I'm thinking of getting a safe but can't decide which brand.

I'd like to get one, but I live in an
apartment. I don't know how I would move a 700
pound safe when my lease is up.  [>(]

It is so true that a quality gun safe will pay for its self. Think of it this way, next time you're going to pop down several hundred dollars for yet another esoteric gun, why not invest that same sum and have peace of mind against fire and burglars.

Hmm, he had a Homak but didn't have the stolen guns in it?  Or was it full and he had a few lying around.

A safe is a [b]MUST[/b] when you own more than a few guns.  When you start talking about a few AR's, preban's, CLASS III, you definately need a good safe.

hg112, look into the Zanotti safes which break down into parts.  Or just get a 500 pound safe which you might be able to move.  

Green_furniture, exactly.

Lastly, always keep a [b]working[/b] flashlight on top of your safe.

Just a reminder: Safes shrink after installation. Buy one 2 sizes larger than what you need to hold your collection. Some insurance companies allow a discount on homeowners insurance for having one.

Lotboy,

 I picked up a Fort Knox model 6031.. I believe it is 500 or 600lbs. I rented a appliance dolly for $12 and had 4 friends come over and help me move it into my basement. It's not bad with 5 people.. I suggest you find one ASAP... Liberty Safes are pretty good also..

  later,
    hawkin

Yup, buy big.  Because if it says 40 gun safe, you can probably squeeze 25-28 guns in there.  Guns like M44's with the sideways bayonet won't fit in one slot.  AR's take up tons of space with the pistol grip.  Scopes take up more.

My 52 gun safe can probably handle 30-35 rifles.  I need some sort of gunsafe where I punch in what gun I need and a mechanical device picks it up for me and deposits it right before me. [:D]  Sort of like one of those automatic human resource file cabinets.

Sorry to hear about your friend getting ripped off. But about those hr file cabinets, aren’t those the ones that the temp. agencies use when you hire temp workers? [shock]

Safes are a source of major wood.  It is very satisfying knowing that if and when I am on the other side of the country, no scumbag is getting his dirtball hands on my most prized possessions.  Come on, a really good safe can be had for the cost of a preban.  You are nuts if you don't have one.

[b][/b]

You rent a truck with a hydraulic lift,a handtruck and a couple of friends with strong backs.

My safe seems to have shrunk also.  I used to be able to fit all of my guns in it, and would toss in my camera and other valuables when I go on vacation.  Now, not all of my guns will fit, so I have to take the upper off of my AR and just store the lower.  I am getting a Homak to keep the overflow and ammo.  Ultimately, I would like a bigger safe, but don't have any place to put it.

I'd like to get one, but I live in an
apartment. I don't know how I would move a 700
pound safe when my lease is up

I hear these excuses way too much.  I've known lots of folks who have thousands of $$$ worth of guns and claim they can't afford a cheap locker or safe.  Or my floor won't support a 700# safe.  Or I don't have room for one of those giant safes.  BS get a small safe or gun cabinet.  If you can't afford to secure them, sell them.
You don't have to have a 700 pound safe.  If you're guns are lying around unlocked when their not in your hands they are a liabilty waiting to happen.
A cheap gun cabinet is alot better than nothing.  You can get a 90 lb. gun cabinet for $80-$100. Bolt it to a wall and floor put some lead in the bottom. Keep your guns in it, and keep it locked. It will stop most crackheads.  Do you own a jennings .22 or do you own real guns?  You get what you pay for.
When you have the space and money nothing will buy as much peace of mind as an 1100 pound Liberty TL & TR 60X6.  Don't I wish.  Just about anything inbetween these two extreems will do.
Theiving crackheads should not be rewarded with our fine firearms.
sorry I can't seem to get the spell check to work.

You've had enough to drink this evening. [:D]

????

Here's a link to the aforementioned Zanotti Safe:

[url]www.zanottiarmor.com[/url]

They're not cheap though. The smallest one lists for $1105. Also, their lead time is 2-3 months. It's the only safe that can be broken down in sections.

Here's another decent safe company:

[url]www.sturdysafe.com[/url]

The Homak and other similar "security cabinets" are almost worthless, IMO. The ones I've seen had incomplete welds at the seams with gaps all over the place. A teenager with a crowbar would only take an extra minute to bust one open. A home alarm system alone won't cut it either. There was a special that recently aired on the local news. They had a couple of guys perform a B&E and timed the response to the alarm. The simulated snatch and run took a mere 3 minutes while the police didn't show until after 6 minutes had elapsed. Basically, don't put too much faith in one single method or security layer.

In short, Get The Safe! You can't put a dollar value on the peace of mind you get in return.

