NEED HELP SELECTING A SAFE

[EAS]

I need advice on what type/model of safe to buy. I don't have very many guns but I also want to store my ammo in it and I need to get it upstairs. Of course funds are tight but I want one good enought to save my stuff from theft and fire.

 

[Bubbajms]

Just call him and get his opinion. My advice? Go as big as you can because you'll outgrow it!

 

[Brandon]

Lowes has a pretty decent safe for 3-400. 2 people and a dolly could get it upstairs no problem. Big enough to hold a few guns and ammo.

 

[Lock n Load]

Just call him and get his opinion. My advice? Go as big as you can because you'll outgrow it!

Very good advice.... my safe is good sized but it's never enough storage space. I use old homak cabinets to store ammo in... 8-10k rounds weigh them down pretty good!!!

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Seems like I saw a flyer in the mail this week where Tractor Supply or Orscheln's had Fat Boys on sale at 15% off.

A safe is like insurance...the better the one you can buy, the better your protection. Or the more valuable the stuff is you're protecting, the better you should consider protecting.

 

[BEANC0UNTER]

I bought mine from Sam's club about 5 years ago. I have not had any issues with it. Seems nice to me.

 

[loudpedal]

Lowes has a pretty decent safe for 3-400. 2 people and a dolly could get it upstairs no problem. Big enough to hold a few guns and ammo.

Yea, I just bought a "14 gun" Stack-on from Lowes. I picked it on on a black Fri. sale for $300.00. It seems like a well built safe. I know that a pro could be in a safe like this pretty quickly, but anything that you can do to slow a burglar down is to your advantage. The interior is surprisingly well designed. It only has a half hour fire rating, but after a half hour fire I suspect that you have plenty of other problems to concern you.

As for getting it upstairs...well mine is still sitting in the garage, I think that I am going to call Brandon and see what he is doing tomorrow.

 

[cardio1]

Gander Mountain has a nice gun safe on sale for 499 till 12/18.

 

[SSGSAD]

Johnson, is a local guy, and can just about build anything you want .....

 

[Bikerdad61]

Seems like I saw a flyer in the mail this week where Tractor Supply or Orscheln's had Fat Boys on sale at 15% off.

A safe is like insurance...the better the one you can buy, the better your protection. Or the more valuable the stuff is you're protecting, the better you should consider protecting.

Yep, Tractor supply has a SMOK'IN deal on the BIG Cannon, 48 gun wide body safe. $999.00 and it's the 72" tall model. I bought the 60" tall one this summer and paid this price for it.
As others have said get the biggest safe you have room for and can afford. They fill up fast. You'll be amazed all the stuff you'll store in it once you get one.

 

[Gary72]

A lot depends on how safe you want your valuables. If you just want to keep your kids and riff raff away from your guns, which all of us should, you can buy any inexpensive safe that will hold what you have and what you expect to add in the next 5 to 10 years. BTW multiple safes fastened to the floor that have to be broke into separately make for more time consumption which every thief hates.

But, if you want real security the inexpensive safes are not going to get the job done. I have had both and despite not owning a Johnson Safe yet, the only one I own that I trust has similar specs to his 3/8" door 7 gauge models. I have seen demo's where any of the light gauge safes out of China (identified by the door over an inch thick which is nothing but light gauge steel formed into a hollow door) were easily entered with either with multiple sledge hammer blows to the middle of the door or an axe to the thin gauge side wall which cut pretty much like butter. You can do neither to a 1/4" door or 10 gauge body let alone a 3/8" & 7 gauge sidewall design. Even those will not stop someone with millwright experience like myself or a practiced safe thief, but it will take enough time that most will pass them by if they don't know what is inside is worth the great deal of effort it takes, particularly if the safe is properly fastened to the floor, preferably a concrete one if available, which makes the effort more difficult. I also have had two friends that had house fires which thought their $1,000 dollar Chinese safes would protect only to find out everything inside was destroyed by the heat and mechanical shocks. Open seams, drywall for insulation and thin walls falling a story or two to the concrete main or basement floor takes a very large toll.

