Gun safes

Looking to get a gun safe for our valuables and shotguns and stuff like that . Fireproof , I know , anything else I should look for ? Are the Costco ones garbage or worth it ? Thanks a lot , you guys are always a great help !

 

I bought a Wilson branded safe off of Amzn about 9 yrs. ago. 700 or so lbs. mechanical lock, it has been plenty good for me so far. I believe it was about 7-800 back then inc. delivery. As they say, get larger than you think you will need as you will fill it. Good luck. I’d be looking at second hand as well.

 

I got a Liberty Revere safe a little over a year ago. Despite the negative backlash they got recently, I'm satisfied with the build quality of mine. I watched a few comparison videos 1 in particular where they compared a few and I was sold on Liberty because of how difficult they would make it for someone to break it. What sold me was they use 5 locking plates rather than rods which are shown to be more accessible. Also the door gap is important which Liberty has none. Don't want the ability for a crowbar to fit in there. Let me see if I can find that video..

To add: Tractor Supply always has great sales on their safes

 

Tractor Supply , I will be checking them out , thank you again for the thoughtful responses .

 

You can pretty much go from the basic Costco safe all the way up to a Brown. Not all safes are built the same and they certainly don't cost the same. But you can get a very good one without breaking the bank.
It comes down to what kind of access you need, how secure you need it, and what you're putting in it (rifles/shotguns, long weapons, documents, jewelry, etc) that determines how big a safe you need. The fire rating is usually what determines a good amount of cost. I would recommend a 90 minutes minimum fire rating and as thick of steel as available within your budget. Cabela's has 14g Browning safes which are pretty nice quality and price (up to $2500).

https://www.cabelas.com/l/guns-safes-vaults

I also think that Steelwater makes excellent safes as well as a great variety to fit needs/budget.

https://steelwatergunsafes.com/collections/shop-now


Anything is better than nothing, having said that...
I personally would pass on the Costco.
Look at the ratings of security (usually thickness of steel) and fire ratings (time duration and temperature of protection) of all safes you consider and compare to get a better idea of what is important for you.

 

Also consider placement in your home. Even though they are heavy as all hell. You'll definitely want to mount it to the ground or wall.

 

I don't have any recommendations. After my research I concluded the safe is about 90% for fire protection, and one of those "deters honest people" deals. An angle grinder could conquer most safes pretty fast from what I saw.

 

^ This. The fire protection isn't even convincing/impressive. Most of them are just gauge steel with sheetrock linings for fire "proofing". Is Ft. Know still around? I think they used to be okay. Then moving them is a pain in the ass, and expensive.

 

As many locking bolts as possible. Some low end safes have a simple bar that holds them shut. Simple safes make it simple to open. Mechanical lock only, don't go with the electronic. Dead batteries, corrosion, that sort of thing. As Scotty said, "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."

 

https://www.ftknox.com/home-safes/

Looks like they are still around, they are just 2x the price of anything in a sporting goods store.

 

Mine is 3/4” steel plate on all 6 sides. You would need to be there for a few days with an angle grinder…

 

I also have a Liberty... the model name escapes me at the moment. (Centurion maybe?) It ain't Fort Knox but I think it's reasonably good quality for the entry level price point. I think I bought it from Lowe's.

Mine was in the hundreds rather than thousands of dollars, so I have no illusions that it couldn't be defeated by determined thieves if they the time & determination to work on it. Hopefully it would slow them down enough that they don't want to hang around.

As important as the security level of the safe itself is bolting it to the floor, and (if placement permits) positioning it such that they don't have room to pry with a crowbar. Mine's in a corner with a wall on the side of the direction they'd need to pull a crowbar. If they put a crowbar in there they'd be prying against the frame of the door rather than the door itself, and would in effect pushing the door more closed rather than prying it open, if that makes sense.
And since it's bolted to the floor with a steel backing plate underneath they'd have a hard time moving/turning it to get better prying leverage.

As with most security/theft prevention stuff, we just hope to make it difficult &/or time consuming enough that they give up and move on. Thieves are often quite ingenious, but most of 'em are pretty lazy.

I think most of the ones I've seen at Costco are Cannon brand, I wouldn't say they're garbage but they're not great either. I looked at some Cannon's when I was buying mine, and if I remember correctly they were a thinner gauge steel than the Liberty I ended up buying (for similar size and price model)

You might look on gun forums or marketplace and see if someone's selling used... might get more for your money. Just don't let the seller deliver it to your house.

As with many things, if it says it holds 12 long guns... It don't!

If you have optics, bipods, forward grips, etc. on any of them capacity will be about half what the brochure claims. Get bigger than you think you need.

 

I guess the quality of "most safes" has increased since I last went shopping then

 

Or easy to move.

 

If I’m not mistaken doesn’t liberty make most of them and just put other brand names on them

 

They have their own line, but Bass Pro and Cabelas put their names on them too.

 

Ah ok. My mistake

 

Which one did you buy? Or did you make it yourself?

 

Unless you are buying a TL-15 rated or higher jewlers safe, most big box store safes are very similar and have the same weaknesses (including my Liberty safe). They are mainly good for keeping kids out and mitigating smash and grabs.

I can tell you that it took me less than 30 seconds to punch a hole through my Liberty "USA" safe to backmount it to a wall, since drilling into a post tension slab wasn't an option in my case. With a bit of cutting oil, it was like a hot knife through butter with my Milwaukee drill and a standard titanium coated bit.

 

Should watch this before buying

https://www.google.com/search?q=Bes...IBgGQBgiSBwQxMi4yoAe_cQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#

 

Same thinking as cat plates. Hopefully they figure it’s not worth the time and move on.

But yeah, as others have said, get bigger than what you think you need.

 

It helps to have full time security on the premises.



It's actually quite affordable if you can find one that works for Milkbones.

 

My safe was salvaged from a bank remodel over 15 years ago. Probably not comparable to what you would find on the commercial market. I also have a “cabinet” that is just g steel with nice locks.

 

Salvaged: actual cost was just getting it loaded and unloaded. Took me about a day to fix the mechanism and figure out the combination.
I could have had several more, but the others were locked closed. The one I took was the only one that was locked open.

 

Yeah, a smoke wrench would work but it’s gonna do a lot of damage to the contents.

 

30 minutes and you can collect ashes and molten metal of what used to be valuables.

 

I have a little crane in the shop that I used for unloading. Then I had to make a special cart with a slightly sloped top to set it on some rollers. Definitely an easy way to hurt yourself! lol