHawIlOI/AAAAAAAABKg/Xm1BfSJ6RuE/s1600/Gun+Safe+Fatboy.jpg http://www.majorpandemic.com/2011/12/liberty-fat-boy-safe-review.html |
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Quoted: You might want to consider Liberty. Picked up a Liberty Safe Fat Boy and loving it. Here is my review. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQtf2cZKETQ/Tt6jHawIlOI/AAAAAAAABKg/Xm1BfSJ6RuE/s1600/Gun+Safe+Fatboy.jpg http://www.majorpandemic.com/2011/12/liberty-fat-boy-safe-review.html  from your website: "To be up front, yes a number of manufacturers do provide me with evaluation equipment/products to test..." Of course, you then go on to say that your reviews are honest, etc., but your fanboy review, the overwhelming use of graphic content from the manufacturer's site, and your statement that you used to work for a national magazine leads me to believe that you are still biased towards the manufacturer. |
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O.P.- Now that I've given my opinion of the poster before me, I will say I, too, wouldn't mind a Liberty National Security in my living room. It has 7ga steel (same as the Sturdy safes), but looks nicer inside and out. It does not, however, have fully supported bolt work. Instead Libery uses "anti-pry tabs" that, based upon a photo from Liberty's site, appear to ride on drywall rather than steel. I'm not an expert, but I think this is laughable. Here is that picture. You tell me - if a thief tries to pry the door, how much help are those tabs going to be against that drywall?:  I'll say it again, I'm not an expert. I'm just someone doing my own research in search of a safe for my apartment and for the future when I get a house. Based on what I have read, it appears most safe manufacturers don't even have the bolts supported as well as the Liberty pictured above. That's why Liberty is still towards the top of my list. |
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All, great info, especially the pics of the liberty door. I am not able to access much in the way of websites where I am right now.
I plan on keeping my current safe which holds 36 guns comfortably. The one Monster safe will stay on a pallet and have one of the pallet/pedastal covers on it. I too would love to be able to put it in a basement but I have yet to be stationed anywhere that had basements. I still have 8+ years in the military so I have to get something that will look good in any room. I think AMSEC, National and Summit are my top pics right now. I need to find more info about construction of the 3. |
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Snops photos:
AMSEC BF 
Summit Denali Ex 
Both safes have 1/2" plate doors. The Summit Denali has a 3/4" solid steel frame around the perimeter to guide and support the bolts and the bolt carriage also has support tabs similar to the Liberty. The Summit Denali has a glass plate activated relock. AMSEC has a secondary relock too according to their website. |
I know you said high gloss, but the Sturdy safes do look really nice with the standard grey finish, IMHO. It's the nicest looking thing in my gun room. If you get a monster safe with a high gloss finish, I predict many years of obsessive dusting in your future.  High gloss finishes look ugly with the slightest smudge.
http://www.sturdysafe.com/model6028.htm |
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O.P.- Now that I've given my opinion of the poster before me, I will say I, too, wouldn't mind a Liberty National Security in my living room. It has 7ga steel (same as the Sturdy safes), but looks nicer inside and out. It does not, however, have fully supported bolt work. Instead Libery uses "anti-pry tabs" that, based upon a photo from Liberty's site, appear to ride on drywall rather than steel. I'm not an expert, but I think this is laughable. Here is that picture. You tell me - if a thief tries to pry the door, how much help are those tabs going to be against that drywall?: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aGlAGmdql8k/TuRgINujiZI/AAAAAAAADmY/tWm2H5gAR34/s800/4%252520sided%252520bolts.jpg I'll say it again, I'm not an expert. I'm just someone doing my own research in search of a safe for my apartment and for the future when I get a house. Based on what I have read, it appears most safe manufacturers don't even have the bolts supported as well as the Liberty pictured above. That's why Liberty is still towards the top of my list. You can't pry the door open on a Natinal Security safe, I have tried it (with my own tools that I picked out). That picture is not of a National Security door either, it's a lincoln door (also a tough safe to pry open). Rockola, that is a Denali EX, it does not have glass relocker. The stanard Denali does have a glass relocker though. Both are high security safes. |
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Rockola, that is a Denali EX, it does not have glass relocker. The stanard Denali does have a glass relocker though. Both are high security safes.
Thanks Snop, I wasn't clear on that but glad you pointed it out so I didn't continue giving the wrong info. I know you said high gloss, but the Sturdy safes do look really nice with the standard grey finish, IMHO. It's the nicest looking thing in my gun room. If you get a monster safe with a high gloss finish, I predict many years of obsessive dusting in your future. High gloss finishes look ugly with the slightest smudge.
I do agree, they actually look much better in person than in pictures; to me at least. |
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Umm... yeah like Liberty dropped me a $2700 safe off for a review, happens all the time. BMW is dropping off a 7 series later this week for me to review. ;)
Absolutely, people send me items to review, but don't sell advertising, I just love to write as a hobby and strive to offer fair on honest reviews. I pull info from the manufacturers' sites because it is an accurate source of info as well as other source. What I read and the videos were frankly the reason I bought the Liberty Fat Boy. |
You can actually get commercial types of boltwork in a heavily built gun safe if you know where to look:
As far as safe reviews, I reallly don't get them. A safe is designed to protect against fire or theft. You can certainly review the fit, finish, looks, interior, etc, but you can't really review the function until it's burned or burglarized. It would be similar to reviewing a gun without shooting it, a car without driving it, or a washing machine without doing laundry in it. |
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Quoted: You can actually get commercial types of boltwork in a heavily built gun safe if you know where to look: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/a1abdj/gfb12.jpg As far as safe reviews, I reallly don't get them. A safe is designed to protect against fire or theft. You can certainly review the fit, finish, looks, interior, etc, but you can't really review the function until it's burned or burglarized. It would be similar to reviewing a gun without shooting it, a car without driving it, or a washing machine without doing laundry in it.  thanks for the laughNow then, What safe is that pictured? Based on the image name (and the $$) I would guess a Graffunder B-rate safe, but I've never seen a pic of their bolt work. |
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What safe is that pictured? Based on the image name (and the $$) I would guess a Graffunder B-rate safe, but I've never seen a pic of their bolt work.
