safes ... it's safe john

[DCortez]

For your next safe, what would you pick?


Fire rating, the least & the most?

1", 1.25", or 1.5" bolts? How many bolts?

What gauge metal?

Electronic or mechanical lock?

Electric pass through?

Brand?

 

[biglucky]

I have actually outgrown my current 35 gun Champion Safe and am really looking for a bigger one.

As far as fire rating goes I want something that is at least equal to my current safe. 1500 degrees for 3 hours.

I have 6x 1 inch bolts now I think and that seems sufficient.

No clue on the metal guage.

I am totally a mechanical lock fan, I don't trust electronic locks.

as far as brand all I can say is I really like my Champion safe I have now.

 

[DirtyD]

There was this great deal on a safe posted here a few months ago... might want to search for that.

I am in the process of shopping for my new safe as what I have now is designed for pistols only, and as my collection has grown I need to house the homeless... My biggest issue is budget, I need to stay below a grand, and have found three that SHOULD fit my needs, I just dont want to be buying another in a few years. As far as what I am looking for, Fire rating is a must, I would like at a minimum a 30 minute rating, lock, I would prefer mechanical, but will settle for electronic, and for the interior, it must be convertable.

 

[Okierifleman]

Most of the commercially available safes are made by the same companies. I dont care if it says a Winchester, Browning, or Remington, they are probably made by the same people. Champion is a good brand as well as Cannon. I am looking for a new Cannon myself(or a good used one). Dont be cheap. Dont expect a $500 safe to protect $10k worth of guns. Get something with at least 12ga on the body and at least 10ga on the door. Make sure it is fire rated at least 1200 for one hour. Anything more, unless you live in the country is a waste. If you live in or around town it shouldnt take the fire dept that long to get there. And, I am a fan of electric locks, the dials are just ancient.

 

[armadillo]

I am on my second Ft. Knox. Be sure you get it bigger than you think you need!

I suggest you get it from someone who can deliver and setup.

 

[TexasRedneck]

I'll second the Ft Knox. Have the biggest single-door they make - only one bigger has a body much wider than the door, and it's just not handy to reach inside because of that, so mine is a standard-width....all live bolts, includin' anti-pry corners. It's becoming too small, so I'm looking at adding another one just for handguns to handle the overflow - figure another 20-40 should do it. Yeah.....I'm more a handgun than longgun nut. I figger with 20+ longguns, I'm covered - but there's SO many handguns....<G>

 

[IXLR8]

10 gauge body is the minimum desirable for good safe. Heavy = safe. Burn ratings are open to interpretation, many use gypsum, but don't advertise it.

 

[Big country]

I looked at a cannon last night at academy that was rated at 30 min at 1200 degrees, it has the digital lock weighs 450# for $699. Is this something that would be a good investment or should I try another company and a smaller safe I have two pistols and 5 long guns with a mossberg 500 home defense to be added at the same time as the safe? I do plan on having the safe for a long time and it has a good warranty. I don't like the dial cause I can't operate them LOL. So with the electric lock what happens if the batteries die? Does it remember your original combo or does it revert to factory? Thanks for any info and sorry to high jack your thread D I just thought that it might help someone else with a safe purchase to.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I looked at a cannon last night at academy that was rated at 30 min at 1200 degrees, it has the digital lock weighs 450# for $699. Is this something that would be a good investment or should I try another company and a smaller safe I have two pistols and 5 long guns with a mossberg 500 home defense to be added at the same time as the safe? I do plan on having the safe for a long time and it has a good warranty. I don't like the dial cause I can't operate them LOL. So with the electric lock what happens if the batteries die? Does it remember your original combo or does it revert to factory? Thanks for any info and sorry to high jack your thread D I just thought that it might help someone else with a safe purchase to.

Once you get a safe and see all that empty space, it will not remain empty long. That sounds like a good starter safe since you do not have a huge collection of guns as of yet.
For weight, the heavier the better. I took a call where the victim had a #600 lb safe. He lived in the country and did not think he needed to bolt it down because it was so heavy. When he came home after work one night and found his safe missing he reconsidered his approach and has now corrected that with his new safe.
A 400-600 lb safe can be managed by 2 strong men or 3 average ones. Be sure to bolt it down!

For me the fire rating is important. Lock type does not matter to me but I would like at least 2 methods of entry.

I am following this thread too since I am in the market for a new safe .

 

[GI-John]

chuckle

chuckle

 

[Big country]

Thanks for the advice. I plan on bolting it down as I live in a trailer house and it wouldn't be hard to do. Living in a trailer house is another reason I want a fire rated safe. I'm just not sure I need a 24 gun safe and if I can get a smaller one like a 12 gun with the same specs fire wise and a better price space is also an issue I don't have a lot of space in the house so something a little smaller would be great. I guess what I'm asking is if the fire rating is good and how the electric lock works if the batteries die?

 

[biglucky]

Well I have found my new gun safe... I will be selling my Champion here in the next few months, just need to find one of these..

AR34F -- The Most Unique Browning Gun Safe in 27 Years.

 

[Acetone]

Well I have found my new gun safe... I will be selling my Champion here in the next few months, just need to find one of these..

AR34F -- The Most Unique Browning Gun Safe in 27 Years.

I saw that in the latest gun porn. Nice lookin' safe.

 

[pheet17]

Nice looking safe, oh the possibilities

 

[TexasRedneck]

Didja git a price on that puppy???

 

[biglucky]

The adds I have seen are pretty pricey... around 2700 bucks. But the more I look at it the more amazed I am at how well they use the space inside the safe. That is the biggest problem with my safe, I have a 35 gun champion safe but it has a lot of "open space". I suppose I could do some reverse engineering on what I see in the pics with the picatinny rails hanging under the shelf and the short shelf for SBR's and stuff. But I don't think that there is any way to do a retrofit to get the amazing usage of space on the door.

 

[TexasRedneck]

2700?!?? That's cheap! I've got a Ft. Knox that's about maxed out, and I've been pricing another one....they're talkin' $6,000! A lot depends on how well my side business does through the end of the year. Since I'll use it to keep backup discs and business records, it IS tax deductible.......(yeah - confirmed w/the accountant already!)

 

[TexasRedneck]

Oh - BC - almost forgot - whatever safe you end up with, I STRONGLY suggest you use at LEAST one one piece of 3/4" plywood as underlay support for the safe, and go under the trailer and beef up the flooring from underneath. I've seen more than one safe warp the flooring on a trailer!!! Try to install it so that it "straddles" a crossmember if at all possible.
My Ft. Knox weighs in at 1800 lbs - no way I'd trust it in ANY trailer.

 

[DCortez]

2700?!?? That's cheap!

No kidding. I looked at the link and figured it to easily be 4k+.

 

[biglucky]

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