Rifle Safes....Who's got what?

[louie]

Folks, I'm in the market for a safe for my stuff.

I'm looking for a good quality safe, not massive, but certainly big enough for scoped rifles and maybe a shelf or two for some handguns.

I've been eyeballin' safes from Cannon, Cabela's (their Liberty line), and Liberty.

Anybody have any suggestions, comments, Pros/Cons, etc.?


TIA,

[Cohibra45]

I really like my Liberty. It is not their largest, but it has a lot of convertible features that can hold a lot of long guns as well as shelves. I even got the door pistol knobs to hang my pistols, but have not installed them as of yet. My safe is 60"x36"xx28" and supposidly weighs around 650lbs empty. It is really heavy and with the guns inside would make it really hard for someone to carry it off. It has provisions to be bolted to the floor, but I guess, if someone can carry off 800lbs, I don't want to mess with them anyway.

Take care,

Kelly (Cohibra45)

[Stickman]

I'm waiting for Dutch to chime in on this, I know he has looked into different safes, and is the only person I know who talks to safe vendors about all the different features they offer.

[NvrenufRR]

I have a 32 gun RedHead from Bass Pro Shop.

Its Great, Heavy as hell, takes 4 o move, But nice and roomy. 1200 F for 1 hour rated and only cost me $839

Some good advice, just buy a larger safe 20 gun minimum, you will want to expand.
I started with a 32 gun, And now 2 32's and 14, still not enoug room.

[Tucson]

I use the Stack-on 10 gun safe. My "collection" is quite minimal. I've worked it down to just the essentials...
1 AR
1 12ga
2 45s

[Eric]

I've been happy with my Liberty safe. On mine, I bypassed the fancy gloss paint job and got the more inexpensive matte.
I always recommend figuring out what size your going to need, and then going one size larger.

[NickDrak]

I would take a good look at Champion Safes. I had previously owned a Liberty safe and left it at my old house with the new owner. I replaced it with a Champion Victory Series safe that cost me nearly the same, but offered more fire protection, heavier gauge steel, more bolts, more weight, more cubic ft, and a gloss finish. They can also be ordered with the non-gloss "textured" finish which will save you some additional cash.

[12131]

I have the Champion model Trophy-33, and it's already filled. Planning on getting another one.
NickDrak, don't you mean Triumph Series? I don't think Champion has a Victory Series.

[NickDrak]

I have the Champion model Trophy-33, and it's already filled. Planning on getting another one.
NickDrak, don't you mean Triumph Series? I don't think Champion has a Victory Series.

Mine is indeed a Victory series, but you are correct, mine is 3 years old and I think Champion has re-named their safe lines the year following my safe purchase.

[12131]

Thanks. That explains it.

[louie]

Anybody hear of http://www.sturdysafe.com/quickquote.htm

[12131]

Here a useful gun safe buyer's guide, http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html .

[louie]

12131,

Thanks for the link!

There's a few links at the bottom of the page that look interesting too.

[tundra]

I don't mean to be a downer but I have seen the types of safes you are talking about buying torn open with nothing more than heavy pry bars. This was at a burglary at a restaurant. The thieves came in from the roof and tore open the safe and took 5k It was a Cannon safe.

I have also seen safes that withstood hours of work by the burglars and they were unable to get into it. This safe was made of very heavy steel and had concrete and rebar reinforcement in between the steel plates. The thieves used chisels and hammers but were unable to get inside the safe. The safe was ruined.


There is a video on Youtube that shows two guys opening a safe in 1:49 with a crow bar and a very heavy pry bar. If i had the money I would buy a safe that weighs at least a ton or more and is made of 1/2 steel at the minimum. I don't recall the name of the safe (It sounded German) company but I saw them at a gun show in Orange County last year. It was over $3k.

I have a safe I keep my guns in and I feel better knowing I have it, but if someone wants into a safe they will get in. One other good idea is too have an alarm system installed for your house.

[federalist22]

One thing to remember on safe buying and configuring is that scoped rifles tend to occupy the area of two non-scoped rifles and ARs do as well, but scoped ARs tend to occupy the space of three rifles in some configs, so buy carefully. Also, my safe dealer said the question of which combination lock to go with rarely came up prior to 9/11, as most went with electronic locks, but its a very common question now. In regards to a possible Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) event, go with the dial lock instead of the electronic lock. God forbid an EMP attack ever does happen, but if you have an electronic lock and survive, you will not be able to get to your guns. Dial locks are warrantied for about 20 years and the electronic locks are not, plus the battery dies in about 8-10 years.

I have a 66.5x37x27 Fort Knox Defender (http://www.ftknox.com/redesign/safes/defender.htm) in my basement to store my growing collection of firearms. I trust the company and composition of the product. It also weighs over 1000 pounds empty and I also have a home alarm system (APX - http://www.apxalarm.com/) I trust while on vacation, at work, or asleep.

Fort Knox Defender Specs:
» Certified 1680ºF/90 minute fire protection
» UL Listed for burglary (tests including drilling, punching, prying, hammering, and several tamper tests)
» 1 3/4" Reinforced Fire Door
» Quadrafold™ door frame with deep recessed door
» 10 gauge steel, Uni-body construction (1-1/2" total body thickness)
» 13-1½" diameter active door locking bolts all the way around the door
» An additional locking bolt on the top of the door
» Patented rack & pinion gear drive locking mechanism
» Bolt Detent
» Drill deflector bolt guard
» EasyGlide™, concealed ball-bearing hinges
» Drill stop hard plate with recessed multi-bearings
» Clutch Drive handle
» S&G Group II manipulation resistant lock
» Durable textured finish
» Fully Carpeted interior, including the back panel
» Limited lifetime warranty
~ Reinforced steel liner
~ Light Package
~ Door holsters
~ Chrome handle
~ Dehumidifier


Fort Knox has a great reputation for their warranty, which I have heard is questionable about Liberty in the DC/VA/MD area. If you go to a Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly, VA (there is one in OCT - I think) you can find Steve from Steve's Safes (a Fort Knox dealer)--he also travels to PA and WV I think.

My Fort Knox - Note the exterior hinges (allows for full swing of door--not tied to security of the door due to the interior door locking bolts). External hinges are growing in popularity, at least that is what I have heard--and I heard that Fort Knox wasn't even offering them until a year or so ago--probably wanted to ensure they would not affect the integrity of the safe.