That's actually a private label that we sell. It is an asian import, but it is built to spec for a US based safe company and well known tech in the industry. It is certainly not the best looking safe, as they do not waste a lot of money on the appearance, but it is very well built, and very functional. The body is 1/8" on the outside, 1/8" on the inside, with a "concrete" fill. The door has a total of 1/2" worth of steel, also with the "concrete" fill. It has many security features that a commercial safe would have, since that's essentially what it started out as. They range in weight from a hair under 1,000 pounds for the smallest, up to around 1,500 for the largest. They range in price from about $1,800 to $3,000. |
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Quoted: so who is the US based safe company? - and do they have a 60 - 80 gun model? What safe is that pictured? Based on the image name (and the $$) I would guess a Graffunder B-rate safe, but I've never seen a pic of their bolt work. That's actually a private label that we sell. It is an asian import, but it is built to spec for a US based safe company and well known tech in the industry. It is certainly not the best looking safe, as they do not waste a lot of money on the appearance, but it is very well built, and very functional. The body is 1/8" on the outside, 1/8" on the inside, with a "concrete" fill. The door has a total of 1/2" worth of steel, also with the "concrete" fill. It has many security features that a commercial safe would have, since that's essentially what it started out as. They range in weight from a hair under 1,000 pounds for the smallest, up to around 1,500 for the largest. They range in price from about $1,800 to $3,000. |
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Quoted:
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/Ordo6502/IMG_0997.jpg" />http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n619/Ordo6502/IMG_0997.jpg" /> I have the EXACT same safe! Had it for over a year, works great, looks great. Would buy again and the c.s was really good as well. Also - Made in the U.S.A |
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so who is the US based safe company? - and do they have a 60 - 80 gun model?
He's a safe company (dealer, tech, service), not a manufacturer. Nobody would recognize his name outside of his local area or the industry itself. He does sell them at his shop, and has a few guys like me that sell them across the country. To my knowledge, I'm the only one that offers them online and ships them. The largest safe is only a 40 gun unit (72x42x28). I really wanted to help him bring these to market so that I had something to offer over the AMSEC BF series that I also sell. It's also not a bad option, especially considering the price, when compared against most of the other gun safes out there. They have sold well enough that he's starting to have them made in gloss colors, and has also added a vault door to the line. |
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Quoted: How about something with a TL rating? You mean like these? http://www.amsecusa.com/Gun_Safes/HS_Series_Gun_Safes/ There's something about the 3,455lb+ that screams "I'm not meant to be moved from home to home" (the O.P.'s situation). |
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Quoted: so who is the US based safe company? - and do they have a 60 - 80 gun model? He's a safe company (dealer, tech, service), not a manufacturer. Nobody would recognize his name outside of his local area or the industry itself. He does sell them at his shop, and has a few guys like me that sell them across the country. To my knowledge, I'm the only one that offers them online and ships them. The largest safe is only a 40 gun unit (72x42x28). I really wanted to help him bring these to market so that I had something to offer over the AMSEC BF series that I also sell. It's also not a bad option, especially considering the price, when compared against most of the other gun safes out there. They have sold well enough that he's starting to have them made in gloss colors, and has also added a vault door to the line. SO WHO IS IT ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? listen i'm not trying to tell you how to help somebody sell something but when i asked the original question, i was (and still am) looking for a name. also i think the OP has stated he is looking for more info on the construction - so having a name is a great place to start comparing the details |
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SO WHO IS IT ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
if you want to help him how about giving up a name so that i can ask for / look at / compare details of/ etc. listen i'm not trying to tell you how to help somebody sell something but when i asked the original question, i was (and still am) looking for a name. also i think the OP has stated he is looking for more info on the construction - so having a name is a great place to start comparing the details I believe I'm the only one that would be able to sell you one, unless you happened to live near one of the three or four of us that have them available. The safes have no name. We classify them as a generic brand. The guy that's having them built hasn't made any major effort to brand them or market them. I sell them as the Zykan B rate gun safe. If you have any particular questions I would be happy to answer them, but I didn't want to come across as pimping something that I sell. |
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How would you go about setting up your interior for AR's, SBRs, and other shorter rifles.
This works on most of the safes out there. You use one of the racks that has shelf brackets, and place a shelf at the desired height beneath the rack. This still allows you storage space beneath that shelf, and the shelf acts as the new floor to hold the shorter weapons. |
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How would you go about setting up your interior for AR's, SBRs, and other shorter rifles.
This works on most of the safes out there. You use one of the racks that has shelf brackets, and place a shelf at the desired height beneath the rack. This still allows you storage space beneath that shelf, and the shelf acts as the new floor to hold the shorter weapons. Ah....that makes sense. |
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