A good safe will have at least a solid 1/4" with 10 gauge bodies or or better 3/8" door with 7 gauge bodies. Johnson offers both with the addition of solid welding all the seams instead of stitch welding with body filler covering the gaps which greatly enhances the fire rating and strength. Johnson also uses moisture resistant ceramic insulation instead of the dry wall the inexpensive safes use so the fire rating is 2600 degree for 1 hour which will survive most house fires. BTW stay away from the digital or touch locks, they fail too often.

So what are you after, keeping the honest, lazy or stupid away from your guns or some real safety for your possessions? Both are viable depending on what you want and what you are protecting, but going inexpensive will not get you good safety or protection. You will find that you pay accordingly to the quality and the next safe I buy will be a Johnson after my own experience and the great deal of research I have done over the past few years. That will be happening shortly BTW.

12/28/12 Edit - I just ordered a BR-660 this afternoon and posted the details in a seperate thread.

 

[Brandon]

This is more of what I was referring to:
Shop Liberty Centurion 12-Gun Black Gun Safe at Lowes.com

 

[Bubbajms]

Something to keep in mind - I don't know how they figure how many guns will fit in a safe, but it's typically HIGHLY inaccurate on the low side. I don't know what 12 long guns would fit in that one, but they must not be very big or have any optics on them..

 

[Grelber]

A friend of mine lost his gun collection due to thieves just taking the entire safe through the wall and apparently into a pickup truck. As noted above anything you can do to make them harder to remove is a good thing.

 

[bbbas55]

There's a good vid on YouTube on buying a safe

 

[xfrostybeersx]

Looked at these safes at my local locksmith and they look great. A little pricey but well built. Good product mr Johnson.

 

[Lock n Load]

Something to keep in mind - I don't know how they figure how many guns will fit in a safe, but it's typically HIGHLY inaccurate on the low side. I don't know what 12 long guns would fit in that one, but they must not be very big or have any optics on them..

Great point.... I think they must have placed lever actions and shotties, because bolt rifles, pistol gripped rifles and scopes take up extra room.

Just like a shed or garage go bigger than you need, bigger than you budgeted even !!!

 

[Lefteye]

I have been researching safes as well and you should also consider delivery cost and location of delivery. Mr. Johnson quoted a very low delivery cost to my basement including bolting it to my cement floor. I would rather spend a few hundred more to get a far superior safe delivered to the right location in my home including being bolted down. I will be ordering my Johnson safe in the next week or two.

 

[ReadnFool]

The original post talked about storing ammo in the safe with the guns. Not always the best idea (even at today's ammo prices).

Ammo can cook off well below the temperature needed to damage the guns, and in the case of a fire can lead to more damage than would otherwise have been experienced.

I upgraded my safe (not to a Johnson quality yet, but that is on the wish list) and now store my ammo in the older cheaper safe. It is kept in a place more likely to be seen quickly, and I leave a couple of cheap single shot shotguns int there with the ammo.

I figue in the event of a break in they will waste their limited time working on the first gun safe they see, and if the get it open all they have is some ammo and a couple cheap guns. Plus I figure they may bust a gut trying to walk off with it.

In the event of a fire I have not compromised the heat resistance of my main safe by keeping ammo in there.

If you look at the Brown Safe Company web site they have lots of good information about safes of all types. They also have some really nice really expensive safes you can drool over.

 

[nod7]

I have more than one safe...one for my long guns with 10 door pistol/revolver holders. It is fire rate and well hidden! I also have a smaller fire/floor safe for my carry and frequent use weapons. I shopped display models at Big R, Tractor Supply, and Menards. I found the big one with some scratches and a few small dents at Tractor Supply. It was on sale for $100 off. I got it for $175 off after 2 visits with the manager. Great buy at under $300!!! Remember...Bolt to/thru the floor and the wall.