Gun Safe Suggestions?

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oldiron1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
277
Location
Wisconsin
I'm in the market for my first real Gun Safe and am looking for suggestions and opinions.

I have the size I'd like nailed down to what seems to be pretty standard which is about 30" wide x 22" deep and approx. 23 cubic feet. I'd like to use half for long guns and install shelves in the other half for hand guns, ammo, etc.

I've seen a Winchester, Cannon and a John Deere/Liberty. I think like most guys though, I have a "wine taste and a beer budget" wanting to spend less than $1K. What safes seem to be the best for the money?

Thanks!!
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2004
Messages
2,420
Location
Northern, Utah. USA
I have Iron Man, Liberty & Fort Knox. Fort Knox & Liberty Safes are made here in Utah about 30 miles south of my home. So when I am looking for another I go right down to the factory & pick up a "Scratch & Dent" at a great discount. The Iron Man is made in Idaho, very fine qualitiy & damn heavy! J/S
 

Chance

Buckeye
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
1,378
Location
Sun City, AZ
The last on I got was the same basic size you are looking for (59x27x22) and it came from Costco. Still heavy duty at 480 lbs the price was 1/2 of the 900-1100 bucks my other safes of the same general size ran.
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
1,523
Location
NW Ohio
As suggested above, look for scratch and dent items. I bought mine for almost 1/2 price because it was a floor model and had a few marks and fingerprints on it. Don't be afraid to lowball with an offer either.
 

RugerBoi

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 23, 2007
Messages
440
Location
Moscow, Idaho
:shock: Oldiron1, Before you jump...I saw at the Elk Foundation show in Reno last year a safe that is one that can be placed in a corner or anywhere and you open the door and the entire contents rotate to you on a giant lazy Suzan type center section that makes it possible to access any rifle by moving only one other gun...It has pistol trays on the top or can be configured to have several shelves for hand guns with the same easy no scratch access...If I was starting new that's what I would get and I have the biggest dang Fort Knox they make...RB
 

oldiron1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
277
Location
Wisconsin
Thanks again Guys!

I do agree with the "buy as big as you can" suggestion, as I've found with any other hobby (or my garage) that no matter how big you go, at some point it will never be big enough. The only problem though is that the price tag also gets bigger with more space.

The rotating concept of the Pendleton safe is absolutely awesome in my opinion. I'm going to persue obtaining more information and pricing. The review at Gunblast is certainly convincing as well.

Rob
 

Quarterbore

Blackhawk
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
904
Location
Valley Forge PA
I have a different oppinion then many when it comes to safes for a bunch of guns. My first safe was my worst investment. Not because it is/was a bad deal, I just made the mistake of buying it new at retail! One thing I did do however was learned from my father's mistake as when he went shopping he bough a HUGE monster that takes an army of people plus dedicated equipment to move (his is something like 1500 pounds empty and is insanely wide which makes getting it around corners a royal PITA! I told him, if anything happens my brother can have the safe as there is no way I am going to move the SOB!

My first safe was a Browning, I went with the manual doal so there is no risk of the batteries or electronics failing. It also is fire lined and I went with what I think is a standard sized safe (28cu feet and 60" high x 30" wide x 27" Deep). The safe weights about 900 pounds which is still a lot to move but once you get up above this things become more difficult and fast!

Over the years since my first safe purchase I have bought two more. The first is a Liberty that lacked fire lining but it was the same size as my browning. As opposed to the $1100 I paid for the Browning I managed to buy the Liberty used for $300 and it is still a 700 to 800 pound safe even without the fire lining. My third safe was a newspaper find and it is a Ft Knox. That safe is deeper then the Browning and Liberty and was fire lined and a good amount heavier as well as deeper and I paid $400 for that one which is normally a $2000 safe!

All three safes I have bolted to the floor as well as bolts through the back wall of the safe into the wall behind them. We also have a security system so when I installed the safes I drilled a small hole in the back and have a contact so that if the safe door is opened or the safe is pulled away from the wall it triggers the alarm. There is a disarm that has to be triggered in 10-seconds or the alarm company gets notified. the other thing I did was to add electric into the safes and I run a goldenrod dehumidieifer in each one as well as LED rope light that has a small toggle switch. Rope light really makes it easy to see what is in the safe and uses very little electric.

As for why three sfes as opposed to one big safe... if thrives would make it past the security system, CCTV system with and me getting an e-mail with their ugly mugs, they need to choose which of the three saves they are going to try to break into as there is no way in hell they will get into all three before I know they are there and call 911 or show up shooting!

With a single big safe, it is just tougher to get to guns buried deep in the safe, they are a PITA to move when unbolted and empty where full small saves that are full and bolted down are just as hard to break into, plus it makes theives decide where they want to focus their energy. Also, it is easy to buy 2nd, 3rd, or 4th safe when you later find good deals.

JMHOs! Just don't buy junk as a lightweight safe that is built like a cabinent can be broken into with a good sized crow bar! Buy a quality smaller safe then an oversized safe that is not as strong as it should be!

Good Luck!
 

c.r.

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 23, 2008
Messages
436
Location
Texas
I'm going to stray a bit from the suggestion to "go big".

I have a single safe, it is 60.5" x 36" x 27.5". While this isn't one of the largest safes available, it's reasonable size. I am maxed out on space in it. without moving out a large partion of my handguns i cannot fit any more long arms in it.

first this safe does take up a reasonable amount of room and depending on how large your house is, or even how it's laid out, this safe can be a little difficult to find a spot for.

I have sometimes wish i would have bought two slightly smaller safes and have one dedicated for handguns and one dedicated for long arms.........

PLUS, it's a bit easier to find spots for two smaller safes rather than one larger safe. One can go in this corner and the other in another corner or another room

Larger safes are also a bit more difficult to get into certain rooms depending on maneuvering it down hallways, etc. remember this +800lb safe is going to be on a heavy duty appliance/vending machine dolley. I'll tell you now, those little pads you put underneath furniture that lets you push/glide them across the room work miracles on moving a safe too.

Don't forget that someday you may need to move and you might want that safe to go with you. I've already moved mine once and had to borrow a dolley from a buddy. Now i'm moving the safe again and just went ahead and purchased my own dolley to allow me to handle moving my safe on my own. The rentals from u-haul, RCS, etc are not rated heavy enough and don't have the fold out "leg" that really helps moving these heavy items.

I like my safe, BUT, i think two slightly smaller safes would fit ME and MY lifestyle better.

I guess i'm just suggesting to make sure you actually have a spot that works for larger safes. But in the end it really doesn't matter, you'll outgrow whatever you buy. in fact i'm really hoping that one more long gun comes along..............and then i get to get me another safe.
 

Sattc

Bearcat
Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
4
I'm sorry that I resurrect the old topic, but it's just that I myself once encountered this issue, and spent a lot of time to find really useful information
Really depends on budget. A best of both worlds safe will probably be over 10k and it still won't be the best or that big(25-35 long guns).

Pick a price range then do a search. There's lots of good info on multiple sites.

Fort Knox and one other brand that's escaping me had great specs. That said I got a browning at a killer deal. Not the best safe but at the price I couldn't pass it up. If you search around you can get up to 40% off when a larger shops stops carrying a line of safes. If I had to pay retail I'd have brought the brand that's escaping me. Same fire rating and materials as knox. Same steels as the Knox model I was looking at and a decent bit cheaper. Liberty and browning are overpriced unless you buy them on closeout.
 
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