don’t get a gunvault
Other than that, those lined with fireproofing are cool. They will keep the stuff inside from melting for 2 hours, which should give time to put the fire out.
Dollar wise, plain paint is much more affordable than five coats of laquer and a hunting scene, and your guns don't cae.
Champions are good, but were out of my price range. I went with a StackOn because it was way cheaper and fit better in my closet. I like it, make sure you bolt it into the wall or floor obviously. Feel much better with my little guy running around.
I have a Heritage and like it a lot.
I also have heard good things about the Brownings.
I’ve been very happy with my Browning safe.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/gunsafes/detail.asp?value=001F&cat_id=160&type_id=42744
Stay away from safes with electronic keypad locks. Stick with a traditional dial tumbler lock. Other than that, just about any safe will do unless your collection is worth north of 5 figures.
I grew up with my dad's guns in the house and us kids NEVER touched them. He never needed a safe to keep us safe from them because we were taught to know better. He also taught us how to use the guns should we even need them and when I was 14 I needed one when a thug broke into our house with me home alone. I had called the police and they said they were on the way as the guy was breaking into our back door. I had already loaded Dad's .22 rifle (a Marlin I still own) and when the thug told me he was going to "**** you up the *** with that if you don't give it to me!!" I opened fire and shot at him 19 times hitting him 15 times.
I personally thank God my father didn't have a gun safe.
If you just want to keep guns away from children, a Sentry safe at about $400 should be just fine. If you want to also have fire protection and make it really hard on criminals, be prepared to spend at least $2000 for a good safe. As for electronic keypads, I have two safes with them and I’ve never had a bit of trouble with either. It all depends on how frequently you will access your safe. Dial locks can get to be a nuisance to open if you do it all the time.
Is your purpose anti-theft, anti-fire, or merely keeping prying children from the weapons?
Is there a need for quick access, or can you be leisurly?
Because of these factors, I have a number of gun safes, with one (being the least secure), requiring a few buttons pressed for access to a Glock .40 and a .357.
The best safe you can get is the one you can get the soonest. Sams club has Winchester safes. 800# of insulated steel safe with can be bolted to the floor. Your choice of electronic of combo locks,,,5 bolt door. They hold about 24 long guns, plus plus. They do everything that the “name” brands do for half the money.
Actually, they are one of the name brands. Winchester does not make safes, nor does Browning or Remington.
I just went through a revelation on this, and you are wise to be seeking advice.
Here are some thoughts:
1. Don’t get an electronic keypad. They fail. Mine did last month after five years of infrequent use (so did Michael Bane’s - Google “Bane Cannon Safe” for the story.) I was lucky in that it failed unlocked. Others are not so lucky.
2. There is serious debate about the different types/brands of safes. My sense now is that most of them are overrated, even the top advertised brands, and are of uncertain effectiveness. Did you know that $10,000 Swiss watches often have $100 movements inside? Have a safe fail, and a visit from a locksmith to look behind the felt padding, and you’ll feel the same way.
3. Most safes are sheet metal wrapped around checks of drywall. A fire axe can break in. My top name safe (I’m not revealing the brand, because they all use the same inexpensive locks and questionable construction techniques) had broken drywall pieces in the door, that didn’t fit very well.
4. Go to YouTube and view how easy a “good” safe is to open. It will change your views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBhOjWHbD6M (Start at about 2:30 for the interesting part).
5. Consider the alternatives to the big advertisers. The advertising and the dealer network eats up much of the value of what you are paying for. Instead, look at small timers like http://www.sturdysafe.com (I ended up buying from them - you’ll get a bargain on shipping in CA) and http://graffundersafes.com/ (expensive, and clearly worth it - half-inch-think plate is their lightest safe, which 3/16” is Ft. Knox’ heaviest.) Graffunder might be 3x the cost of others, but if you need it, you’ll know. Sturdy is close, with FAR lower cost - a small family business that sells by word of mouth. I went with sturdy because I could talk to the designer/builder/owner. My locksmith recommends Amsec, and while I consider that he sells them, I find them a better bet than all the consumer brands. My locksmith said that he’s unsure of Sturdy’s fire rating, but I suspect that it’s because they don’t pay the “testing mafia” for the ratings. I was persuaded by the info on their website.
