Looking for a gun safe for my hunting rifle!

[Rich M]

I lived in a rough neighborhood, had fire rated safes. 60-90 min fire ratings i think. Smaller safes have less ratings andcsone file cabinets too.

Costco or Sams for first look. We got one at tractor supply. Extra $50 or $100 upon delivery got it droped off where i wanted inside. You say, i thought the safe was gonna be drppoed off in my living room, can you help me? If they say no, flash a 50 or 100 bill and repeat, can you help me? They like $.

Last guy laid it on a furniture dolly and loaded it in our front hallwwy, wanted to do more. Gave him mixed bills so he could share w helper guy. I had 500+# dolly but front step pain… one olace i laid 2x4 tracks and used a boat winch to hoist safe up 2 floors of stairs (weekday of course). Security guard caught us and needed to be pacified cause i drilled a hole in th e landing w hammer drill to set eye bolt.,,,,,,

Be smart.

Bolt em down like it was fer real and use heavy connections. Think my bolts are rated for like 50,000 pounds of pull. That’s plus a 400-500# safe, “good luck”.

We had 1 safe fail and obtained access w some effort. Scrapped safe so few would see how we did it.

Better no-one knows it is there. We been robbed a few times and our safes are for our normal valuables, cameras and computers + paperwork.

Also - some safes come w backup key. Strongly consider one and leave set of keys w parents and set w friend. This may have gotten us in the safe that failed on us.

Any safe beats not having a safe. Congrats on the little one!!’

 

[Blackdog317]

Go bigger than you think. The capacity listed can be very deceiving.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Go bigger than you think. The capacity listed can be very deceiving.

And you never know how many he will be adding in the future. If he is like many of us, he will surly need a bigger safe at sometime. Talking from first hand experience.

 

[Bluefish]

I recently moved states and had to buy a new safe. Ended up going with Zanotti armor. They assemble on site, so moving them is much easier. Heaviest pc is the door and two people can lift it into place. Quite happy with it and would buy another. I was also able to pick it up at the factory as it’s only an hour away.

while not fire rated, when I was there they had a safe that came back in to be rebuilt after a fire. Turns out it was owned by the current boyfriend of my wifes dads widow. So I got to hear about how it worked. All the guns in the safe survived with minimal damage. Even paperwork survived with minimal damage.

 

[Weldor]

Most fire rated safes use Mill board or drywall, good for short periods, Liberty, cannon, browning are some top brands. I watched my friends large Browning being delivered, the guy used golf balls. Moved it with one hand. The guy was slick! Unfortunately anyone can buy a cordless grinder and get into a 16 gauge so called gun safe. Youtube took care of that and some advertising also. Buy once cry once LOL. Best regards on the new family member.

 

[LongWayAround]

I'm pretty sure I would hear someone with a skill saw cutting into my safe.

Astute observation. I would wager that most burglaries happen when you are not home.

 

[sbaker0029]

Congratulations! Parenthood is a trip to say the least.

I definitely echo what others have said, whatever the number of guns it holds is advertised cut it half. Buy bigger than you think you'll need. You'll end up putting more than guns in there too more than likely (birth certificates, passports, cash, old family bibles, etc.)

I would look into fire ratings and how they perform.
Local gun store caught fire. They had a lot of guns in Liberty safes. Some guns were damaged pretty bad and others were not in the best condition cosmetically but still very much functional. I can tell you first hand experience from looking and handling these guns first hand and seeing the safes, Liberty safes did what they were supposed to do.

https://www.libertysafe.com/blogs/the-vault/gun-safe-store-catches-fire

 

[Marble]

I've opened a lot of safes with a basic Sawzall. Several times. 22 years in law enforcement and I never saw a case where a thief used this method. I have seen entire safe yanked off bolted foundations. Most imprtant thing is space for enough guns and keeping them from people in your home that should not come into contact with them.

I've also seen 1000-1500 homes burned. I haven't seen a safe go through a total loss house fire and protect its inner contents.