Over the years, I've bought 8 of those big Homak safes.  I took over a walk in closet and bolted them side by side to each other. (4 and 4) They are now too heavy and too big to move.  I also have a safe in the garage for tools, since burglars rarely bring any heavy tools with them, but can always borrow yours.  Last step was to put a steel door and frame on the closet with a deadbolt, and get a very generous rider on the insurance policy.  Got a 5% reduction because of the safes. Total cost over the years was about 1800$.  Pretty well spent I think.    

Does anyone here actually have a Homac gun locker?  I have been considering one but I have to order it sight unseen.  I guess it is better than nothing.  I don't want to invest in a safe right now because I plan on building a house and putting a FEMA safe room/safe in it.  Any feedback is appreciated.  6 minutes seems like pretty good response for PD responding to an alarm company call.

Thanks,
Morgan

My brother-in-law & I both have National Security safes & my dad has a Liberty.
 Owned by the smae company now.

[url]www.libertysafe.com/index.html[/url]

These things do seem to shrink fast!

AR types rifles take up more space than 870's
or 700's.  Pistol grips , carrying handles & scopes use more interior space than one would guess.

edited for another link [url]www.safesrus.com[/url]

Home Depot has been selling Sentry (made in China)Safes for 399.00.  It is not the best but it is apartment sized, has a combination lock and can bolted to the wall/floor.  Better than nothing by far.

I have two Liberty F25s.  With their size, and 600 pound empty weight, they are an excellent choice for someone who is thinking about moving them fairly regularly (more than once).  I have two of these rather than one enourmous safe for just that reason.  They are big enough to hold a good amount, heavy enough enough to not be carted away easily (bolting to the floor is a good Idea anyway), and still small/light enough not to have to hire specialty movers when the time comes.

I thought six minute response was pretty good too. But the three minute snatch'n run was twice as good (good enough to snatch a couple of longarms from a closet and be long gone).

If a Homak is all you can afford, it's better than the closet or under the bed. But the one's I examined (including a friend's) seemed no more solid than my high school locker. At the local Galyan's, I examined more cabinets and was even less impressed. Again, poor welds and gaps. And they wanted two-three hundred dollars for these!

I've got one that I keep my more expensive guns in.  I have it in a bedroom closet upstairs.  I don't want to put in a heavier safe because I don't think the floor would stand up over time.

The Homak is a good enough solution for now.  It's sturdier than a locker, and unless you have a really big crowbar and a couple hours to work on it, you're not just going to peel it open.  Besides, most thieves are acquaintances who seize the opportunity.  They tend to grab whatever is laying around.  Any deterrence is better than none.

I am hardening my closet to discourage intrusion.  I'm looking for a steel door but I  haven't yet found one in that size.  I plan to install tamper proof hinges and a deadbolt.

I've moved my pistols out of the safe because it was too dark and cramped in there.  I now have a shelf in the closet dedicated to pistols, and I installed an extra receptacle in there to allow some lighting.  I plan to set up some gun racks in there for my cruffle toys and other inexpensive rifles.

I have an American Security safe that's fast becoming too small - I THINK I might be able to get one more long gun in there but no way could it be an AR. It was just right for my budget at the time but now it's getting too small. Trouble is, I don't know where I'd put a bigger one.

Still, it's piece of mind that's well worth the money. My step son ditched school a couple days in October. My wife found him at our house with a couple punk friends of his. Believe me, I was WAY glad all my guns were secured.

I had a cheap cabnet that I used for a few years that kept my guns safe from kids but with the thin metal and light weight probably could have been broken into pretty easy.

When I bought my AR-15 RR Machine gun was when I bought my safe.  I have a Browning Morgan safe and too be honest it isn't really huge (I think it's a 16-gun) and at about 650-pounds it isn't teribly heavy.  

I am currently living in an appartment complex as I am between houses (Old one's closing TODAY!!! Signed Contract on NEW Home last Night!!!) and my safe sits in my bedroom along with all my prized guns!  The safe at 650 pounds PLUS the weight of GUNS, AMMO, and perhaps 8 25-pound bags of lead shot weighs enough to make a would be thief really work!  I am much more concerened about a break in in my the apartment so it wasn't an option to not bring the safe with me!

It took four good sized guys to move this puppy up the stairs but that means it would take at least 6 monster guys to steal it with the door on and full of stuff!!!  I like my Browning Morgan safe and if my collection grows that I can't squeze everything into this safe I will buy another!

