Oh boy.....gun safe porn.....only think more popular is gun porn itself. Lol!
Dean safes offer some well priced safes. I have one myself.
I know very little about this, but I always thought ‘snap safe’ was a cool Idea
Just note, most reasonably priced gun safes will not stop a burglar who knows what they are doing. It may stop some dumb kid or keep them from small children and other guests but that’s all. You can peel them in 10 minutes or even faster using an angle grinder to cut through the side. There are lots of videos on YouTube about this. Not trying to dissuade you just giving a heads up.
I bought one of these “Bighorn” safe’s about 8 years ago. Man oh man they have gone up in price...At the time I paid $500 but it’s more than that now. Also, later on I changed the electronic keypad and installed a “Sargent and Greenleaf” combination lock.
Remember, whatever these safes state that can hold immediately divide that number in half. Also, remember, these are very heavy so think about that before moving. If you do move it yourself, remove the door and all the sheetrock (fireproofing) from the internals.
These are not “bank vault” quality but they will help again the “smash and dash” type criminal.
We have a Liberty safe - open when we’re home, locked when we’re not.
Get the biggest safe that will fit in the space you plan to keep it. You’ll be putting other valuables in it besides guns.
They aren't cheap. If you are worried about theft vs. say fire protection you might get a good cabinet and fasten it to the wall and floor. They can be broken in to but it might take long enough to get police there if you have some security cameras.
These days I honestly wonder if gun safes are worth it, especially the expensive ones.
We had a nice, 500+ LB. Liberty safe stolen from a house back in February — the bastards wenched it out of the basement with a rollback truck.
Then the geniuses used their phone to film themselves breaking into it. It took them all of five minutes, literally, with two crowbars to have that Liberty safe open. We were floored.
In my current home we just have a couple of metal gun cabinets, and those will move with us when we relocate.
An important point, aside from the size or the brand.
KEEP IT A SECRET. Emphasize to him that he should NOT show it off to friends. If he does, he might as well post photos of it along with its location on Facebook.
Install it in a place where it can be hidden or camouflaged. Repairmen, social visitors, etc, should NOT be able to see it and identify it.
The same goes for safes holding other valuables. Once word gets out that you have a safe with guns or gold or cash in it, home invaders will be able to force the home owner to open it. SOP is to threaten to kill or torture a wife or children to force the owner to open the safe.
The safe is only as secure as its SECRECY.
In fact, secrecy is probably more important than the quality of the safe.
I still love my 12 gun walnut gun cabinet with glass doors. AInt no one gonna walk off with it and you have to destroy it to get in if its locked. Looks a lot better setting in the den that a huge steel box. All the rest of the stuff is locked up in the reloading room in the basement.
What am I missing with the whole “gun safe” thing?
Since you are looking to save money, beware that many safes are will not survive a fire. You want to be sure the safe can survive a house fire with prolonged exposure to hundreds of degrees.
Do not be fooled by labels “fire rated” and others that offer minimal protection.
Also, as others pointed out, you want the safe to use hardened steels that are more difficult to cut than standard mild steel.
If your son works and has income, you could tell him that you want him to have a great safe and that you will contribute to it. That way he will get a top quality unit that will last a lifetime.
Tractor Supply Center sells them, and they deliver. (But you have to get in the house yourself!)
I’d also suggest that you buy one that is fireproof.
One can make his own safe out of something, no one would expect is a gun safe, like an old metal cabinet made for office materials with the shelfs removed and a pad lock put on it, or some Jerry rig system that only the owner knows how to unlock.
You don’t appear to have a Costco close, but they often have a decent safe in-store at a good price.
Lots of great advice here, thanks everyone. I will check back later, too, but I need to run to the store and get some Alka-Seltzer. :)
Gun safes only detour some and slow others down. That said a safe is better than nothing but it needs mounted to the floor so they cannot get it flipped on its back. Once on its back it can be pried open in minutes. Do not get a false since of security with a safe. Think of it as having another layer of security. I personally have a free standing and a built in vault but I also have a high end security camera system that covers every angle of the exterior of the property. Now I have a backup to hand to the Popo if I am ever broken into. Remember security is a multi layer approach starting with your deadbolts and working up from there.
I am glad you asked this question. Lot of great advice and ideas. I have a 3 ft x 15 foot offset space in my basement wall perfect for a false wall.
A ‘safe’ safe (search for jewelers’ safes) is several tons, withstands serious tools, and costs commensurately.
Everything else is a delaying action.
So consider the use:
- Keeping things organized
- Keeping safe from accidental access (or ‘accidental’) by family/visitors.
- Slowing down thieves — as noted here once there’s a known location and a known schedule, a crew can remove the whole safe quickly and get it open at their leisure pretty quickly.
Also if possible skip the myriad of firearm stickers on the vehicle. Thieves do follow people home to note for later — some cars/trucks look like a shopping list to criminals.