6. Visit jewelry stores, pawnshops, and gun dealers to see what real safes look like. They generally don’t use the consumer name brands you are considering.
7. Consider getting a crappy (nice and shiny, with the stupid gold plate options) decoy safe, put in an obvious location (garage?) filled with crappy cheap surplus guns and old tools. Hide the real safe containing valuables elsewhere.
8. Be sure to bolt it down.
bump
Here’s more. My locksmith explained that he has a tool that can open any safe. It’s a motorized “hand” that tries all the combos. So you think that with three numbers in the combo, and 100 positions on the dial, that would require 100x100x100=1,000,000 tries to be sure? Sorry, but those $100 locks in the $1000-5000 safes are designed to accept offset errors of 1 unit, so it need to try only every third combo, or 33x33x33=36000 combos. At 10 per minute (maybe it goes faster) that’s 3600 minutes, or 60 hours. The locksmith says it takes only a few hours typically, so my numbers are off a bit. I suspect that the margin for error is more than 1.
Check out this good article:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2008/10/safe-storage-of-firearms.html
Sturdy, simple and MANUAL.
Don’t get anything that relies on electricity or keypads. A hand operated combination lock will work even when the power is out, the batteries are dead and the transistors are fried.
It won’t look sexy and won’t impress your friends but at least you can get your guns out after the earthquake while protecting the kids.
Several thoughts on this based on my decision-making when I bought mine a few years ago:
1) Always buy a safe MUCH larger than you think you will need. It is amazing how many valuable items (other than guns) that you will discover in your house after your safe arrives! And guns seem to breed more guns when confined in close proximity to each other...at least that is what seems to happen to everyone I know who has purchased a gun safe.
2) If you ain’t gonna bolt it down, don’t waste your money. Nowadays, most burglarized safes are removed from the home by thieves so they can open the safe at their leisure in the comfort of their own garage. (Yes, it can be moved by one or two people....) Bolt it down! To concrete is best, but even to a wood floor is better than nothing. If you don’t choose to bolt it down, you will want to leave a safe dolly propped up against the wall next to the safe. That way, the family of the burglar who tips you safe while stealing it and has it fall on him will not be able to sue you for wrongful death, alleging that you created a hazardous working environment for their dear son.
3) Side and top walls are usually the walls attacked by thieves who try to enter a safe. Most of the major safe companies market the thickness of their doors in inches, while they downplay the sides, tops and bottoms, which have a steel thickness which is measured by “gauge”. Most of these “gauge” (read: “thin”) steels can be cut easily with an ax or a cold chisel. For this reason, I bought a safe with quarter-inch thick steel on all sides with full welds on all seams, and another with half-inch thick steel all the way around. A thief would be able to eventually get in to even these (given enough time), but he will at least have to break a sweat to do it, and he won’t be able to use a pair of tin snips.
4) Bolt it down!
5) My locksmith advises against electronic locks, and he gives good reasons for his advice: Not only do electronic locks have a lower reliability than mechanical locks, but if we get a true SHTF event involving a nuclear weapon, (and assuming you survive) the EMP will fry the lock circuits, leaving you with an attractive steel sculpture that you will not be able to open without borrowing some heavy duty tools from your neighborhood burglar. Not a lot of point to having firearms and ammo in case of any emergency if you can’t access them. Use a lockbox with an electronic lock for a single handgun for quick access, and then (to paraphrase Clint Smith’s famous quote)use your handgun to shoot your way to the rifle in your gunsafe, if needed.
6) Consider buying your safe from one of the many smaller custom or semi-custom makers out there. I bought one of mine from Drake Safe Compnay in Roxboro, NC. Not only was it MUCH cheaper than a “big name” safe, but it was better built and the interior and paint was made to my custom specs too. I have been very pleased with my Drake safe, but I am sure there are other makers out their who make excellent products.
7) Did I mention bolting the gun safe down??
Best wishes!
OtG
One that is heavy and bolted to the foundation of the house. Fireproof is an added bonus.
ditto #10
The best one is free. Keep your finger off the trigger until you fire it and teach everyone in the house how to hand it.