For those on a budget or for the "spillover" from a large collection I would reccomend looking into the purchase of a construction "gang box". When I was a student living in a $45/mo rat hole, I had a 2'x4' Greenlee steel box with the armored paddlelock recesses. I kept my guns, camera, tools, ect. in there. My "home" was broken into several times and my roomates had all sorts of unsavory friends but I never lost anything in the "box". I bolted a couple 8' peices of flat bar through the skids so it couldn't be picked-up and moved out the door as a unit. In addition, I chained it to an eye-bolt bolted through a floor joist that a previous tennant used to lock-up a bike. The 25# bags of shot that I kept for reloading didn't make it any lighter either. After college I kept it at a friends garage while overseas. It kept everything safe till I got back. I still use it today. Just a few vain pry marks around the lid testify to it's real value. I still see them for sale at Home Depot for about $250. I got mine in trade from a former employer(construction co.)who owed me two paychecks. In the long run I still consider it a bargain. Regardless of what the law says YOUR firearms are YOUR responsibilty. YOU have to make sure they don't get into the wrong hands! Oh, I almost forgot I used to drape a black cloth over the "box" and set up a little shrine of candles and crystals as camouflage. My roomates thought I kept a dead body in there (a healthy amount of fear is good). I always thought it would turn on girls but I never got any to come back to my room so I guess I'll never know.

I am seriosly considering building my own vault.

Having built houses and taken them apart as well as a long history in industrial maintenance, have taught me how to exploit weeknesses.

I am not impressed with the comecialy made home security safes I see. I cant afford the stuff I like. I lean toward jewelery store type safes.

I wont say what the weeknesses are but they dont make me feel safe. A mintored alarm system is important. I true thief will make sure he has plenty of time to work. Don't let them have time.

In modesto CA a gun store was recently robbed. The thieves disabled the alarm and cut there way in. Think about it.

The best thing about a gun safe is you can use it to hide guns from your wife.

An apartment dweller might be able to keep a gun safe in a rented storage room at a facility with controlled access. There is NO excuse for not securing firearms.

Where I live you can go to the yellow pages and call "2 guys and a truck" for 45.00 hour.
Now I know that sounds expensive but when your lying in the hospital bed for 3 days you will thinking how CHEAP that really was.

"Bin Laden"[whacko]                 [sniper]

I have a Homak. When I leave for vacation, it will be stuffed with 130lbs of ammo, all 12 guns (figure 60-70 lbs), every mag I can squeeze in (10-15 lbs). Plus it is bolted to the wall (alas, only 1 screw is in a stud, the rest are in drywall :( I chose that place because there are some permanent shelves covering one side, and only 3 inches of clearance on the other, so it is hard to get access to the rear of the safe with a crowbar. Plus my neighbor to the rear may question all the noise if they start ripping out dry wall. Then they have to muscle 250+ pounds of safe down 3 flights of stairs, sure to be a noisy operation. I'm just hoping I can erase any reference to what guns I have so a thief will think there is nothing in there worth the trouble (eg, bunch of old hunting rifles, rather than ARs and AKs). They will have to content themselves with a bunch of CDs, DVDs, and electronics. They sure as hell aren't getting my widescreen TV out, I can barely believe the movers got it in the apartment! Later.

i dont own a big safe yet but have a homack.It is bolted to my wall with a 4" lag bolt to a stud.At first i thought it was not that strong until i lost both keys and wanted to go shoot my ar and springy.Couldnt get it off the wall without breaking it put a pry bar and i  broke the wall instead somehow i put it in the right spot it is also bolted with 4 lag bolts to the floor.I know if someone is determined they will take it as with any safe.but i hope that after a couple of minutes they move to something easier.Btw i did get my keys after 1 shooting trip just before i was going to cut it for the next trip the week after.

Just bought a Sentry safe from Wal-Mart that fits in the closet.  It holds 10 long guns, and 1 shelf.  Weighs in at 210 lbs.  Cost?  $250.  Anywhere else on the internet this same safe goes for $400.

It's not big, but if needed...can pile a CRAP LOAD of stuff into it for safe-keeping (no pun intended).

I have to throw this in the ring. I had a friend who was using PVC pipe to roll his safe to where he wanted it. While he was in another room he heard a big thud and ran to see his safe flat on the floor on its back. Like to have never got it uprighted again. How this happened anyones guess. Just his #1 unlucky day I guess.

I have owned two Homak gun cabinets.  The 8 and 12 long gun models.  A teenager with a bad attitude and big scredriver could get into either one in ten minutes or less.  With a crowbar it wouldn't even be 2 minutes.  Save your pennies and buy real security.  Mine is a 1,000lb fire rated Heritage safe.  Best money I've ever spent.  Search on-line for safe dealers.  You can find some real good deals.

I may get flamed for this but...  

Wally world sells some small Sentry brand gunsafes.  One Model is rated for 10 guns (being optimistic) and comes with a four sided keylock and has 5 live bolts.  It would fit in any apartment and would be a huge improvement over nothing.  It can be lag bolted into studs and joists. A little spackling when moving will hide the evidence.  In the future, it could be used as your "overflow", ammo, optics or knife locker.