Like most have said, let your husband get involved, buy a safe at least twice the size you think you need.

I also refer a digital key pad instead of a combo.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[feliciabeauty2000]

I'm certainly not the final authority on safes, but I have seen "high end" safes destroyed by fire. What safe do you have?

I am personally just getting into this. I am thinking why not get something with this store since they have discounts on it and decent reviews?

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Buy a safe twice as big as you need as the fill up fast. All of the safes under $2K or so are going to be basically the same, they’re thin gauge steel with drywall inside for fire protection and that same thin gauge steel wrapped around drywall for the door giving the illusion of a big strong door.

If you’re not going to drop the coin for something serious like an AMSEC BF series then my suggestion would be to get one of the Winchester or Canon safes from tractor supply as they’re about the best value for a RSC. I prefer the winchesters for their external hinges that will swing open much further than the Canon with its internal hinges. They go on sale quite often for $100-$200+ off depending on model. Labor Day will probably their next big sale.

 

[journeyman713]

Congrats on the new addition and thinking proactively!

If you find a 30 gun safe, with 60 minutes of fire protection, for under a grand. Go for it!
Personally, I gave a couple of these, a prefer it this way, over one very big one.

 

[maya]

I am personally just getting into this. I am thinking why not get something with this store since they have discounts on it and decent reviews?

I was asking nra4life what safe he has that wouldn't burn in a fire. Graffunders are awesome but still have a limited fire rating. I would question how important the "surprise" for your husband is & consider getting him involved in the research & decision. Otherwise, pay yer momey & take yer chances.

 

[atmat]

Remember that locks only keep honest people out. The overwhelming majority of gun safes can easily be accessed with garage tools. That said, they’re great for keeping petty thieves and children out — which should be the primary concerns.

I’ve seen some marked down significantly for holidays: it may be worth waiting a bit.

Buy the biggest you can afford. Once you start filling with firearms, you’ll see they hold significantly less than advertised.

 

[TaperPin]

As others have said, most safes are for keeping honest people honest, keeping teenagers out of the liquor and prescription drugs, or keeping half ass criminals from getting the good stuff.

For any safe you consider, look on YouTube for how to open it without the combination. This is the same information all the criminals have and you will be disappointed. Same goes for ”The Lock Picking Lawyer” on YouTube - not many locks we depend on are worth a hoot.

A gun for protection doesn’t do much if it’s in the basement gun safe, so a small safe in the bedroom is a good idea.

As a finish carpenter I’ve built a few custom cabinets to disguise a safe. A laundry room or large pantry aren’t often picked as a likely location for a safe, especially if it’s in a cabinet that matches the rest of the cabinets. Some large kitchen islands are mostly empty space and can fit short safes.

Another option all together is picking a closet and install a heavy gauge commercial door and commercial grade hardware. Legal pot shops are often retrofitted buildings and most states have requirements for reinforcing rooms against breakins, which are often things like adding a layer of heavy gauge expanded steel mesh covered in plaster/stucco, or whatnot, to the walls and ceilings in addition to a heavy duty door. Gigantic safe-looking doors are available for whole room safes, but many aren’t any better than a cheap safe, and it draws attention to your house.

A commonly available plasma cutter will slice through the most expensive safes, so hide the good safe, maybe leave a cheap safe in the open for prescription drugs, and a few cheap guns.

 

[feliciabeauty2000]

You may want to watch some fire testing videos on YouTube. Most of the heavy safes are useless in an actual full blown house fire. The lighter safes that you can bolt to the floor work just fine for keeping your valuables safe and they are much easier to move if you upgrade to a bigger house with the growing family. They are also much cheaper and you can get multiple smaller ones that can be hid in closets. The large heavy safes take up a lot of space.

100% agreed

As others have said, most safes are for keeping honest people honest, keeping teenagers out of the liquor and prescription drugs, or keeping half ass criminals from getting the good stuff.

