gun safes

Tradchef

WKR
Joined
Aug 30, 2017
Location
Willow Creek, Montana
I had a question for you all about gun safe brands. My dad recently passed away in December and i inherited his Weatherby Mark V collection. I have never been a big gun collector as i focused on bowhunting and traditional archery specifically. So i have my small group of 7 firearms i use. That being said i am looking at safes and have no idea which is a solid brand or what i should look at besides fire rating etc.... To give an idea of what im going to be looking at space wise. 20 guns total, high end optics, ammo, most likely cash, coins and bars and important papers. So i'm guessing a 40 gun safe would do the trick. What brands to look at? Thanks for the help on this one.

Scott
 
I am sorry for your loss.

For rifles with scopes, I'd say 40 gun rating would be the minimum for 20.

Fire rating is usually overblown. I'd look for one with thicker side metal. Some of them have an impossible door to force open but you can get in through the back or the side with a pair of sheetmetal sheers or a utility knife.

The best thing you can do for fire or security is put it in a good spot and hide it. You're just buying piece of mind and time. How much time usually correlates to how much $$.
 
I am sorry for your loss.

For rifles with scopes, I'd say 40 gun rating would be the minimum for 20.

Fire rating is usually overblown. I'd look for one with thicker side metal. Some of them have an impossible door to force open but you can get in through the back or the side with a pair of sheetmetal sheers or a utility knife.

The best thing you can do for fire or security is put it in a good spot and hide it. You're just buying piece of mind and time. How much time usually correlates to how much $$.
Thanks man!!! Appreciated. Thats what i have been seeing. Are there any brands that are worth looking at? Are there better alternatives or is a safe the best option?
 

They're not the big super thick safe you'd traditionally think of. they're just secure storage. Those big safe, like liberty and such, are so easy to break into. They're at best sheet metal lined with drywall board.
 
My only recommendation is to go bigger than you think you’d ever need. I bought twice what I thought I’d need and wish I’d have gone even bigger.
 
Watch the videos at Secure it and think about what is presented. Decentralized storage and keep things out of the master bedroom and bathroom. Make it imposssible to do a 10 min snatch and grab.
 
Zanotti armory, made in USA and can be assembled in place. While not fire rated, I know someone who had one and it protected the guns and documents inside. Turned out to be the safe that was being dropped off for refurbishment on the day I picked mine up. Only later did I find out that safe was owned by the boyfriend of my wife’s stepmom (widowed when her dad died). Safe was pretty well burned, yet the documents were all still usable. Yes, they got warm, but not destroyed. Guns were pretty much unscathed and later talked to my step brother who helped empty the safe after the fire. No typical damage due to using cement like other safes.

I got the biggest one they make and am quite happy with it. I was able to assemble in place by myself, no need to hire movers. In the end, they are not really safes, but fancy looking job boxes.
If you want to find out more about the gun safe industry just do a quick search. Liberty used to be a big name and then got caught giving out the door codes to Leo’s.
 
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Most gun safes are not true safes but RSCs - residential security containers. Two sheets of thin metal with fire board or cement board sandwiched in between. They can be cut open with a circular saw pretty quickly. Many times the weight of a true safe makes an RSC the only option and if that’s the case there are a lot of choices - from Costo, Browning, Liberty etc. this may help: https://www.deansafe.com/pages/safe...Rate Safe:,features when making your decision.
 
I had a question for you all about gun safe brands. My dad recently passed away in December and i inherited his Weatherby Mark V collection. I have never been a big gun collector as i focused on bowhunting and traditional archery specifically. So i have my small group of 7 firearms i use. That being said i am looking at safes and have no idea which is a solid brand or what i should look at besides fire rating etc.... To give an idea of what im going to be looking at space wise. 20 guns total, high end optics, ammo, most likely cash, coins and bars and important papers. So i'm guessing a 40 gun safe would do the trick. What brands to look at? Thanks for the help on this one.

Scott
If you are serious about protecting them then you will get a tool rated safe. UL does the testing and most safes only get rated as RSC. (Residential Security Container). For true protection you want a TL (tool) rated safe and they express that rating with time after the TL moniker. TL-30 for 30 minute protection against a tool attack. Or TL-60. These safes are extraordinarily heavy when they have a tool rating. American Security makes a tool rated safe but interior dimensions are smaller due to the thickness of steel and composite concrete used. I believe it also weighs 3400 lbs.
 

They're not the big super thick safe you'd traditionally think of. they're just secure storage. Those big safe, like liberty and such, are so easy to break into. They're at best sheet metal lined with drywall board.
To piggyback on this. Other family members have the big Brining/Liberty/Winchester "fire" safes and the layout sucks, things get scratchrd, you have to move three to get one, etc.

Here's something I am working on https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/secureit-biometric-gun-safes-review-upcoming.352425/
 
My whole house is sagging because of the darn thing. Wish I would have left mine in the darn store. My back was killing me after I moved it empty to get it where it had to be in a corner of the house/room as suggested ,now because of the weight that three King Kongs can't move, my floor is out of whack and it is only a matter of time before my tile starts popping up here and there and it looks like the mega fault has erupted.
I was on a pack trip through the Bob Marshall during those wildfires back in 99 and I don't think a so called fireproof safe would have saved those precious Weatherby's then. Man it was hot!
 
Something the size of a liberty fat boy would be my suggestion. Otherwise, two smaller safes/cabinets.
 
Gun safes, or more correctly RSC’s, are a mess to buy. You either get pretty compromised security and fire ratings from most common safes, go non traditional with a SecureIt or spend north of $5k for a real rated safe.

I have a Browning ProSteel safe on the 20 gun side because it’s a lot easier to move multiple sub 400 lb safes than one 600 lb one. I don’t expect much from it in a real fire or targeted break in but that’s where my security system and insurance kick in.

Quote delivery from a safe company or figure on needing a stair climber rental or a skid steer with forks to move one in place. It can easily cost $500 to move a $1000 safe if any stairs are involved.
 
I got Rhino Ironworks safe last year. Made in Idaho and been very happy with it. The product is top quality. If I have any complaint, it’s that their customer service is extremely slow when trying to get additional shelf material.

 
My only suggestion would be to not get a "one size fits all safe". Keep the guns/ammo in one, get another one for important papers, cash, bars etc.


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