For any safe you consider, look on YouTube for how to open it without the combination. This is the same information all the criminals have and you will be disappointed. Same goes for ”The Lock Picking Lawyer” on YouTube - not many locks we depend on are worth a hoot.

A gun for protection doesn’t do much if it’s in the basement gun safe, so a small safe in the bedroom is a good idea.

As a finish carpenter I’ve built a few custom cabinets to disguise a safe. A laundry room or large pantry aren’t often picked as a likely location for a safe, especially if it’s in a cabinet that matches the rest of the cabinets. Some large kitchen islands are mostly empty space and can fit short safes.

Another option all together is picking a closet and install a heavy gauge commercial door and commercial grade hardware. Legal pot shops are often retrofitted buildings and most states have requirements for reinforcing rooms against breakins, which are often things like adding a layer of heavy gauge expanded steel mesh covered in plaster/stucco, or whatnot, to the walls and ceilings in addition to a heavy duty door. Gigantic safe-looking doors are available for whole room safes, but many aren’t any better than a cheap safe, and it draws attention to your house.

A commonly available plasma cutter will slice through the most expensive safes, so hide the good safe, maybe leave a cheap safe in the open for prescription drugs, and a few cheap guns.

Plenty of great suggestions what about the floor safes then? I can hid it in a few spots around the house and I can make the room myself no problem at all. The main thing for me is the price as I want to make sure that it's within 1-2k and it fits at least a rifle if not maybe 2. Idk if the floor safe is big enough for that so can you recommend something from that store^? I have seen others recommend Liberty or American security. I personally like American security as I know my granddad had one and it worked well for him.

 

[feliciabeauty2000]

Buy a safe twice as big as you need as the fill up fast. All of the safes under $2K or so are going to be basically the same, they’re thin gauge steel with drywall inside for fire protection and that same thin gauge steel wrapped around drywall for the door giving the illusion of a big strong door.

If you’re not going to drop the coin for something serious like an AMSEC BF series then my suggestion would be to get one of the Winchester or Canon safes from tractor supply as they’re about the best value for a RSC. I prefer the Winchesters for their external hinges that will swing open much further than the Canon with its internal hinges. They go on sale quite often for $100-$200+ off depending on model. Labor Day will probably their next big sale.

I dont mind going for an amsec BF series I just dont know which one I should get from that store? Can you please help me?

 

[rbaney]

I like the Liberty safes. I have two at home both Franklin 24s and rated for 45-60 minutes at 1200 F. One consideration for fire rating is how far away the fire company is from your home and how long it would take for them to respond. My other safe is a Cannon a little cheaper and from Tractor supply but for a great price. If you have any place around you that carries these safes, I would go look at them.

Also these safes are very heavy so pick where you wish to place it and make sure that area is capable of supporting the gun safe you purchase. I will also Highly recommend getting one that is bigger. The safe can fill up fast with more than just guns.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I dont mind going for an amsec BF series I just dont know which one I should get from that store? Can you please help me?

The 6030 is a good size if you don't have a ton of guns. Also keep in mind when you get into 1200-1500lbs safes it's not a bad idea to buy a second when/if you need it instead of one huge one. You also need to consider where the safe will be placed when you get into this weight. You can pretty much forget about it being on anything but a concrete slab.

I've bought multiple AMSEC safes and vault doors from safeandvaultstore.com and deansafe.com and would highly recommend both of them for purchasing. They also have better prices than anything I've ever been quoted from a local safe dealer.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Do you recommend something within the range of Tl-30 safes? like this one? If you could please send links/ examples of what you recommend that would be great. I am doing a lot of research on my own and I have had people recommend Amsec, liberty, winchester, etc.

If you are going to store long guns the TI-30 won't be big enough. that particular safe with only around 12 CU FT of internal space will never work for 30 guns.

 

[feliciabeauty2000]

If you are going to store long guns the TI-30 won't be big enough. that particular safe with only around 12 CU FT of internal space will never work for 30 guns.

what about the amsec BFX series? Ive asked other forums and they said that its a good option